My mom came for a visit a week ago.  It was a real pleasure to use this time to introduce Theory to some food.  She has been watching us eat for several weeks and had begun to reach out for our food as we were eating. So we decided at 5 months it would be OK to let her try and taste a few things.  We mushed up a banana, mixed it with cereal and added breastmilk.  She went hog wild!  So over the next couple of days we added more to her repertoire:  apples and carrots.  Feeding her with a spoon is a kick. She smiles, says “mmmmm” after each spoon, and makes a real mess.

While shopping with Tara she bought us a Beeba Babycook.  Now don’t get me wrong.  Tara and I are both serious cooks and there is no mistaking that you can simply steam vegetables or fruit yourself and then puree them in a food processor.  It is pricey and it is not something you need.  But I must say, the scale of the device, and the combination of the steamer and processor, help reduce the amount of dishes.  And if you are cooking food daily, it is a significant benefit.  The Cuisinart is a real pain in the butt to clean all the time.   There are real concerns within parenting circles that, due to the high heat from the steaming,  BPA would be leeched.  However, independent testing seems to support the manufacture’s claims of being BPA free.  Still, I would much prefer if it was constructed from tempered glass.

We have frozen single servings of the steamed fruits and vegetables to have on hand as well, ready to be defrosted and mixed with cereal and breastmilk.

This has been a very exciting few weeks for us.  Theory is growing up and changing so fast.  She suddenly is sitting up by herself, reaching for what she wants, making her opinions clearly known.  She is much more aware – very conscious of where Tara and I are at any given time.  When upset, she looks for Tara intently!   There is even a tinge of saddness that we are already leaving behind her as an infant and moving into another time.