So this is what a blog is for....

5 years, 6 months later I finally got angry. Now mind you, my "anger" lasted a few minutes and really only took place in my head as I drove to the grocery store with Kaylee sleeping soundly in the backseat. You would think that having a baby would have triggered missing my mom more than it really has, but I blame that on me being too practical in daily life. Sure I can miss my mom, but what good does it do Kaylee and John to have me moping around the house? No good comes of that, so I express my sadness occasionally, talk about my mom often, and look for ways to remember her. What brought this on you ask? Last night Kaylee ate chicken and rice off my dinner plate, one of many milestones in her 8 months, probably not something huge to anyone but her own mom. But today as I tried to share my excitement I realized that the one person who I really wanted to hear this story was my mom. So I got angry. Believe it or not, today was the first time I have ever wanted to slap that stupid guy. But in true fashion, my anger subsided quickly and I was back to having forgiven the guy. Someday I'll see my mom in Heaven and she'll tell me that she heard all my stories along the way. Until then, I'll continue sharing my stories on the blog. Here is the chicken and rice story...again, it's a pretty boring story if you aren't Kaylee's mom, but sharing it with the "masses" feels good.

So I made New Orleans style rice (similar to rice a roni) and Chipotle BBQ'd chicken for dinner. Kaylee was sitting in my lap as I attempted to eat my meal. She reached onto my plate, grabbed a handful of rice, and shoveled it into her mouth. What makes this a milestone is that she is just barely learning to grab at small things on her highchair tray, and even when she does grab small things she doesn't get them into her mouth easily. She hasn't had extra flavored food yet (i.e. salt, bbq sauce, spices, etc) so I was expecting her to spit it out, but she chomped away at the rice, licked her lips, and opened her mouth for more. So I gave her more! She sat there smiling and opening her mouth for more and more. Feeling bold I gave her a few tiny bites of the spicy bbq'd chicken to complete the meal. She munched on that with her gums, swallowed and opened for more. I cut her off after a few bites since it was all so new and there were so many different spices involved. I wasn't sure how she'd react. Today all has been good, no signs of intolerance, and infact had rice again for dinner. I am amazed at her eating. There hasn't been anything that she turned her nose up at (other than the unripe mango, but who wouldn't say no to that), and meal times are stress-free. I really credit the book Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense by Ellyn Satter for our great food successes. Thanks Kathy!!!