Standing on Her Own.....For a Bit

Lydia has started to get very brave lately and has been testing her limits.  She is letting go of us and the couch to stand on her own.  She is getting pretty good and can stand for a few seconds now before she loses her balance.  We caught a bit of this on video finally.   I kept trying for a while but every time I would pull out the camera she would get shy.

Last night Lydia and daddy had some fun when he got home from work.  It was so cute I had to get a picture.  She would hold onto his hair to keep her balance while sitting on his shoulders.



 Lydia also had her Dr's appointment today and the Dr said that she was doing things (standing, walking with help, etc) that a nine month old would be doing.  She is doing very well apparently and is still 90th percentile in her height and 25th in her weight.  The Dr is not concerned at all with those stats because she has been consistent with her Dr's appointments.  The one thing that he was a little worried about is how much solids she eats.  Apparently she should only be having 1-2 meals a day of solids and she is getting 3.  I asked if this needed to be cut back and he said no just don't increase them for a while.  So I am now going to try to push the bottle a little more.  I don't know how I will do that considering that she doesn't like it much anymore.  She has been the one pushing to get on solids and I find it a little funny that she is doing things so fast.  She is just impatient I guess.  I'm not going to worry much though because when she is ready for things she lets me know and she has been very ready to keep moving forward.  So a few tweaks here and there and she will be just fine.  He was very impressed with her little "carotene glow".  That's the slight orangy color that babies get in there faces when they are getting enough vegetables.  So at least she is eating right and getting what she needs. 

 Speaking of eating right, we have been trying to eat a lot better here and I had a challenge on my hands.  I have been trying to feed meals with fruits and vegetables in the season and cutting way back on the meat we eat.  Well, Kelvin informed me that he would not eat squash, zucchini, or any other gross vegetable.  I told him that I would find way for him to eat them and so my challenge began.  I made ratatouille last night and we both really liked it.  Our friend Matt came over and he really liked it too.  Guess what?  It has squash, zucchini, and egg plant in it.  He loved it!  All it takes is a few recipes that cater to his particular liking and we are off and running with the veggies and fruits.  After he develops a taste for certain veggies, I can start trying more creative things and get him to eat them almost raw.  It's beautiful!  But it has been making a difference.  I already feel so much better after we have cut out a lot of refined things and added back in whole grains and organic produce.  This is only after a few days.  I have also noticed that I feel like I am losing weight just by eating right.  It's wonderful and we are both getting hooked.  Kelvin has actually lost a little weight as well and we are both doing well.  There really is something to this "every fruit in it's season" thing!