Merry Christmas to all...

and to all a good night!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Hmm, I wonder which one is Richie's?

A is for avocado, part 2

Day two of the great avocado experiment was much more successful with Daddy doing the feeding. It's now been a week since we started and he's eating as much as I give him (about 2 tablespoons). At first he had a little gas but I think he's over it now. He's sleeping much better (woke only once the past 2 nights) and last night, drumroll please.....

He slept through the night! From 8pm to 5:30am! Mom was up at 4am wondering what was going on and checked to make sure he was breathing. He may have even slept longer if the crazy cat hadn't been on the rampage with a noisy toy in the hallway. Why is it that when Richie sleeps in the cat wakes us up early? One of life's great mysteries.

Next up on the menu is pumpkin. Now I just need to find an orange bib...

A is for avocado, part 1

Richie passed another milestone this week: eating his first solid food.

I'm proud to say he's been 100% breastfed until now (a shout out to all the moms who stick with it, it's a tough job!). But starting about 2 weeks ago he started waking more often in the night, teething and most recently, mouthing while watching Mom eat (all signs that he's getting ready to start solids). So at 4 months and 3 weeks we gave him his first food: avocado. 

Sure most babies start with baby rice but when avocados are in season and packed with lots of lovely nutrients and omega 3's why not give him more bang for his itty bitty bite? It's one of the "approved" first foods along with most root vegetables, apple and pears. Apparently it's harder to get them to eat veggies if you start them on sweet fruits, so we're going to give him veggies first and then will add in some fruits (again, lucky boy lives in the "Fruit Bowl of New Zealand" and will have his choice of peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, etc).

From what I've read and heard there is also some controversy about whether giving infants starches like rice before they have molars is a good idea as well. Some say they lack the enzyme necessary to properly digest starches until they have molars and hence get terrible gas, and others say giving them starches too soon makes them more likely to get colds. In any case, we decided to play it safe and go for a food with as much nutrition as he could get that was still safe for him to digest. And hey you can't get any easier than mashing up avocado for homemade baby food. (ok, I did add a bit of breast milk at first and water to thin it out and make it more palatable). 

Below are pics from the first attempt on Dec 16th. He was a bit more interested in the spoon as a teething device but he did seem to know what to do with the food once it got in his mouth.

*Note that the food also matches his bib and chair. Momma ain't no fool.

Joy to the World!

In a time where the season often comes down to who gets the biggest tree, presents, etc., this morning I was reminded of the simple joys. I pulled a tissue out of the box and passed it over Richie's head, which led to a squeal of delight from him. Just passing the tissue over his head was enough to bring a look of pure joy to his face, from the simple sensation of a delicate touch.

A good reminder this holiday season to appreciate the simple, little things that make this thing called life grand.

Licensed to travel

Master Richard is now ready to travel. He got his NZ passport the other day and is officially protected by her Majesty the Queen, at the request of the Governor-General in the Realm of New Zealand in all his travels. Since he'll be traveling with us for the next 18 years and we're traveling on US passports, we're hoping that means we can go through whichever line is shorter at immigration!

How cute is his little passport photo? It was actually quite a mission for me. I did it myself with a lot of trial and error rather than taking him to a photo shop. Do you know how hard it is to get a 3 month old to sit still with a "neutral expression" on his face with his eyes open? There were plenty of cuter pics with a smile that had to be scraped according to the passport rules. In the end we made it, although he was sliding down the chair causing his overalls to come up around his ears. 

a handful

Scene: Sunday afternoon, Richie's room at the changing table

Me: "Paul come here."

Paul: "What, did he have a big poo?"

Me: "No, but you're gonna want to see this."

(Paul enters to see his son gleefully holding his privates and refusing to let go)

Me: "Our son has found his manhood."

Sorry, no pix to accompany this entry.

We love toy libraries!

"Look at this cool exersaucer Mom got for me! These things go for big bucks here so I must be pretty darn special. And she got me lots of other cool stuff too. Did Christmas come early?"

No, Richie, Mommy just discovered a perk of belonging to the local Parents Centre, their toy library. The Parents Centre is a national organization in NZ with branches in nearly every city that provide parenting education and support. They run prenatal classes, which we took earlier this year, as well as baby and me classes and other mini-courses on parenting issues like toilet training, infant CPR, etc. As a member we also get discounts at local merchants who cater to kids.

But my new fave perk is their toy library. They have heaps of toys for kids from ages 0-teens as well as baby furniture and equipment that you can "hire" (NZ for rent) for ridiculously cheap prices. It's only open a few hours a week so I hadn't made it there til now but I'll definitely be back. I got Richie an exersaucer (a basic model rather than one of the really fancy ones since he can't reach much of the bells and whistles yet anyway), a brand new frog tummy time mat, a crib toy with mirror and a cool book/teether thing. Grand total for 6 weeks of use? $17NZ. That's about $10US. All of the toys were impeccably clean (you are supposed to clean the toy before you return it and if you don't you have to pay a cleaning fee) and the tummy time mat hadn't even been opened. In case you're wondering, yes I did run a sanitizing wipe over the exersaucer as an extra precaution but toys only stay clean in a house with an infant for so long anyway that I'm not worried about it (can I get an Amen from the moms?). I mean kids share toys at daycare so why not share toys in the comfort of your own home?

I think it's a great idea that works on so many levels:

• Environmental - Reusing all those plastic toys that will never biodegrade rather than producing more of them). 
• Educational - Tons of stimulation and ability to get toys suited for each stage of life. Each one "parent tested and approved."
• Economic - Prices start as low as 40 cents a week for toy rentals. Did I mention those exersaucers START at $150 here? I rest my case.
  
• Space-saving - You don't have to find storage for that huge exersaucer, bouncer, high chair etc that you may or may not use again with other kids.
• Social - Since the library is only open a few hours a week, you're sure to meet other like-minded parents there.

I could go on but I've got to get some rest now myself. Suffice to say toy libraries rock! (yes they have rockers too!)

Sign of the season

A sure sign of Christmas is blooming outside my window in our back yard this morning. It's a Pohutukawa tree (pronounced just like it looks, like most Maori words) otherwise known as the New Zealand Christmas tree. It's a native NZ tree found mostly along the coasts that blooms brilliant red blossoms every year at Christmas time. We're lucky enough to have a rather large one on our property that is over 3 stories tall and visible from every rear-facing window, including the bathroom where I took these pics since it's raining today. It's a real treat to see it each year.

A jolly wee elf

Taking a cue from fellow blogger and new mom Melissa , I decided to post some out takes from Richie's Christmas card photo shoot. Because just one pic of this jolly little elf simply isn't enough!


Get me outta this stupid Santa suit!


"I'll have a buh buh blue Christmas without you," AKA Elvis Santa



Does this hat make my head look big?


"I'll get you for this one day Mom, I swear."

Corey Hart eat your heart out

"My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades..."

It's serious business here though. They advise you to get your children used to wearing sunglasses early here to protect against the damaging UV rays that come down through our nice big hole in the ozone centered over NZ. So at 4 months, Richie is already wearing his whenever he's out on the town. He's got lots of sun hats too. Pix of those to come!

Nursery rhyme SOS!

We've discovered in recent days that Richie is a huge nursery rhyme fan. After weeks of playing our own favorite music for him, we've discovered that he loves silly songs that mom and dad look like complete idiots singing. Case in point. Old MacDonald had a Farm. Never fails to get a giggle.

Now, soon after we realized he's such a fan, we realize we know frightfully few nursery rhymes and/or lullabies. Until now we've just been singing our favorite songs since he didn't really understand. But now he's starting to catch on that Daddy's singing Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

I went to our local library to get some kid-friendly tunes, but their collection is dominated by UK style ones like "Polly put the kettle on." We need more good old American standards to keep him entertained. Anyone care to share their favorites?

By the way, I just learned that I totally had the words wrong for the one lullabye that I've been using almost every night with Richie. In my mind this is how it goes:

Hush little baby, don't say a word
Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird
If that mocking bird don't sing
Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring.
If that diamond ring don't shine
Mama's gonna (ok and here I know I'm ad libbing) bake you an apple pie
If that apple pie gets burnt
Mama's gonna go and live in a yurt (you try rhyming burnt!)
If that yurt is too far away
Mama's gonna come back and stay. (and here I riff even more depending on how tired Richie is. But you get the general idea.)

The official words are:
Hush little baby, don't say a word
Papa's going to buy you a mockingbird
If that mocking bird don't sing
Papa's going to buy you a diamond ring
If that diamond ring turns brass
Papa's going to buy you a looking glass
If that looking glass gets broke
Papa's going to buy you a billy goat
If that billy goat don't pull,
Papa's going to buy you a cart and bull
If that cart and bull falls down
You're still the sweetest baby in town.

Ok, now the last line is nice but what baby needs a cart and bull??? Who came up with these?