Yummy!

We have jumped into the world of baby food. Yes, I'm one of those moms that is actually making the food at home. Listen, don't knock it until you try it! I will honestly tell you - it's way easier then you'd ever imagine AND it's cheaper too! I haven't ever cooked much and I figure I'm going to have to start cooking for Dominick anyway, why not start now.

You just steam/bake/poach then puree! That's it! Here's a great website for easy how to's and recipes: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

We have little one and two ounce containers for easy portions. Most everything can be frozen, so we have a freezer full of a rainbow assortment of fruits and veggies.

We started out with carrots. This was Dominick's first ever people food, 9/25/09.

Not too sure... what the heck is this... oh wait, it's good!

He loved it! He opens his mouth wide with every bite like a little baby bird.

Next up, peas.


Okay - he didn't like the peas as much as the carrots, but he still ate every bite. He's such a good eater. At daycare, his teacher Miss Pam can't fix anyone else's food in front of Dominick because he thinks it for him and throws a fit if he doesn't get any!

We're still trying to figure out the best feeding schedule and amounts so that he takes all of his bottles.

On his like list so far is: carrots, peas, sweetpotatoes, butternut squash and bananas. We tried avocado but he really doesn't like it. It came flying back out! Wish I had may camera for that one.

Next up - green beans, acorn squash, apples, peaches and zucchini!

He Can Do It!

Wanted to fill you in on some of Dominick’s recent milestones and little tidbits:

At six months Dominick is rolling all over the place. Tummy to back, back to tummy. When I lay him down at night in his crib, he usually ends up in a completely different location in the morning. Sometimes spinning clockwise!

Dominick has mastered sitting up. He sits up so straight with great posture. He loves to sit and play and just watch the world go by. We’re still working on get him from laying down to sitting up.

Teeth - the boy has SIX teeth! Four on top, two on bottom. His teething hasn't caused him too much discomfort. We had a few sleepless nights, and Tylenol or baby oragel did the trick.

Physical therapy - torticollis update. We've been going to physical therapy at the hospital where I work for about two months to help straighten and strengthen his neck muscles. His PT says he's doing really well and can hardly notice a tilt. Now we're down to every other week with daily stretching at home. It has been so much fun to see him work with his therapist and see how much he's progressed over the past few months. She's given us great tips on helping him learn to roll each direction and sit up. We're sure he'll be pulling up and standing in no time!

Crawling - not just yet. He started a few weeks ago with picking up his little bottom and moving his feet. Now he uses his legs more and his bottom gets higher in the air, but he hasn't figured out to use his hands so he literally smashes his face into the blanket! It's too funny to watch. He'll get it soon enough. But I'm actually pretty happy with having a baby that will pretty much stay put... for a while anyway.

We’re looking forward to Halloween. Dominick’s and Ozzie’s costumes have arrived but you’ll have to wait until the big day for their reveal! They’re just too cute for words!

Say Cheese

I get to check another milestone off my mama check list. Yes, mom’s have milestones too! Last weekend we took Dominick for his first professional photo session. We made an appointment for him at the JC Penny’s Photo Studio. Not so sure I would call it professional, but it sure was cheep! Free in fact. No sitting fee and we get a free portrait. But it’s all a scam. Once you see the pictures of your little angel, you’ll want to buy everyone in every size. And we did.

I definitely deserve some sort of badge because this was no walk in the park. It was a busy Saturday morning and we thought we timed it just right, in between feedings and nap schedules, to ensure we’d have a happy smiling baby. But turns out – so did every other family. Including another Mazzarella family who showed up too! No relation, just strange coincidence.

Dominick was his usual happy smiling self, but poor mom was stressed to the max. There was so much going on and other children having melt downs – I think that all added to the stress level. Dominick took it all in stride and did wonderfully.

We’ll definitely do it again, but we’re going to try different places and probably only do holidays for the first few years and definitely birthdays every year. We never did this when I was growign up and I've always looked forward to taking my kids to get their pictures done. Silly? Maybe. NExt time, we’ll just have to do our best to resist buying every single print.

Here are a few of our favorites: