A smile and reaching out

These days, a smile is hard to come by sometimes. Either he pays me no mind or can't be bothered to smile for me. But as soon as I snap the photo, "Can I see?" comes out of his mouth.

Today was notable, food-wise. John's been getting better about trying food. And if you aren't looking he'll do it without any manipulation on our part. Lately, he's progressed to eating whole chicken strips as opposed to one or two bites that I've had to cut up for him. He'll eat raw carrots and raw spinach. I made him taste some slice turkey lunchmeat last week. He did so reluctantly. But today at lunch he asked for some. He ate one bite and then told me it was salty. I had to agree and told him that I'd give him some of a different kind that I bought yesterday.

Tonight at dinner, we had pork chops, roasted potatoes, fresh green beans and garlic toast. He had some of all of that on his plate in addition to some cheese cubes. I knew he'd eat the potatoes and the cheese. The rest was a mystery. Lately he's taken a liking to catsup, mostly on his chicken. So I put some on his plate and didn't say much else. Of course the potatoes were the first to go. He did try the garlic toast, but I don't think he really liked it as he only took a couple of bites. After he stuck his fork in the catsup as if it were a dish to eat, I suggested he try dipping his pork in it. And surprisingly, he did. And continued to do so until he eaten most of the pork I'd given him. The green beans sat untouched. He asked about dessert and I told him I'd give him some if he tried a green bean. He could make the effort to feed it to himself. So, Daddy took on the task after telling him how JHP'd eaten green beans as a baby when we fed him all the time. Thankfully, there is no big drama when it comes to the "trying". He just takes it and moves on. On the first taste, rarely has he eaten more at that sitting.

I have found that if I just put the food in front of him without asking what he wants, he's taking it more in stride. No fussing about wanting this or that. And tonight was was just tired of feeding him the same old things. I guess I need to continue in this mode and see if we progress further. And I just have to keep reminding myself to mind my own business at the table.

-EBP-