When she was about 5.5 months old we introduced Livia to solid foods. We decided to wait a little longer to start this process because 1) I wasn’t really ready for it and 2) it may prove to be a wise move when it comes to food allergies. Like I said in Livia’s sixth month letter, she loved the rice cereal and instantly was a good eater. So I mixed in a little apple/prune juice—and how could she not love that? I’ve been reading this book called Mommy-Made about making your baby’s food, so my next move was homemade sweet potato puree. (It’s so simple to do this and I’m happy knowing Livia’s eating fresh food with no preservatives.) So one night found me slaving away in the kitchen—microwaving, blending and mashing through a sieve this gigantic sweet potato. I then froze little dobs of it in an ice tray for convenient storage and packaging. And Livia? She loved the sweet potatoes… for two days. Day three saw instant rejection. What you see on her face in these photos is acorn squash. Again, a mommy-made specialty. And again, a baby-rejected mommy-made specialty. The kid gagged her little heart out with the acorn squash. So for now I’m trying to fool her by mixing the veggies in with cereal—and so far it’s working.

Motherhood is fun.