Solid foods

Yep, that much time HAS passed. Alder is eating solids. We started him about a week ago...right about at 5.5 months. He's been exhibiting all the ready signs for 3-4 weeks anyway, and as much as I wanted to reach 6 months, it started to feel like we were just counting off days for no reason. So we have him a little sweet potato. He thought it was tolerable. He ate it fine - no tongue reflex. But he wasn't gobbling it down like our sweet potato monster Ava. So then we tried banana. That was a hit. And now he's onto carrot, which seems destined to be another favorite. We got our first solid food poop too, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I guess when you are on a diet of 98% breastmilk, your poop still comes out mostly smelling like breastmilk.

Anyway, my little guy is growing up. He's nearly on his hands and knees now, and he can spin and roll around with ease. And maybe it is my imagination, but I hear a distinct "Mama" when he is upset and wants me to pick him up.

TEETHING!

Aha! She's teething! This is the source of the crazy poop we've been seeing for a week or so. It was starting to get me concerned, as my daughter is not usually this kind of pooper. But then today I got a little glimpse in her mouth, and when asked, she opened it up wide for me. She has all 4 canines coming in at the same time. OUCH! No wonder her insides are all screwed up. This makes me feel so much better (that I know what the problem is, not that my daughter is in terrible gum pain).

The realization that Ava is teething has made me consider whether Alder is teething too. He is a bit young, but this is about when Ava turned on the drool too. And today he made mince meat out of my knuckle when I offered it to him. So tonight they've both been dosed with Motrin. We'll see if it provides me with any more sleep. And with that, I'm off to bed.

Two Toddlers

Just a quick note to say that yesterday ROCKED because our buddies Franny and Max (just 23 days older than my Ava) came to visit. Not only is it awesome to see Franny, my friend for 12+ years (oh my god), my mother companion, my moved-across-the-country-at-the-same-time buddy, it is just amazing to see Max and Ava falling in love together. I think they are best buddies. They TRULY play together. It is awesome. We broke out Ava's new birthday present, which is a giant system of pop-up houses and tunnels akin to a gerbil maze. They loved it...until my toddler pooped in it (potty training in progress here). Then they still loved it after we cleaned the mess. I can't wait to see these two toddlers grow up together. Franny and I talked about the growing up part, and how they'll probably hang out, attend parties together, and possibly (gasp!) even hook up at some point. Yeah, the conversation ended right there.