Vegetable personalities

I wonder if E is starting to wean himself. His first birthday is June 4. He seems to be eating more food - not wolfing it down, but he loves tofu as long as it's not plain; he likes the smoked variety and also a kale-tofu dish I make where the tofu is flavored with balsamic vinegar. He also likes ice cream, little bits of vegan cupcake, bread, dry salad greens (baby greens are his favorite, appropriately), Cheerios, and so forth. He's gone almost 5 hours without nursing, which is unheard of. I gave him a little rice milk in a sippy cup. (I read that it's the most similar to breast milk.) He was not too successful with it, but what he did get, he seemed to enjoy. He also seemed tickled by the whole concept; he started laughing, flashing his two white teeth.

I like to take him to lunch at a sandwich shop. Next to me, two guys were talking about how someone else (not present) was tightening his belt in the tough economy. "He only gets his dog clipped for $300 every 3 months now," said one. "It's hard," said the other. I really could not tell if they were serious or joking - about how tough this was. I tend to think, weirdly enough, that they were serious.

I also did some quick math in my head. My three-month hair expenses are cheaper than the dog's. I get my hair colored once a month (or 6 weeks) for $65. I get my hair cut every 3 months for $35.

P.S. E is *not* weaning himself. Oh well...