The Higbees: April 2012

Another month has gone by, and I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that our babies are little humans who sit up, eat food, smile, laugh hysterically,play peek a boo,give kisses, whine, pound things, drool, and refuse to leave socks on their feet!
Today Lance and I were just watching them play and couldn't believe that we have 2 kids! They are getting such fun personalities!

They are loving to eat! Anytime they see us eating ANYTHING they NEED to have some of it in their mouths too, and if we don't act fast they will start grabbing and yelling until it happens!

I have found myself thinking several times that with motherhood, there needs to be an owners manual that comes with kids. I'm serious. A lot of times I feel like I have NO IDEA what I am doing and I find myself "googling" things like, "When can babies be expected to sleep through the night?" or, "What can't I feed my babies?" or, "How many naps does a 7 month old have?"
Google used to answer all of my questions in life, but ever since I had these babies I find that it is confusing me more and more. Everyone has so many different opinions about how to raise a child. I had so many "sleep training" books and I read all of them.. But when the time came that Evvie was waking up every 2 hours at night just to eat, none of them seemed to have the right answers to solve this problem! Turns out it was just a phase (thank goodness) and she kind of grew out of it..

ANYWAYS, my most recent google question is something like this, "When should I introduce different foods to my kids/how can I encourage healthy eating habits/how can I prevent a picky eater/what should I feed my baby?!?!?!?!?!"

For some reason I have found myself stressing a lot about this. I don't know why, maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am a Nutrition Major, or the fact that I have too many friends who eat ridiculously healthy and it's kind of rubbing off on me... I just feel like I have been given a "clean slate" to work with. My kids have never eaten anything unhealthy... (Well, besides the tastes of ice cream from when grandma and grandpa were in town), but besides that, they are clueless to things that taste so good that are so bad for you..

I really want to let my kids experience all types of healthy foods. I don't want to fall into the trap of convenience with "Easy Mac", chicken nuggets and hot dogs! No offense if thats all your kids eat.. Mine will probably love those too...

So, I have been pureeing a lot lately.. And giving them things in their little "mesh food holders" (Which I recommend) like avacados, mangos, papayas, cauliflower, broccoli, parsnips, spinach, sweet potatoes.. And so far it's been going really well. Except for cauliflower, they gagged many times with that.

I really need to relax about the whole issue probably, and remind myself that even if they don't have the best nutrition possible, they will still grow and do well. Anyone else ever feel this way though??

Anyways, that went on a lot longer than planned.. I apologize.