Peanut Butter

Growing up, my Grandma always made me open-faced peanut butter and banana on toast. I think this is one of my favorite memories from childhood. So of course, PB and banana is one of my favorite things to feed Annabella in the mornings. I'd be surprised if a time has gone by that I haven't thought of my Grandma while feeding her this, and it always makes me smile. Plus, PB and banana is still one of my favorite treats.

The only problem with this whole situation is that Annabella rubs peanut butter all over herself while she eats. Her face, hair, belly, arms, and legs are usually coated in the brown goo before she's finished. And no matter how well I try to clean her, I'm always worried that her friend Ava, who is severely allergic to nuts, will somehow pick up some peanut residue off of her little body. Which would of course be absolutely terrible.

This morning, our routine was a little out of whack. Annabella was a grumpy bear because she woke up a little earlier than normal, and it always takes her a little bit to wake up and be her cheerful self. She takes after her momma this way. I didn't have time to get her milk ready first because she was clinging to me, and instead I made her PB and banana first. When she saw the food, she finally let me strap her little body into her booster seat. Then I went to get her milk. By the time I got back, she was absolutely covered in peanut butter. I think she must have rubbed the bread all over her face. Seriously, getting this messy takes talent. And it was all up in her hair and everything.

I took one look at her and realized that normal cleaning techniques would not suffice. So this morning, Annabella took her first morning shower with Mommy. She's taken a couple with Daddy before, but he's braver than I am. And he was always just in there to clean her off, not to actually get clean himself. So I was a little nervous about the logistics and such. To my surprise, she LOVED her shower. We have one of those shower heads that are on a tube and can hang down, and she loved playing with it. She didn't love putting her face in the water, but she didn't mind it as much as what I normally have to do to get her face clean. And she let me have the shower head back when I needed it. So it worked out really well, until it was time to get out, at which point she screamed and lunged towards the shower and repeated "mine" longingly over and over. I promised her she could shower with Mama again tomorrow, but I'm thinking that it will probably just become part of our routine for the next little bit. I don't see a way around it. Showering while she screams is just not good for my nerves. And even though I love the few minutes of solitude a shower usually gives me, having her entertained and safe during these moments is more important. Plus, I'm next to positive we're not going to accidentally kill Ava today, which counts for a lot.