Food Fight!

Okay, there was no fighting involved.  Actually, there wasn't even much fussing involved.

But last night Jonathan got his very first taste of real food! 

First food: avocado.  Yep, avocado.  Not rice cereal.  Not oatmeal.
I mashed the avocado and mixed with a LOT of formula so it was soupy.  Over the next week I'll make it a bit thicker each day.  But I wanted to start with it pretty liquidy.

How did he like it?  Not too bad. 

Getting ready for that first bite.  A bit unsure.

"Um, what on earth is THIS?"

"Okay, seriously, what IS this?"

"Let me just play with this in my mouth a bit."

"Let's do that AGAIN!"

Pretty much every bite went like this: Interest, yucky face, followed by smacking it a bit and swallowing happily.

Classic

Why avocado, you might ask?  Well, I know the standard is to use cereal of some kind.  But I have this theory that by making carbohydrates the first food for our children we set them up for a life of carb loving.  I have no basis of this belief but I figure it can't hurt to start with a fruit/veg.  I chose avocado because it's full of healthy fats, fairly mild in flavor, and can be mashed into baby food without any cooking or added water.  Each of the other kids started with avocado as well.  In fact, last night I was thinking that between the other two kids I probably didn't finish an entire box of rice cereal total.  I only ever gave Allison a few servings of just cereal.  Mostly I just used to to beef up the Stage 1 purees and make them heartier after they had them act of eating them down. And since we've waiting until 5 1/2+ months to start solids with our kids, I felt more comfortable going with something more "real."



Freedom

I've been thinking a lot lately about freedom. 

My go-to website for definitions (I probably look something up twice a week just to make sure I'm using words correctly for the context), Merriam-Webster defines freedom thusly:
1. The quality of state of being free
  a: the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action
  b: liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another
  c: the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous
  d: ease, facility 
  e: the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken
  f: improper familiarity
  g: boldness of concept or execution
  h: unrestricted use 

Now with the exception of f: improper familiarity I think all of those things are something I aspire to in my life.  Especially the first:

Freedom = The absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action

Who doesn't want their life to feel like that? 

As the new year approaches I am working through some personal issues of freedom - chiefly in the areas of finances and food.  Part of me becoming free in these areas is removing some of the hiddenness about them (see definition e above). 

Our goal as a family for 2011 is to rid ourselves of our remaining credit card debt - thus becoming more financially free (I still have some student loans to pay off and a mortgage after that).  My personal goal is to become dietarily free.  "Um, what?" you are asking yourself.  Well, that's the only way I can think of to describe it.  I have a problem with food - namely overindulgence in it.  And I hate feeling restricted in any way.  My goal for 2011 is to develop a healthy relationship with food so that I can enjoy it without feeling controlled by it.  If you've ever struggled with food, you'll know what I mean.  And if you haven't, you'll never be able to understand, so just go with me on this.  Look for more in the coming weeks