we love finger foods!

I think I'm nearing the end of the MYO baby food days now that Natalie has become such a little pro at finger foods. It has made feeding her so much easier and more enjoyable--we are still spoon feeding her quite a bit, but I think my marathon peel-chop-steam-mash days are over now that she's chewing so well and, really, prefers to just feed herself. Check out her mad self-feeding skills in this video. So cute!

Just this past week I did two big rounds of cooking to stock the freezer with food for the little budgie, and I think I may have actually made enough to get us through until she's almost exclusively on finger foods (aside from maybe a few purees, and stuff like cereal, yogurt, and cottage cheese). We've got a freezer full of squash with pears, apricots and blueberries, carrots with apples, broccoli with potatoes, and chicken with leek, among other things. For each meal we're slowly replacing purees with equivalent finger foods like cubes of cheese, slices of fruit, bits of cereal, and cut up waffles and chicken. So far, the number of heart attacks I have at each meal is around 3--I am constantly thinking that any slight cough or strange look on Natalie's face just MUST mean she is choking. Mikey has kept me from going over the deep end on this one, but just barely.

I can't believe how much Natalie has been changing and growing and developing lately. This 9th month has been really delightful, actually. She is so much more self-sufficient when she plays and eats, and is laughing and babbling all the time. She just cracks us up, and is starting to crack herself up, too. Even (shhh, don't say it too loud...) her sleeping habits have improved, and we're feeling much less like the undead. Being able to feed herself is one of many ways that she is showing how capable and independent she has become, and, even though it makes me die a little bit on the inside, I'm loving this age so much.