Fruits of our Labor

Ever since becoming gluten free my awareness of what I eat has increased immensely. I want Rachel to have a healthy balanced diet with limited processed food, so it only made sense that I would make her baby food. Plus those cute little baby food jars are a little pricey and we are a single income family. I was pleasantly surprised how easy and affordable making baby food is. Yesterday Rachel and I made pears.

Step 1: Wash, peel, and chop the pears


Step 2: Steam for 4-5 minutes


Step 3: Place the pears in the food mill and puree. With a tiny food mill this step is a little time consuming.

Step 4: Divide into icecube trays and freeze for later consumption. I freeze all her baby food without adding any extra liquid. I add the liquid when I defrost it because sometimes the consistency of the purees changes after freezing.


Step 5 Enjoy!

Bananas

Bananas, originally uploaded by Brian Bjork.

It has been an eventful week at the Bjork's which means another video!

Daddy is Really Funny!

Rachel Laughs, originally uploaded by Brian Bjork.

Daily Life with Rachel

Rachel is almost 6 months old. It is hard to believe she is almost halfway through her first year. She will be starting solid foods this weekend, but in the meantime we have let her gum an apple. The green ones are a little sour, but the reddish yellow ones are yummy!



Rachel enjoys looking in the mirror and grabbing at things she sees in the mirror. We get a kick out of watching her try to grab her toys' reflections or her own reflection. She can't figure out why she can't grab them.



Besides grabbing at the mirror, Rachel loves to reach for and grab just about anything she can get her hands on. This lands in some pretty interesting places including the laundry basket. Laundry baskets make a pretty fun toy.



Daddy is also a lot of fun and makes a very good playmate. It is fun to be tossed in the air by Daddy and ride around on his shoulders.



While Daddy is at work, if the weather is nice we head outside to pull weeds. The backyard provides a nice change of scenery. Because of her grabby hands and desire to put everything in her mouth Rachel and the weed pile are not allowed near each other. Unlike apples weeds are not good to eat.

Valentine's Day Craft

I love craft projects and decided it was time Rachel and I tackle one together. I hope to instill my love of crafting in her. We decided to make a card for Brian. Rachel enjoyed picking up the paper and trying to put it in her mouth, but she did not enjoy having her hands restrained while I attempted to make the perfect print with her little hands. Her feet were much more cooperative than her wiggly hands.

Rachel Smiles

Brian Here.

Last weekend I actually had some time to take some more pictures of Rachel and I was able to get some pictures of her smiling! Well, I guess you all just want to see the pictures. Here is the smiling baby!

Rachel's Raspberries

Rachel's Raspberries, originally uploaded by Brian Bjork.

Rachel has mastered new trick. She can blow raspberries and it makes for a cute video. Note that I have also mastered this trick along with her and it has only taken me 27 years.