LEANING PEAR LOVE

You have no idea how much I missed this little goober while I was away! So much has changed in such a short time. When I left he was just starting to walk, and still felt the need to keep one hand on the wall or furniture most of the time. Now he's totally hands free, and he no longer walks, he runs. Nonstop. All day!

Modeling his new Guayabera going-out-to-dinner-shirt from Mexico. Size 2 barely fits him, and he's not even 1 yet!

A couple of new teeth have grown in since I saw him last.

Lex offered to bring him down for a visit, and when I asked where she'd like to meet for lunch, she said what she always says these days. "The Leaning Pear." Why is she so enamored with it? Well, for one thing, it's the only place in town with a decent hi-chair! Everywhere else has the square wooden things, usually with missing or broken straps, where you spend all of your time trying to keep the kid from ooching out the bottom. Leaning Pear has these beauties, which keep him perfectly in place.

What she really loves, however, is the children's menu. Do you know how difficult it is to find a kid's menu with anything on it besides chicken nuggets or mac & cheese? When she was pregnant she stumbled across a book called French Kids Eat Everything, by Karen LeBillon, about a brave couple who moved two picky-eater kids into a small French town and converted them into foodie omnivores. She's been using that as her guideline when introducing solid foods to Calvin and, so far, he's really loving his fruits and veggies. Which is why she really appreciates their menu item called "Small Bites", where you can choose any three from a list including chicken, bacon, avocado, chayote, tomatoes, cucumber, dried fig, chips and fruit. He loves it all!

In fact, he was even digging around in that pocket on his bib for missed bits of avocado, when he ran out of stuff on the table.

And that is why we've fallen in love with The Leaning Pear all over again!

P.S. Another great book she just stumbled across at the library, and promptly ordered for herself, is a cookbook called Little Foodie, by Michelle Olivier. She said everything in it looked yummy, even the purees, plus there were lots of recipes for things they can all eat, which is often a struggle for harried moms who don't have the time or energy to make separate meals for everyone.