Our Little Gourmand

At Afton's four-month check-up, our pediatrician recommended that we start trying a little rice cereal off and on to see how she does with it. We had our first grand adventure into the world of "solids" -- or should we say, diluted rice cereal? Here's how she did.

First, I will note that she gets her skeptical looks from her father. I don't think she knew what to do with something in her mouth that wasn't quite suck-able. And, unfortunately I didn't plan ahead very well, so I was trying to get the cereal, mix it it up, and get it to sweet baby Afton while she rapidly moved from fussy, to frantic, to sc-ream-ing mad. In my increasingly flustered state I forgot the the most important part of feeding a kid (aside from the food) -- the bib.

The mess would have been contained to her chin and chest had she not intercepted my spoon mid-advance. That swift move left the food all over her hand and very shortly all over anything her hand touched. We paused, got cleaned up, and prepped for round two.

In round two, we remembered the bib.

Unfortunately, Afton became much more interested in eating the bib than in eating the rice cereal.

I loved it. Can't wait for next time.

Proof

Tony wasn't joking about his photo-aversion thing. I find it funny because (1) he's actually way more photogenic than I am, and (2) the photo finicky-ness sort of comes and goes. For example...

Last Christmas we spent the holidays with my family and decided to take some pictures before everyone left. Chris, Audra, and Elsa posed for a little shot and even little Elsa grinned for the camera.

Then it was Josh and Brianne's turn. They had just gotten engaged, so they were more than happy to sit together for a picture.

Then it was our turn. The closer my four-month pregnant body leaned in toward Tony the farther he leaned away.

Can you spy the angry Asian man? By the time we hit the whole group shot, Tony was done.

As he later explained to me, he was struggling with the photo session because it "just didn't make any sense." I didn't know what "didn't make sense" about it being a major holiday and us wanting to take a picture on one of the rare occasions the entire family (minus one) that now spreads out over three states can get together....But, I have since reassured my family that our marriage is not on the brink and that Tony generally seems to enjoy my company (at least when it does not involve non-sensical photo-taking).

2-59-62

No, these numbers are not the combination to my 8th grade locker, they are Afton's weight, height, and head circumference i.e., noggin size, percentile ranks.


Yes, our little Afton is a bit of a bobble-head right now. Afton's robust 11 lb 8 oz checks in at the 2nd percentile of babies. As George Costanza once said, "Right in that meaty part of the curve." After getting the chart showing that she was in the 2nd percentile, and after being assured by our pediatrician that our daughter did not qualify for midget status, I felt better about things. That is until I saw that the numbers have a variance of +/- 3% and realized that Afton could actually be in the -1% of weight, putting in her in the same group as the Olson twins and Shawn Bradley - and that my friends is not very select company. Anyway, Heather and I were bit a both surprised at the low percentile until we realized that Heather and I are not much bigger than:

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Yeah, maybe we're not quite munchkin size, but Heather and I aren't the tallest folks in the world either. If you're looking for us in family photos, we're typically the only adult couple in the front row along with the 6-yr olds, newborns, and family pets. Actually, if you're looking for us in family photos, I'm usually the one trying to get out of the picture and Heather is either glaring at me or pinching me to keep me in the frame. Anyway, back to Afton. The fact that she's in the 59th percentile in height was nice. Maybe my failed dream of playing in the NBA will live on through Afton.

As for Afton's noggin size, we're both happy that its growing. However, Heather and I both have newfound respect for Afton as we realize she is trying to balance a jack-o-lantern type head on her tiny, tallish, 2nd percentile weight body.


Hello from Afton and Heather.


Goodbye from Afton!

What a Man!

This post is dedicated to the grill-master in my life. Tony grilled not once, not twice, but three times this weekend and the third time was in the middle of a downpour. (A backyard get-together with my side of the family got rained out...we moved the party inside, but he grilled nonetheless). He has finessed his grilling abilities on our charcoal kettle grill (courtesy of my Lexis-Nexis rewards points in law school) and has wow-ed me with his gourmet burgers, tantalizing kebobs, hickory-smoked pulled pork, and even fajita steak. For many reasons, he makes us smile.

Feeling the Love on Labor Day

Afton loved the visit from Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Reed this past weekend. It meant that there was always someone to hold her. (Note, while Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Reed are looking at my camera, sweet baby Afton is looking at her dad. Although the rest of us have work immensely to coax a smile out of her, she will absolutely beam if her dad does nothing other than walk in the room).


This Labor Day also brought a special visit from Great-grandma H. Needless to say, Afton got her fill of being adored.


How many people does it take to bathe one little girl? A lot. It's the don't miss event of the evening because it's when Afton gets the most chit-chatty. She chirps, coos, squeals, ooos, ahhhs, and this weekend, she even gave a bona fide laugh.


All the excitement did become a bit much for Afton on Sunday night. Bundled in her blankets, and snuggled against Grandma Debbie, she zonked out for a while.


Thanks for the visit! Can't wait to party again at Christmas!

Slacker Mom

I'm getting used to this whole kid thing, but I still perpetually forget something when I venture out of the house. The first time we took Afton to the doctor they told us to change her diaper before we put her on the scale to be weighed. Tony and I just stared at each other. You guessed it -- no diaper (no diaper bag, no wipes, nothing but the kid). On the day Afton was blessed, I packed the diaper bag but somehow only made it to church with the kid and a pacifier. Now that Afton likes to grab things, I kept reminding myself to pack some rattles or toys for church. Not surprisingly, I showed up only with the kid and the diaper bag. Absolutely bored, Afton spent much of sacrament meeting (well, the 30 minutes or so she actually lasted in the chapel) grabbing her dress and exposing her little bloomers and belly....It was cute, but I was once again reminded of all my slacker mom tendencies...

One World, One Dream, Several Lame Olympic Events

The Beijing Olympics just ended and for the first time in my life I didn't watch a single event. There are a myriad of reasons for this: preparing for a trial, conducting a trial, I would rather spend time with Heather and Afton, dedicating time to my terrible garden, trying to kill the 56 million ants that have moved into my yard, home improvement projects, and of course focusing on the upcoming BYU football season. Consequently, I did not see Phelps win any of his 31 medals. I missed the Redeem Team returning the US to basketball supremacy. And I did not see the Jamaican dude run really fast. Accordingly, everything I know about the past Olympics I know from newspaper, radio, and ESPN. Notwitstanding these hearsay sources, I'm not above posting some opinions about the recent worldwide fiesta that just concluded. Buckle up my friends:


So apparently BMX racing is an olympic event. When did this happen? How do you judge that event? Do you get techincal points for not falling off your bike? Points if you don't get your pant leg stuck in the chain? (On a sidenote, one of the most traumatic events of my childhood occurred was when I was 7 and going to cub scouts on my bike. As I was riding, my pant leg got caught in the chain and I couldn't get it out. I was about 6 blocks from the cub scout meeting and 6 blocks from home. I had to drag my bike, attached to my right pant leg, to a ward member's house to get help. On top of that, I got a bloody nose. So with blood coming out my nose and a bike stuck to my right leg, I dragged the bike up the steps of the Haddock's porch and rang their doorbell in tears. I was a pretty pathetic sight.) Do the BMX riders get artistic points for the color of their helmets? I'm sure the ancient greeks didn't have BMX racing in mind.


Rhythmic gymnastics. I'm all for normal gymnastics where people do flips and stuff like that. However, this rythmic gymnastics thing I just don't get. From what I can glean, this "sport" entails running around with either a ribbon or a ball, maybe even both at the same time. I don't know. By the way, the girl in the picture is 62-yrs old according to the Chinese. More on that later.


Now this one completely blew my mind. I had to visit the Beijing Olympics official website to confirm that trampoline is in fact an olympic event. An event they actually give a medal for - - a medal made of gold or silver or bronze. What does the trampoline event entail? Is it based on height? Flips? Speed/frequency of jumps? Is it an individual event? Team based? Now, if they did team Crack the Egg, that might be worth watching. Can you imagine the suspense as Uzbekistan is pitted against Trinidad and Tobago in the Crack the Egg trampoline gold medal match? That's instant ratings right there.


I only mention table tennis because they had a highlight of an olympic match on SportsCenter. I have no real commentary except these people take ping pong to a whole new level. Apparently, there are ping pong sponsorship deals.


Finally, the "16-yr old" Chinese gymnast. Now, I did not see her perform but I read all about the controversy surrounding her age. Based on the photos I saw of her, I doubt she's 16-yrs old, but at the same time, people always think I'm younger than I really am. Also, if she's good enough to win a medal as a 13-yr old so be it. I don't really care all that much. I do think China should take advantage of this controversy by coining some new tourism slogan like: "China, A Place You Can Feel Young Again," or "China, You Can't Protest Here, But It Is A Fountain of Youth." Just a suggestion.

I'll look forward to the Summer Olympics of 2024 where hopefully Afton will be receiving a gold medal for her trampoline prowess.