what we're thankful for, among other things.

how 'bout them apples?

I'm not the first parent I know who has tried making her own food. Sabrina did for Maddie, and she told me a lot about doing it. It's not a realistic thing if you're going to make food every day, but if you make a big batch and freeze it it's not too bad, in fact it's kind of fun. And, you can (a) make it with locally grown organic produce and (b) save $ over the cost of stuff you can buy in jars (especially when you compare the cost of the organic baby food at the grocery store, not the normal gerber stuff) and (c) have a little fun cooking stuff. My inner cheapskate is very happy about the whole thing.

As with most things I turned to the internet to get some instructions and tips for the whole process. There are lots of people who have written stuff about doing this, and one can buy books. I found the site wholesomebabyfood.com really informative.

My first attempt was to bake and puree one yam. It made a couple of servings for the frigand I was able to freeze 8 more servings in an ice cube tray. After they were frozen I popped them out of the tray and put them in a ziploc in the freezer. I just have to remember to take them out the night before I want to use them.

Today Amos went to the local food coop, the PCC, (Eddie Vedder is known to shop there from time to time) and picked up another batch of stuff for us to cook up for G. He got apples, butternut squash and more yams. Tonight I started on the apples, since the root vegetables should keep longer. I peeled and cut them up and put them in a steamer on the stove. I cooked them until they got soft and then pureed them smooth. 6 apples made 17 servings and cost $8.61, or about $.50/serving (Amos even bought expensive apples). We got 4 yams for $3.50, and I should get about 30 servings out of that or about $.12/serving. And the squash was $2.15, and I have no idea how much that will make. So for the apples and yams my average cost is .25/serving. Compare those costs to the cost of 6 jars of earth's best organic baby food, which online is $4.14 or $.69/serving.

sweet potatoes for the sweet

Apparently G thinks sweet potatoes are tasty--they're his first non-cereal food. He opens his mouth for the spoon. He gums them and moves them around a lot with his tongue and finally he'll swallow. Amos compared him to a dog who has been given peanut butter.

5 months, 1 day

G was 5 months old yesterday. The day passed without fanfare, and we actually forgot about it until today. (Terrible parents!)
Here's what G is up to these days.

He's getting big. I weighed him on the Wii Fit a couple of days ago and it said he was 15.8 pounds.
He is having a little trouble with naps.
He has to have prune juice (1 tsp) with every bottle to stay "regular."
He likes to grab hair when you're carrying him around.
He still isn't great at eating the cereal yet, but he thinks it's funny, so we do it for kicks.
He like standing more than sitting, and can hang onto the little activity center by himself for a minute or so (amos just setting him up in the picture below).
He's can't wear 3-6 month baby gap jeans. His tummy is a little too big for them, they snap but look uncomfortable.
He has a great laugh. He tosses his head back when he's really tickled, which I find irresistible.
He still has two dimples--one on each cheek.
Still hates tummy time, so can't turn over. He is pathetic when we do it.
He's starting to enjoy time in the ergo more. Today he was in for an hour while I did stuff around the house.
He's constantly slobbery...his hands, his cheeks, his chin...
I think he's starting to get afraid of people who are not us.
I think his noisy breathing is better. He does it less during a day than he did at 3 months old.
And, he just gets sweeter every day. It's been a great 5 months.

mom, dad, joe and barack

Here's a great picture of my mom and dad from the announcement of Obama picking Joe Biden (or Joey B! as we like to call him around here) in springfield this summer. It was apparently a very hot day and there was no water to be had anywhere. But my super awesome parents braved the heat to go see it. I think it's awesome that I'll able to tell G they were there. That's the old state capital in the background, and a bit of Lari trivia-- I worked at a soup restaurant right there on the square the summer before I started taking education classes.

Mom and dad are the origins of my political views. I grew up in a house where old skool crossfire was on at the dinner table and we had lots of conversations about politics. I think they are two of the most generous people I know, and it is reflected greatly in their political beliefs. I love you, mom and dad!

happy birthday, rali!

G just wanted to tell you Chestit Rojden Den!! (see he does listen to you when you talk in Bulgarian to him!) He thinks you're a rad baby sitter and is resting up for when he gets to see you again. He also said he hopes he'll get extra "tummy bubbles" this week.

what's new in G-town--TRYING NEW FOOD

At G's 4 month appointment our doctor told us that we could start getting him to try some food. I have a list of stuff that we should start with, and one of the first things on my list was rice cereal. We haven't been rushing the whole food thing, but yesterday we decided to try some, kind of as dessert. We don't yet have a high chair (gotta get one of those), so I tried it while he was sitting in the activity center that cousin Lucy let us borrow. a book I have suggests that you try it and see if the baby spits it out or not. If he spits it out, he's not ready. Well, there was a little confusion, and a kind of bewildered look on his face when I put food in his mouth. Then he kind of let it drool out of his mouth. I guess we'll try next week.

Wow. Just wow.

I'm speechless. Pictures will have to suffice. G stayed up late to wait for the returns.

li'l g's election challenge

I thought I'd challenge you all to pick the outcome of the elections. Maybe I'll even give the winner a prize. I'll use the rules from Daily Kos' challenge. If you want to play along fill out the form below and I'll keep track in the google spreadsheet and post the results wednesday or thursday. (Washington Post has a handy tool where you click on the states and it calculates the electoral votes.)
Here's mine.


57 Democratic Senate seats
41 Republican Senate seats
258 Democratic House seats
177 Republican House seats
390 Obama Electoral Votes
148 McCain Electoral Votes
52.4 Obama Popular Vote Percentage
47.6 McCain Popular Vote Percentage