Brielle is One!
Today, we’re taking a quick break from regularly-scheduled recipes for a little celebration of a monumental milestone — our little Briellie Bean turns ONE today!
I spent a lot of time worried about the transition from one to two, but once we got past a few hiccups the first two months, it has all been unbelievably smooth sailing. Brielle is, quite literally, the happiest, most joyful baby. She fits into our family so seamlessly, it’s hard to remember that she hasn’t been here forever!
To say Brielle is an easy baby would be the understatement of the century. I hate the phrase “good” when it comes to babies, because all babies are good — none of them are inherently bad and it’s not their fault if they have GI issues keeping them up at night or just want to be snuggled. But I will definitely say that Brielle has been easy.
The first few 2 months were a little challenging, trying to figure out how to get milk into her, but once she was properly fed, it’s been so gosh darn easy. She sleeps through the night, excluding painful ear infections. She’s independent and happy to play on her own. She loves her big brother so much and laughs hysterically at all of his antics. And she is curious and into everything — her favorite activities are definitely pulling things out of drawers and clearing entire bookshelves with one swipe!
And most relevant to this food blog, she loves food. Loooooves food. Despite her incredibly tiny stature (no teeth, still wearing 6 month clothing), she routinely out eats her almost 4 year old big brother. We have yet to encounter anything she doesn’t devour with gusto, excluding a shockingly spicy collard green dish we ordered.
Soups? Loves it. Mexican? Loves it. Spicy Thai curries? Will sometimes cry between bites if she’s caught off guard by the spice, then drinks some water and digs right back in. Everything we’ve offered her, she loves beyond words.
This year was all about learning to eat, and next year will be all about learning to cook! Ryan was helping me whisk ingredients by 18 months and by 2, he could stand next to me at the stove and help flip pancakes and scramble eggs. I hope her love of food leads to a love of making food, too — I can’t wait until I can outsource all my recipe testing to my kids! ?
May her love for adventure – and adventurous foods – last a lifetime!
(Flashback to the story of her birth HERE.)
(Oh, and since many people ask about the origin of her nickname, Bean or Beanie: My son turned 3 just after she was born, and he was in a big phase of rhyming everything, so he was excited to discover that Briellie Bean rhymed with Jelly Bean. He called her Briellie Bean for a while, and then Sister Bean, and it eventually shortened to Bean or Beanie, which is pretty much all we call her these days!)
