Time to Eat!

Our smallest member celebrated his 6 month birthday (or half-y birthday, as Em so cleverly called it...) this week. We celebrated yesterday by awarding him his long awaited first meal at the table. He's been lunging for my food for quite some time and would certainly have injured himself with my fork by now had I not been very diligent. So we mixed up some rice cereal, all gathered around for the big event, and watched as he devoured his food. No hesitation whatsoever. And so it begins!

My favorite new Julian thing is a sleeping quirk- he loves to sleep with a blanket over his face. When I put him down to sleep, I always put a lightweight blanket on him, and he immediately begins to pull it up. Often I'll go in later and find him sound asleep with his head completely covered. I thought this was alarming at first, but he has lots of breathing room. Makes me think he might become attached to a blanket as his lovey...

Here he is at his checkup. He weighed 16.7 pounds, putting him between 25-50% for weight, and was 28 inches long, putting him at the top of the chart for height. His eczema has improved dramatically, so I will be continuing to avoid dairy for the foreseeable future. Thanks be to God for the good health of this little one!

A note about his doctor's mask...lots of people here wear these face masks. We regularly see a number of people at the hospital (which is where all doctor's appointments happen) with them, presumably protecting themselves from germs or perhaps protecting others from their own germs. I'm not sure if people have a stash of masks at home or if they'll give them to you at the desk, or what exactly. However, when we went to the hospital this week, there were an overwhelming number of people wearing them. Probably 80% of both staff and patients and families. Even little babies! We asked the pediatrician about it and she said people are concerned about the flu. Makes you want to wash your hands...

Waiting for the appointment, conspicuously mask-free...

On a completely unrelated note, our grocery store has begun selling free range chickens. This is a good thing. However, the free range chicken people, perhaps in their quest to be as natural as possible, feel the need to leave the head (attached to a very LONG neck) and the feet on these particular birds. This turns preparing dinner into some kind of horror movie! I found myself at the sink this afternoon, getting this chicken ready to go into the oven, trying to avoid its beady little eye and sharp little claws, talking out loud to myself, "It's okay. This is not a big deal. I'm like a pioneer!" However, I remained unconvinced, and there was a great deal of cringing involved in the process. Emmy pronounced it "creepy", and I concur. Mr. Chicken's remains are down there now, bubbling away in a pot of water making broth, and I have to admit that I turned my head as I dumped him into the pot. Yikes!