Remains of the Day

It's official - Baby Girl has joined the ranks of those who eat solid food. If, by solid food, you mean trying to use a miniscule rubberized spoon to hold a lick's worth of rice cereal that is only about a trillionth thicker than the formula in her bottle, then yes, she is definitely on solid food. (And no, that sound you hear in the background is not me whimpering about how fast her babyhood is going. Not me at all.) She is almost 5 months old, and I started realizing this week that maybe the bottle alone was just not doing it for her anymore. Once she was scarfing down 8 ounces in about 7 minutes, and then wanting another full bottle an hour and a half later, I was sure that it was time to break out the cereal. And call me lazy, but I really do not enjoy this part of childrearing -- the whole Introduction of Solids part. It would be so much easier if she just stayed on a liquid diet until she could ram a cheeseburger down her craw like the rest of the family. But she seemed to enjoy it, once she gave up giving me the hairy eyeball that seemed to say, Mother, what in God's name are you doing? Why are you . . . oh wait, wait, this is good. Me likey.
So now she can start practicing refusing foods at a moment's notice, throwing food on the floor, and smearing it into her hair and/or clothes. Thank goodness she has older siblings to model this behavior for her. Good times.