MIL is in town for Annabel's birthday, and tonight we went out to dinner at a Characteristic Local Eatery, which in Seattle means salmon (Ivar's Salmon House, for those people that actually means something to). DH got the king salmon, MIL got the keta, and I was the oddball who got the pork tenderloin. All of it was alder-smoked and dee-lish-us. I'd brought toys and snacks for Annabel, and she was very good.

We tried to feed her stuff from our plate. At first she was fine--thoughtfully interested in the garlic mashed potatoes and my mashed sweet potatoes. But then we attempted to give her little bits of the pork and the salmon, which both had a strong, rich smoky flavor. Dee. lish. us. I've never seen her make such a face, and she started refusing everything we offered her except the zwieback and animal crackers from my purse!

Tomorrow she's supposed to get chocolate cake at her party. I wonder if she's going to be so distrusting of anything we offer that she won't be willing to try it.

I did my two boxes, and I retaped all of the boxes I never unpacked from the last time I moved.

This is progress. Tell you what - I'll buy you a drink on Halloween weekend for every 3 boxes you pack. Huh? Good deal, eh.

Hec, that fairy tale sound fantastic. I still want to find the other tale JZ was talking about - the one with the child sick in bed.

Ivar's Salmon House

Teh Yum. Don't worry, Susan. It may take a while, but Annabel will eventually come around to The Yummy Way Of Eating. You just have to wait for her tastebuds to realign. And for tomorrow? Who can deny the appeal of chocolate cake? No one, and certainly not a child of yours.

This is progress. Tell you what - I'll buy you a drink on Halloween weekend for every 3 boxes you pack. Huh? Good deal, eh.

Um, you've seen my shopping habits. Do you maybe want to reconsider that offer?

Um, you've seen my shopping habits. Do you maybe want to reconsider that offer?

As the shopping habits have often benefited me, nope.

Hee. I will probably end up with about 60 boxes though, so don't say you weren't warned.

Teh Yum. Don't worry, Susan. It may take a while, but Annabel will eventually come around to The Yummy Way Of Eating. You just have to wait for her tastebuds to realign.

Oh, I know, and I'm not worried about it, given that as a child I was super-finicky and liked my food bland, bland, bland. It's only a slight exaggeration to say I lived on white bread (crusts removed, and smushed into a ball) and Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup for a good chunk of the time. And yet I somehow managed to grow into a healthy, non-stunted adult with a reasonably adventurous palate. I think it all started when I was old enough to know you were supposed to try to eat whatever was served when you were company, and had to eat chili at my aunt's house, which I thought I hated but discovered I loved.

Annabel's sudden refusal to eat even the innocent mashed sweet potatoes was just plain funny--the face she made! I do wish she'd learn to like cow's milk, though. Our pede recommended introducing it at 11 months in hopes of transitioning away from formula once she's a year old. So I've been trying all month. She'll take a sip here and there, but that's it. Which is odd, because friends' babies all took to cow's milk immediately, and formula tastes foul to me, while milk is pleasant and sweet.

She'll take a sip here and there, but that's it. Which is odd, because friends' babies all took to cow's milk immediately, and formula tastes foul to me, while milk is pleasant and sweet.

She could be sensitive to it. I am, and was, and my poor mother could never understand why I would happily eat all of my vegetables up to and including Brussels sprouts and yet refuse to drink my milk.

laying in booze stock for Visit o'Perkins

I don't think it's a sensitivity issue, the way she chows down on every type of cheese we've introduced to her so far. I think colby jack is her favorite, but she won't say no to mild cheddar or mozzarella.

Part of it is she's just not that interested in drinking, period, when there are solid foods also in the offing. She's perfectly capable of drinking from a sippy or a straw (and apparently the latter shows an impressive degree of coordination in one so young), but she'd rather have her finger food. I think I'm going to try warming milk to something close to what she's used to with her formula and putting it in a bottle. Though she's fine with cold drinks when it's Mommy letting her have a sip of fizzy water blended with cranberry juice out of her own glass, so maybe it's not a temp issue after all.

ETA chocolate cake is in the oven. I hope it turns out well--I haven't tried the recipe in years, and just turned back to it tonight because it has no eggs, and I wanted to introduce eggs and chocolate separately, so if she has an allergic reaction we'll know what it's from.

Susan, if she's anything like my girl, she will have an instantaneous love of chocolate. Really, it is kind of uncanny how much she loves the stuff. Oh, and warning--it will caffeinate her, so be prepared for wildness.

As for the milk, my pediatrician recommended transitioning her from formula to milk over a four week period. The first week, mix the bottles 1 part milk to three parts formula (assuming an 8 oz bottle), the next week mix them 2 parts to 2 parts, the third week give her 3 parts milk, and the last week cut the formula entirely. It worked for Frances.

Thanks, Burrell, I'll try that.

I can't believe my baby has turned into a toddler.