Spoons

Tyke is still going through his "picky eater" stage.  He is surviving off of treats, mac and cheese and milk.  He pretty much refuses everything else but we still battle with him to get him to try new foods (and old foods that he used to like but spits out now, if he even lets them touch his mouth!).  Last night we went and had dinner at the local Mexican joint because Chad and I didn't feel like cooking and it sounded good.  Tyke ate a couple of tortilla chips and had his first taste of guacamole.  He pulled a disgusted face but ate it anyway surprisingly (he usually spits it out faster than it goes in if he doesn't agree with it).  When our food was finally served we offered Tyke some rice, which he usually loves, but he wouldn't even look at it let alone taste it.  He reached and grabbed a spoon and started digging into Chad's refried beans.  He played with them for a minute until there were enough stuck to the spoon that he pulled it to his mouth and ate them!  Chad and I were shocked!  Shocked that he ate them, liked them, and he used a spoon correctly by himself for the first time!!  He continued to eat beans until he eventually dropped his spoon on the floor.  At that point we were pretty much done with dinner anyway.

Today for lunch Chad fixed Tyke a cup of his macaroni and cheese and gave him a spoon to see what he would do.  Chad was able to help Tyke hold the spoon and show him how to scoop up the noodles and put them in his mouth (usually Tyke will throw a huge fit if we touch his spoon!).  After a couple of tries Tyke started feeding himself really well!  He made a huge mess and more noodles ended up down the front of him than in his mouth, but he ate!  And he did it all by himself!  It's amazing how our little guy learned this new life lesson in just a matter of hours!  We're so impressed and so proud with all that Tyke learns and does!  He's our little genius baby!