Since Kaia was six months old, I’ve been actively trying to expose her to pretty much every nut and seed available to us. Early allergen exposure is really important for babies nowadays given the massive increase in these allergies. In addition, I also just want her to enjoy seeds and nuts. They are so healthy and add so much good flavor and texture to foods. Lucky for us, she immediately embraced all things nutty. She obviously has her favorites: she always seemed to enjoy her oat porridge the most when there was either peanut butter or ground pistachios in them. She’ll happily eat almonds or walnuts, but they seem to be lower on the priority list for her.

This week, she’s mastered actually saying “peanut butter.” I gave her a piece of toast spread with peanut butter. She ate all the surfaces with the peanut butter, then asked for more peanut butter on the “naked” parts of the bread. “More peanut butta?” she said, with a hopeful look on her face. So, I decided to humor her and spread some peanut butter on those parts. Then, she pointed at the jar and motioned to have it. I took a pea-sized amount of peanut butter, put it on my finger, and she immediately went to lick it off. She then let out a little giggle, asked “more?” and then got some more.

Kaia Pookie is a peanut butter baby, and even better: she’s a Teddie peanut butter baby.