Seven Months

Technically L'ie Bear turned seven months old a few weeks ago, but we have been so busy these past few weeks that I have gotten behind on my blog posts.  Have no fear, even with all the events and excitement, we did make time to get a quick photo shoot in on October 15th.  She was not very excited, and once she began eating the 7 Month sticker on her onesie, we knew the session was quickly coming to an end.

Seven Months old and not in the mood for a photo shoot

In protest, L'ie decided to eat her month sticker!

Seven months has been quite an eventful age for L'ie Bear!  She has reached several milestones around this time and we have been using up quite a bit of memory card space taking pictures and videos to record every special moment.

Milestone # 1 - First Teeth!  At the end of September, the Bear got her first tooth and another one quickly followed at the end of October.

The Bear's first two teeth, on the bottom!

Milestone # 2 - Sitting up on her own!  L'ie Bear has been sitting up for quite a while, but she has not been able to stay up on her own and would either need the assistance of a grown up or her bumbo seat.  On October 18th, while at my parent's house, we discovered that she could finally sit on her own without assistance.  This has opened up a whole new world of playing.  She can now sit on the floor and play with a bunch of toys placed around her.  Of course, this has also opened up more possibilities for Wrigley to knock her over, step on her, or steal her toys.  He is lucky that the Bear is more than happy to share her toys and does not seem to get upset when he gets in the way (as evidenced by the video below)  So far, she usually lasts a minute or so before tipping over, but every day she goes longer and longer!

Milestone #3 - An unwelcome milestone...her first cold!  The Bear has been very lucky when it comes to colds and sickness.  She would occasionally start to get a cold, whether it was a runny nose, excessive sneezing or coughing, but it would normally last a day or two and never developed beyond one symptom at a time.  We were not so lucky this past week.  It started with a runny nose and has continued with a horrible hacking cough.  As our doctor has told us, there is nothing you can do for an infant cold, so Chad and I have done our best to try to make L'ie Bear as comfortable as possible.  We are happy to report that she appears to be getting better, and we can now get some rest!

Milestone #4 - Probably the most important milestone so far...Visiting The Old Stein Inn for the first time!  Since the restaurant suffered from fire damage before L'ie Bear was born, we had to wait for renovations to be completed.  A few weeks ago, our "German Food" group (aka Chris, Ali & Sophie Ackermann, Adam & Laura Blough, and Rick Nelson & Beth Anderson) decided it was time to get together there.  Due to the restaurant's popularity, we had to wait over an hour for a table, but the wait was well worth it.  We settled in at a table in the beer garden and enjoyed delicious german food and beers while a polka band serenaded us in the background!

Group shot of our table

Staring down Rick

L'ie and Sophie

Chad and I have begun to realize that L'ie Bear is quickly moving from infant stage to toddler stage and we are still trying to find a way to slow down time.  Before we know it, crawling and then (gulp) walking is surely going to follow these milestones, and we are not ready!  But for now, we will just enjoy playtime and take as many photos and videos as possible.  Happy Seven Months Birthday L'ie Bear!!!

Something Seems Fishy to L'ie!

L'ie Bear has begun her journey through solid foods...which means Chad and I have begun our journey into baby food making!  After speaking with the pediatrician, we decided that making baby food was a better option for us.  We could explore more foods with L'ie, the food lasts up to 6 weeks in the freezer, and it is ultimately cheaper.  And since we already had a food processor and steamer, we did not have to buy one of those fancy baby food makers.  It meant a few extra steps, but it has been quite easy and definitely worth the effort.

At L'ie Bear's 6 month check-up, the doctor gave us the go ahead for meats, white fish, fruits and most veggies.  So our first batch of baby food consisted of fresh applesauce to pair with her rice cereal in the morning, carrots with butter and leaks for lunch, and tilapia with carrots, leaks and a cheese sauce for dinner.

With the way the timing worked out, we debuted the new baby food at one of our tailgates.  L'ie ate the applesauce with no problem, we skipped the carrots at lunchtime, and she HATED the white fish.

The Bear's first bite of white fish!

She does not seem to like it!

And the final verdict was "YUCK"

L'ie only tried a few bites of the fish, and it was clear that she did not like tilapia yet.  But Chad and I still held out hope that she would eventually learn to like white fish, because we had so much of it in the freezer.

A few days later, we discovered that L'ie would eat up all of the fish if we also gave her a mashed banana at the same time.  Apparently, she could handle the fishy taste if she had something sweet to accompany it.  Of course, acceptance did not mean that she would suddenly become a clean eater!

The Bear's reaction to white fish 4 days later!

With a somewhat successful first attempt at baby food making, our second batch of baby food consisted of more applesauce, corn with carrots and leaks for lunch, and chicken with sweet potatoes and apples for dinner.  L'ie immediately liked those dishes, so we made another batch.

Fresh applesauce

Some of the applesauce in L'ie Bear's food cups!

Our food stash in the freezer.

In a few months, L'ie will move beyond an only mashed baby food diet, and I cannot wait to explore creative ways to give her small bits of food.  They say a baby develops her sense of taste within the first year of life and Chad and I are doing the best we can to make sure we have a future foodie on our hands!  Now, we just have to work on that white fish tastebud!!