Marisa Hopkins: Living the Creative Life: Feed Me!

Annelie is crazy about food. I’m talking, seriously crazy.

I was such an excited first time mom, that Gracie was completely force fed solids on the day she turned four months. She didn’t really take to solids until she was about six months old, but that didn’t stop me from going to the farmer’s market and lovingly selecting the best produce, steaming everything until it was perfectly soft, blending all of the fruits and vegetables with the reserve liquid they were steamed in ( in order to get the most nutrients, of course), creating delicious wholesome combinations, and pouring them into ice cube trays to freeze them. She only ate homemade, and it was usually organic.

Annelie, on the other hand, started solids at three months because she was constantly shoving anything food-like into her mouth. When she was four months old, I was eating a meatball marinara sub while holding her. I thought I had dropped a piece, but couldn’t find it anywhere… only to discover Annelie grinning up at me with marinara sauce on her face and a mashed up meatball in her chubby little fist.

At seven and a half months, Annelie will eat anything—and I mean anything. She loves food! I realized the other day that Gracie and Annelie’s eating experiences are very different, though. You could say that Annelie’s food is also handmade—if you consider throwing any food I can find in the food processor handmade. Last night’s dinner: Kraft macaroni and cheese from the food processor. Tonight’s dinner: Spaghetti with meat sauce from the food processor. At least she also eats any vegetable and fruit that comes her way, especially bananas (which she likes to eat right out of the peel. I didn’t think seven month olds were old enough to hold a banana and eat it, but she does!).

It’s a good thing I make bibs, because Annelie is constantly wearing one. Be sure to check out my shop Tootsie and Grace at www.tootsiegrace.etsy.com, for a boutique chic bib for your own messy eater.

I would like to honor my little chow hound and feature other Etsian artists who just love their baby food!

The first shop I would like to feature is DaLayney’s Doodles. I love to scrapbook and these little baby food jar scrapbooking or cardmaking embellishments are absolutely adorable! They would be the perfect item to jazz up you baby book as well.

You can find her shop at www.dalayney.etsy.com

The second shop that I would like to feature is Nothing Too Fancy. This Feed Me baby photo frame is the perfect way to show off your little messy eater and is just too cute! I love all the baby food jars, which make the frame colorful and fun.

You can find this shop at www.nothingtoofancy.etsy.com

The last shop I would like to feature is Colby Lane Designs. I think this Let's Eat baby bib is very playful and I love how it is backed with chenille! The vintage retro print on this bib is so cool. Even though I make baby bibs and burp cloths as well, I think Colby Lane Designs is just such a sweet shop and I just had to promote it! I have had this shop marked as a favorite for a long time, because I love the awesome selection of fabrics used to make the bibs and the chenille backing makes this boutique bib such a soft treat for little feeders.