Lily bites.

Okay, it looks like I might have the little one down for a nap so I thought I may as well get cracking with my first post. First of all, Lily is five months old. How did this happen? She has already learned so many things. She started rolling over before she was a month old. She sits with the slightest support (although she lunges forward, mouth first, at anything that catches her eye, such as the dog.) And just a couple of weeks ago, she had her first "bites"--rice cereal.

Why doesn't anyone tell you how difficult it is to feed these little guys? Lily liked the cereal, but she couldn't quite work out how to get it in her mouth. Don't let that second picture fool you; it captures her initial reaction to anything that approaches her face--mouth goes wide open. We struggled over who got to use the spoon, considered whether it was better to just let her push it into her mouth with her fingers after spitting it out all over her chin, and agonized over the gluey mess that the cereal becomes once it dries.

That last point should have clued me in as to the effect the cereal would have on her tummy.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Lily is a very vocal girl, so in between bites, we had several Viking-worthy whoops of impatience, guttural grunts of appreciation, and the general happy chatter that we've come to expect from her. In fact, at points it seemed as if she was more interested in the effect the gooey cereal had on her ability to make noises than in eating the stuff.

Glenn is very patient, so he has the privilege of tackling cereal-feeding, while I take on the small task of cleaning. I haven't noticed the cereal affecting her sleeping pattern, but because she already sleeps so well, that's not much of a concern. (I won't jinx myself by mentioning specifics, but it's good. Really good.) Next up on the agenda--nap scheduling!