Monday, May 19, 2008

it's a girl, it's a boy?


we have baby birds! they hatched about 5 days ago. the picture up top is from day 2, i think. you can't really tell what they look like; after all, to get these photos i'm balancing precariously on a chair on the front porch and then just zooming as far as my camera will go, hoping something will turn out! but you can make out the baby's beak; it's bright yellow.

at first, we really could barely hear their faint peeps, but we had the suspicion that the babies had arrived because the momma bird was suddenly really busy gathering materials (probably food, but she flies really fast so we couldn't tell). one morning last week, we were out on the front porch talking and drinking coffee, and she arrived back from a scavenger hunt. she sat on the table, then the chair, then the column of the porch, then the ground, then underneath the table--she was so timid because we were sitting there that we finally went inside. we could tell we were really stressing her out!

i can't wait to take another picture in a couple of days, when hopefully the little ones will look more like birds.

in other baby news, i found this book at a book sale this weekend.



i don't know if i've ever said this here, but i was NOT planning on making my own baby food this time around. i work like crazy and just don't feel like i have time. or that's what i thought, until i saw this book. you know how so many of you post craft books and say you are going to make projects from them? well, i can't do all that. but i CAN make beautiful baby food! this book is so inspiring (look, you can see my sticky notes already marking the pages with recipes i want to try first!).



AND the other thing i love about it is that the introduction tells all about how to start a baby on solids (which is a little late for me but still helpful). it also gives amazing recipes and tells which foods would be best to try raw at first. it gives information like how steaming is best for food because it preserves the most nutrients, and it tells how to freeze and store food that you make.

of course, i have already been through this before. but it's been 5 years, so i don't remember a thing. and, like i said, i really wasn't in the mood to do it this time around. but i am so moved by this book that i am going to give it a shot this weekend i think. i just have to gather the supplies: extra ice cube trays, empty jars, and a steamer (unfortunately, i gave ours away about a year ago because we never used it...!).

i used to have this book when my other two were little, and it's so gigantic that it gets overwhelming. plus, i don't know how you are, but i am not going to make homemade baby cereal. so i ended up just skimming it a few times and then tossing it on the shelf.

Top 100 Baby Purees is right up my alley, though: beautiful pictures, short descriptions, encouraging words about how i can really do this. i am thinking i might even make the meals and feed them to my oldest two before pureeing the other parts for rhys.

happy monday everyone!

5 comments:

Amy said...

that looks like a great book! i have super baby food, too. and it can be overwhelming.

Kellie said...

Congrats on the new additions to your household. Seriously, google reader just put in the blog post title, "it's a girl, it's a boy?". I thought, "OMG, again?!!" but it was just the birds :)

If you're getting a steamer, I would recommend the little black pot from Pampered Chef. It's really cheap (I think mine was $6) & lets you steam in the microwave in minutes. I love it.

If there are any good finger food recipes, pass them along. We're always looking for good things to pack in Preston's lunches.

kristi said...

i was thinking that some people might think the title applied to me, which is why i picked it of course--to give you a heart attack. :)

here are the finger food ideas from the book:

peeled apple, pear, banana
seedless grapes
dried fruit: raisins/apricots
steamed or raw veggies: sticks of carrot or cucumber, broccoli florets
cubes of cheese
fingers of toast
min sandwiches
rice cakes

you could also do hard-boiled eggs and black beans...

if anyone else has good ideas, please share!

Amelia Plum said...

Those baby birds sure are cute, even if they don't look quite like proper birds yet. I got a copy of super baby food when I was pregnant with my son, like yours it was quickly skimmed through and then shelved. It was definitely overwhelming and I thought I was neurotic when it came to being nervous about foods my kids could choke on, that author makes me look negligent in comparison.

kristi said...

my friend karin will be excited to see how many people are frustrated (or not very thrilled at least) about the super baby foods book...this post was especially for her!