Expanding Horizons

Over the past week or two, we've been experimenting with finger foods for the girls. First we started with one of those little mesh sacks that you can put fresh fruit in and let babies suck the juice and pulp out. Then we moved onto the little melt-in-your-mouth puffs and some soft, diced fruit.

And now, we are starting to work on some real foods. For the firs time ever, the entire Pruetz family shared a meal together last night. While Devin, Todd and I dined on honey mustard chicken, chicken-flavored rice and green beans, the girls sat in their high chairs at the table and also munched on the rice and green beans. It was great -- I never realized how much I was looking forward to those kinds of experiences until we were all together. A perfect little family dinner.

This morning, after their morning milk, the girls ate their breakfast completely by hand. I didn't spoon feed them a single bite. Grace chowed down, but my sensitive little Faith was a little more resistant to doing it herself. She's also a little resistant to the sippy cup. Grace will drink anything from a sippy cup, but Faith is still partial to the bottle. I believe strongly in kids being off bottles by age one (or at least very shortly thereafter), and I have a feeling it's going to be a struggle with my little Roo. She reisists change -- just like her mommy.

Of course, the dawn of finger foods means gone are the days of pretty, clean dresses and perfectly scrubbed faces. The twins wake up looking shiny and clean every morning, but moments later they are covered in goo and schmutz. And all you mothers out there know that you can scrub and scrub with a washcloth or wet paper towel, but that nothing will get dried biter biscuit off the face until you actually submerge the kid in water and chisel it off.

And so goes the story of my gooey, schmutzy kids.

This morning we are going to enroll Devin in one of our local church's summer program. I think it will be good training for him, in preparation for Pre-K in September. Where did my baby go?

Looks like a nice day here in San Antonio, so we'll try to spend some time outside. We've had some killer storms (literally -- a number of people have died) in our fair city over the past week, with countless tornados and squall lines that have dumped nearly a foot of rain in some parts of the Alamo City. Lightening and thunder are just a part of our every day around here lately!

But hopefully we've got a few clear days, so we're heading outside to soak it up.

Peace.