Baby time

Perrin is at an age where he wants to see, do, touch, and explore everything. This doesn’t combine very nicely with cold winter weather and on-and-off drizzle that keeps us confined to the house for days at a time. So in the interest of not going bonkers, I’ve been looking for something we can do that will get us out of the house without costing money or giving us frostbite. I think I’ve found the answer—“baby time” at the library!

Every Wednesday morning, the North Little Rock library has a 30-minute baby program. I took Perrin today. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but Perrin ending up loving it. We sat in a big circle with the other babies and their mommies/daddies/ grandparents/nannies. First we sang the welcome song for each child (“we’re so glad that Perrin is here, Perrin is here, Perrin is here,” etc… even a newbie like me can catch on pretty quickly). Then our rather enthusiastic leader read a quick story. Then we must have sung a dozen more songs, with each song allowing the kids a new prop to play with. We sang about monkeys, farm animals, colors, and seasons using stuffed animals, jingle bells, egg shakers, puppets, and scarves. (Perrin and I even got to play with a moose puppet!!) Perrin clapped and smiled and for some reason kept trying to pet the woman next to me.

At the end of baby time, the instructor dumped a bunch of baby-friendly musical instruments onto the floor (which was already littered with various other props that had been slobbered on, dropped, thrown, and even slightly mangled). Chaos ensued.

Chaotic though it may have been, Perrin really did seem to have a blast. I think we’ll try to make it a regular part of our weekly schedule. Maybe he’ll even make a friend or two. I'm pretty sure I saw one of those little girls eyeing him.

Snow day

Last week was Perrin's first time to play in the snow. He wasn't sure what to think of it at first, and he definitely did NOT like being bundled up in a snow suit. (For the record, it took longer to get him ready to play in the snow than the amount of time we actually spent out in the snow). But once he got down in the snow, he started crawling through it and giggling. Snow is fun stuff! I made a couple of mini-snowmen for him to knock over (he loves destroying things... such a boy). And we took a few pictures.

Here he is playing in the snow (I believe you can see the remains of a mini-snowman in the first two pictures. It's hard to tell since it's been mutilated beyond recognition. Poor snowman... it didn't stand a chance against Perrin.)

Hide and seek

Perrin's new favorite game is hide and seek. Not the kind where he hides and I find him, but the kind where he takes random objects and hides them in really weird places throughout the house. I find his duplo blocks in our remote control basket, his stuffed animals in our pantry, and his puzzle pieces in our bathtub. I think he might have thrown a few things in the trash too... (bye bye, toys).

Yesterday he got a jalapeno out of our refrigerator. (He kept lunging for it every time I had the fridge open, so I finally let him have it. Some things just are not worth fighting over). When I finished doing the dishes, I was looking around trying to find the jalapeno. I couldn't find it anywhere! I figured he must have found some new, strange spot to put it. I imagined it would turn up somewhere, maybe a week later. Turns out it didn't take that long--when the dishes were done running, I opened the door and there in the silverware basket was a very clean jalapeno (perhaps slightly cooked too).

I've had a lot of trouble finding things lately--pieces of jewelry, socks, bookmarks, etc. It seems like nothing is in its right place. I thought I was just getting a little absent minded. But I think now I've figured out the truth.

Adventures with food

I've tried very hard to keep Perrin's diet as pure and nutritious as possible. For starters, I breast fed him for ten months. Ever since we introduced solids at 6 months, I've given him fresh fruits and veggies and tried to keep him away from sugar and processed foods as much as possible (although I haven't kept him away from my parents, which means he's gotten opportunities to try ice cream and white bread and other things I hadn't really intended to give him). Focusing so much on what I allow Perrin to eat has made me think more about my own eating habits. Why am I not as careful about the things I eat? If I monitored my own diet as well as I do his, I bet I'd be a lot healthier. And skinnier.

I've been reading a lot of "real food" blogs and articles and keeping up with information about the current food revolution and the dangers of chemicals and GMOs, etc. I'm not ready to switch to raw milk or grass-fed beef or buy organic everything. But I am trying to cut out processed foods as much as possible and buy more fresh produce. This means I get to experiment with cooking new things.

Today I went to the store and bought kale. The cashier didn't even know what it was. I guess they don't sell a lot of kale. In case you don't know, it's a leafy vegetable. I brought it home, washed it, chopped it, tossed it with olive oil, sprinkled it with salt, and baked it. Voila--kale chips! It was actually pretty good. But when Trey saw it on his dinner plate, he made a really odd face.

"It's kale," I said. "Try it--it tastes a lot like potato chips!"

Trey took a bite. "It doesn't taste like potato chips," he said. "But it's edible."

Well, that was about as good of a response as I could have hoped for. I mean, this is coming from the guy who considers french fries and ketchup a double serving of veggies.

About ten minutes later he said, "You know, they get less bad the longer I eat them."

Glad the kale was such a hit.

We even let Perrin try a bite. He sloooooowly chewed his little bite of kale, looked up at me, and then clapped! I think it's the first time my cooking has ever received an ovation! Never mind that he spit out the next bite....

It's a baby step toward a healthier lifestyle. And maybe, just maybe, Trey will someday decide he really does like kale.