kid food

A Week Of Milestones

Posted on December 16, 2013 Written by Tonya

Hello friends, it has been a while. Almost an entire month in fact and in that time, we moved, decorated for Christmas, surpassed the critical 32 week point of my pregnancy (!) and were without Internet access for almost three weeks. It has been busy and we are anything but settled into our new home, but have already had guests, are hosting family and friends for Christmas and are enjoying making our house a home.

I’m currently sitting at the island in my beautiful new kitchen listening to holiday music, avoiding my very lengthy To Do list and thinking back on a week of some pretty big milestones for Lucas:

Milestone #1 For the first time EVER, Lucas ate what we ate for dinner!

Before becoming a parent I always said I would never be a short order cook, serving up a separate meal for my child, but having such a picky eater that was not the case in the least bit and until last Tuesday, that’s just what we did.

Tuesday he enjoyed pesto pasta with chicken and broccoli.

This is huge!

No separate meal.

I know it won’t happen every night, but we are headed in the right (and way more convenient) direction.

Milestone #2 While out to dinner on Saturday evening, Lucas asked to use the men’s restroom (gulp), which led to me sending this tweet while I waited (and worries):

I don’t know what the appropriate age is to let your son use the restroom by himself, but I know that I won’t be doing it again unless it is a another single stall situation.

Milestone #3 There are very few things in my life that I have had to have. These shoes purchased long before Lucas was even born were one of those things.

I completely fell in love with this New Balance sneaker, size 12(!) decked out with Oscar the Grouch, complete with several pesky flies. On the bottom of the sole, it says: “Have a yucky day!”. Having grown up watching Sesame Street, I just had to get them!

We bought them while in Old Town Pasadena in the Spring of 2009 and never thought our little boy would ever be able to wear them.

At 4 1/2 years old, Lucas’s tiny feet grew and grew are finally big enough to wear them!

Be still my heart, my little boy is no longer so little.

Meal Patrol

Posted on September 4, 2013 Written by Tonya

Family meal time has always been one of my favorite parts of the day. Gathering together to unplug, catch up, inquire about each others days, laugh, share and nourish our bodies in the process, however, I’ve come to dread breakfast, lunch and especially dinner.

I loathe having to beg my son to eat.

I have grown tired of the negotiations that take place at our dining room table.

I hate being on meal patrol!

I know this is a common problem, but OMG, if Lucas would just eat, I would be happy. Honestly, I can handle the potty talk, drawl out bedtimes, and boundary testing if he would just EAT!!

All the sit up straight, face the table, stop touching your feet, watch your elbows, just two more bites, and try it, pleaaaaase aside, my husband and I struggle daily and nightly to get Lucas to eat anything. I understand his young palette is still developing, but he doesn’t even enjoy “regular” kid food. He won’t touch a French fry, chicken nugget, hot dog or dream of dousing anything in ketchup. What does he eat you ask? The list is very short.

Pasta.

Lots of pasta.

Tons of pasta!

But, it must be prepared a certain way; not too much olive oil, no fancy breadcrumbs on top or other garnish and he would prefer a cheese shaker on the side. Oh, and he likes to eat it with a spoon. So, in addition to being picky, he’s particular about his food too.

Carbs are his favorite food group.

Just recently he started asking for plain cheeseburgers from Old MacDonald’s (as he calls it) and as much as I hate fast food with a passion, I consider this a HUGE victory. It’s protein, right?

In talking to Lucas’ pediatrician, at the end of the day as long as his meals have been colorful (yeah, right!), she tells me not to worry, but I’m a mom and I will worry and I know that yogurt, a cheese stick and a half a banana can’t be all that nutritious for anyone.

I’ve tried a handful of recipes from Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook, Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food and let’s just say, they didn’t go over very well. My sleuth son was on to my attempt at getting him to eat better.

I consider myself a picky eater and now I fear I’m raising one too. Any advice for me or better yet, make me feel better, what parenting challenges are you facing?

Lucas Today

Posted on September 5, 2011 Written by Tonya

Every month I used to share a list of all of Lucas’ milestones, but I haven’t complied one in a while. Every day Lucas shows me another wonderful side to his personality. His likes and dislikes are as complex as yours and mine. He’s amazing.

Here is what I know and appreciate about my son today:

Lucas doesn’t have to be the center of attention. He is much happier being left alone to do his own thing. He’s a true observer, curious and quiet, taking in his surroundings, unless he’s the only child around and then, all bets are off!

Lucas is very loving IF and when the mood strikes him. He enjoys giving “pat-pats”, especially to babies and stuffed animals and nothing melts my heart more than hearing him say, “Mommy, come up here” when he wants to be picked up.

Lucas loves blueberry bagels, blueberry scones, blueberry waffles, blueberry yogurt, blueberry cereal bars and blueberry muffins, but will NOT eat a blueberry.

Lucas loves water in all forms; he lives for bath time, swimming pools, playing with his water table in the back yard, charging fearlessly for the ocean and diving into fountains.

Lucas loves sitting in his “special” chair to watch TV, singing the “ABC’s” no matter where we are, throwing dirt, meticulously removing wrappers from crayons and dancing. You should see his “hotel dance”.

Lucas’ favorite past time I would have say is playing with his Thomas & Friends trains and is ability to identify each one is astounding.

Lucas’ favorite color is yellow, favorite movie is Cars, favorite meal is macaroni and cheese, favorite dessert is M&M’s, favorite book is Where The Wild Things Are and smiles brighter than the sun when he plays with Play-Doh.

Lucas loves older children and if they give him the time of day, he will follow them around like a little lost puppy dog and talk about them for weeks.

Lucas pretty much refuses to pose for the camera and with nearly 6000 photos of him in iPhoto, I suppose I don’t blame him.

Lucas will ask for his lovey first and then “Mommy” if he hurts himself or bonks into something. I’m not happy with this, but I understand.

Lucas will march over to his lime green time out chair when asked. Shocking, I know!

Lucas isn’t a fan of meat. Occasionally we can get him to eat turkey and only recently (as of last week) has he started enjoying hot dogs.

Lucas is afraid of four things:

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage ride at Disneyland.
A creepy red mask at a Mexican restaurant we used to like to frequent.
Loud fire alarms like the one that went off repeatedly at our hotel in Hawaii on our first night of vacation.
Roller coaster rides.

As you can imagine, this list could go on and on and on, but I’ll ~~spare you~~ keep some things to myself. Lucas appears to be a typical two year old, but he is my two year old.

Pushover

Posted on August 29, 2011 Written by Tonya

There are bribes to get in and out of the car, move from one activity to the next, bribes to brush teeth, put on and take off articles of clothing, do things and behave the way I want him to.

The dialogue varies from threats and time outs to special privileges, sweet treats and new toys.

The negotiations are clever and cunning and downright exhausting.

All day, every day scenarios like these play out in my home:

SCENARIO 1 – Getting out the door

Me: [Matter-of-factly] Lucas, we need to leave in five minutes, buddy. Let’s get your shoes on.
Him: grumble grumble something that sounds like: I’m playing cars right now.

Me: [Excitedly] Don’t you remember? It’s tumble class day!
Him: No tumble class!

Me: [Way over excited] C’mon, it’ll be fun, you love tumble class.
Him: silence

Me: [Questioning] Lucas?
Him: I’m playing cars right now.

Me: [Exasperated] Let’s get your shoes on. We have to go!
Him: silence

Me: [Defeated] I’ll let you watch TV in the car, if you let me put your shoes on and we get out the door.

OUTCOME: Shoes on and we’re off! Class goes pretty well but as usual, an hour is generally 15 minutes too long for either of us.

SCENARIO 2 – Running an errand

Me: [Nonchalantly] I need to go to the grocery store and get a few things, will you come with me?
Him: No, no grocery store!

Me: [Pleading] Lucas, we don’t have any milk and you finished your favorite cereal this morning. Plus, I need get some veggies to have with our chicken tonight. You can help me pick them out.
Him: No veggies.

Me: [Begging] Please. It’ll be a quick trip, I promise.
Him: No, no grocery store.

Me: [Defeated] What about getting a new car while we are at the grocery store?

OUTCOME: We are at the grocery store crossing items off my list and adding another car to our already out of control collection.

SCENARIO 3 – Taking a nap

Me: Why don’t we go in your room and read some books?
Him: No books, no nap!

Me: No one said anything about a nap. Let’s go read!
Him: No books, no nap!

Me: Why don’t you pick out three books for me to read to you?
Him: No books, no nap!

Me: Listen kid, you need to take a nap.
Him: No!

Me: Okay, why don’t we just lay down and watch TV?
Him: I need a snack.

Me: Okay, I’ll get a snack if you come read with me.

OUTCOME: A very long afternoon for two frustrated people because the snack of choice always contains sugar.

SCENARIO 4 – Eating

Me: What do you want for lunch?
Him: How about mac ‘n’ cheese?

Me: That’s sounds good.
Him: No, I want yogurt.

Me: Okay, what kind? We have vanilla, blueberry and peach.
Him: Peach

Me: Here you go!
Him: No, I want a waffle and a banana.

Me: What about your yogurt?
Him: No, I want a banana!

Me: Okay, here’s a banana. Do you still want the waffle?
Him: I want mac ‘n’ cheese.

OUTCOME: Nothing is eaten, everything is thrown away and I swear I’ll make him eat whatever I put in front of him for the next meal. It doesn’t happen. Ever.

Please tell me I’m not the only pushover mom out there.

Please!

Hand Me Downs

Posted on August 16, 2011 Written by Tonya

“Lucas, what would you like for lunch?”

“Mac ‘n’ cheese, please!”

“Okay, do you want to pick out a bowl?”

My mother attended West Texas State University in Canyon, Texas. Her best friend and roommate was named Brenda. My mother remarked more than once that Brenda’s sole purpose for attending college was to find a husband.

It was a different time in the early sixties.

My mother told me how Brenda would never go anywhere without full make-up on because as she would say, you just never know.

This drove my mother crazy.

I believe my mother had aspirations of working for the United Nations as a French translator. As it turned out she ended up getting married in college too.

Brenda actually went on at least one date with my father before my mother started dating him. She said that she knew from the moment she met him, that he was the man she’d marry. I love that.

I met Brenda on several occasions and she was lovely. She did marry while in college. Twice that I know of. She had three children. Her eldest was two years older than me, a boy. I got all of his hand me downs.

This meant I wore a lot of blue and red. I didn’t know the difference and my parents were struggling to make ends meet so they were grateful for the clothes.

My childhood room was decorated in blue and red as well and I had a lot of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.

Back in the 70’s, cartoon/television characters weren’t plastered all over everything like they are today, so the bowl and cup set I had with Raggedy Ann and Andy’s likeness were special, as were the Mickey Mouse spoon and fork.

My mother didn’t make a point of giving these to me, I simply found them one day in our kitchen long after I had outgrown them and decided to keep them. At the time, I wasn’t sure why.

Now I do.

I don’t have any of my old clothes that I wore as a toddler and certainly none of the hand me downs from Brenda’s son. I do have a few well loved, stuffing-coming-out-of-their-heads stuffed animals and baby dolls with terrible haircuts and an old Barbie case filled with Barbies and accessories, but none of that would I share with Lucas, so I’m happy I saved these dishes and can hand them down to him.

Hearing “I want the Raggedy Ann and Andy bowl, Mommy.” is music to my ears.

An Adorable Dinner

Posted on May 13, 2011 Written by Tonya

I don’t cook.

Not even a little bit.

I burned rice the other night.

Who does that?!

Me apparently.

I make the same New Year’s resolution every year to make at least one dinner a month. So far so good….

Although, I think I owe my family four dinners.

I’ve said it before (here and here), if it weren’t for my husband I’d be living on cereal, turkey sandwiches, PB&Js, pasta, bag salad and cottage cheese. In other words, I can do kid food.

Sort of.

Lucas has been on a bit of a hunger strike lately and wanting only macaroni and cheese and cookies. Which honestly doesn’t sound too bad too me, however, in an effort to expand his (and my) horizons (and because my husband was out for dinner with a friend), I made him a turkey and cheese quesadilla last night, rolled it and cut it so that it resembled a pin wheel. The bite sized pieces were so adorable I should have taken a photo. I thought for sure I had a hit on my hands.

He took one bite, promptly spit it out and asked for cookies. When I said no and tried again and again and again, he ran down the hall to his bedroom slammed the door and had a fit.

And here I thought that was 15 year old girl behavior?

About 17 minutes later, in other words, the length of time it takes to make a box of Annie’s Homegrown mac & cheese, he returned to the kitchen, sat down and had three bowls!

Geez, so much for an adorable dinner, huh?

I did throw in peas.

What did I have for dinner you wonder? And a Coors Light.

What do you feed your picky eater?

post signature

No Related Posts

Mom Snacks

Posted on March 28, 2011 Written by Tonya

You probably won’t believe this but I have never tried any of Lucas’ food.

I never taste tested the formula we gave him, rice cereal, homemade baby food we so painstakingly made when he was an infant, teething biscuits, puffs or other snacks.

I try to give him a lot of things I don’t particularly care for like; bananas, beans of all sorts, peas, blueberry waffles and yogurt and have never sampled any of them.

He may have fed me a Cheerio or two from his snack trap, but other than that, I don’t partake.

For one, his food never appeals to me and I’m not very adventurous when it comes to cuisine 2.) I’m not a snacker and 3.) I don’t need the extra calories.

All that has changed now that I’ve discovered Annie’s Bunny Grahams. Have you tried these delightful little itty bitty bite-sized nuggets of scrumptiousness? Holy cow, they’re good and they should be banned from my house because now I don’t buy them for Lucas, I buy them for me!

Hmmm, come to think of it, we have a lot of Annie’s Homegrown products in our home. I might just have to broaden my taste buds.

Do you eat off your child’s plate? What’s your favorite mom, er… I mean, kid food?

post signature

No Related Posts

15 Items Or Less

Posted on February 1, 2011 Written by Tonya

As I was checking out at the grocery store recently, I thought… clearly I only had one thing on my mind during this visit: Lucas!
Here’s what I came home with: yogurt, a gallon of milk, string cheese, apple juice, bubbles, wipes, chocolate chip granola bars, wipes, goldfish crackers, Elmo crackers, blueberry waffles, grape jam, peanut butter and Diet Coke (okay, that’s for me!).

Now, what on earth are his dad and I going to eat this week?

This post is for Wordless Wednesdays and if you want to link up or see some really beautiful photographs, visit Alicia at A Beautiful Mess. This week, she shares her personal favs.

post signature

No Related Posts

High Chair Help!

Posted on May 15, 2010 Written by Tonya

We need a high chair!

Currently, we are using the fabulous Chicco 360 Rotating Hook On Chair and have it attached to our kitchen bar, but with as much as you enjoy dropping food on the floor and with all the yummy summer fruit soon to be available and warmer weather, I’d love to get you outside occasionally for meals. Not to mention my desire/fantasy to have a civilized family dinner around the actual dining table.

I still really like the Boon Flair high chair, but I’m also still not willing to fork over $230 for it.

Like with any of this baby crap, there are TOO MANY CHOICES and I need help!! I visited the Web site Wize, which reports on the best and worst products, but I’m sorry “It matches my kitchen perfectly!” is not a review.

Any suggestions out there?

The best is yet to be.

Day 81/100

No Related Posts

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Posted on March 26, 2010 Written by Tonya

You eat WAY better than I do. Your diet consists of organic fruits, vegetables, biscuits and crackers, tofu, whole wheat pasta, whole grain oatmeal cereal, free range chicken, yogurt, sugar free apple juice, etc. Last night you had lentils and brown rice while I went through the drive-thru at Del Taco for a Del Classic chicken burrito with extra lettuce, cheese and tomatoes and a, you guessed it, diet Coke. Disgusting, right? Actually, it was pretty damn good considering the only time I have fast food is on road trips.

Every time your dad is out of town I have to fend for myself when it comes to dinner, which typically means a bowl of cereal or cottage cheese, blue corn chips and salsa.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Everything!

My dad always used to say that once I had children that I’d need to learn to cook and he was right. It’s time.

The best is yet to be.

Day 31/100

No Related Posts

A Week Of Milestones

Related Posts:

Meal Patrol

Related Posts:

Pushover

Related Posts:

Hand Me Downs

Related Posts:

An Adorable Dinner

Related Posts:

Mom Snacks

Related Posts:

15 Items Or Less

Related Posts:

High Chair Help!

Related Posts:

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Related Posts:

Related Posts:

Related Posts:

Related Posts:

Related Posts:

Related Posts:

Related Posts:

Related Posts:

Related Posts:

Related Posts:

Related Posts:

What I Write About