que cute!

The struggle to get Rafa to eat continues.  The one thing that has been fairly successful in getting more good stuff into his little body is smoothies.  I can put silken tofu, spinach, and greek yogurt together with frozen fruit and he downs the stuff.  Particularly after a lot of playing outside. That doesn't mean that he's learning to eat food that otherwise seems scary or whatever it is that turns him off (texture?), but at least I don't worry about him having negative health impacts from living on mac n cheese.


Here he even fed his nose a little smoothie.  I'm sure I'll find some mashed into and staining the carpet, but maybe the crazy pattern will hide it forever.  If you come over, don't point it out.  Thanks.

We did have a huge breakthrough, though!  We bought some freeze dried or dehydrated, I have no idea, okra.  Sort of on a whim.  It was one of those display things at the end of the aisle where I was waiting with one child while D got the rest of the shopping list with the other child.  And, I thought, why not?  For those that know me, I'm not an impulse shopper, nor a big fan of okra, so maybe some higher power or mama instinct put the thing in my cart.  Last night while the kids were eating, you guessed it, mac n cheese (with a little tuna hidden inside), D and I opened the okra and each had one.  Naturally, Sylvia wanted one.  But she wants to eat everything.  Much to our surprise, Rafa did, too!!  And then another.  And another...  I think he ate 6.  I don't much about the health benefits of okra, but it's green and not a carb, so if he keeps eating them, I'll buy them every day!


Sylvia is our little chatterbox.  She spends a good 30 minutes, sometimes an hour, babbling in her crib each night before finally drifting off to sleep.  You've seen her read books, but in general her day is one long monologue.  Well, it's starting to be a little more of a conversation, which I adore.  Let's see, her words are: up, MAS! (more), otro (another), baby, ball (although we're really trying for balón), luz (light), and our favorites: Rafa, mami, and papi.  We've been speaking mostly Spanish at home and have asked the nanny to try to also, but it seems there are a few English words that are slipping in.  While we were excited she learned another word, I was a little disappointed to come home and hear her say: cookie!  Partly because it's English and partly because we haven't been feeding them many sweets.  They're lucky they have the nanny to spoil them! 

I've been trying to teach her "Oma" (grandmother in German and the name our family uses for my mom) and "Gong-Gong" (maternal grandfather in Cantonese, which is what we hope they'll call my dad).  So, yesterday, as she was babbling words, I said "Oma" to encourage her to repeat it back and she responded with "Gong-Gong"!  Took me by total surprise.  This stage is going to be really fun for me!  I can't wait to hear what they start saying next!