31 January 2008

Time to Chow Down

Callum is not quite six months old yet (the age recommended for starting solids) but he's been so demanding that I decided this week to get started with some banana. Unlike Anya, who initially just let the food bubble out of her mouth, Callum immediately got into the swing of things and ate everything I gave him (about a tablespoon). Today was the fourth day and I decided to give him a lot more -- three tablespoons -- and to my surprise he ate it all. Occasionally, he stopped and winced as if the taste were weird, but he kept eating.

The first week you're supposed to do just one meal per day, but the boy is so keen I'm tempted to skip right to having three or four meals! (A meal being one to three tablespoons, at this age.) I can't wait to give him some veggies... maybe then Anya will get back into eating them! She used to eat all sorts when she was a baby, but now will only eat peas and corn (other veggies go in hiding in pasta sauces and the like).

25 January 2008

Supreme Butter Chicken (not for the anti-fat brigade)

We cook a lot of curries at home -- mainly Thai red or green curry -- but lately I have been using Indian butter chicken curry paste. Last night's effort was especially tasty...
1. Marinate 3 chicken thighs in 2 tsp butter chicken curry paste mixed with 1/2 cup yogurt. (in fridge, preferably overnight, or 3 hours as a minimum)
2. Grill chicken in the oven until done. Slice into bite-sized pieces.
3. Meanwhile, saute minced garlic (to taste), one diced onion and half a green bell pepper (capsicum) until soft; then turn down the heat and add 2 chopped tomatoes, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 tablespoon butter chicken curry paste and large pinch of fenugreek leaves (methi). Simmer on low until tomato breaks down.
4. Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup cream (to your preference for sauce consistency), the chicken pieces & juices, and 1/4 cup corn niblets. (I microwaved an unshucked cob of corn for 3 minutes, then cut the niblets off half the cob for my recipe. Don't forget to run the back of the knife over the cut area to scrape off the part of the corn that stays behind when you cut it.)
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Serve over rice steamed with potato pieces, and garnish with unsalted roast peanuts. (Simply dice a washed unpeeled potato and add to the rice cooker -- no extra water needed.)
As with all curries, this probably would taste better the day after making it, but of course you can't make a dish like this and hold yourself back from eating it right away!

22 January 2008

Running With Scissors

Not quite running with scissors, but I did slip and fall. I was going down the back steps, which were slippery with rain, and carrying Callum -- then mostly focussed on protecting him when I started to fall. X-rays showed that I had fractured my tailbone. Hence the dearth of blog entries. I can't sit comfortably and I'm a bit sleep deprived as well since lying down is not too restful either. There's not a lot of useful treatment for this type of injury (you can't set a tailbone) so I just have to put up with the pain. The doctor recommends I wait and see how I'm going in three months. Not a great injury to have when one has a 7.5 kg boy and 15 kg girl to handle!

I do have quite a few journal notes that I want to type into this blog, and will be back-dating them, so for Anya/Callum fans out there, please read back for entries since Xmas to see if you missed anything.

13 January 2008

Look at ME! Watch ME!

Being on holiday with the family was great -- swimming at the beach every day (even if it was raining) -- and lots of people to play with Anya and hold Callum. There were times that I found myself wandering around the place WITHOUT ANYTHING TO DO. Amazing. We were there for two weeks, then had to go home since David was going back to work.

One thing Anya learned from her cousins was the catch-cry "Look at me! Watch me, watch me!" They tried to teach her to do a forward roll, but she found it too intimidating. She can, however, do some stuff they can't, because she's so flexible: stand on one leg and lift the other out straight by holding her foot with her hand (just like a yoga pose); slide into the splits; downward dog yoga pose (hands and feet on the floor with heels touching the ground). She can also jump great distances and hop (very briefly) on one leg. All this jumping has made her legs really strong, and she can even run uphill now.

It's funny to watch her run, as she hunches her shoulders slightly and lumbers from side to side like a football player. She also sometimes prances through on tiptoe, which makes her hair bounce fetchingly. It's such gorgeous hair, I'm jealous! Her hair is so long now, and she speaks so well, she often seems more like a four year old than a two year old. It's hard to remember she's a toddler when I need to discipline her for misbehaving.

I introduced the "yelling room" because she's been yelling so much. I told her she can yell as much as she likes, but I don't want to listen to it. So she can go into her room, close the door, and yell. Her cousins thought this was a great idea and would often join in.

10 January 2008

Always Laughing

Callum's first laugh was November 20th (yes, I wrote it down!) and he's been laughing so much ever since. He used to only laugh if we kissed his tummy and laughed at him, like he needed company to laugh. Lately he's been laughing if we just laugh with him (no tickling) and then January 8th he laughed after falling asleep. I was so amused by this that I chuckled, and hearing my laugh got him laughing some more (still in his sleep). Amazing!

No talking yet, just cooing -- I'm still waiting for the first "da-da-da" (that was Anya's first syllable).

In other milestones, he rolled over for the first time on January 5th, and since then has been practicing it every chance he gets. Still no good at rolling back again (from tummy to back), though, and he only rolls on one side. I also discovered that if I placed something solid at his feet, he could scoot along on his tummy with his mighty leg kicks. Without any help he can also wriggle a little bit, but has not yet worked out that he needs to dig his toes in. The boy is definitely on the move and keen to get going.

He also grabs all sorts of things now quite well. I have to be careful what I leave near him now. This morning I was eating from a bowl, and he was grabbing the rim (I let him) then he managed to grab some of the food (yikes!) It's fun to lie face to face with him and let him explore my face.

I'm still feeding Callum through the night, maybe because he sleeps with me, which makes it easy for him to demand a feed. Anya started sleeping through from 20 weeks and I was hoping the same would happen with Callum. He even weighs more than she did, which should help with sleeping through, but no such luck. (Boys weigh more than girls anyway, but his current weight matches her weight at 3 months older!) I'm now holding on to hope that starting solids (at 6 months) will help him sleep through. There is no way I can go back to work if I'm still waking through the night and only getting total of about five hours' sleep overnight, unless I get to have a midday siesta.