I promise she is my daughter...

I am 95% proud, yet still 5% amused at some of the likes/dislikes of Ginger's tastes. In no way do I 'force' her to like anything, really, as I'm more observational and probably more flexible than most parents. But I still think it's hilarious that the girl will literally spit out/refuse:

* Chocolate (including chocolate chip cookies, or hershey bars, or m&ms, prefering her organic gummy treats or a nilla wafer as her dessert!)
* French Fries?!?! (sadly, potatoes really of any kind! We've tried red potatoes, baked potato, mashed potato, hash browns, the girl doesn't even like tater tots!)
* Chicken nuggets (unless there is dip, in which case she'll dip the nugget to taste the sauce, but won't actually eat the nugget)

What she LOVES:
* grapes
* carrots
* pasta (she could eat a variety of tortellini, spaghetti, or penne pasta every night if we let her)
* corn on the cob
* grilled cheese
* cherrios (still one of her favorite, favorite snacks, especially on the go)
* quesadillas (but only cheese)
* carne asada (if it's tender, if she has to chew more than 4-5 times before swallowing, it's not going down ;)
* peaches/pears/apples
* mac'n'cheese- still working with Annie's organic at home but has tried kraft at her nanny's house and likes that too, no surprise!
* pb&j- the classic standby, she loves it.

She's usually willing to try anything that mom and dad are eating, and we will sometimes play the game of just serving ourselves initially if we know it's a new plate for her. For some reason, when we have it, it's just so much more interesting than if she gets her own plate right off the bat. So I'll preview a bite for her in the kitchen as I'm serving up the plates, and she'll usually get excited about the taste.

But we've had to learn the hard way a few times to just be flexible, patient, and provide her with a few healthy options as go-to's (string cheese, yogurt, fruit, pretzels) when she's not feeling the desire to try new things.

We've decided that we're not going to be "finish your plate" parents, but will also not have significant snacks later to compensate for not eating meals. She also knows that dinner comes before bread, and also dessert so if she doesn't give dinner a decent attempt, she'll not get either of the others. There's been a few times where she's learned these two lessons the hard way, but for the most part she's a pretty good eater, when she's hungry. :) She's been in about the 50th percentile her entire life on weight, so unless she starts trending downward we're confident we're taking the right steps with her!

23 days...

well I've hit the breaking point- the point at which I'm DONE. Ready to go. As ready as I wil be, as my comfort level is at an all-time low. Lots of womanly discomforts that I won't mention, along with a belly that is carrying what feels like a large watermelon. The anxiety is starting to creep in, which I know logically is completely unneccessary as I feel so much better prepared having gone through this once. But it's still there, wondering how this transition will go and if I'll wish that I had a few more days of carrying this child all to myself. I know there will be sleepless nights, but at this point I am already so uncomfortable I'd prefer to at least hold, snuggle, and nurse my newborn vs. being in this physical state.

My doctor's appointment was cancelled unexpectedly today, so I'm going to have to wait another day or more until I know what the state of the state is. I am very curious to hear if doc feels like I'll go all the way to my DD, 12/16/10 as I do have a suspicion that I might go a few days early. We will see. :)

Success!!!

It only took 5 nights, but it has happened. Thank goodness- I was about to give up after a few rough patches in transitioning to the toddler bed, and now I'm glad I didn't! Just a few moments ago, Ginger and I read stories in her room (of course, incorporating Elmo's "big enough for a bed" story, which I cannot emphasize enough how invaluable that book has been!) and then she got in bed, I put her blanket over her, we turned on her ladybug nightlight, and sang twinkle twinkle little star. Then a kiss, hug, our classic "sweet dreams" and "I love you" exchanges, and mommy walked out and closed the door. I watched as I exited, and she snuggled into her blanket, got comfy, and settled in. No crying, whimpering, struggles, she is (I hope!) officially settled in her big girl bed. I literally walked down the hall raising my hands in victory. Paul is gone tonight in Vegas at the SEMA show, so of course the timing couldn't be worse as I would have loved for him to experience this together. We've worked through this together though, in fact last night he was able to put her to sleep without fussing (but he did rock her almost completely to sleep) so I knew it was possible. But tonight she did it all on her own, with some reassurance and love from me. Wow she's getting to be such a big girl!