Messy Eater

Lately Daniel has been refusing food by spoon. He wants to eat with his hands and do everything by himself. So, I cooked Aunt Judy and Uncle David's butterbeans and some baby carrots in the crock pot for hours and hours until I could mash them between my fingers. I also boiled whole wheat macaroni noodles until they were large and soft. I can put those things on the high chair tray, and he can eat them all by himself. I pinch off small pieces of carrot, and I smoosh the butterbeans in half. He enjoys this a lot; these foods, along with whole wheat bread, cheerios, and avocado have been his meals this week. On Monday Daniel visited our neighbors while I was recuperating from my sore back. He came home with a container of sweet potatoes they had shared at lunch. He LOVES sweet potatoes. If you follow this blog, you know the mess we got into earlier with sweet potatoes. I decided to give him a small portion and watch the results. He ate them from a spoon with no problem. He loved them, of course, and his output seemed fine. This morning I was going to give him some more for breakfast (from a spoon). When he saw the container he started making his happy food sounds. He would not touch ANY of the other food after he saw the sweet potatoes. I offered him some from a spoon, but he wanted to do it himself. I knew we would be in for a mess, so I stripped him down to his diaper and plonked a big spoonful on his tray, in the midst of the noodles, butterbeans, and carrots. HE LOVED IT! He used his hands to make a big glob of everything, and he ate it all. Cleanup took longer than usual, but I eventually got him clean. Here are some shots of our food adventure. I can't WAIT for warmer weather; I'll just put him in the yard and hose him down at the end of the meal!