Alexa's first vegetable... Carrots!!

Yum, carrots!! Momma loves carrots, Daddy loves carrots, so we decided to see if Alexa likes carrots too! Granted, Alexa didn't get to enjoy crunching on carrot sticks or dipping them into hummus, which I like to do. But she did get a taste of them in a very liquid state...

Here is Alexa, all excited to try her first vegetable!!

Yum, carrots!!

Hmmm, I'm not so sure about this... Carrots??

Update: We fed carrots again to Alexa on Sunday and she ate a whole tablespoon! She then washed it down with water. What a good girl!

I am reading a book called Super Baby Food, which was recommended by one of the women in my mom's group. I don't know if I will be whipping up any homemade baby food, but I certainly can do some things, like mash up fresh bananas or avocados.

The book has gotten us thinking about the foods we give Alexa... We have decided to start with organic foods. So we got a 1st Foods Starter Kit-Vegetable with carrots, peas and sweet potato that we started on right away, per her doctor's recommendation.

We also got a 1st Foods Starter Kit-Fruit with banana, pears and apples for Alexa to try next. Both are from Earth's Best, an organic baby food company. We also got some organic rice cereal and oatmeal. Yum, organic!

Here is one last food shot... Alexa eating rice cereal on Friday!

Alexa is 6 MONTHS! So... She started solids!

That's right, our little baby is growing up! It's amazing that she is 6 months old already. So, in honor of Alexa turning 6 months old, she got her first taste of solid food! Well, sort of solid. It's actually kind of mushy. We started with rice cereal on Saturday and have continued feeding her every night! She loves it!

Here are some photos from her FIRST taste of solids on Saturday. She seemed a little bewildered by it all. And she kept grabbing her spoon. And she spit out the cereal and made such a mess, getting it all over her hands and in her hair and all over herself - and us!

Here are photos from Alexa's SECOND night of solids on Sunday. She got a little better at opening her mouth for the food! We make airplane or buzzing sounds to get her to open. She's still spitting a lot out, but some seems to be getting down her!

We'll continue with rice cereal for a full week, then try oatmeal cereal for a week starting Saturday, followed by barley cereal. After that, we'll move on to fruits and vegetables! Fun!

Gear notes: Love the suction bowl from Pottery Barn; spoons from Playtex; bibs from The Modern Baby Co. and bbib from OOTS; spill mat from Mimi the Sardine!

Alexa likes coffee! And books!

With the latest blizzard over and the streets clear, Daddy headed to work and Alexa and I ventured out to meet Mary Clare and baby Catherine for lunch! Alexa kept reaching for my coffee, so I let her "pretend drink" from the back. How funny! The cup is almost bigger than she is!

Side note: I should probably teach her early on that coffee is a big NO-NO, huh?

So anyway, Alexa enjoyed watching a few minutes of her first Olympics' opening ceremony before heading to bed.

And speaking of bed... Check it out! She FINALLY is taking an interest in books! Um, eating them is just as good as reading them, right?

Alexa's first Super Bowl!

Alexa might end up a Saints fan... Since they dominated her first Super Bowl game! That's how Daddy ended up a Steelers fan. And in honor of last year's Super Bowl champs and Daddy's team, Alexa donned the only football attire she owns. Thanks Aunt Connie!

Alexa enjoyed watching the first half of the game... She took a bath at half-time and passed out by the 3rd quarter. She's still fighting her cold, so rest is important.

Alexa appears to have "found" her feet...

Check out Alexa's "Terrible Toddler Towel" bib! So cute!

Another AP Baby play date!

Today we went over to our friend Mary Clare's house for another play date with a bunch of babies born recently to my former co-workers: Catherine, Will and Harry! We all got together back in December. The babies have all grown so much!

And, as you can see from the pictures yesterday of Alexa and Avery, a big new development in Alexa's world is that she is noticing other babies and taking an interest in them!

Here is Alexa with one of her first friends, Catherine. They were so cute! Both reaching out toward the other one. Adorable!

A visit from Grandma E!

Grandma E took the train down for the day so she could hang out with baby Alexa! We had a nice afternoon playing with Alexa on her activity mat.

Check out this adorable pink ruffle outfit from Alexa's other grandma. It fits and she looks so cute in it! Thanks, Grandma R!

Grandma R got to see Alexa roll over for the first time when she was here for the holidays. She helped teach Alexa how it's done. Now, Alexa is rolling both ways!

So Alexa showed Grandma E how she rolls over! She also showed Grandma E how she gets up on her knees! And how she does the "down dog" yoga pose!

Click HERE to watch a 25-second video of her getting onto her knees and rolling onto her back!

Click HERE to watch a 70-second video of her rolling back onto her tummy and continuing to practice her crawl. She's getting better and better!

Here is Alexa showing Grandma E how strong her arms are. She can push up to straight arms!

She also showed Grandma E how she sits up!

And how much she loves her Bumbo chair!

And how much she loves her exersaucer!

But most of all, Alexa loves her grandmas!

Later, we all gave her a bath and she stuck her foot out like she was reclining at a spa. Ha!

Then Grandma E read Alexa the personalized Fairy-Tale storybook that she got her for Hanukkah!

After the story, Grandma E gave Alexa a bottle. And Daddy put her down to sleep! What a nice day. Thanks for visiting us, Grandma E!

Alexa's elusive laugh!

Alexa first laughed out loud on New Year's day. Since then, she does it but it's hard to catch. It cracks us up when she gets going. Below, finally, are a couple really short videos of her laugh!

Click HERE and HERE to hear Alexa laugh and laugh!

Yay for a mom's group play date!

On Friday, Alexa and I met up with seven other moms and their babies from our PACE mom's group. Everyone brought snacks and we sat around at Coleen's talking about going back to work, pumping, rolling over, baby toys and anything else that came up. It was a nice and relaxing afternoon.

Here is Alexa all dolled up in her new Tea Collection tunic right before we headed over.

And here she is hanging out at our mom's meeting.

Back at home later that evening, Alexa wound down from the day by watching Countdown.

And sitting in her own green Bumbo chair!

Random shots from this week... Enjoy!

Oh yes, we did. We put up the pink flamingos!

Alexa loves eating ice cream with her daddy!

And she loves wearing black turtlenecks with Mommy!

She also loves eating her Oball!

And she loves taking naps... with Uncle Ben!