$10 Cheerios

I confess that my first reaction to Eric announcing a sudden business trip back to the U.S. wasn't one of dismay or even sadness, but rather one of speculation. Hmmm. What can he bring back?

We're having an interesting time with Lincoln and solid foods. The import grocery store I frequent has a rather erratic inventory. I have seen an Australian brand of baby cereal and the standard Gerber brand as well. Then suddenly, poof, no more baby cereal. At least none in a language I understood. The pictures on the front of the boxes suggested that the contents contain corn, perhaps honey, and sometimes an odd blend of fruit or vegetables. The latest item to grace the baby food shelves is some exotic Japanese vegetable powders that cost nearly $8 for a small box. I have no idea what that is all about. We have a 'fun' time visiting as many store branches as we can just to find a few familiar food items. Frustratingly, though it all the same store, each branch can carry a different variety of items. One store may have the cereal you want, but no milk. Another store has plenty of milk, but no pickles or cereal...and on it goes. You really have to think and decide how much you want a particular item.

I'm always on the lookout for less expensive alternatives. Dry cereal from Thailand, Korea, or even Italy, is considerably cheaper than the cereal from the U.S. Unfortunately, the cereal I want is plain-Jane Cheerios for Lincoln. Which is only available from the U.S. For $10 for a small box. Oh well. Since Lincoln currently eats about 3 Cheerios a day, a single box should last quite a long time.

He's still working on the hand-to-mouth coordination. He usually manages to pick one up, but then will try to stick it in his mouth with his thumb even though the Cheerio is in his palm. Mugsy is enjoying himself, eating bits of dropped food.



Here he is, intently chasing a Cheerio around on his tray. Mugsy is lurking in the background, waiting for the 'plink' that indicates a dropped Cheerio. As Lincoln is nearly 8 months (! How did we get here so quickly?), I'm going to try some lentils soon. He doesn't seem as interested in the baby mush I feed him and really would rather try what I'm eating, whether that's coffee or yogurt or toast.