How much is too much?

Other than the week when she had food poisoning (or the flu or whatever it was) Isabelle has always been a "good eater." Lately, however, she seems to have taken that moniker to new heights. The child, all 26.5 pounds of her (and yes that puts her in the 110th percentile) can put away some food. The other night, for instance, she ate and entire chicken breast. And I am not talking about some puny bit of meat. This was a full sized breast - the size I take for lunch - and don't often finish. On top of that she had some fruit and rice and her 8 oz. bottle. Her little tummy sticks out like Santa's after a full night of milk and cookies. Her legs look like toothpicks supporting the Great Egg of a body perched on top. When I asked how much solid food to feed her the pediatrician said "until she turns away." Do you think he knew just how much she eats?

I am also not sure he knows what she eats. Isabelle, as I am sure all baby's do, goes through periods of "favorite" foods. For a while it was peaches and then cheese (until the House o'Vomit period). Now its meat. And let me just say the child is like an angry predator if you don't give her the meat, especially if you are eating it. She will howl at you and demand some cooked flesh until you give in. And it doesn't matter the type of meat: steak, buffalo, chicken, turkey, ham, sausage, beer sausage (mit kasse fondue), chicken schnitzel, apple sausage, or even elk pepperoni stick. The child loves meat. She grabs it with her greasy little pinchers and stuffs it into her mouth. Then she rubs her eyes...why I don't know (I suppose she is tired or they itch?), but it never ceases that she ends up with meat bits and grease smeared in her eyes and across her face. She is a dainty flower indeed.

In other ITL news she loves to scream. I don't mean in protest or out if anger, she just loves to do it. And she loves it more when you scream back at her (its a high pitched guttural scream from the back of the throat). It's really pretty funny I must say. Here will be sitting this adorable little plump cherub who is happily playing and who busts out a scream. It gives her much delight.

Last night, at the end of her supper (she had beer sausage and fondue with a little chicken schnitzel from Gustav's) I gave her a lemon wedge. You know from a prior post that she loved eating a lime wedge. The lemon wedge, it turns out, was also much revered. She ate the entire thing. Of course she rubbed the lemon wedge in her eye too, which didn't go over so well and led to a bath. Needless to say the lemon wedge came into the bath with Isabelle. She then proceeded to carry it around with her while riding in her car, bouncing in her jumperoo, and playing in the mirror (one of her favourite pastimes). I finally sneaked the now slippery, deflated rind away from her before she went to bed. Unfortunately, I didn't throw it away and this morning she discovered its hiding place and happily picked it up and popped in into her moth again. Because she now had the whole thing stuffed into her mouth and because, well it was gross, I decided to throw Wedgie away. The child cried. She cried because I took away a slimy, nasty, completely used lemon wedge. Babies are odd.

In other news she is getting a fifth tooth -- the other upper font tooth. Or at least I think she is. You can clearly see her other upper front and tooth next to it coming in. But she doesn't really like you peering into her mouth to get a good look, so its tough to know. When you do try to feel around in there she happily bites you with her sharp little teeth. I think she thinks its a game. Whatever, your reaction of surprise and pain makes her rather gleeful.