October 2011

Dearest Hanan

Thank you for coming and seeing Mary last week , it was most appreciated and lovely to meet you.

Well what can I say,  we have implemented your ideas ( small steps ) and Mary is going well.  She seems to love her pasta and meat at the moment.  To help jazz things up we are introducing her to various shapes of pasta from penne to bowties to seashells and different textures.  At this moment she seems to love the pasta tubes which are my personal favourites so I hope we are on a roll. The meat sauce just gets caught up in the pasta so its very soupy. Also fried rice is another favorite. Oh & fresh avocado mixed with cream cheese has become another  family favorite when given with sweet red capsicum as a scoop.

As for breakfast it is still the hardest time of day, but instead of cereal, I am starting with fresh fruit and yoghurt.  For some reason after this weekends swimming at the pool and Brighton Beach, she has become infatuated with bacon, I am sure this is due to the fact Christian loves it more than anything in the entire universe and watching him (he is 6) eat it is an experience in itself. We had funny faces , laughter and of course since we are at Brighton Beach – a gelato afterwards. I am sure she was in kids nirvana licking a vanilla bean ice cream playing in the sand – life does not get more simple than this

As for everything else you implemented, we are trying small steps everytime.  We gave her a souvlaki at a BBQ which she devoured on the stick, but the crafty little monkey also wanted tomato sauce (again due to my beloved Christian) pictures drawn on her plate.  Mind you she enjoyed the feta cheese and cucumbers with tzakiki dip.  We have decided to limit the snacking as you mentioned & than give her a main meal when shes very hungary.  I must mention she does not seems to like the kids sustagen, so I am giving her half serves. I find if she is in her pram on the way to school in the morning, than this is the best time as she is so busy looking around to notice the variation in her milks taste.  I am sure she will eventually catch onto me soon, but I hope its later rather than sooner.

All in all I will let you know how she goes.  I just have a feeling our little princess knows what she wants as she tends to imitate Christian.  On a serious note, what I found of interest is her stomach size, I think I had forgotten she was a little 16month old and my expectations were more aligned to larger servings as I am so used to Christian and my  nephews.  I think being a mum for a second time is an eye opener all over again., but we are all on a learning curve so gaining this insight was invaluable.  As a busy paced family we are always snacking on the run either from sports .. to work etc…. so I think in some way we subconsiously forgot she is still a baby finding her way through it all. We are now working on ways to have a set lunch & dinner time everyday at the same time in the same area and keep to a simple routine

Once again, thank you for your assistance and I hope your little one is well.  Here’s to health & happiness.

Kind Regards

The Klianis Family from Picnic Point.