Not one, but two, videos for your viewing pleasure! When we went to Ruby's doc for her 12-month check-up we found out that her weight gain had slowed down considerably. She is now in the 10% for weight (still 75% for height), coming in at just 18lbs (8.2kgs). Thankfully, we were told not to worry at all--our doc knows that the weight charts are based on formula-fed babes--but to push high-fat foods whenever we can.

So Ruby is now eating three square meals a day. She'll pretty much eat anything, most of the time, but key is to let her feed herself; at least to kick off the meal that is. Once the thrill of mushing food in her hand, shoving it in her mouth, smearing it all over her face, clothes, hair and table and tossing it on the floor has worn off, then we can usually maneuver some extra spoonfuls into her. As long as we can stick to our lofty ideal of not fighting with her about food, I'm hopeful she'll gladly experiment with new foods and continue to crawl towards her chair gleefully as soon as we bring out her meal.

What's her favorite food right now? Pasta and especially spaghetti is up there. But she's crazy about black beans too. And she loves crackers, although to my regret she has rejected all the different cheeses I've offered with the crackers. Any suggestions for a particular cheese that babes might like?