A memory

In parenting, there are plenty of monumental occasions... ones you will always remember, even when your children are grown. First smiles. First steps. Birthdays. Habits. Broken arms. But sandwiched in between these milestones are hundreds of normal days. Seasons of inconsequential changes that slip by without your noticing. Somehow, the baby grew taller. Her hair longer. Her teeth a little bigger. But you don't really notice-- at least not in the day-to-day.

This is just a silly memory from one of those days. If I hadn't snapped a quick photo on my phone, I'd probably forget about it within weeks, maybe days.

...We were leaving town for the holidays in the morning, so naturally I was trying to use up whatever perishables were left in the kitchen. Our prospects were pretty grim, but we were content to settle with pancakes for dinner. (side note: chocolate chip pancakes could possibly be my favorite food. Random, I know.) I had read somewhere recently that you could mix a little bit of baby food into the pancake batter to sneak in a few extra nutrients. Since Annie loves food she can pick up (and often snubs the purees), I emptied the half-jar of spinach & potato left over from lunch. And then I smooshed in some banana for good measure. I realize now how gross spinach, potato, banana pancakes sound.. but I was on a mission not to waste. As I poured the monster green batter into it's own pan (no way I was going to let it touch my precious chocolate chippies!), I was disappointed to see that I had added too much liquid for the pancake to set up. What began as liquid turned into a congealed, mushy blob that wasn't quite solid, but it could still be picked up. Kind of like the consistency of mashed potatoes. Not wanting to throw it away (and really not having much in the kitchen as an alternative), I remembered another article I'd read recently that suggested rolling slippery foods in Cheerio dust to help your baby pick it up. Cheerio dust-covered slime green mush? Why not!? What did I have to lose, anyway?

Bryan and I decided to call them Alien Nuggets. Because, well, look at them! The whole ordeal was totally ridiculous, but I had gone through the trouble of trying to turn my mess into something edible, so I just put one down on the tray of Annie's high chair. And SHE ATE IT. In fact, she loved it... like, ate the entire pancake pile of nuggets. We were beside ourselves.

I'm so glad I took two seconds to photograph this hilarious moment on a totally normal night. Memories like this one are too sweet to be forgotten-- a reminder that the love of family isn't held together by the big moments, but walking together through the everyday. And what a sweet day it was. :)