Baby loves mango

Helena loves mango. Fresh sliced, for breakfast. Or for lunch. In her cereal. As a chutney, with beef or chicken. With yogourt. As a snack. Mango — anytime, anywhere.

Why doesn't Heinz produce mango baby food? They sell baby food jars full of apples, and bananas. How ludicrous is that?! How hard is it to mash a 10-cent banana? Not that mango is any more difficult — but it can be harder to find. It might generally be considered a more intimidating, "exotic," fruit. Would not everybody benefit from the people at Heinz exploring other food cultures and bottling the stuff for our convenience?

Or avocado.

Sometimes I think Helena eats better than we do. And I guess she should. Pasta with chicken and roasted red pepper yogourt sauce. Steamed zucchini with yogourt on pita.

Although, today Helena filled up on buttered toast. (I have days like that. Comfort. Must be the tooth.) I see her first grilled cheese sandwich in the very near future...

Lunch. Lunch has been difficult of late. I think texture has a lot to do with it (though, yogurt seems to make everything better). And the burgeoning independence — Helena's desire to feed herself. I've come to expect disaster at day's peak, and I'm learning to appreciate that this experiment in attitude does not happen first thing in the morning or as the day is winding down.

Interestingly, for the last week or two, when Helena's plate is empty (or when she wants it to be empty), she turns it over.