Year 2 Day 330: Banana Bandit

I've been meaning to blog about this topic for some time now as I have learned it has a double meaning of sorts. Also, it is only just recently that Ryan has started to fit into this cute little outfit (a gift from my former Fifth Grade teacher, Mrs. Mall). The outfit has cute little monkeys with bandannas and under each of their heads reads 'Banana Bandit.' I knew from the moment I pulled this one out of the parcel that was sent from America that I couldn't wait to see him in it and I thought it was just adorable with the little stripey sleeves and banana on the bum of the trousers.

Then Matt saw it.

I couldn't figure out why he had such a look on his face. He looked at me as if I should know something already, but I still couldn't see it. Then he said to me..."Banana Bandit, hon...come on." I finally realised that while in America, it may not be anything special, apparently over here it can be a very crude "adult" term.

Naturally I wasn't thinking anything like that in the slightest...I just liked the cute little outfit with monkey heads on it. But needless to say, since this revelation, I can only bring myself to allow him to wear it around the house.

I still think it's really cute on him though.

In less controversial news...we had some Pasta Mess tonight. I decided now that Ryan is starting to consistently eat his food when offered, I wanted to begin slowly introducing table-ware, such as plates, bowls, etc. I'll still allow him to eat with his hands, but by next month Matt and I want to start allowing him to see that spoons and forks are often a part of meals as well. We will likely just start by putting them on his tray and allowing him to explore, but at least it will give him some exposure.

As soon as I placed the bowl down tonight, we were concerned he would fling it across the room as we watched him slowly grab hold of the edge. Instead, he pulled the bowl closer to his chest and tucked in to his scrummy meal! Or is that shoveling?

A little less messy than I was expecting, really. Of course we knew it was time for a bath when he took his pasta-sauce-covered hands and began to rub his eyes. Surprisingly, I didn't get a photo of that.

Year 2 Day 292: This Could Be Love

Matt rang the house mid-day to tell me to get the beef mince out of the freezer so we could have pasta "mess" tonight. I decided then that Ryan (who is seven months old today) was ready to have his first encounter with this scrummy meal of twirly pasta, beef mince, and mushrooms all in some Home Pride Creamy Tomato & Herb sauce. Oh...and silly me...I almost forgot the best part...the cheesy topping!

I sat just opposite Ryan as I usually do when he eats in his Bumbo, so I would be close by should he have any trouble with the twirls or mince -- also to keep pasta from being thrown at the walls. But I should have known better -- Ryan will certainly not be one to waste any food if he has any control over it. Nearly everything went straight into his mouth! He did gag a little on the pasta twirls, but mainly because they got sticky inside his mouth and either stuck to the roof of his mouth of the centre of his tongue.

Tricky twirls.

I have to say that I was quite impressed at how his general approach has advanced a bit. He used to just grab food, squash it and shove it in his gob. Now he picks it up and really looks at it before carefully putting it in. In fact, I think this is why he gags less now than he did at the beginning -- yet another positive for BLW. Also, he doesn't quite have the pincer yet, but that didn't stop him with the smaller bits of mince. He did a modified version with two hands and still managed to get it to his lips.

By the end of the meal Ryan had a Homer Simpson-esque 5 o'clock shadow of tomato sauce on his face and his hands were covered in orange as well! I think next time I will feel a bit more comfortable to give him more than I did this time as he was slightly frustrated when it was over.

Mind you, that frustration ended quickly when I brought his tub into the room and he realised it was splash time -- but I'll save that for another blog.