Happy Valentine’s Day! Today Isa had a baby play date with Ella, nine months. Ella is daughter of my journalist friend Paula, who is Seoul correspondent for CNN. Even though they’re quite young, the two babies played together very well.

Isa rounded the corner of seven months a few days ago and marked it with eating copious amounts of food. After I learned recently that babies palates can be easily influenced between four and seven months, when they are most willing to accept different flavors, me and my mom began sneaking all sorts of things into her homemade baby concoctions like black pepper, wasabi, curry and more. She’s eating it all!