food fight

The eating habits of a 13-month-old are nothing if they are unpredictable. What Natasha eats one day, she might just spit out the next. Ravioli might be tasty today, but it could end up on the floor where it becomes cat food tomorrow. Chicken is okay some days and not so much on others. Only Cheerios and cheese seem to be the exceptions to this. And switching from formula to whole milk is not going too smoothly.

Don’t get me wrong. There are foods she likes. We just don’t count them as foods since they are junk. Cookies (Smiley cookies are a favorite), hulless popcorn, freeze pops, and Teddy Grahams have all been a big hit, but Mom and I aren’t ready to make these a major component of our daughter’s diet.

Part of the problem may be her teeth. Or lack there of. She only has two bottom, front teeth (although, one is coming in on the top). So, she either has to bite with her two teeth or mash food with her gums. I’m sure she finds either pretty frustrating.

The good news is that the past couple of days have been an eating boon. Either she’s hitting another growth spurt or she’s realized that she’s only going to get what we serve her until she can fend for herself. She’s been eating Spaghettios, mac and cheese, apple sauce, pita bread, and yogurt. She even like the Citrus Blast ice from Rita’s the other night. Like I said, unpredictable.

That said, she might go into “Operation: Shutdown” tomorrow. I hope she doesn’t though. It’s been nice having her eating real food.

daddy you can push my car (beep-beep beep-beep yeah)

Favorite birthday present, hands down? Her new pink push car. At her party, Natasha spent the better part of four hours letting anyone who was willing push her anywhere they wanted to push her (except Uncle Bri and Aunt Steppy—they were busy trying to get their car started). When she woke up the next morning, it was the first thing she wanted. Fortunately, she found her new Little People playset interesting, or we would have been pushing her around the first floor of our house.

That night, we took her out in the neighborhood on it. Hard molded plastic tires on blacktop are loud. The noise didn't even faze her. She didn't mind the noise and just bounced and giggled the whole time. She even realized the horn beeped when she pushed it. She tired out toward the end, but Mom had her out on it again yesterday. The threat of rain today has kept her off of it so far, but my guess is she’ll have ridden it once before day’s end. She loves it and Mom and Dad are getting some much needed exercise at the same time.

heartbreaking update

The premature baby I blogged about last time passed away yesterday. The mom and dad are having a private service and no viewing. I have no idea what they are going through and I keep them in my prayers.

count your blessings

There’s a guy that I know with who is a little older than I am. His wife is a little older than mine. I always thought they were the type of couple who didn’t want or couldn’t have children. He would ask about my daughter and I would relay stories of my daughter's latest “tricks”. About a month ago, he told me he and his wife were expecting a baby girl in late September.

He was pretty excited. I asked him if he was readying a nursery and he said they were indeed. He joked that he’d probably have some first time father and father-daughter questions for me as time went on.

Then, around Memorial Day, I heard some unpleasant news. His wife had developed pre-eclampsia and the only way to save her would be to deliver the baby. The baby was only about 24 weeks along. She had to be delivered via Ceasarian. The baby is touch and go, one day at a time. Her Mom and Dad have been practically living at the NICU of the hospital. So far, she’s fighting and I can only pray that she continues to do so.


Another couple I know is expecting their second baby. Their first is about 7, and they’ve been trying for a second for a while now, but they’ve had a couple of miscarriages. The last couple of days, Mom had been experiencing some severe lower back pain and today, she had some cramping.

She got herself to her doctor’s and the baby is fine. Mom might have kidney stones, but the test results for that won’t be in until early next week. I’ve been praying for them since I found out she’s been trying and kept miscarrying. I think her nerves are shot about now, but a little rest should be a big help.

When you are expecting a baby, you have all of these fears that you never had before. Will the baby be okay? Will she have 10 fingers and toes? Do we need to worry about Down’s? Did her ears develop okay or will she be deaf?

It doesn’t get any better after they are born healthy. Autism doesn’t start to show signs until around age 2. I constantly worry she might choke on food. Most bumps and bruises are minor, but I’m still fearful she might really fall and really get hurt.

The odds are greater for a healthy baby than one that’s not, but that never eases my mind. Everyday I thank God she’s healthy. In 377 days, I’ve never once taken my daughter for granted.

365 days

My daughter turned one today. Technically, she turns one tonight at 10:57pm, but for all intensive purposes, she’s one as I write this.

It’s been the fastest year of my life. She is so big already and there are no signs of slowing. She took her first steps on Memorial Day. It will certainly be an even more memorable Memorial Day now.

Last night, my wife and I read her Happy Birthday Moon before we put her to bed for the night and I started to cry. It’s all just happening too damned fast. People say that all the time, but it is true. I don’t wish anything away. I hate catching my wife or myself say “I can’t wait until she can....” because it makes it seem as though we want her to grow up faster.

Her big party is in a week and a half. There are nearly 100 people coming. It’s going to be a zoo. We’re having a picnic in the park. I just hope she doesn’t feel too overwhelmed. She usually does well at parties and the like (she’s been to two weddings and several other parties), so we aren’t too worried about that. It will probably be more stressful for her mom and me than her.

Having a daughter has been great. The last 365 days have had a huge impact on me. I’m still trying not to freak out over the little things. I’m still trying to figure out how I’ll help her pay for college. I love reading her new books and trying to learn the words to new songs (current favorite: “The Wheels on the Bus”, which I didn’t have to learn).

I wish we had been able to do more. I wish we had videotaped more, wrote more in her baby book, took more pictures. Nonetheless, my little girl has finished her first of many trips around the sun.