Cheerful Sunday

It's no secret that my sweet boy is my favorite reason to be cheerful. And in this owl hat, he's even more cheer-tastic. 

But that's not exactly today's reason to be cheerful. 

Today's reason to be cheerful is more about babies in general, but it's true that Linus has made me aware of it. I love when I'm out and about with Linus and men see him and crack big smiles and say hello! It's just about the cutest thing ever. The bigger, gruffer, and tougher looking the guy, the more cheerful it makes me. I love that sweet little babies can make goofs of these guys.

Word of the Week

linequeue

Insanity

Definition: a column of people arranged for orderly processing

Used in a sentence: Ross is morally opposed to overly-long linequeues and refuses to stand in them.

Baby Led Weaning

We are pretty healthy eaters around here. That is mostly thanks to Ross.  He is a vegaquarian or a pescaterian (or whatever silly word you want to call someone who doesn't eat meat or chicken) so that means that's how we eat. It's certainly not that I'm not allowed to eat meat at home- sometimes I do- but it's just easier to cook the same thing for both of us. I can't tell you how much my diet has improved since meeting Ross! We keep making changes to find healthier options. Ross even made some major sugar changes recently. He's definitely better than I am, but we're both committed to eating less processed and more natural foods.

It only made sense, then, when we thought about starting Linus on solids that we would explore the options. I'd read on many blogs and learned from our Health Visitor that the World Health Organization recommends that babies be exclusively breast fed for the first 6 months. I also kept reading about something called Baby Led Weaning. It really made sense to me to skip the purees altogether and go straight to actual food.

We started Linus slightly after he reached 6 months. He was ready. He could sit up well and was showing interest in food. So we ordered a high chair.

First time in his new high chair.

It hasn't always been smooth sailing. Linus' first food was courgettezucchini. I over-steamed it slightly so it didn't hold up that well to chubby baby hands.

Next was sweet potato. Which I slightly under-steamed, making it too tough for him really chew.

We learned that grapes, bananas, and avocado work much better when put in a mesh feeder bag.

And that this face can mean new flavour, not necessarily bad flavour.

Yoghurt face is super-cute.

Who knew babies could like lettuce?

Cheese omlettes are a big hit! So are avocados, fresh mozzarella, pears and yoghurt.

Funnily enough, though some people might view doing BLW as "weird" or fringe, all 3 of my favorite mom friends are doing BLW too. We didn't plan it, but it made sense to all of us and seems to be working well!

Have you tried any new or "weird" parenting techniques?

Any suggestions of new foods I should try?

I'm back

Sorry for the absence readers. We were in Suffolk helping out Ross' uncle who had his kneecap replaced. The internet access was super-spotty and I didn't have much time for posting. Uncle Jeff is on the mend and we're settled in back at home now, so I should be able to get back on schedule.

Linus on Uncle Jeff's washing line

I've got quite a few things to talk to you about. I'll try to mix up baby stuff with non-baby stuff. Hopefully, it will all be interesting. 

I'll leave you with this. I recently realized that Ross and I put on over-the-head-shirts (like t-shirts) differently! He puts his head in first, while I start with my arms (right first usually). Crazy, right? Will our marriage be able to withstand this?! Do you do it like Ross, or the right way? ;)

Cheerful Sunday

Sure, these don't look like much now that they're frozen, but once they're cooked look out! These carrot burgers that I whipped up are delicious and chock full of healthy stuff. A much better (and tastier) option than the usual soya/filler "veggie" burgers, they use actual veggies! Now that I've made orange burgers, I'm going to try my hand at creating a whole rainbow of varieties!

I made enough to have 2 burgers that night, 4 are in the freezer and I've even got four mini patties to cook up for Linus.

Half time

There's a little cultural difference that I've never blogged about, but always throws me a tiny bit. Well, it threw me a lot when I first moved here.  It has to do with time. How hard can that be, right? I mean time is time! Well, yes. And no.

No. Not that Time.

I know it's because I have a tendency to over-think/complicate things sometimes. I'll give you a sample conversation.

Me: Remind me. What time is the plumber coming tomorrow?

Ross: Half Ten.

Me: (thinking, not aloud) Wait. Does that mean 9:30 or 10:30? I think it's 9:30. Right? Because it's half way to 10. Right? Wait. Half ten would be 5:00 so that can't be right. (out loud) ...10:30?

Ross nods.

This repeatedly confused me for WAY longer than I should admit. I know now what it means. And only second guess myself very infrequently. But it's definitely an interesting difference. I've never heard a British person say "thirty" as part of the time. It's always "half". I wonder why that is...

Any guesses?

Cheerful Sunday

My baby boy is sitting up!

Word of the Week

Commercialadvert

Diapernappy Commercialadvert

Definition: a television or radio spot meant to entice consumers to spend their money on products or services

Used in a sentence: I love a good commericaladvert that makes me laugh. 

A proud moment

Long-time readers may remember that Ross likes to amuse himself in somewhat unorthodox methods. Well, the other day Ross had been having a bit of a rough time. Nothing major, just not a great day. We got home from being out and about and I went to change Linus' diaper. As I was doing so, the home phone rang and Ross answered it.

I heard Ross talking, but didn't hear exactly what he was saying. As I finished up, he wandered back. He looked at me, with a sly twinkle in his eye. I knew immediately what was up. He was talking to a telemarketer. It was a PPI Claims call. For those who don't know, there's big business in companies trying to help you claim "mis-sold payment protection insurance". Basically, if you had a loan or credit card you may have been sold PPI incorrectly and are now able to claim it back. Which means that companies call you trying to get you to file claims with them so they can take a portion of any money you are entitled to. It's very irritating. I heard "A loan? No... I'm here with Meg and Linus." (See what he did there? A loan. Alone. Heeheehee.) He mischievously waggled his eyebrows at me. He's got very comedic eyebrows*, my husband.

one of his last stand up gigs (he's currently indefinitely no hiatus)

He wandered away and shortly afterwards he let out a gleeful giggle and and came back to see me. He looked so amused and couldn't stop laughing. He explained that, after a few minutes of his shenanigans, the woman on the other end of the line had declared, "You know what, Ross? You're bull$h*t!" Now, he's gotten many a caller to hang up on him before, but he'd never achieved this kind of name calling before. He'd told her she was right and that he was in fact bull$h*t. Now, he proudly declares from time to time: "I'm bull$h*t!" It makes him happy every time. I don't know that any telemarketer interaction will ever live up to this one.

My name is Meg and my husband is bull$h*t.

Has anyone ever delivered an unexpectedly amusing insult to you?

*Oooh, ooh. I've got another great Ross story about eyebrows! I'll tell it to you later. 

6 Months

Dear Liney,

You turned 6 months old this past Saturday! I know it's always the case with babies, but I really can't believe that you are already half a year old. The time is flying by! We didn't do anything special to celebrate really. Daddy did some work and then we went into town with him to mail out parcels.  We went to lunch at the Illy Cafe, which was completely deserted!

You love each other so much!

A tomato and mozzarella pannini to celebrate!

So that cold that I mentioned last month... you're fine now, but it's messed up your sleep terribly! You magically started taking all your naps in the crib, but haven't slept through the night in a month. To be honest, I am really ready for you to go back to your awesome all-night sleeping. I think we're getting there. You're back down to one wake up most nights, so lets keep that going. Fingers crossed! 

We think you are teething, but no actual teeth have shown up yet. You are very drooly and love to put things in your mouth and chew on them. There are times when I can tell you are really in pain, which I hate. Usually your icy keys or ring do the trick to make things better.

This month you had your first night away from home since you came home from the hospital. Don't worry! We came with you! We went to Wales for Daddy's birthday and you stayed in a hotel for the first time. You would have been happier (and so would we!) if it had been a little cooler, but there was no A/C in the hotel. You did a good job in the car on the way there, but hated the drive back home. You screamed almost the whole way, only stopping when we pulled over and got you out to stretch and have something to eat.  

That look on Daddy's face is because he can't stand to hear you cry.

We've made it to 6 month with you being exclusively breastfed. This makes me really happy. I know it's so good for you and it makes me proud to know that I've helped you grow to more than double your birth weight without any outside help. We're very lucky that we haven't really had any big problems. You'll keep getting breast milk until you're a year, but you'll also be starting solid foods soon. That should be really fun!

You're still a sweet, happy boy. You are very giggly and love when we shower you with attention (which is a LOT!). You love raspberries anywhere on your body and adore when I turn you upside down and give you kisses. You do a very sweet face when I kiss you where your mouth opens up and your eyes blink really big. It's a great encouragement to cover you with kisses (not that I need much)! 

You still haven't totally gotten the hang of sitting up, but you're getting close. You like to sit up and either hold onto a hand or lean against Mommy or Daddy. You are getting better at moving around. You've stopped doing your sweet inch worm movements and are now army crawling. You are very fast and very inquisitive. You're into everything, which means Mommy and Daddy are working hard to make things neat and safe.

You got a doorway bouncer this month too. Since we've had to retire the bouncy chair (you kept almost launching yourself out of it) this is our only "baby containment device" besides the crib. You love to bounce in it. It's great for when I need to do some stuff in the kitchen as I can interact with you and do the dishes or cook. 

You are just now figuring out what is happening when we Skype with Grandma and Grandpa. You used to not really interact, but lately I can tell that you can see them and react to what they do and say. We talk nearly every Sunday and it's a real treat. It's so fun to watch you smile and laugh and reach for the camera. I know they miss you terribly and can't wait to hold you again.

My sweet sweet baby, you have changed so much in the last 6 months. I can only imagine how much fun, love, and laughter the next 6 months will hold!

March 1, 2012

Sept. 1, 2012

I love you so much!

Mommy

Cheerful Sunday

Even Linus, agrees! Sparkly sneakers are very cheerful.

Word of the Week

groundbeefmince

Mooo!

Definition: beef finely chopped in a meat grinder

Used in a sentence: The best way to make a hamburger is using nice, slightly fatty groundbeefmince.