Ellie is becoming increasingly proficient in feeding herself.  In just the last week, she has started scooping food from a bowl with ease, particularly yogurt, applesauce, and thick soup.  It’s so exciting to see her becoming more independent in this way!

One way in which Nik and I are old-fashioned is that we like to use “real” things at the table.  That means we avoid using paper plates/napkins/cups and plastic utensils, even when hosting parties.  We wanted to carry this forward into how Ellie feeds herself but most (if not all) baby-sized feeding items are not “real”.  So we decided to just look for small items, rather than baby items.

I blogged about the spoon already but we have also started using the small ramekins from Crate and Barrel and the small (3.25 oz) tumblers from Williams and Sonoma.  Perfectly sized for little hands and about as real as glass and pottery comes!

Obviously, “proficient” does not equal “neat and tidy” as you can see by the yogurt all over her.  The round nature of the yogurt on her face comes from Ellie’s discovery that it’s much fast to pick up her bowl and drink her yogurt!

My good friend Julie came over for lunch on Saturday and she taught Ellie how to do “cheers” with her cup!  Yet another fun trick for the growing-up baby!

Ellie was very proud to show off her new skill to Baba at dinner that night!