The Many Faces of Sweet Potatoes

Y'all might remember a while back I posted about a super neat baby food maker that was a steamer and processor in one. Well, while we were in Florida, Corbin's Aunt Priscilla ordered it for me! It was so sweet of her and we are very grateful! Thank you so much Aunt P - it will be put to very good use!

Making your own baby food is a lot easier than you might think. Basically what you have to do is steam or bake the veggie or fruit that you wish to make, puree it, and then freeze it. I chose to freeze my food in ice cube trays because each cube equals one ounce and it is a good way to keep track of how much Carter is getting. I can just pop the cubes out of the tray, put them in a freezer bag, and they are good for 3 months!

I decided to start with sweet potatoes since I read that it was a good veggie to introduce first and my pediatrician recommended starting with orange foods.

Another great thing about making your own baby food is that is saves money! I am my father's daughter (i.e. cheap), so that made it all the more appealing to me. I bought two sweet potatoes for $1.50 and that made approximately 35 ounces. 35 ounces of baby food at the grocery store would cost you about $15! So that is a savings of $13.50 - impressed with my math?

Though making the food was fun, I was more excited about giving Carter his first taste. I'll let the photos speak for themselves...



Don't let the few smiles fool you. He was not a fan...nor was he tonight when we tried again! But we will keep trying and will add another food (green beans - yum) to the mix next week!

Mama's Little Peanut...

Carter-man had his 6 month well baby check this morning. He was such a trooper!

Here are the stats:

Weight: 12 lbs 6 ounces
Length: 24 1/8 inches
Head Circumference: 17.25 inches

He is below the 5th percentile for both weight and length, but wanna guess what percentile he is in for his head circumference?

53%

Hahaha! A little off balance there. But doesn't he have the CUTEST head you ever did see?


Doctor said he was doing fine developmentally and he suspects that he will be crawling by his 9 month appointment. He was rolling around like a crazy man while he was being checked!

We are also going to try a different medicine to treat Carter's reflux. While the reflux itself doesn't seem to be bothering him, the child is spitting up like it is his job. Carter ate this morning at 6:45 - by the time we left the doctor's office at 9:00 he had spit up 6 times. Gross. So we will give him some Prevacid and see if that makes a difference.

He got three shots and, though he didn't breathe for a good 20 seconds after the first one went in, he survived. Thanks in part to this fabulous invention:
I'm not sure who got Carter this - but he loves it! Daddy kept the lights and classical music going and he was calm in no time!

We also got the go ahead to start Carter on big boy baby food!! This milestone will have it's very own post because I have some very special thanks to include in it - stay tuned!

Hopefully we won't have to make another trip to the pediatrician until his 9 month appointment in September (holy cow - 9 months, people!!) - no shots then - yippee!

Some funny stuff...

I was cooking dinner the other night and sterilizing my pump parts...I really didn't think anything of it. Then I realized how random and funny it was so I took a picture.

I don't think I mentioned it, but Carter sat up by himself for like 10 seconds while we were in Florida. I have been working with him on it and he seems to be doing better. The other morning I tried to get it on video and it didn't work so well. It's hard to video while making sure your baby is stable!! I realize the video is dark and crooked. I just thought it was funny so I wanted to share...



Here is a picture of Carter "playing" the piano at Corbin's Aunt's house (in Florida). Doesn't he look so into it?

Baby's First Vacation!

We made it back safe and sound from Florida Saturday afternoon - and all went to bed before the sun set! I learned that vacationing with an almost 6 month old doesn't allow for the most sleep ever!! We had a great time, though, and enjoyed hanging out with family, getting some sun, and not working!

I will try to keep this post less words and more pictures (which is SO unlike, me)...enjoy!

I quickly learned that the camera served as good entertainment on the car ride...for both me and Carter!
Almost there! Yay! Carter was great in the car!


Pool time!




Carter and little Miss Brenna!

Brenna's big sister Baylie - It was a lot harder to get a decent picture of her as she was always on the move!Tuckered out!When he wasn't in the water, Carter also had a ton of fun playing with his cousins! He LOVED him some Brenna. Here are some super cute videos of Carter trying to hug Brenna, telling her something very important, and holding/eating her hand!








Chillin' with his cousins, watchin some Noggin!

Carter only made one trip out to the beach - the water was rather chilly, but of course we had to dip his little toes in the Atlantic! He just stared and stared at the ocean. It was really bright which is why in most of these pictures he looks tired/squinty.

I have a few more pictures and video from our week in Florida, but will have to post them later this week since it's getting late - 9:00 - gasp! We are all still recovering from our travels - Carter went to bed at 7:30 tonight (hopefully that won't lead to a 4 a.m. wake up call), but I'm sure we'll be back to our routine soon.

I can't believe our little boy will be 6 months old on Monday! He is growing way too fast!

My big boy!

I am taking a little break from packing for Florida (we leave tomorrow) to catch everyone up on our week! Things have been SO busy around here.

I got a little sad the other night when I put Carter in some new PJs (size 3-6 months - woo!). He usually sleeps in the little footed ones, so he looked like SUCH a big boy in these new ones.

Carter is definitely on the move now! When put on his back, he rarely stays there. Not even to sleep - lately he's been sleeping on his belly. I caught him rolling around on video - it's funny because his left arm always gets in the way. Normally when he sleeps, he just sleeps on his arm.



Today Carter and I went to get a haircut! That's right - Carter got his first hair cut. It seemed a little silly since he is not even 6 months old, but the kid has some LONG hair. My friend Lisa, who does my hair, was more than happy to give Carter his first cut. He cooperated pretty well considering I had to hold him stilll. At one point he tried to grab the scissors!! Please excuse my hair in the pictures - this was before my cut.


I love this next one...He was lovin all the attention!

Mama and Carter after our hair cuts! (Daddy was napping...hence the self portrait)

And here's a closeup of the boy because I know that's all you really care about! :)


Daddy and baby (before Daddy passed out on the couch):

Carter is so much fun these days! He is starting to get the hang of his exersaucer and is playing with it a bit more. Earlier today he was cracking himself up because he would press one button and it would moo and then press it again and it would say "cow", then "vaca" (cow in spanish) and then again it would play a song. By the time he got to the song he got sooo excited and proud of himself. I tried to get a video of it, buy my little camera hog was more interested in performing.



We are definitely looking forward to seeing how Carter likes vacationing - and don't worry, lots of pictures will be taken. Hopefully I'll be able to get a post up early the week we get back!