First Foods

Charlie got his first taste of solid foods this week! I started him on oatmeal cereal because his pediatrician said that or barley might help with Charlie's constipation issues. But it's either not working or he hasn't gotten enough in him to make any difference (the latter being VERY likely).

His first attempt went pretty well if not extremely messy. I thought I was pretty good at feeding infants, I've had a bit of practice with my nieces and nephew, but I found out it's a different ball game when the infant hasn't ever eaten from a spoon before. As a result of our combined clumsiness, I got a significant amount of oatmeal up Charlie's nose. Don't worry. He sneezed it out. And yes, it was just about as gross as it sounds. But by the end of the attempted feeding, it seemed as if Charlie was catching on despite a lingering tongue-thrust reflex, and I think he actually swallowed down a couple spoonfuls.

His second attempt went differently. I had the brilliant idea (at least I thought it was, but it may not have actually been) to start out with feeding him oatmeal using his oral syringe—to guarantee he would swallow some down. I use his oral syringe to give him medicine, and he takes it really well. Any who, I did indeed get 0.5mL of oatmeal down his throat, but after that he didn't eat from the spoon nearly as well.

His third attempt went differently yet again. For the first two attempts, I included his liquid, baby vitamins with the oatmeal, because I thought it would give the oatmeal a familiar flavor. Well, I measure out his vitamins with his oral syringe, which was dirty. So, being too lazy to wash it, I didn't add his vitamins in the oatmeal for this attempt. It didn't go nearly as well this time. Charlie kept scrunching up his face like the oatmeal tasted terrible, which he hadn't done before, and he didn't last as long—I only got to try three or four spoonfuls. His mood may have been a big factor in this attempt, too, because I don't think he was as happy as the other two.

So, to make a short story long, I think it will take Charlie and me a little while to figure out this solid food feeding thing. But we've started out, and it will certainly be an adventure!

Charlie’s Baby Blessing

We finally blessed Charlie! And it was great to have so many family and friends there to join in the occasion. Chad gave Charlie a wonderful blessing, and even though I can't remember it all, I do remember that he blessed Charlie to always be able to recognize the Spirit and to continue to be a blessing in the lives of his family members—such good things. Unfortunately Charlie freaked out a little which really surprised me. Usually Charlie loves being in big groups of people, but apparently when he is the center of everyone's attention it's a very different story. So in all the pictures that we got there, he is very upset. But when we got home, we were able to get some cute photos of him in his adorable white tux. We've got such a cute boy!

New Dress

 For my sister's wedding, I sewed myself a new dress. My sewing experience has been pretty sporadic, and my last attempt at a dress, during my senior year of high school, turned out pretty laughable—just ask my mom, I can guarantee she will laugh. So for this attempt I not only made sure to purchase an easy, beginner pattern but I also proceeded under adult supervision. And it turned out to be a great success! At least I really like my new dress. And I had the opportunity to learn a couple new sewing skills; I can now successfully make gathers and tack down lining. (The gathers is an especially good skill to know since my first attempt at gathers is the main reason my last attempt at a dress was so laughable.)

Hidden Kiss Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
48 Hershey's Kisses, unwrapped
powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 350*F. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until creamy. Stir together flour and cocoa; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Mold scant tablespoon dough around each chocolate piece, covering completely. Shape into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
2. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool about 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Roll in powdered sugar. Roll in sugar again just before serving, if desired.

Photo courtesy of hersheys.com.

My sister Jennifer is getting married next month, and for her bridal shower we had a kiss cookie theme. We had some traditional peanut butter blossoms and two varieties of what I call hidden kiss cookies. I made the above chocolate variety and my sister Andrea made an almond variety. Both were delicious! I was feeling lazy, so I didn't roll my cookies in the powdered sugar, but I was thinking that for holiday occasions, I might roll these cookies in colored sugar sprinkles. I think that would be fun.

Also, I tried to find caramel kisses but failed. But I think the caramel kisses would be extra delicious. Although in their absence, one could use rollos or even mini peanut butter cups--yum!

Baby Feet

Charlie has officially discovered his feet and toes! I think it's certainly about time. I mean, should it really take three months for a human to discover that "holy crap those wiggly things down there are a part of me!" I think it's a feat that should be able to be accomplished much sooner, but apparently not. Oh well, at least he's not still in the dark. This particular discovery has come in handy quite a bit. For example, now during diaper changes, I don't have to hold Charlie's feet up because he does it for me! He's such a helpful boy. Also, now during playtime when Charlie loses all his other toys because he's dropped them, he still has two that he not only can't lose but can't get enough of. Excellent. I know this seems like a very small milestone, but it's one I've been looking forward to since Charlie's birth. So, hooray for Charlie!

Growing

Despite the fact that Charlie is a big baby, I have been hesitating to put him into his bigger-sized clothes. After all, he is barely more than 2 months old, so he should still fit into his 0–3 month clothes. Right? Well, sort of. If "fit" means that I am able to get him in and snap the clothes shut, then yes, he still fits. But "fit" doesn't seem to be a very good descriptor when the clothes are stretched tight around his body.

So, I have finally upgraded Charlie's wardrobe to his 3–6 month clothes, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the good side, he has a lot of super cute 3–6 month clothes (including the above dinosaur number with the cute dino prints on the footsies). On the not so good side, this upgrade means that my little bitty baby (who wasn't ever really that little bitty) is getting bigger and bigger, and before I know it, my baby will be a toddler then a kid then a preteen then a teen then almost a man then a man—weird!

But I guess I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself, and at least for now he's still my cuddle buddy. I'll just have to enjoy Charlie's babyhood while I can.