Making Pizza

We've finally discovered the trick to getting her to eat. It's not that she's picky, as at some point or other she'll eat just about anything (except meat), she just doesn't *want* to. Well, that is unless she helps cook.

So now, she cooks with us. This is a challenge, a big mess, and sometimes a risk (hot stoves and all), but with care and caution and lots of patience, it works.

Especially fun was rolling out pizza dough with Papa.


And apparently peanut butter sandwiches at the volleyball tournament were a big hit too.

Her friends

Every night we have a ritual, or at least it seems that way. Angelina lays down in bed. Then the following conversation ensues:

"Mommy, where's Mouse?"

I go get mouse.

"Mommy, I need Tiger."
I go get tiger.

"Mommy, where's Baby Jaguar?"
I go get baby jaguar.

"Mommy, I need Teddy Bear."

I go get Teddy Bear (which by the way, happens to be mine from c. 1975)

By now I've wizened up, and get Buggy Bug too.

Only now she decides she wants another "friend" she normally doesn't ask for - cow, or rabbit, or something that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

You may ask why don't I always just keep these in bed with her? Well, I do. At least I try to. But there are the mornings she says "Here Mommy, take my friends to the kitchen for me. Please." and hence I dump them in the basket. But sometimes they must sit at the table. Sometimes they sit on the couch. Sometimes they're in odd places. I do try to remember to take them before we get into bed, but I seem to forget too often.

This, from the kid who for the first 1.5 years of her life could care less about any of the gazillion stuffed animals people gave her. Now she has a whole zoo.



And now for the Bad Mommy Confession:

I always swore I would never be one of those parents who park the kid in front of the TV for a babysitter. And for close to two years it wouldn't have worked anyway, as she wasn't at all interested. Well, one day I bought some DVDs (we don't actually have broadcast or cable TV anyway, we just have DVDs). And, well, I confess now to occasionally parking her in front of the TV so I can make dinner, take a shower, have a moment's peace. I do actually do all these things with her much of the time, but there are some times when it doesn't work and I turn to Dora (tho now, she doesn't care about Dora, it's Tasha and Tyrone, the Backyardigans, or Monsters or Calliou).

And for my even bigger confession: we are both really insistent on family meals. Meals are spent at the table. No TV. Well, except when Frederic is out of town or out playing volleyball. See, that's when I usually resort to the TV babysitter to make the dinner. And then, well.......I get lazy. AND she EATS EVERY SINGLE THING (which is a rarity at the table). Now, I've only let her eat in front of the TV a handful of times. This is not a common occurrence, so I'm not that bad of a mommy, right?

Sometimes you do what you have to do....

I gave birth to a choco-holic

How did that happen? Has to be the Swiss genes, certainly not mine. I like the stuff ok but if I never had it again I wouldn't be too disappointed. Angelina, however, has a nose for chocolate. She can find it anywhere. She now knows where it's "hidden" (locked in the wine fridge) and likes to turn on the light staring at it longingly.

The other night we had friends over for dinner and of course Frédéric brought out the chocolate. Then she saw it. She kept climbing up and sneaking away pieces. And what did she ask for as soon as she woke up on Sunday morning? "Maman! Chocolate please!"

"All done!"

I walked back into the kitchen to a shout of "All done Mommy!"

I look.

Half a box of cereal on the table, Angelina proudly holding up the empty box. At least it's not a bucket of tar....that time will come no doubt.

Angelini Tortellini

Angelina is living up to her nickname and her Allegrini heritage. She LOOOOOOVES pasta. She's a good eater, but when pasta is there, she sees nothing else. I'm not sure this clip really does her justice. Once she starts eating her tortellinis, she doesn't stop. She'll stick one in her mouth and before she's even chewed it she's reaching out for another. I've never seen her eat so fast! Good thing I wasn't too hungry tonight since she ended up eating all my share.

Eating with a spoon

But you can see how effective it is...still, Angelina insists on feeding herself. Rather independent our little girl.

Brilliant but Lazy Still and a Proud Mommy Moment

We finally got around to our one year old appointment, a month late. We also had the visit to the specialist. Verdict? She's perfect!
Stats:
height: 76cm (75-95th percentile) 29.9 in
weight: 8.8kg (25-50th percentile) 19.5lbs
head: 46cm (50-75th percentile) 18in

No, she doesn't walk. She doesn't even crawl. She scoots on her bum. She can pull herself up, but then looks around and if someone is watching, quickly sits back down. Why get up when someone can do it for you?

She's a thinker though. The specialist was doing all sorts of 'games' to test her skill level, and she's 6+ months beyond what she 'should' be doing. It's so fun to watch her try to figure something out, she's a real problem solver. So the conclusion was she's super smart, just lazy - or maybe that's smart, she knows she can get us to do something for her, so she can't be bothered to do it herself. ;)

On a pround Mommy note, we make all her food. She's not keen on the jar stuff anyway, so for 6ish months now we've been pureeing foods and freezing, and more recently giving her stuff off our own plates. Knowing the nutritionist would ask what she eats, I made a list beforehand. She took one look at said "WOW!" and then WOW a few more times adding "If I had to create the perfect menu for a baby, this would be it!" That was a great pat on the back!

So what does she eat? Everything....Some combination of any of the following:
beets, carrots, spinach, mustard greens, kale, squash: acorn, butternut, crookneck, zucchini, and assorted other types in season, eggplant, peas, broccoli, cauliflower,
beans (pinto, red, white), asparagus, tofu (occasionally)

breads/grains: whole grain, french bread, whole wheat cheerios, museli, multi-grain cereal, pasta

peaches, pears, plums, prunes, pineapple, papaya, mango, blueberries, blackberries

yoghurt (sometimes Papa's homemade stuff, otherwise organic full fat yoghurt), cheese (she's partial to gruyere), Breastmilk (yes, she still nurses all the time), some cow's milk, goat's milk, soy milk although she's not fond of any of those non-human milks.

And probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. She doesn't like bananas and avocados have been hit or miss (more for me!). She basically eats everything that is on our plate, minus the hot peppers....The best part for her? Feeding herself!

Yummmmm. Beets!

I'm not a big fan of beets, but they're good for you and Angelina loves them. Alas, she also loves them on her clothes.

Dinner time is Play time!

Angelina is learning to love Thai food

No, I'm not feeding her Gai Phad Prik or Som Tum, at least not directly.



It's been three years now since I've been in Thailand. THREE YEARS. I can't believe it's been so long. A place that was such a major part of my life, and I haven't seen it in so long. I've been so nostalgic lately. This was perhaps induced by my friend Glen, who just went to Mae Sot to connect with the SMRU gang, in hopes of doing a med school rotation there. He rapidly fell in love with the place, just like I did. He even went on the Umphang trek, but didn't encounter quite as much mud as I had. And best of all, he met my old friend Kung (who's now a father himself)!

So, to make up for it, I've been eating Thai food. With a vengeance. The more I eat, the more I want. The spicier the better. I've tried a few Thai restaurants in San Antonio, all so-so. With mom here I finally decided we needed to try Thai Cafe - it's waaaay across town, in an area I never go, have no reason to be near really. But oh so worth the drive! Oh the Sum Tum!!!! I haven't had that since I left Thailand (even tho I have the container to make it, finding green papaya is not possible - the restaurant gets it from Houston). I just wanted to sit and listen to the staff speaking Thai. I realized how much I'd forgotten. Then the following week, I was in another area for a meeting, looking for a place to eat lunch, and stumbled upon Thai restaurant I'd never heard of. They had Khao Mun Gai. And it was GOOD. That same day I went back to the other restaurant and got 3 things for dinner for take away, which lasted us a few days. Then I went back again, and again. And will probably go again next week. Yes. I am addicted to GOOD Thai food. I need chiles (prik), ginger (king), fish sauce (nam pla), curry (gaeng) among other things.

As for our little munchkin? Well, since she's still nursing more times per day than I can count, she gets the Thai food indirectly. So far, she doesn't seem at all bothered by it, fortunately. I would rather have given up all dairy than to have to give up Thai food!

So I'll leave with some pictures of my days there, though the people in the photos are Karen, rather than Thai. They remind me of a special time.

That's a baby being weighed at WaleyKe. My midwife in San Antonio uses the same gadget to weigh babies. It works very well!


I made a new little friend, he's telling his mommy about the crazy lady taking pictures...


And Mawkerti

For more on those days, check out the archives January 2006.

And Kung, if you're reading, have a Beer Chang for me (and maybe a gin and tonic too).

Adventures with Food