What a Day.

I had a lot of work to do today, so Tyler was kind of left to his own devices for longer than usual. He was right with me, so of course, he was closely supervised. Right.

Let me tell you about the child and his own devices.

One cup of milk, left on the couch to leak. Not on one cushion. Not on two. No, on THREE cushions. He's very talented. So I had to take time out of my work day to dab at sofa cushions with water and vinegar solution. Does anyone know how long the lovely aroma of vinegar will linger?

Two ink pens. I don't know how long he had them or where he found them, but when he showed up offering them to me proudly, his little knees were covered with blue lines. I haven't found any scribbles on the walls or the sofa cushions. At least, not yet.

But at least my patience is paying off. A few weeks ago, I rearranged the kitchen to make a cabinet for Tyler's food. In this cabinet is a variety of mostly healthy foods — some he likes and some I would like him to try.

I have child-locks on the doors because I don't want him to get in there without supervision. But when he pulls on the doors, I usually open them to let him in the cabinet. I count to 10 silently or inhale deeply as he pulls all the foods out. I've even stood back and let him dump a half a box of cereal in the floor, hoping he would be inspired to taste it.

He hasn't been inspired. Until today. Today, he pulled out a box of his daddy's Oatmeal Crisp. I opened the bag and pulled out a few pieces. Tyler inspected it and popped it in his mouth. And he reached for more. He had several bites! I kept telling him the name of the cereal so he'll be more likely to recognize it tomorrow or the next day.

After he was done, I dutifully stacked up the boxes of cereal, crackers and dried veggies that had landed in the floor. And I returned to my Hershey bar. Tyler was also interested in that, so I handed him a small piece and said, "chocolate." He studied it very seriously. I was afraid it would melt and I would have to wash the still-damp sofa cushions again! But he popped it in his mouth.

He's a big fan of Hersheys. He quickly ran back to the Hershey bar. After I wrestled it away from him, I offered him another small piece.

And I quickly ate the rest. It was nap time, he didn't need any more chocolate! But I did, after such a busy day!

What Did I Expect?

This morning, I put some Froot Loops on Tyler's little table.

I ran outside for a second and when I came back in, there was only one broken Froot Loop on the table. (He doesn't eat the broken ones.)

He didn't have time to eat them all.

There were none in the floor. (He normally tips the table to dump them in the floor when he's done eating.)

He was sitting on the sofa, reaching his arm all the way down into the big blue bucket in his lap, pulling out a handful of Froot Loops and shoving them into his mouth.

I have been trying to teach Tyler to eat from a bowl for a while. I usually give up pretty quickly. If I put his food in a bowl, he either turns the bowl upside down to dump it on the table or he pulls it out one piece at the time and puts it on the table.

So I was very proud that he was using his bucket as a bowl!

And when I walked back through the living room a few minutes later, there were Froot Loops all over the floor.

Three New Foods in One Day!

Yesterday was huge for us. Tyler tried three new foods in one day.

I posted about the Food Chaining book a few days ago. At first I focused on the basics:

• I stopped asking Tyler to eat foods. I just put it in front of him and let him eat if he wants.
• When the meal is over, I clean off the table. No more leaving cereal sitting on the table in case he gets hungry.
• I've been working hard at sticking to a schedule for meals. This is soooooo hard for me.

Well, yesterday, I decided it was time to start introducing new foods. You're supposed to start slow, but I got carried away.

In the morning, I put a few soy nuts on the table with his peas and corn. I made sure that he saw them come out of the same type of packaging as all of his dried fruits and veggies. He popped one into his mouth with little hesitation and chewed it up. He then spit it out. But that is okay. He spit out peanut butter crackers a dozen times before he decided he liked them.

At the next meal, I got out the dried blackberries. He loved them even more than he loves blueberries! (I tried one and I think the texture is just weird, but whatever works!)

And later in the day, I decided to try Froot Loops. Keep in mind that this child wouldn't eat the darker Cheerios from the multi-grain Cheerios a few months ago. He picked out the ones that looked like the original Cheerios. And he still won't eat the broken Cheerios.

Anyway, I've resisted giving him these sugary cereals in the past because I worried that he would stop eating the healthy ones. But the Food Chaining book really stresses that you need to try foods that your child will like -- things that are similar to what he already eats and that will taste good to him. You should set the child up for success so you can praise him for trying foods and so that he learns trying foods is fun.

He didn't try the Froot Loops until I walked away from the table. He licked one, and the sugar hooked him! He didn't like the powdery residue on his fingers, but it wasn't enough to make him stop eating them. He also likes naming the colors. I wish I could spell his pronunciation for "yellow"!

This morning, Tyler found the little box of Apple Jacks cereal and opened it so I offered him a few, and he liked them too!

Now, these foods are the same texture as the foods he's been eating. In the past, I was so focused on introducing the new textures that this wouldn't seem like a big deal. But now, I'm just focused on the fact that Tyler tried four new foods with little hesitation (and no prodding) and he liked three of the four foods!

Puppy Love

Sweetest Kiss

Tyler and Paw-Paw, his great-grandfather

A Sensory Child and His Napkin Issues

My child often won't eat when his fingers are dirty. He doesn't like puddings, mashed potatoes, or anything else that might stick to his fingers. He likes the taste and texture of Cheetos but strongly protests the orange stuff that sticks to his fingers.

Early in therapy, we were encouraged to keep a napkin beside him at the table so he can wipe his hands off.

My child often throws napkins on the floor.

Early in therapy, I got tired of picking up napkins.

I started encouraging him to wipe his hands on his shirt.

Yes, you may laugh in 5 years when I scold him for using his shirt instead of a napkin.

But I think he'll outgrow the bad habit on his own: On Tuesday, he threw a salt shaker while we were at a restaurant. He got upset when he put his hand in the spilled salt and it stuck to him. I instructed, "Brush it off on your shirt." ... He promptly wiped his hand on his daddy's shirt.

Where's the Party?

Therapy Update & Food Chaining

This morning, we had our first therapy session in about a month. We canceled several appointments because Tyler wasn't even eating accepted foods for while. I'm pretty sure it is related to teething. He is cutting his last four molars, and he's had a rough time eating.

Tyler was starving before we were called out of the waiting room, so Stephanie suggested I just go straight to a food he would eat so we could talk about his progress (or lack thereof). Here is the update:

Tyler has taken one bite of watermelon this month, but he was running around the yard with it on the fork, which doesn't seem safe to me, so we haven't tried this on a regular basis. He asked for some of his daddy's Cheetos at Subway a week or so ago. He liked the taste and texture but objected to the orange stuff on his fingers. He put crushed ice in his mouth once. (He liked it and ate several pieces that time but none since.) He tasted banana pudding at my grandparents' house. But he was watching "Clifford the Big Red Dog" and his daddy kept sneaking tastes onto his lips. When he got too big a taste, he gagged. (It was by no means a large or even medium-sized bite. Stephanie and I think the gagging is related to a learned aversion to bananas because he used to gag on the texture of bananas when I first started transitioning him to solids. I feel so guilty.) Last night, he touched a popsicle to his mouth a couple of times. We were playing with the popsicle in the bathtub. The water was orange when he got out so I rinsed him off again to make sure he wouldn't attract ants in the middle of the night!

After I ran through all of these items so she would see that we really are trying(!!), Stephanie asked me if I'd heard of "food chaining." I had not. She explained that these therapists have just published a book that shows how you can help a child go from a currently accepted food through a series of similar foods.

Here is an example of a food chain from the Food Chaining blog.

We did this with Tyler, going from potato chips to fries to sweet potato fries. And I introduced a certain kind of cracker so I could later introduce the same cracker with peanut butter because I knew the pre-made sandwich crackers are pretty dry and I thought Tyler would be more willing to accept that. But I've been so focused on getting him to eat totally different textures, like watermelon. I like the idea of seeing a larger spectrum of foods rather than trying to introduce a wide variety with no baby steps.

I also appreciate the focus that the blog seems to have on language. When Tyler learns the word for a food (he recognizes a word, not pronounces it), it seems to help him remember it the next time we offer it.

And I think Stephanie may have encouraged this in a way that didn't sink in until I read the "Food Chaining" blog.

Anyway, I'm off to buy the book as soon as naptime is over. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, would you like to know what my 21-month-old son will eat?

• fresh fruits: Granny Smith apples
• dried fruits: blueberries, strawberries, cherries, pineapple, banana, mango, apple
• cooked veggies: fries (must be fried, not baked), Chick-fil-A waffle fries, sweet potato fries, chips, veggie chips. (Can these be counted as veggies or should they be sweets?!)
  
• dried veggies: corn, peas
• meats: bacon, pepperoni (if cooked until crunchy). he ate chicken nuggets until this latest bout of teething; hopefully he'll start eating them again soon.
• bread/cereals: muffins, Cheerios, cereal bars (Special K are his favorite), one brand of pre-made garlic bread, all kinds of crackers (the Kashi Mediterranean Bruschetta cracker are high in calories, so I'm excited he's started eating those!), and peanut butter crackers
  
• sweets: smarties, skittles, sometimes he will eat a taste of brownie, there are several cookies he's eaten at one time or another, but he gets them so rarely that he may refuse it the next time it is offered.
• drinks: all kinds of juices, milk, milkshakes, we add blueberry and strawberry yogurt squeezers to his milk, and he begs for a straw to share our sweet tea sometimes

Actually, now that I've typed the list out, I'm feeling pretty good about things.

And Tyler liked all kinds of baby foods, even the ones with spinach, so I'm hopeful that as we work on his sensory integration/texture issues, taste issues won't be a problem.

Six-Thirty Rule

I used to have a rule: nobody gets up before daylight.

That was before I saw the beginnings of daybreak at 5:30 this morning.

Did you catch that? I was up at 5:30. The first 5:30 of the day. As in a.m.

I was woken up by the sweetest "bmabma." (That is how Tyler says "mama.") I tried to get him to lay down again and he asked for a "dddddd" (drink).

After the drink, I tried to get him to lay down with me. He did, but no sleep... for either of us.

I have a new rule. Nobody gets up before 6:30. But unfortunately, Tyler thinks all numbers are "zzzzz" (zero).

Mysterious Accessory to Kitchen Aid Mixer

Do you know what this is? It came with my Kitchen Aid mixer that I got for Christmas. When I first opened the mixer box in January, I spent a couple of hours going through the manual and even looking online to see if I could figure out what it is. I googled things like "mesh square Kitchen Aid."

I even called my mom who has a Kitchen Aid mixer and who gave me this one as a Christmas gift. I thought I remembered her having one of these when she first got her mixer, although I hadn't seen it in a while. She didn't remember what I was talking about.

I hesitantly decided it was meant to keep the beaters from scraping up the bowl when they are stored in it. I dutifully stored the mysterious square in my mixing bowl, under the beaters just in case. Plus, I figured I'd have it in the future if I came up with a better explanation.

I have a better explanation. Are you ready for this?

Today, I found another square exactly like this one in Tyler's game designed to help kids with sensory issues. My sister gave to Tyler at Christmas, but he tried to eat all the pieces so I put it up for a while.

I wish I had a video...

Tyler just fell asleep on the sofa. While this would not normally be an entertaining process, the child was sitting upright on this particular occasion and it was hilarious.

His head would bob forward as his eyes closed. He started falling forward so he leaned backward. His head touched the sofa and he sat upright. You'd have thought his eyelids weighed 5 lbs each. He tried to lay down, but that just made him mad as he realized he was giving in, and he started crying. So he crawled into my lap and fell instantly asleep.

Weight Check

We got to Tyler's therapy appointment this morning and found out that his therapist had just called in and would not be able to make it. But the lady at the front desk took us to a scale so we could check Ty's weight. He weighs 25.2 lbs! I was so worried because he doesn't seem to be eating much. He's gained about a pound in the last 2.5 months. So now I can stop worrying about how much he's eating and focus on getting him to try new foods.

He really likes watermelon juice. He was licking it off his fingers yesterday even though he refused to put watermelon in his mouth. And today, he drank the watermelon juice from a straw but he still wouldn't put the fruit in his mouth. Please pray that he gets over this fear and starts enjoying new foods!

Lil' Gardener

Brian and I finished planting our garden this evening.
Tomatoes, basil, rosemary, squash, zucchini and pepper.
We had a great little helper. Can you see how dirty he is?

"My own shovel!"

"Let's plant something here!"

"Uh-oh!"

"Hear that airplane?"

Baby Birds

Tyler and I discovered a bird's nest about 5 days ago. The Mama Bluejay was sitting in it, yelling at us. Three days ago, we went to check on it and saw three baby birds. At least I did. I'm pretty sure Tyler was looking above where I pointed!

We finally remembered to take pictures today:


This afternoon, while we were planting azaleas, one of the baby birds was hopping across the yard. We checked the nest and only one baby was in the nest — and it was perched on the edge like it was ready to leave.