He just wanted to join us for dinner. . .

Nick was super-excited when he saw his daddy tonight. He got home from work earlier than usual, around 5 p.m., and when the garage door opened, Nick got very still. Then, when he heard the door open, he started squealing happily. Then, later, when Greg and I sat down to eat our dinner, Nick decided to start crying. We eat on the couch, largely because the rest of the living/dining room has been taken over by all things baby. Anyhow, Nick grabs the bars of his baby cage and gives us the most pitiful look. "What does he want?," asked Greg. "I think he just wants to sit by us," I replied.

Greg grabbed him a baby cookie, and put the baby between us on the couch. Nick smiled and was perfectly satisfied as soon as he was seated between us. However, he managed to smear cookie all over the couch, my pajamas, and Greg's shorts, but he sure had a good time doing it. He even ate some of my 15 bean soup. Nick just wanted to join us for dinner. :)

The more Nick has been teething, the more he needs baby cookies. Yesterday I bought him something called a biter biscuit, and it seemed to hold together better than some of the other baby cookies. It didn't break into tiny pieces, which is always a plus.

In this picture you can see Nick dipping his baby cookie into Greg's soup. I'm not sure why he decided to do this, but he thought it was hilarious. He ate the cookie anyway, so it must've been a taste sensation. It's kind of funny how when I take a posed picture, Nick will wait until I'm done, and then do something unplanned and cute, like dipping his cookie into the soup.

Last week I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. It's an excellent book, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in gardening, local eating, or cooking. The author set her family up for a challenge: one year of living locally. But she doesn't propose that everyone try to do this. Rather, she gives ways that we can do something to promote local farmers. I liked how she wasn't preachy about the whole subject.