9 Months

Happy 9 Months Arlo!
Today I rushed to the grocery store to buy you a most beautiful pomegranate as this was going to be my gift to you on your 9 month celebration. I dreamt of the moment that I would crack it open...pull out a seed...and squeeze the juice into your baby bird mouth. You would smile with red stained lips and I would say, "Nature's candy Arlo. Welcome to 9 months".
I had rehearsed the moment in my head ever since the day Hugh and I sat on the counter popping seed after glorious pomegranate seed into our mouths. You looked terribly envious. But instead of just sharing the sweet nectar with you, I did what no mother of a second child normally does, I looked in one of our baby cookbooks first, to see if it was okay. It wasn't. It read: Pomegranate - 9 months.
But today, in the grocery store as I greeted all of pomegranate's friends: mango, star fruit and prickly pear, our fruit was missing. Perhaps it was on holiday...maybe ripening in the Garden of Paradise...but most definitely not lounging in the exotic fruit section of the produce aisle. My dear Arlo, I am afraid your taste buds will have to wait just a little while longer.
However, we didn't let this little bump knock us off our celebration path. Hugh and Miles created some incredible food-colouring art in honour of your day. You watched them from the window high-above in the warmth of Daddy's arms. You reminded me of a king watching his court. And like royalty, you feasted upon the most delicious meals throughout the day. Lamb with pesto. Roasted potatoes with fresh herbs. Butternut squash soup. Avocado mashed with pears...and so on and so on...And in the end, I would say you looked very, very pleased.We love you Arlo.
Happy 9 Months.
xo