Around 7 months of age, successes with food consumption became more common. While Moby firmly rejected baby food (left), he liked the beans from a local Mexican restaurant (right). And pesto. And strawberries. Whoever suggested that babies like bland pastes hadn't met our child.

Yum! Fiesta del Mar beans!

Yogurt became a part of the daily routine, and a major part of Moby's diet. A belly full of yogurt before bed time helped ensure sleeping through the night. The fat straws from a local bubble tea place were a favorite way to consume the yogurt.

(12 months) Slowly, other foods became part of the diet. On the left, Moby is drinking broccoli cheddar cheese soup. On the right, Moby practices early fork skills.

By 14 months, Moby was clearly a fruit-a-vore. Here he is enjoying a banana (left) and apple (right). Yes, that's banana on his head. He gleefully threw it in the air and there it landed.

(15 months) When Ronan came to visit, Moby shared dried cranberries with him.

By 15 months, Moby was quite adept at feeding himself. He practiced ambidextrous spoon technique. And with some help starting, he could peel a mandarin, break it into slices, and sometimes consume.

Moby likes foods that are fun to eat, like artichokes -- below at 16 months, still in his high chair.

Did we mention, fun with food is fun?

(26 months) Moby likes nuts. He sometimes opens the drawer (behind him in this picture), selects which variety he'd like, and brings us the bag saying "I needs help" so we can open it for him. In this photo, he's deshelling pistachios from one bowl, eating the nuts, and putting the shells in the other bowl.

(9 months) Look Ma, no hands! No Daddy hands, that is. We were proud that Moby could hold a bottle by himself.

(9 months) Not knowing American parenting customs, we introduced Moby to drinking from a normal cup before he had a sippy cup.

At almost one year, we discovered Moby's innate ability to drink from a straw, when Fiesta del Mar brought him their standard child cup.

By 13 months of age, Moby could drink out of a cup on his own. When at 20-some months we forgot to bring his sippy cup to day care one day, and the teacher complimented him on his skills drinking from a normal paper cup, we were surprised not all almost-two-year olds could do this.

(17 months) Since Moby always expressed interest in our wine glasses, we bought him a plastic one at REI.

(11 months) Moby participated in an annual family event: Making quince and apple sauce with fruit from our trees.

He wiggled the apple peeler handle; played with the apple peels; and sampled the sauce.

(15 months) Moby always enjoys the farmers' market, especially the fruit samples and musicians.

(23 months) By his second quince season, Moby actively helped. While Mama stood on the ladder and picked the fruit, Moby carried them back to the bucket.

(23 months) We've heard that young children don't like spicy foods. No one told Moby. At a local breakfast cafe, he insisted on trying the hot sauce. Seth helped Moby put some green Tabasco on his pancakes. We thought he'd eat one bite and be done, but Moby insisted on adding more, and ate the last half dozen bites of his breakfast topped with Tabasco.

(25 months) While waiting for a take-out order at some Mexican restaurant in Oakland, Moby asked to try the hot sauce. We warned him it was spicy, but let him put a drop on the paper, and then taste it. He grimaced horribly... and asked for more. After his third and fourth tastes, he would immediately grab his water glass and swallow a couple big gulps; then give us a big grin.

(22 months old) Moby started to learn to use a knife, here cutting an apple with a butter knife.

By 27 and 28 months, Moby was increasingly adept with a knife. Grandma Cherry gave us a mushroom growing kit, and Moby was quite excited to watch Mama harvest a mushroom. Without help he cut up the mushroom cap; and ate half of it. Another day, he helped pick oranges from our tree -- Daddy picks; Moby puts them in his cart and brings them back to the house. With Daddy's help, he used the serrated knife to slice up oranges for juicing.

At 13 months, Moby traveled with us to Taiwan. We had some concerns about finding foods for him, but it wasn't a problem. Here he is snacking on dried mushrooms.

(22 months) We took Moby to Ecuador and the Galapagos. Again, we were happy that Moby was always will to eat something of what was readily available.