5 months old and first food encounter!

 Our pediatrician told us the recommendations have changed re: food introduction. When H and J were babies, it was 4 months, rice cereal first. ForkDorothy and Cooper, it was 6 months, veggies and fruit. Now it's 4-6 months fruit and veggies. 

So, we picked the middle of the road-- 5 months, sweet potatoes. Minnie is cautiously interested and a little judgmental.

Of course we took a bunch of pictures with her stickers, and even though I posted 5 on FB and IG, here is a huge dump of all my faves:

The picture with the doll is my favorite because her sweet little smile! Oh my gosh this baby. We love her so much.

We got an email from the chancellor telling us we should all be vaccinated by the end of the summer and to plan fall like a normal semester. I have... feelings about this. I planned to offer my large lecture online in the fall because I am worried about Harry's heart inflammation virus reaction and really want him to be vaccinated before our family ventures out into the world. But! Standing on a stage in real clothes talking about the things I love? YES PLEASE. I am teaching my feminist movements class in spring 2022 and I am already excited about that. Two mornings and an afternoon working on campus? SOUNDS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE if I am being honest.

I am listening to Parenting Without Power Struggles on audiobook right now, and I hate the lame nautical metaphor the author uses (parents are CAPTAINS OF THE SHIP). She also says some disturbingly clueless things about children in Africa growing up joyful without being bogged down by the weight of the Western world. AND she credentials herself constantly as a mother of one kid, which makes me sort of not trust her sibling rivalry advice when she says it was forged in the fire of experience. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I really like it and recommend it if you have a Cooper in your life. 

I usually listen to podcasts on my walk, and I will still tune into my favorite daily ones, plus the first half of Pod Save America twice a week and both Happier and Happier in Hollywood. Other than Girl Next Door, which is twice a month, I don't have any that I love every day, so I end up scrolling IG WHILE I WALK which is dumb. I am hoping that an audiobook for walks and for cleaning the kitchen will help my book total for the year and be engaging enough for me to resist the scroll. My only issue is that I want to spend zero dollars on these books, so I use the library's Libby app (the new Overdrive-- it's way better), and there is quite the wait for new books.  Since I only like to read 2021 books in 2021, this is a challenge. And a fascinating one ** eye roll** Sorry.

Oh! Minnie had a diaper blowout so extreme yesterday that I needed a shower afterward, so don't think having a baby is all sunshine and rainbows. Even though it pretty much is.