Cheese is better than chicken, which is better than sweet potatoes which is better than broccoli (even if hummus is mixed in to make it thicker and tastier). Or at least that is what Sarah "told" me today while taking a break at the food court at Dulles Town Center. When Sarah started eating real food, the only thing she originally didn't like was peaches, and soon even those became palatable. We went out to eat in Bethany Beach, she wasn't a huge fan of my fish (side note, cutest face ever as she tried spitting it out and shaking her head to rid her mouth of all remnants), but as far as I can remember, those are the only two times she hasn't liked what she's eaten.
Recently, this has all changed. She no longer will eat whatever is for dinner. This makes packing for trips quite difficult because I have to bring the equivalent of three meals with me at any given time, not being sure what will go over well that day. I normally throw in some sweet potatoes or applesauce, as those rarely are rejected, but today even the former was not a winner. My new favorite behavior is her ability to physically choose between like items. I love now that when I put small pieces of food on the table in front of her she picks and chooses what she wants to eat. Today we had pieces of chicken and cheese mixed up on the table in front of her and she very carefully chose the cheese, leaving the chicken behind. When given a choice between peas and most any other finger food, I notice the peas are the first to disappear.
And it's not just in her meal choices that I'm noticing her developing preferences. She'll crawl across an entire room to get to a toy that she wants (often that "toy" is a remote control or cell phone). Regardless of where you put her down, she often ends up in one of two spots - the stairs or the dogs water bowls. I think she knows the meaning of the word "no" but just laughs it off. Her new favorite game is "let's pull the books and DVDs off of the bottom shelf of the entertainment unit". Whenever she crawls over to the bookshelf I say "Sarah, no" and for an instant she stops... and then continues what she was doing. As a parent, when do I start enforcing behaviors? At this point, I don't really care whether she eats peas or broccoli for dinner, or prefers the ball to the stacking cups, but I do care that she throws a 10 month old tantrum if she doesn't get what she wants.
But as I sit and ponder that question, I do revel in the fact that in her own special way she's communicating with the world. Her verbalization's are mostly squeaks with a couple of "d" and "g" sounds thrown in for fun, but she does convey what she wants. And she does have preferences. I just hope that at least for another year her preference for clothes will continue to be pink and girly. I'm not sure I'm ready to leave that bandwagon just yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment