Natasha is having a bad day today. I haven't got the slightest idea as to what got into her - she is cranky and whiney. I've tried showing her those astronomically colorful cartoons on Rogers' Baby TV, tried placing her in her swing, attempted the bouncy chair, and carrying her around, of course. Nope. None of those worked. I finally gave up and put her down in the playpen so she can interact with her orange toy monkey which is what she's doing right now - we'll see how long it lasts.

Things have been quiet lately. The snow came down after a rather snowless December and the start of January, so the sidewalks near our building are not fully cleared up. This makes trips with the stroller not very pleasant. She needs her fresh air, so option number two would be to "pack her" into her snowsuit, lay her in the stroller, and put the stroller on the balcony. I've seriously considered it, but my main concern is I like to check up on her while she sleeps, and the thought of constantly going unto the balcony is not very appealing. I cannot wait until it's March and the start of spring - Natasha should be able to sit without support by then, so I am sure going out with her would be a lot easier due to this, and the warmer temperatures.

This Saturday I am planning on going to Canadian Tire and buying a steamer. Natasha will be starting solids this weekend, and apparently a steamer keeps most of the nutrients in the veggies, as opposed to boling them, when the nutrients escape into the water. I've seen a few steamers on their website which look well priced and not too huge. We still haven't decided on whether to purchase an electric food mill or the Magic Bullet. A food mill is designed specifically for use with veggies that will be used to feed a baby; the Magic Bullet, however, is for general use and could be used to chop other foods as well. My problem with Magic Bullet is it can only grind small amounts of veggies, and I've also read that on many occasions, a rubber ring it uses gets entangled with its blades and ruins the machine entirely. Hmm. We also have a Food Processor we bought ages ago, so that's an option too. We'll have to decide on this one before the weekend. I am leaning towards getting a food mill, while Matthew towards the Magic Bullet. We'll see. Maybe flip a coin??

I can't wait to start Natasha on solids and see which veggies and fruit she loves and doesn't. The Formula and cereal she now eats daily makes Matthew and I wonder how in the world babies love that stuff. The taste is absolutely disgusting. But I guess if that's the only taste you know, it couldn't taste that bad.