Mealtime!

Micah and I often wonder over the fact that housework never seems done, and we spend so much time on the weekends cleaning and tidying. We've managed to streamline some things, but one task we never seem to simplify is meals. Over the span of the last three days, we've made peach cobbler, pancakes, barbequed korean beef, potato chip cookies, irish oatmeal, cold brew coffee, lentil soup, strawberry-rhubarb cobbler, carrot salad, and, at Xander's request for Friday night dinner: bacon, broccoli, tofu, and potatoes.

Xander with olive bread in his mouth, and yams on his plate

Beyond the pleasure of eating, mealtimes are special family time. Kai goes to bed before dinner, but the rest of us almost always have dinner together. We take turns saying what made us happy that day. We practice "having a conversation," and Xander hones his negotiation skills (Dad: Two more bites of broccoli, and one more bite of soup and you may be excused, Xander: Four more bites of broccoli, no more bites of soup, etc...)

Given this, it's very exciting to start Kai on solid foods. I feel extremely satisfied when I watch him throw back four tablespoons of mashed yams. He clearly enjoys it, too, lunging with his mouth agape, grabbing the spoon and putting it in his mouth. We'll have to shift our schedules so we can start including him at the dinner table.

Kai nomming on some yams

And just look how healthy and happy this little boy is:

Kai rolling around diaper-free on the floor