Kora sharing a pear with daddy

sharing a pear with daddy from Minh-An Pence on Vimeo.

two!

I realized that we had not written about this.

One of Kora's teeth poked out on May 4th. Well, it now has a partner! Four days later, her other bottom tooth poked out! She has two visible teeth on her bottom gum. No wonder she's been a bit fussy lately!

Got a photo to prove it!

Baby Led Weaning, or How to Introduce Foods to Your Baby in a Fun Way

Now that Kora is over six months old, the question many people ask is, "has she started solids yet?". Well, the answer is yes and no. Yes she's had some solids. No, not the kind (or way) most people think.

We are using the "Baby Led Weaning" approach. It allows us to let her eat pretty much what we're eating with her own hands. For example, last night we had a stir-fried squid dish (thanks honey it was yummy!) and some stir-fried bok choy. We sat Kora in her little booster seat and put a piece of bok choy on her tray. She picked it up, tasted it with her tongue, and started sucking on it. When she was done (bored) with one piece, we would give her another. We can tell she is done by the way she dramatically tosses it away.

This method allows her to go at her own pace, exploring the foods that she sees us eating, and swallow some of it (which we find out a day later). It's non stressful for her and for us. We're able to all eat at the table and eat our own food. Darren and I actually have conversations at the table!

ooh look! something orange. i wonder what it is...

oh, yum.

She has gagged a few times, but the gag reflex in babies is close to their mouths, so they very rarely choke. Of course, we keep an eye on her at all times.

To date, she has had apples, boiled carrot sticks, boiled green beans, bok choy, lettuce, avocado, and Japanese sweet potato. It can get pretty messy, but it's so much fun. Plus, I think Kody is starting to like her more since he found out she'll drop food.

Why won't you paparazzi let me eat in peace!

Now to answer the question on everyone's mind: Are you going to feed her rice cereal? The truth is, I don't know! I bought a box just in case, but I haven't felt the urge to give her any, especially now that I hear the whole sleeping longer on rice cereal is just a myth. As she eats more foods I'll update the blog.

My First Mother's Day and the Aquarium

This past weekend was Mother's Day. My first one. Sometimes I still can't believe I am a mom and responsible for this cute tiny thing. I feel like a kid myself usually!

My mom was in town. Not for Mother's Day; it was actually a coincidence! She was here to meet Kora. More on that later.

Daddy and Kora let me sleep in (actually they almost always do this for me), then D fixed mom and me a wonderful breakfast sandwich with fried egg, arugula and prociutto on ciabatta. Yum! Daddy and Kora made me a beautiful card with my favorite flower, the zinnia, and Kora even signed her name (I think it was her name...maybe she wrote I love you, it's hard to tell). For dinner he made lamb shanks over orzo. Man it was so good. He knows the way to my heart. I don't need gifts...just feed me!

So my mom was in town this weekend. Kora took to her right away and they played and laughed. On Monday we went to the Georgia Aquarium. As much as I rag on Atlanta, I do really like the aquarium and it's only 10 minutes away. D and I went ahead an bought annual passes so that we can take Kora over the next year as often as we want. Kora had a ball as you can see from the pictures.

One thing...everybody assumed Kora was a boy because she was wearing navy blue. They didn't even ask, they just automatically assumed! One woman even commented on how handsome she is. Really people? Does blue automatically mean boy?

Playing with Kora on the changing table

I haven't had time to post something new so here is yet another video from our Oz trip. This was taken in a public baby changing station in a downtown Melbourne building.

Kora on the changing table from Minh-An Pence on Vimeo.