Esther's Great Love

Esther loves many things.  She loves people (especially babies), and bathing, teasing dad, going on walks outside, swinging at the park, and her mom.  But there is one thing she loves to the extent that it's an obsession.  That would be food.  

Some of the little ways Esther shows how she loves food:

• swinging legs back and forth in her high chair while waiting for food
• slapping hands on her tray while waiting for food
• using her many ways to communicate "I want food" : grunt, whimper, puppy whine, holler, shriek.
• pulling (hard) at mom's shirt to get at her favorite food (often in public spaces...which can be more than a little embarrassing)
• Once she finally gets food, she uses both fists to shove as much food in her mouth at a time
• she has an enormous mouth, which is fortunate for her because it allows her to fit more food in at one time.  And even if mom has to use a big spoon because all the baby spoons are dirty, Esther's gargantuan mouth can handle adult spoons with no trouble.  She still gets her food.
• Esther uses all her strength to push mom's hand away from the banana she is trying to slice.  Relentlessly. 
• Whimpering/grunting to mom if there is too much time between bites...strange for such a happy girl  
• Pounding her fists on the tray if she's eaten everything on it...signal for more food.
• Even if she has food, if Esther see's other (better) food on mom or dad's plate, she will make her displeasure known.
• Once she's finished dinner (finally) and is playing on the floor with her toys, she will abandon them to crawl to a crumb on the floor by her high chair.  Or, if mom and dad are having dinner, she'll climb up their legs and beg for a bite.  Like a puppy.
• She chases after the broom pile as mom sweeps up the food crumbs.  It's a race between mom getting the crumbs in the trash or Esther getting them in her mouth...yuck.  Thankfully mom usually wins.

Some of Esther's Favorite Foods:

• 1/3 of a spaghetti squash (not a small one)
• 2 whole waffles and 1 pear for breakfast
• Asian lentil and Vegetable stir fry...who knew babies go for garlic, ginger, and soy sauce
• Porridge: we rotate between Quinoa, millet, and oat groats...she loves them all
• anything baked or bread-like.  
• snacks: chick peas, french cut green beans, Jo's Os, dehydrated strawberries (also Trader Joe's), peas
• pears and avocados
• prunes  (her only baby food and it's out of necessity)

Let's just say there is a very good reason Esther started having to wear 12 month clothes at 8 months...and why they're snug on her before 10 months.  We love our happy girl!