Our Picky Little Eater

Daniel loves reading recipe books with me.  Especially the one that is full of recipes for kids.  We flip through it and pretend we’re eating food from the pictures, but Daniel is a VERY picky eater (just like his dad was) and he won’t even PRETEND to eat dishes that look like dinner food…with one exception.  For days now he’s been begging me for Sloppy Joe Cars and today he got his wish.  He was so excited he talked about it all day.  He even helped me make it! 

But when the final product was on his plate he refused to eat it.  He would even take a bite when we bribed him with the Oreo tires!  We made him eat one bite and he managed to swallow with tears streaming down his face but wouldn’t eat any more. 

I told him it made mommy sad that he wouldn’t eat his special food and he left dejectedly to play in the corner with his cars.  As we finished our dinner we could hear him talking to himself about “Sloppy Joe Car” and “don’t like it” and “sad mommy.” 

A few minutes later he came up to me and, with all the sweet sincerity he could muster said, “Daniel… love… Sloppy Joes.”  Then he gave me a big hug which melted my heart.

“Oh good, I’m glad you liked it, that makes mommy happy.”  He was SO pleased with himself for making mommy feel better. 

Of course, when I asked if he wanted some more, he said “All done! All done!” as quickly as he could.  He’s so much trouble, but he sure is cute about it.

Daniel is an Artistic Genius (at least his mom thinks so)

Daniel drew this picture a couple of days ago and said it was a Brachiosaurus.  Pretty good huh?  I colored it in for him in Photoshop so he could see his creation.

Parts of it probably worked out only by chance, but still, I was proud of my boy.  He’s barely two after all!

A Non-traditional Valentine’s Day

Once there was a brave and handsome man,

Who loved a girl,

Who loved flowers,

…but not as much as she loved Legos.  So when Valentine’s Day came, this wonderful man told his lady of his everlasting love,

and gave her an AWESOME Lego set because he knew it would make her happy.  It did, and it made their son Daniel happy too.

This is what it looks like:

They had fun building it together and playing with Lego games with Daniel. What a great Valentine’s Day!

Daniel’s favorite character is the cow.  He always likes to put the cow to bed in the upstairs room.  He doesn’t think much of the notion that cows shouldn’t be allowed inside.

It’s a great toy to keep me and Daniel entertained, though I’m not sure how I feel about the horse dropping pieces Lego included as part of the stable…yuck!  I guess they were going for authenticity.  Despite that it’s a fabulous set, and it made a great Valentine’s Day gift.  Eric is the best!

What’s for Dinner?

Yesterday I found out that I have Celiac disease just like my sister Sala.  That means I can no longer eat anything containing gluten; no wheat, no noodles, no pre-made dinners, no fast food, no gravy, no lunch meat, no taco seasoning, no salad dressing, very few candies…it’s amazing how many things contain gluten.  Basically if it’s not fruit, vegetables, or meat and it’s not labeled “gluten free” I can’t eat.

So what are we going to eat for family dinners?  Well…

A while back we took Daniel to the allergist and found out that he was allergic milk and peanuts. He’s so allergic to peanuts that peanut dust on my hands caused him to break out into a huge rash when I touched him. So dairy and peanuts are out.

Eric, as we all know, has a self proclaimed intolerance to vegetables. When eating a bowl of corn, I’m restricted to the opposite side of the room. 

So we’ll either have long distance family dinners or just eat meat and fruit (except blueberries because Daniel is allergic to those to).

We’ll probably starve….

I just hope no one decides to go vegetarian on me!