Every day he makes me smile.

Most days, he makes me laugh out loud.

When my dad gave a speech at my wedding, he said “I feel like I won the lottery.”

I think I will probably say the same thing every chance I get when it comes to both of my babies.

But Josiah recently entered a new stage…

I suppose we could call it the “I just realized that I can learn more about the world by asking questions” phase.

Or maybe IJRTICLMATWBAQ for short.

Here is the conversation we had over breakfast Saturday:

J: What’s that?!!?

Me: I don’t know. What is it?

J: It’s peanut butter!

Me: That’s right!

J: What kind?

Me: What kind of peanut butter?

J: Yeah! What kind?!?

Me: I don’t know. You tell me.

J: I don’t know either!

Me: It’s creamy peanut butter.

J: What kind?

Me: Um… it’s just creamy.

J: What kind?

Me: CREAMY! Creamy peanut butter. Made from peanuts.

J: Peanut butter is made from peanuts!

Me: Yep.

J: What kind….

If Stephanie or look totally exhausted next time you see us, it’s because we have 100 conversations like that every day.

It’s amazing to watch Josiah grow up right before our eyes and to see those little wheels in his head spinning as he pieces together his understanding of the universe.

But man…. the kid has a LOT of questions.

Like any good ‘generation Y’ parents, we captured the moment.

Chewing on her bib.... we figured that since she tries to eat everything, then real food would be a breeze.

Already giving me a 'dad, put the camera away' look

First impression: What the!?!?

This is NOT milk!

Yep, spit it out.

Or, if you prefer these fancy new “motion” pictures:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlJxJYZSp8M

Worry not though, friends. She’s eating like a champ now!

Before he gets out of bed in the morning, you’re sure to hear him utter these words “hit ball!”

Sometimes he works himself into a little frenzy: “hit ball! hit ball! hit… hit… hit ball! hit ball bat!”

If he senses that he won’t be making it outside any time soon, he defaults to his backup: “bassssskball!”

When I work from home, in the garage, and have to come in to use the bathroom or get some coffee, he immediately runs to me: “Daddy! Bassssskball! Basssskball!”

I really don’t know how this kid got to loving sports so much…

Josiah was a champ in the hot sun and had a blast, even though he didn’t really understand most of what happened.

Kharis…

Well, I guess she had fun too…

When he was a baby, we started with Baby Einstein videos. Over time, there was a progression from there to Elmo, Sesame Street, and The Donut Man. Then Veggie Tales, concert DVDs (John Mayer, U2, and the folks from Passion are his favorites), and Toy Story.

And that opened the door for most of the other Disney Movies, like Finding Nemo, Cars, and Ratatouille.

Lately, his interest in sports is becoming more focussed, and he likes to watch basketball highlight films and then run around the house like the guys in the videos.

So while I was gone this weekend, Steph decided to introduce him to The Sandlot, which is about baseball.

One of the characters in the Sandlot is a heavy-set, red-head, freckle-face guy named Hamilton, but everybody calls him “Ham”.

So what did Josiah do when he first saw “Ham” on the screen?

He pointed and said, “Dadda!”

Thank you, son. Thank you very much…

It relaxes me and helps me to exercise a creative part of me that I don’t get to use very often.

I got up a little early this morning and curled up with some coffee and my computer, and here’s what I came up with.

Everything that went into this (besides the camera) was free!

I love free software….

From the minute I walk through the door on Tuesday afternoon, my night is full:

First we play.

Then I feed him.

Then he watches me make my dinner.

Then we watch a movie while I eat.

Then we play some more.

Then we go for a walk.

Then it’s bath time.

Then it’s story time.

Then it’s bed time.

Being a daddy is so awesome. I hope I remember these days when I have to send my son a facebook message to get his attention…

Our friends with children will understand our latest bump in the road as parents: baby food is expensive.

Right now, the cost to feed Josiah is around 50% of what it costs to feed Steph and I combined. Now, in fairness, the kid might have an over-eating disorder is an eating machine, but he doesn’t eat that much. The problem is the cost of baby food: it’s insane.

If we buy the organic gerber ‘second foods’ baby food for Josiah, right now he’ll eat $5-$6 worth every day.

Nuts!

So, we’re looking at different ways to make our own baby food, and that’s why I’m writing this post:

Got any cool tips to share?

What have you learned in this area and what do we need to know about? Please share!

*Please don’t read this as whiny or trying to say we’re broke or anything. I just want your knowledge!

What do you think?

Josiah had his first experience with “solid” food about a week ago.

It was basically a couple teaspoons of milk with a little bit of rice cereal mixed in.

It was the first time he’s ever had anything edible in his mouth besides milk or formula, so he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

The whole eating-from-a-spoon thing took some getting used to as well..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjxxFUtsTr0

Here are a few of the photos:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=glJ3p5TDKpA