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.