Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

If you ask any child (except for the extremely healthy ones) if they prefer cookies or carrots I think we all know what the answer will be.. cookies, of course.  Jack would jump up out of his seat to answer that question.  Why is it so hard to get our kids to eat healthy fruits and vegetables at meal time?

I can remember when I started feeding Jack “real” food he would eat ANYTHING.  I thought to myself that this was going to be a breeze and I wouldn’t have to have those battles my parents had with me at the dinner table.

Well, apparently I thought wrong.  Over time Jack has become pretty picky with what he will eat and not eat.  Almost all veggies are out except for one or two, and he is now starting to dislike fruits that I knew were a guaranteed hit.  He would rather snack all day and not eat anything at meal time.  I’m sure this is similar for other kids, too.  I have tried sneaking in veggies by chopping them up very fine and mixing them in with pizza, sauces, pancakes,etc.  However, most of the time he can tell the difference between my “secret “recipes and the real ones.

I read an article stating that taste buds in kids and babies are located not only on their tongue, but on the sides and roof of their mouth.  As they grow, the taste buds begin to disappear from the sides and roof of their mouth, leaving taste buds mostly on their tongue. As they get older, their taste buds will become even less sensitive, so they will be more likely to eat foods that they thought were too strong as a child.  I know this holds true for myself.  I disliked veggies when I was little and now I love most of them although, I still can’t bite into a tomato.

I’m looking forward to the day Jack says.. “nummy” to the taste of grilled veggies!

Motherhood seems to require more and more “stepping back” as your child spreads his or her own wings. This summer alone, I realize how much Brady has let go (or I have stepped back). He has started to jump into the pool and allow his head to go underwater (with a lifejacket), Last week I dropped him off at My Gym for the first time without his best buds: Morgan and Ben. I expected a meltdown, since he hasn’t gone without one of them in years, but to my surprise…. Brady was fine.

In the beginning of his life, I nursed him and rocked him to sleep. Eventually I stepped back, Brady weaned himself, and I stopped rocking him to sleep when he was only a few weeks old. Then there was the “Edgar” stage. Edgar was his monkey backpack (aka harness). Brady was a runner! Edgar was the only way we could keep him safe with us. So although we got some glares regarding our “backpack,” it worked well for us. Then we entered the preschool years, I stepped back as he joined more classes, tried out a few new sports/activities, and finally consistently pooped in the potty – yeah!!

But the biggest way I have had to step back was in his playtime. I have noticed recently (probably since turning 4), I am no longer Brady’s playmate and mama. Now I seem to mainly be just mama, he wants his “friends” to play with. While I realize this is the normal progression, it still took a bit of adjusting. Don’t get me wrong, there are still times when Brady wants me to play trains, read stories, or build a moon sand castle. I try to savor every second of those activities, because before long – he will be onto the next stage of his life.

I often think that childhood requires moms to step back a little at a time. Finding the balance and knowing WHEN it is time to step back is the hard part. All we can do is try our best, follow our child’s lead, and enjoy this ride.

When I was little, I can remember going down to Florida every year over my winter break. We’d spend part of the week with my grandmother at her place, and we’d spend the rest of the time down in Disney.

We used to go to the Turtle Back Zoo and every year. You’d get a different colored key each year shaped like a different animal. If you inserted the key into the special player in front of the animals’ pen, it would tell you all about them. My sister and I would always fight about who got to use their key to hear about the animals.

Sesame Place. The Land of Make Believe. The Big Apple Circus.

There are so many places that I loved to visit when I was little. I can’t wait to be able to share those same things with Andrew. But the question is, when will he be old enough for it?

Is it worth spending the money to take him to these places when he may not be old enough to appreciate it? Will he even remember that we took him to these places if he’s too young? Will it be a total disaster?

My mom and I took Andrew to his first movie in the movie theater over the weekend: Toy Story 3. We were prepared for it to be a total disaster, ending with a complete meltdown and us rushing Andrew out of the theater.

We were pleasantly surprised. He did great! Well, other than the fact that he wasn’t heavy enough to weigh the seat down and the seat kept folding up on him. (In comparison, my purse WAS heavy enough to weigh down the seat. How scary is that?) He loved the movie and I loved being able to take him.

Maybe the little guy is old enough for all the fun things we want to do with him. So…how does Disney sound over winter break?