I'm going to regret this in ten years

During the last game in the World Series, Dr. A and I had some non-alcoholic beer.  At one point I thought it would be funny to get a picture of the kids drinking it.  It turned out to be adorable and troubling at the same time.

Nostrils are not pockets

Yesterday, a stick-on jewel from a homemade valentine emerged from my purse, dropping onto the floor of the Oakland airport.  Robin picked it up and admired it.  It was, in fact, from her valentine, and had fallen off when I put the card into my bag to save.  

On the way home she complained that her nose was stuffed.  I was feeling a little under the weather and assumed she was coming down with something. 

This morning, after breakfast, she sneezed.  A big sneeze.  A big juicy sneeze.  And from her left nostril emerged a strangely colored booger. I had her blow, but it didn't come out.  So I had her blow again.  This came out:

The penny is for sizing purposes.  I believe the jewel is larger than her actual nostril.  

Body art in two acts

Blue-purple is from the 1/2 cup frozen blueberries she ate for dinner.

Black-ink scribbles are, well, only Erin knows what they mean.  

I am happy we do not have white carpets. 

Public Health Announcement

Grandma McMiller sent this article. So we thought we'd give our kid a "leg up" in the immune system department and let her drink out of mud-and-worm filled puddles.

Puddles are innately fun. If you listen closely, you can hear Brian giggling in the background.

Oh, Toddlerhood.

Current events in Ms. Erin Beatrix's world, (subtopic = oral developments):

• While playing hide-and-go-seek with Dad around the living room coffee table, Erin's bottom lip meets the table's edge with full body-force.  Table: 1, Erin: 0.  A frightening amount of blood is produced.  She soothes herself by opening Uncle David and Aunt Linnea's Christmas presents. (D&L: we promise no blood got on the presents, and they will be re-wrapped)
  
• Eye teeth are coming in for real now.  Canines, to you and me.  Tooth 12 and 13 are proving to be a real pain in her tush mouth.
• Vocabulary is ever expanding (spoken, not sign).  New words: "bubble", "cereal", "bath time" and, probably every toddler's favorite: "no". 

Mimicry

A few days ago, Erin received a birthday present from some very thoughtful people.... a purple ruffly Dora the Explorer purse.  Erin knew exactly what to do with it, stretched out her arm and put it over her shoulder.  Then she walked over to the table and picked up the remote and started chatting, as if on a phone. Gotta start watching what we do around her!

"Barkeep! Another Beer!"

Yes, that's right, it's not just our phones and our toothbrushes Erin wants to mimic using...


She even knows which end she's supposed to put in her mouth.

Maki and Me

Erin tried sushi tonight. 

All her rolls ended up on the floor.

We'll try again another time.

I Think This Is How Thelonious Monk Got His Start

She's 1/2 made of it anyways.

A word of caution to expectant mothers........maintaining a steady diet of ice cream during your pregnancy....

.... may lead to premature awareness of this delicious, creamy treat.

Overheard: On the Changing Table

Brian, bewildered, to Erin this morning while dressing her in a new and fancy smocked outfit:

"Buttons?! What kind of !@#*!# sadist puts buttons on baby clothes?"

She's Irish-American, right?

Story time.

So, we're at dinner tonight - we've gone out rather than ordered in. This is a big event because we've gone out to dinner maybe two other times since Erin has been born. We're at a Balkan place called Two Brothers, a new place for us. Everything is going swimmingly. Then the food arrives.

Erin becomes transfixed. She's been carefully watching us eat for a few weeks now but now she's serious. She reaches. She turns to mom. She turns to the food. Mom picks up a fry, cools it off and holds it to her mouth for a taste. We've offered food before; she has always just stuck out her tongue for a taste. Not this time. She opened up, slowly closing her mouth on the fry. She gnawed a bit off. She chewed. (when did she learn how to chew?) She swallowed, coughing a bit, then went for seconds. She proceeded to eat every bit we gave her.

Yes, baby's first food is French fried potato.

We will be giving her "real" baby food tomorrow.

Poison Bottle Update

So I freaked out my coworker who has two small boys and used the same bottles mentioned in the previous post.   She contacted friends in Europe who informed her the Avent bottles (and other BPA containing bottles) are not banned in Europe, as I'd read on some sites.  She found this and this.  The first, compiled by, as far as I can tell, a completely independent source brings up some good points about how rodent models may be inappropriate for testing BPA exposure.  The second is from a website sponsored by the Polycarbonate/BPA global group.  Might not be the most unbiased information source around. 

Either way, we've switched bottles 'cause dangerous exposure or not the milk in those bottles smelled & tasted awful. Here's what manufacturer of the offending bottles has to say.

Bad milk or bad bottle?

***Caution: This post contains graphic information about exchange of bodily fluids***

Brian fed Erin a bottle this weekend, she was rejecting it.  Wondering what could be the cause, the ever-vigilant dad took a swig.

 

B: Uuuuggghhh!  Ash, how old is this milk?  

A: I just pumped it this morning.

Apparently heating the bottle gave the milk a very chemical-y, metalic taste. So, to be sure he didn't have defective taste buds, Brian requested a second opinion.  But who should one turn to at a time like this?

"Uh, Dave?" asked a sheepish Brian on the phone. "Can you come over here and taste Ash's milk?"
And so the tasting began.

They cautiously sipped a modest amount of the offending milk left in a bottle.  Then they tasted a bit freshly pumped.  Yes, there was an off-taste in the first milk tasted.  Yes, we give these heated bottles 4x/day to our little girl at daycare. 

What we've learned in the intervening hours between the taste-test and this post is that clear, shatter-proof bottles such as the ones on the left leach a substance BPA into food after repeated use of the bottle.  BPA mimics estrogen and has been linked to, among other things, changes to the genital tract, early onset of puberty, insulin resistance, and cancer.  The bottle type on the right is a different plastic that does not leach BPA.  Needless to say, we are changing bottles.  Also, Dave B. is a very, very good friend.

The Swedes Must Have Very Good Aim

Characters

Brian, a man with full bladder.
Erin, a baby whose long-term memory will thankfully not develop for quite a while. At least that's what I'm hoping.

Setting: A bathroom. Evening. Preparing for a walk. Erin strapped into the BabyBjörn ("Björninated", in McMiler-speak).

Act I, Scene I

Enter Brian. He stands in front of the toilet and begins to pee, only then realizing that that a red-haired baby is blocking his view.

BRIAN

"Uh, E., can you... uh... can you take a look for me? Am I getting anywhere near the bowl?"

ERIN

(amused silence)

"Mmm! I loves me some cereal!"

The pediatrician said her first food should be rice cereal.