Jake's First Meal

After 6 awesome months of nursing, we have reached that point where it's time to start solids.  Jake has nursed like a champ from the very start, and I am so proud that we've made it to 6 months without any setbacks and without needing to add solids to his diet.  However, as we approached the 6 month mark, I felt a little blue.  When Cooper turned 6 months and we started solids, that was the beginning of the end of him breastfeeding.  He quickly stopped nursing from me and only would take a bottle.  But those first 6 months with Cooper were L-O-N-G!  We had a hard time breastfeeding and had constant little setbacks.  By the time he weaned from me, I was done too.  I've been nervous that when I introduced Jake to solids, that he too would start weaning, and I really do love our nursing time together.  I should've given this guy a little more credit though.  He loves his milk too much to let some icky rice cereal and baby food come between us (yet)!

Last Saturday we decided to try a little rice cereal mixed with my milk.  We got him in his chair and got him ready...

 Doesn't he look like a stud?!

Then I got the cereal, and he was curious about it...

 He even tried holding the bowl for me...

 First taste...
(insert drum roll)

 If Jake could talk, I think he would've said, "MOM, what the heck?!  That is gross!"

We tried with some more little bites, and they too were met with puzzled and disgusted expressions and finally a clamped shut mouth with a little tongue sticking out so I couldn't wiggle the spoon in anymore!  We closed up camp at that point.

The first feeding was NOT a hit with sweet little Jake.  He did like holding his bare spoon and putting it in his mouth though, which I thought was pretty impressive that he could do that so easily and quickly.  The next 2 days we tried sweet potatoes mixed with rice cereal and by themselves, and those too were not a hit.  However, next we tried bananas, and at first he was resistant with those too, but by that night, he loved them.  I tried again with them today at lunch, and he ate the whole little jar.  We'll try mixing them with some rice cereal tonight for dinner and see what happens!  I am happy to report that my nursing champ still loves to nurse and hasn't cut out a feeding yet.  I know it's still early, but hopefully we have 6 more months of nursing ahead of us, along with gaining a taste for all kinds of new yummy food!

Cooper at 3 1/2

I know I just did something on our favorite things, but I decided to get a little more specific with this little guy.  I "interviewed" him on his favorites so I could document as much as possible about him at 3 1/2.  Here it goes...

Favorite Color: Yellow (I don't know where that came from...I'm pretty sure it's blue or green depending on the day!)
Favorite Food: Pizza
Favorite Drink: "Cooper Juice" (that would be code for apple juice)
Favorite Ice Cream: Vanilla (but with sprinkles of course)
Favorite TV Show: Mickey Mouse (I was kind of surprised by this answer.  He has loved Mickey since he was a baby, but I thought Ninja Turtles had taken that #1 spot recently.)
Favorite Toy: Ninja Turtles
Favorite Buddy: Maddux (no surprise there!)
Favorite Thing to Do: Go to the park and hunting club
Favorite Restaurant: Chuck E Cheese's
Favorite Store: Academy (Home Depot apparently got booted here!  He does love to go to Academy and play on their little putting course.)
Favorite Movie: Planes
Favorite Candy: Skittles
Favorite Snack: Popsicles
Favorite Animal: Horse
What Makes You Happy: God (How precious and sweet!!)
What do you want to be when you grow up: Daddy (Not "a daddy;" he wants to be Karl.  Glad God and Karl got praises on this!)

Some of his answers were surprising, some were expected, and some show how despite how big he is getting, he is still the same little boy that he's always been!