The glory of the teething biscuit

This is how to look really tough with teething biscuit dissolved all over your face, dressed in some wacky knits.



I have grown to love teething biscuits, because I can tuck one into Ronin's little hand and be guaranteed 15 minutes of quiet. He is so happy, examining and decimating his biscuit.

He pretty much hates his stroller, except with a teething biscuit. With a teething biscuit, all things are possible! We went on a lovely spin around the neighborhood today all thanks to this little bit of compressed barley.

Oh, and he also stood up on his own today, four times in a row. Each time, he'd stand for about five seconds. Beautiful.

It makes me think of yoga class and how important it is to believe that all things are possible.

AND we bought a house today.

A big day, it was!

Night giggles

While I'm bragging, here's something way charming that Ronin did last night:

He cracked up laughing in his sleep! Big tumbling fits of giggles. I woke up but he didn't...he just dreamed something funny and kept on dreaming.

It's been keeping me smiling all day. It's so wonderful to know he's having happy dreams.

Un petit gourmand

I must take a moment here from my constant grousing about how motherhood is both lovely and hard to brag, straight up, about Ronin.

This boy is the best little eater in the world.

I've already written about his willingness to eat all things beet. Beet, shmeet. I've yet to find anything, really, that this boy doesn't enjoy. Broccoli, cauliflower, capers, spicy dosas, eggs, beans, artichokes, roasted peppers, you name it. He loves food! I'm so happy.

It's a real joy to sit at the table with him and watch him go. The chewing is really freaking cute. And he loves water, drinks tons of it, through a straw in a cup.

I feel like it'll be just days before he's got his pinkie in the air as he swirls his glass of pinot before his very appreciative nose.

God love the foodies!

Of course, I must remain open and understand that at any day, he might laugh and chuck all of this food right back at me. He might then insist that he will only eat Cocoa Puffs, and nothing else. And I will remember that parenthood is the world's very best teacher for flexibility, I swear I will...cause God knows I have a lot to learn in that department.

Right, Ronin?

Two faces of motherhood

This is Ronin's new favorite thing -- to be on me. To sleep or snuggle on me if he's tired or grumpy, and to climb on me or be carried by me if he's perky.

To be fair, he does play independently, climbing around, pulling up, putting corks in his mouth. And he loves to hang out with his dad and Daria and his grandparents and Tiffany and such. He smiles at strangers. But he's going through a new phase of wanting lots of closeness, day and night, so here's a picture of his soundly sleeping on me...



BUT I AM NOT ASLEEP. Not in this picture, and not in many circumstances. This child is heavy, and although it's unspeakably wonderful to have him curl his head into my chest and sleep soundly, I treasure his nap times as my free time, and I treasure my unencumbered sleep.

I still can't believe I'm a mother. Maybe I'm too tired to realize it. My brain feels very, very slow. But I must be a mother, because this child seems to find me the source of all comfort right now. It's really beautiful and sweet. And (does every entry say this?) it's harder than I thought it'd be.

Lovely visit with Mohan-Tata

Vasu's dad, Ronin's Mohan-Tata, came to visit this past weekend. He and Ronin had the best time together! It's really sweet to see these two in action. Vasu's dad spends so much TIME with Ronin, just hanging out with him. He feeds him, he bathes him, he drums with him, he plays games with him, he insists on carrying him, he sits in the back of the car by the carseat with him...

It's true love!

I wish Ronin and his Mohan-Tata lived closer to each other so that they could hang out more often. But we get up to New York and Vasu's dad comes down here so now we look forward to our next visit: a trip to NYC in May to celebrate Ronin's first birthday.

On the mend

Ronin's feeling better, so we're all feeling better.

I'm proud of his little body for fighting off that nasty cold. Way to be tough!

It's snowy and rainy and downright wintry today but Ronin's improved bill of health means we're going to the library for baby story hour. It's actually more like baby story 15 minutes. But it'll be nice to be cozy and inside and with other babies.

We've been reading to Ronin for months now but he's got no time or interest for the activity any more. Perhaps I'll pick up some tricks from the pros in the children's reading room!

Mama and child

My new favorite shot...taken today while Ronin practiced standing for hours on end.

Interlude: vegan mac'n'cheese, of sorts

Behold the beauty of this pasta dish!

I had to break away from featuring Ronin to show you this nice lunch I made because this dish is actually more attractive than he is these days, what with the snot running down his face and all.

But don't let me speak of snot in a food entry!

Before I went on strike against all animal products, you could often find me with a bowl of macaroni and cheese in hand. I was mostly made of mac'n'cheese and pizza. And burritos.

In fact, I used to think the reason I could never, ever go vegan was because of my great and abiding love for cheese.

That's why I'm so proud of this pasta! It's my new go-to comfort food. It seems so decadent. You creep back for 2nds and 3rds in the same way you do for crispy oven-browned mac'n'cheese. But it's a healthy vegan option! The lady cows thank you.

So here's how to be overwhelmed with delight while eating a bowl full of peace:

Roast some cauliflower or other winter vegetables till crisp-tender, saute tons of garlic and some capers and chipotle peppers, add chopped roasted cauliflower, boil pasta till it's 2 minutes shy of done, add pasta to all the vegetables along with generous olive oil and about 1 cup of reserved pasta water, top with freshly made bread crumbs, and serve.

Vasu warned me that cauliflower pasta doesn't sound very delicious, so you'll just have to take my word on it. It IS. If you've got some 'flower sitting in your fridge, roast it on up today. Bon appetit, dear ones!

A boy and his frisky dad

Today was warm and sunny, with temperatures getting up into the 40s, so we headed out on a late afternoon family walk. Vasu carried Ronin, because that way, he was able to squish him.

An apple a day...

Hey, if Ronin really sucks the juice out of this apple, will it cure his cold and keep the doctor away?

Or will this fierce look scare the doctor away instead?

Cold

We've had a festive winter storm here, with seven inches of lovely snow falling Friday and Saturday leaving us a wonderland of sparkly white all around.

Unfortunately, we're all too sick to enjoy it.

I got the cold first, and to my chagrin, gave it to Ronin. He's been sick for a week, and now Vasu's coughing along with us. It's gross over here. White hankies and saline nasal spray cans and eucalyptus oil bottles are all over the place.

Yesterday, Ronin went down for a late nap at 3:30 p.m., and didn't wake up again until this morning at 5:15. Poor little guy. At least he slept. If only he'd wake up all better!