Cotillion

CC is halfway through her cotillion program for the year, and so far she's having a blast. She can't wait to tell me what they learned each week. But this week was a different type of class -- they met at a swanky country club for a formal dinner class. And CC had a beautiful new dress to wear for the occasion.

They learned how to set a table properly, which knives and spoons and forks to use for which courses, how to sit and lean and use the silverware properly, etc. They had tomato soup, grilled chicken with green beans and mashed potatoes, and ice cream with a cookie for dessert. She liked it all except for the tomato soup and the mashed potatoes, although she took the requisite three bites of each.

Now it's back to dancing and manners until her final cotillion event in March!

New Foods

This might be the last new foods post, folks.  Little Man and Sweet Pea are 1 now, and they've basically had everything we eat (and then some).  But there are a few things we waited until now to try:

PEANUT BUTTER.  The big one.  I was a little nervous about giving it to them -- what if they had a major reaction?  What would I do?

But they were fine.  I smeared some on a piece of bread and let them feed themselves. They've had it a few times since, and it's safe to say neither one has a peanut allergy.  They think it's all right -- nothing special.

They are also on straight whole milk now, which they love.

CC is pretty fascinated with their transition into "big babies."  At least once a day she says, "No more baby milk.  Drink whole milk like me!"  And, "Daddy drink skim milk.  Us drink whole milk!"

New Foods

We're just about at Sweet Pea and Little Man's birthday, so I'm starting to introduce some of the one-year foods, like strawberries:

Little Man actually liked these better than most fruits.  Maybe because they were slightly tart?  Sweet Pea loved them, of course.  I just cut off the tops and chopped them into baby pieces.

(Disclaimer: technically, Sweet Pea had strawberries months ago, when MJ fed them to her in a fruit salad, not realizing they are a one-year food.  No harm, no foul.  We just waited to give them to her again until now.  Coincidentally, the same thing happened to CC -- my dad accidentally fed her strawberries when she was 9-months-old.)

The twins also tried chickpeas, which aren't a one-year food, but they were handy one day and I decided to see if the kids liked them.  They seem to be perfect finger foods: not too big or too small, and soft enough to eat easily.

The kids weren't too crazy about them.  Everyone ate a few, but then they started getting thrown around the kitchen, so I called a quick halt to chickpeas.

Bonus picture of CC, because I believe this was her first time having chickpeas, too!

New Foods

I'm getting behind on my foot posts, so there will be several this week.

Cherries were a hit with Sweet Pea (can you tell?!), but Little Man isn't a huge fan of most fruits, so cherries weren't his favorite.  But they are messy.  Dark red juice gets everywhere!  I can't say I was too sad when we ate the last few cherries.

Dried apricots were next on the list, which, surprisingly, not even Sweet Pea liked.  Maybe it's a texture thing?  CC loved them when she was a baby, but won't really eat them now.  Sweet Pea and Little Man just threw them all on the floor.

P.S.  Check out that belly!!  (We were headed to the pool right after lunch.  Don't judge.)

New Foods

I'm really struggling to find foods that Little Man and Sweet Pea haven't tried yet!  

Last week they had plums (peeled and chopped):

which Sweet Pea loved (she likes fruit) and Little Man did not.  He is not a fruit fan, for the most part, with the exception of bananas. (Yes, he is giving the camera a huge smile here, but that's mostly because he loves having his picture taken.)

They also had rice (sticky, sushi-style):

which they both thought was all right.  We don't eat a ton of rice here at Chez Morrison, but at least now I know they're not allergic to it.

New Foods

MJ and I took the kids to a new tex-mex restaurant the other day for dinner, and when the waitress brought us a heaping pile of hot corn chips, it hit me -- Sweet Pea and Little Man haven't had corn yet!  We had to fix that.

Corn is super sweet, and conveniently comes in bite-sized pieces, so it was easy to steam and serve.  And they loved it!  Even CC wanted seconds.

Then, last week we were at my parents' house while MJ was out of town, and the twins tried blueberries.  I just put the berries on their trays, whole, and watched like a hawk to make sure no one choked.

No one choked.  But Little Man refused to eat them.  He is really starting to be a picky little eater, at least as far as fruits go.  Maybe he's like MJ, and doesn't have a sweet tooth?  Little Man tried one blueberry, spit it out, and refused to try any more.  I've offered blueberries several times since, and he is not buying it.  (But Sweet Pea likes them just fine.)

New Foods

Another fruity week for the Morrison twins.  This time it was oranges:

... which Little Man (despite his big smile here) did not like.  I thought maybe it was just because it was his first taste of citrus, but I offered oranges again several more times over a few days, and each time he refused them.  Sweet Pea, of course (such a dear!), ate them all with a big smile on her face.

They were mandarin slices, the kind you can buy in a fruit cup.  I know, I know -- I'd much prefer fresh oranges, but they're just a bit too sinewy and stringy for these wee babes.

They also tried grapes, which were more of an all-around hit.  

Sweet Pea especially enjoying mashing them with her fingers before eating them, so it was a bit messy.  But Little Man liked them too.  I just cut them into little pieces and let the babies have at it.

New Foods

It was a fruity kind of week here in the Morrison household!

First, Sweet Pea and Little Man tried peaches (fresh, skinned and chopped up):

About which Little Man felt meh.  He could take them or leave them.  We've noticed that since he started feeding himself, he is very obvious about his preferences -- he won't pick up the foods he doesn't like, or he'll try them but then spit them out.  

Sweet Pea, on the other hand, still isn't feeding herself.  And as frustrating as that is sometimes, there is a silver lining: she eats anything that I put in her mouth.  So it's hard to say whether or not she liked peaches, but she ate them readily enough.

They also tried pineapple (fresh, chopped):

And both kids seemed to like it fairly well.

New Foods

I've been slacking on the new foods posts, so I have a bunch to catch you up on.

Last week Sweet Pea and Little Man tried raspberries:

Which they both liked, naturally.  Fruits are almost always a big hit.  I broke each berry into smaller pieces, which was messy for them to eat, but they loved it.

They also tried potatoes, which neither really loved (despite Little Man's hugely open maw):  

I agree; potatoes are kind of blah.  These particular potatoes were mashed, but without a ton of flavoring (just milk and butter -- I skipped the salt).

This week they tried turkey:

Which they both liked just fine.  Note: this is the first ever picture of Sweet Pea trying to feed herself.

Squash, on the other hand, was a huge flop.  Neither Sweet Pea nor Little Man cared for squash, even over the next few days when I offered it to them again and again.  It was steamed and cut into little pieces, and they were having none of it.

And just this evening they had ham for the first time, which was another hit.

Whew!  That's a lot of food.  But at least I'm caught up.  And I am loving that at this point, Sweet Pea and Little Man can basically eat everything we eat -- there isn't much they haven't tried by now.  It's nice not having to pack little containers of baby food when we leave the house!

New Foods

Last week Little Man and Sweet Pea tried beef, which they both tolerated.  They didn't devour it, but they didn't spit it out and cry, either.  

I had browned some ground beef for dinner that night, and set aside some for them before I added it to the rest of the recipe.  But after they did well with the plain ground beef that night, they got leftovers of the pasta dish for lunch the next day, and liked it even better.

They also tried edamame (soybeans) while we were all out to dinner over the weekend.  I never have edamame in the house, but we frequently get it as an appetizer when we're out at an Asian restaurant.  It's how CC tried it for the first time, and now the twins, too.  They did pretty well with it; edamame is a great finger food. 

New Foods

We went back to produce this past week; I found a few more things in season that Little Man and Sweet Pea hadn't tried yet.

Tomatoes:

They were okay with tomatoes, but they both struggled a bit with the skins.  The next day I offered them pieces of tomato with the skin cut off, and they seemed to do a bit better.  I am happy that they finally added tomatoes to their diet, because now that they've had bread (Cheerios) and cheese and tomatoes, they can have PIZZA!!

Next up was cantaloupe.  CC was very happy about having cantaloupe in the house, so I saved some pieces for her and she's been getting them for dessert.  (Added benefit: cantaloupe has been an effective bribe for getting CC to clean up her toys before meals!)

Little Man and Sweet Pea both liked cantaloupe.  I'm not surprised -- it's sweet and juicy and mild.  I cut it into little pieces the first time, and pureed some for them the next morning for breakfast, and both types were happily devoured.

New Foods

Last week was another departure from produce.  At this point, Little Man and Sweet Pea have had all the most common fruits and veggies, and the ones they haven't had aren't in season right now or aren't recommended until babies are older.

First was chicken, their first meat (rotisserie chicken, because it's so tender):

They both liked it okay.  I was fairly surprised that Sweet Pea didn't hate it.

Next was pasta:

Little Man loved it (he really enjoys feeding himself, so small pieces of pasta are perfect for him).  Sweet Pea was unimpressed.  But the next day I gave them macaroni and cheese, and despite being similarly unimpressed with cheese a few weeks ago, Sweet Pea loved it.  She couldn't get enough!

New Foods

This new foods post should more accurately be called "New Food."  I was so busy getting ready for CC's party that I only introduced them to one food last week.  I had some cucumbers in the fridge, so I just decided to go with that.

I cut the ends off and stuck them straight in the immersion blender without cooking them or even peeling them.  The puree was extremely watery, so I strained it through a cheesecloth.

Little Man liked it.  Sweet Pea did not.  (I sound like a broken record, I know.)

New Foods

Last week we took a break from produce so Little Man and Sweet Pea could try something different.

First, eggs:

Eh.  Neither of them particularly liked eggs.  We've tried a few times since, and Little Man is starting to acquire a taste for them, but Sweet Pea is still not a fan.

Next, cheese:

To be fair, the only cheese I had in the house was sharp cheddar, my favorite. (CC calls it "Mommy's cheese.")  I cut it into teeny tiny pieces for them.  They ate it, but they made horrible faces and otherwise indicated it wasn't their favorite.  At MJ's recommendation, I'm going to try some Havarti ("Daddy's cheese") to see if a softer, milder cheese is more to their liking.

New Foods

The previous week was a hard act to follow, but last week we trudged onward.

Sweet Pea and Little Man tried eggplant, which, shockingly, they both kinda liked.  Little Man more than Sweet Pea, naturally.  (Taken at our favorite pizza place, and not such a flattering picture of me.)

I steamed it and pureed it.  In the process of researching how to cook eggplant for babies, I learned that Baba Ghanoush is actually pureed eggplant.  I didn't even know that Baba Ghanoush was a food.

They also tried asparagus (also steamed and pureed).  Ho hum.  Even Little Man wasn't a huge fan of the stuff.  To be fair, CC still doesn't like asparagus, so maybe I shouldn't expect too much.

New Foods

Last week was a BANNER week in the new-food department.

Sweet Pea and Little Man tried apples:

Which they both liked.  Hallelujah!  Sweet Pea likes something!  And how ironic that it's apples -- the only thing CC didn't like when she was this age!  The very first time I offered apples, Little Man and Sweet Pea ate an entire apple.  (Of course Little Man ate more than his half, but Sweet Pea probably had at least one-third of the apple.  Again, amazing.)  I just cored it and pureed it with an immersion blender.  No cooking involved whatsoever.

Then we tried yogurt:  

Oh.  My.  Gosh.  Sweet Pea probably ate her body weight in yogurt.  (MJ reminded me that an entire tub of Yo Baby yogurt is, in fact, 4 ounces and not anywhere close to the roughly 14 pounds Sweet Pea weighs, but you get what I'm saying.)  It was banana-flavored, in case anyone's interested.

Sweet Pea and Little Man ate an entire tub of yogurt.  Each.  I am not surprised about Little Man -- seriously, he would probably eat all day if I let him.  But Sweet Pea has never had that much of anything at one time, ever.  

What a week!

New Foods

I think Sweet Pea is starting to get more used to solids.  She's eating better, thankfully, and starting to like some things she previously didn't (namely pears and carrots).  I'm hopeful this means she'll start eating a little more like a typical 7-month-old!  These twins are two extremes: Sweet Pea won't eat anything, and Little Man won't stop eating everything!

This week they tried green beans:

Little Man liked them.  Sweet Pea did not.  What else is new?  Here, Sweet Pea is demonstrating her trademark open-mouth move, just waiting for all the green beans to fall out.

They also tried refried beans.  Ah -- we ventured out a bit from the typical fruits and veggies!  Surprisingly, Sweet Pea actually didn't seem to mind them too much.  Little Man kept wanting more, but would make the funniest faces:

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it!

New Foods

Onward and forward in my quest to ensure Sweet Pea and Little Man are properly introduced to  a wide range of healthy foods.  Last week the twins tried zucchini:

(Yes, Sweet Pea is wearing a Christmas bib.  Sue me.)

As usual, Little Man liked it and Sweet Pea didn't.  Little Man is very much like CC was at this age: he likes everything and greets each spoonful with a wide open mouth.  Sweet Pea is much different, usually clamping her mouth shut at the sight of something new on a spoon, or (if I trick her into opening her mouth), keeping her mouth open until all the food falls back out.  Sigh.

They also tried pears:

Little Man could have eaten the entire pear; I had to cut him off so Sweet Pea could try a little.  She maybe liked it.  She ate two or three spoonfuls before refusing any more.  That's a better reception than she normally gives something new, so maybe she's a pear fan.  Little Man didn't mind: he ate all of hers, too!

Sweet Pea is starting to get a bit more of an appetite, thankfully.   She's eating 8 ounces of milk at a time (usually) and really gobbling oatmeal and banana for breakfast.  She's still not a big fan of most vegetables, but hopefully we'll get there.

New Foods

Fortunately, Sweet Pea and Little Man seem to have finally kicked the bug that was plaguing them, and their appetites have returned with a vengeance.  And by that, I mean Little Man's appetite has returned.  Sweet Pea never had much of one to begin with!

Last week we did bananas, their first fruit.  Little Man loved them (no surprise there; he eats like CC did).  Sweet Pea seemed to like them too, because she actually had two spoonfuls before starting to spit it all out.  So I consider bananas to be a hit.

We also tried their first finger food: Cheerios.  They both gagged and coughed a bit at first.  I can only imagine how foreign it must feel to have a hard food object in their mouths for the first time, instead of oatmeal or a puree.  Sweet Pea is still struggling, but Little Man has it figured out.  He even tries to feed himself, but has not learned how to release the Cheerios from his chubby little hands into his mouth.

New Foods

Yes, I know I've been absent for a while.  I didn't even (gasp!) post a picture this past Friday.  We've been busybusybusy!  (And sick ... ugh.)

But we're still truckin' away at purees of all kinds.  This week we did peas:

Sweet Pea didn't care for peas. Don't let her smile fool you.  I wasn't surprised -- she doesn't really care for any solids.  She'll eat oatmeal in the mornings with reluctance, but that's about it. We spoon it in her mouth, and she just keeps her mouth wide open until it all falls out (see above).

But peas were a BIG hit with Little Man.  He would eat three bowls of peas, no problem.  And then his virus took a turn for the worse, and he went on a solids strike.  He won't touch anything now except for oatmeal, which is quite a change from his normal behavior.  I'm assuming his appetite will be back to normal once he's feeling better.

We also did broccoli:

Little Man didn't like broccoli one bit.  He gagged and retched and refused to swallow any of it.   But the next day I mixed it with oatmeal and he ate it okay.  We'll see if he's a bigger fan of oatmeal once he's feeling better.  

And Sweet Pea did not like broccoli one bit (shocking, I know).