Dinner and a Show

I used to be afraid of feeding Olivia solid foods. I'm not sure why, probably because it was new to me and I was afraid she'd be allergic to everything. Or choke. Well, so far she has only had very slight allergic reactions to a few things (sweet potatoes and raspberries), both of which don't bother her anymore. And she has choked a few times, too, but it never seems to phase her. At least, it never deters her appetite. Olivia is a very good eater although she will usually only let me spoon feed her for a few bites before deciding she'd rather get her hands dirty and do it herself. Thank goodness for baby cereal. I use it to thicken her purees and yogurts so that she can moosh it in her hands and give herself a mudmask (you didn't think babies were born with that skin, did you? No way. It's all about the puree facial). She is actually really good at getting it into her mouth, too!

One of my favorite things about giving Olivia new foods to try are her facial expressions. In the clip below, she is having chicken and mixed vegetable puree for the first time. Her reaction is about what mine was (I am Her Majesty's official taster).

Along with the great facial expressions is the undeniable gross-out effect that certain tastes or textures cause. When I am not certain that a food will get a good reaction, or when the first few bites haven't gone over as well as I'd like them to, I try mixing in some shredded cheese. Shredded cheese is like Crack to Olivia. Unfortunately, even the much-loved fancy cheddar can't fix every dish. I love the look on her face when I ask her if she can eat some for the camera. It's a little surprised, like "you're joking - you want me to do what?"

Olivia and I have many great and wonderful conversations over dinner, too. Mostly it's me talking and her beaming cute smiles my way, showing me her squishy hands, or occasionally offering me a taste of whatever she has (she is always slightly offended when I actually eat the cheerio that she is giving me). But some of our meals get pretty raucous and she shows off her dancing, feet kicking, or clapping skills. Most recently, she has added the hand washing motion to her repertoire so sometimes, if the tray isn't too disgusting, I'll pour some water in it and let her splash around for a bit. This is an amazingly effective trick for getting some of the stickier gunk out from between her fingers. No matter how messy the meals are, though, they are always a lot of fun. She did end up finishing her chicken noodle-cheerio-shredded cheese dinner the other night, by the way. She kept crossing her eyes, trying to see the cheese that was stuck to her nose.