First Feeding

Andrew had his first taste of "solid" food yesterday!

I only partially consider this rice cereal to be solid because it's still mostly breast milk.  And (probably because of that) he actually liked it a lot!

We were ready with his arsenal of bibs!  (Don't worry, he just wore one at a time!)

After each bite he would open his mouth and lean toward the spoon for more.

We gave it to him twice, and he didn't finish the bowl either time.  I think he's used to getting his food so much more quickly when he nurses or takes a bottle, so one tiny spoonful at a time got a little frustrating for him I think.  Maybe it'll be a little better as we add less liquid to it.

But I think he did really well, considering it was his first time!

I wasn't planning on starting him on solids until closer to six months, but his pediatrician told us that he's ready to start because of where he is developmentally.  I'm not looking forward to needing to buy or make baby food, but it's still exciting to see how Andrew is growing up!

Let's Review: Harry Potter's Bookshelf

I have read Harry Potter several times.  I just love those books.  I went to midnight book release parties, midnight movie showings, and even directed/performed/edited/produced movie trailers for several of the books before the official trailers came out for the movies.  I've stayed up to read "just one more chapter" that inevitably leads to finishing the book, even when it means several hours of reading.  I'm a little a lot obsessed.  Maybe you're obsessed like me.  That's okay- good things are meant to be enjoyed.  Several times.

So this one's for you, my English Major/Harry Potter obsessed readers!

Or anyone who loves Harry Potter and literature in general.

Ok, so maybe it's just me, but I really enjoyed this book.  It really reminded me of a college English class, where you really look deeper into a book and compare elements of it to other books or traditions.  Now I realize that not everyone would enjoy such a book.

But I am a nerd.

And I am also a stay-at-home-mom who needs something intellectual in her life :)

This book is broken up into chapters by topic.  For example, one section was about the Gothic elements in Harry Potter, including setting, character types, plot, etc.  It talked about what elements are needed for a setting to be considered "Gothic" and discusses how Harry Potter fills those requirements.  It compared character types in Harry Potter to those included in such Gothic Romances as Dracula, Frankenstein, and Jane Eyre.

Get the picture?

But John Granger (a fitting last name, by the way) doesn't just explore the Gothic Romance that is Harry Potter.  He also includes sections on the narrative, literary alchemy, postmodernism, satire, and eyeballs.

Yes, there is a chapter dedicated to the study of the eyeballs scattered throughout the Harry Potter series.

This book has a pretty specific audience and I have to admit that you must be pretty well read in order to enjoy this book.  You'd be pretty lost/bored/confused when Granger discusses Wuthering Heights if you've never read it.  I actually found myself in that situation a couple of times- a few of his references are not super well known in the United States.  And obviously you must have read Harry Potter (preferably multiple times) or else why would you even care about the books that influenced it?

If you're a nerd like me, get this book.  Now.  GO!

*I did not get this book for free or at a discount, nor am I receiving any kind of compensation for this review.  I just liked this book and thought you should know about it too*

Four Months Old!

I feel like Andrew has changed a lot this month!  He has started taking at least one long nap each day (1 1/2 - 2 hours and usually in the afternoon) which has been wonderful for me!  He's much less grumpy since he gets enough sleep and I get a bit of a break too!  We've also switched up his routine so he doesn't nurse to sleep anymore.  So now he eats after his naps instead of before and it's easier for Aaron to help with bedtime and naptime (on the weekends).  And he's learning to fall asleep on his own too!  We can now put him in his crib drowsy and he'll suck on his fingers and put himself the rest of the way to sleep.  Unfortunately he still wakes up wanting to eat twice each night, but he pretty much sleeps from 7:30pm-7:00am each night.

Andrew rolled over from his back to front about a week ago and hasn't stopped since!  When we put him on his back now, it's usually only a matter of seconds before he's on his belly.  Of course this means that when we put him down to sleep, he often rolls over and ends up sleeping on his stomach.  It scares me a little bit, so we end up checking on him a little more often, but I think we're just being paranoid parents :)

We also have some forward movement!  It's not quite a crawl, but he's definitely figuring things out.  He pulls his knees up under him and straightens the rest of his body out ahead of him- and he ends up a couple inches forward each time he does it.  Aah!  We're going to have to get serious about baby proofing soon!

A month ago our baby was just figuring out how to grab things.  Now he's a pro!  He can grab things with either one hand or two and bring it directly to his mouth.  He's getting so coordinated!

We've moved him up to 3-6 month size pants, but the 0-3 onesies still fit him best.  His weight gain has slowed down a little bit so he's not quite as round as he was.  He's still got those adorable chubby cheeks and thighs though- I love it!

New things for Andrew this month:

Rolling over, back to front

Longer naps

First Easter

Putting himself to sleep

Giving up the pacifier

Donuts

Donuts are so fun.  And delicious.  And fattening.

I love them.

So I was super excited when I got a donut pan for my birthday.  So now I can have donuts whenever I want, and they're baked instead of deep fried, so they're not QUITE as fattening.

And they're fun to decorate too!

YUM!

Easter

We had a pretty good Easter this year.  I accompanied the choir when they sang in church, the primary children sang too, I made rolls shaped like bunnies, and we ate and spent the evening at Austin and Mariko's place.  All in all a pretty fine day!

While the Easter festivities are fun, I think it's such a great holiday because of what it means.  I am so grateful that Jesus Christ is our savior and that he died and was resurrected for all of us.  The atonement really is a miraculous thing and I love it.

Happy Easter!