my little baby is growing up!

Part of why I started this blog was to document some of the amazing changes in Soluna during her first few months. In between my rants and raves, I don't always have the space to just share and appreciate my beautiful little baby... To catch us up, here are her top 5 newest accomplishments (She's very advanced. hehe):

#1: SOLUNA CAN SIT! At around 6 months, Soluna started sitting up on her own. Prior to that, we probably didn't sit her up enough for her to get the chance to do this. Because once we started to do this more often she perfected sitting up in a weekends time.

#2: SOLUNA CAN TALK! She has been cooing for quite some time, probably as early as 2 months or so. She would throw in a consonant now and then, but it was only until earlier this month when she really really really started babbling. Prior to this I noticed she started moving her lips in a talking fashion... and then it just clicked... "Dahabaladaklahe!" ... "Mahdalakah!" Awesome! I swear, I thought I heard her say "Mama!" She's starting to talk non-stop!

#3: SOLUNA CAN FEED HERSELF! Alright, Soluna grabs the spoons while I am feeding her and feeds herself! She's very "skilled" at eating. I wonder who she gets this from.

#4: SOLUNA CAN LUNGE AND SCOOT: She's almost mobile! Check out her blog to see her actually scoot on her booty. But now, she's also lunging forward while sitting to grab things and lands on her belly. She kicks her legs, but no official crawl yet... almost.

#5: SOLUNA IS SMILEY! We were starting to worry but the past month or two Soluna is smiling and laughing more and more. I think she was waiting for mama and papi to up their comic routines.

gerber vs. homemade baby food

So last weekend as I was mashing avocados at a diner while eating breakfast with my in-laws, my suegra asked why we weren't feeding Soluna Gerber baby food. She said it was made especially for babies. Of course, I didn't know it at the time. Unfortunately, "No habla Espanol!" ... I know, I suck. I really wish that I hadn't made the horrible decision to learn German in high school. Now, I am at a conversational disadvantage. I am reliant on Benji's translations that often come way after the conversation is over, sometimes in the car on the way home, or don't happen at all if he doesn't feel like it or doesn't want me to know what the heck is going on.

In response to the Gerber question, that I was pretty ready to answer, Benji must have mumbled something about how it was cheaper to make homemade food. Which is true, but only part of the reason why we have chosen to make our own food. Okay, not to bust out my Super Baby Food book again, but fresh homemade baby foods will always have fresh ingredients, will not contain extra salt or preservatives and is more food and less water. I found more information on this topic right here.

The other night I dragged Benji to Manzanita Restaurant, which is literally around the corner from our home. It's a macrobiotic vegan spot and I REALLY love it. I forgot how good a plain steamed sweet carrot tasted or how mung beans can be so rich in flavor. We have become so out of touch from the simple pleasures of simple foods. It is so nice and refreshing to have a plate full of food that hasn't been overly spiced or overly processed. My point is... Why can't it be natural to eat less food from boxes and jars? Shouldn't we all be eating more "whole foods" and wouldn't it be nice to see real fruits and vegetables more often? Especially for our littlest ones, isn't it better to go more natural. I think this is how it should be for me and for Soluna... and Benji, if he wants.

Lifestyle changes. God help me, I'm becoming a brown hippie! (More about my hippie-ness later. I have some mama confessions.)

GERBER

VS.
HOMEMADE

okay, neither looks appetizing... but you gotta taste for yourself!