My Picky Eater and Non-Sleeper

I'm a lover of most foods, that's certainly no secret. My food mantra has always been, "I'll try everything, at least once." New foods have never scared me away, and seeing "NEW" next to a menu item at a restaurant always makes it seem a little more appealing. 

Harper - not a lover of all foods. She's one of the pickiest eaters I know. I understand it's common for kids her age to be selective on the foods they're willing to eat, but seriously. Harpers diet consists of cheese and carbs. Everything else, gets one look followed by, "Oh no. I don't like that. It's very yucky." 

For the New Year, we decided to stop making special Harper approved meals. For the last 8 days, Harper's plate has been reminiscent to ours. The new foods have resulted in many tears, high pitched screeches and even some dramatic gagging at the dinner table. We spend a good chunk of time trying to convince her to put a bite in to her mouth. Once we reach that milestone, the tears usually fade away and she's more willing to eat the food on her plate. 

One night this week, we had chili. We dished Harper up a small bowl and put it in front of her. She cried, a lot. She saw the meat and immediately freaked out. "I don't like meat!" (For some reason this is true, the girl is freaked out by meat. Except for chicken nuggets. Which is meat… right?) Next she spotted beans in the bowl. "I don't like green beans!" I explained they were chili beans, but that didn't seem to change her mind. After a good 20 minutes of talking of her of ledge, she finally put a spoonful in her mouth. She gagged immediately, staring at us with eyes saying "not a chance I'm eating this stuff." Mitch and I chanted "chew it. chew it!" but within seconds she had spit it out. 

After chili meltdown #2, she finally calmed down. I told her she needed to eat 10 bites. She agreed to my deal, but wasn't happy about it. I smooshed the beans, found small pieces of meat and camouflaged each spoonful with a tiny piece of tortilla chip. This seemed to work as we completed our 10 bites. It's safe to say, chili has not been added to Harper approved foods.

The rest of the week she's done better. She's even eaten her fair share of veggies (even broccoli!). We told her we were having pasta last night and she immediately started whining - "I don't like pasta!" I tried explaining pasta is the same thing as noodles (which is her favorite food), but she wasn't comprehending. She just kept saying, "I don't want pasta. How about noodles?" Ha, I couldn't help but laugh. 

Baby steps. We'll get there - eventually. I'm convinced one day we'll have a meat eating, veggie loving girl. 

Unfortunately Emmett started the week with cold symptoms. His 101 degree fever and stuffy nose didn't make him the happiest baby. There is nothing worse than a sick babe. 

Monday night into Tuesday I was up with him most of the night. When I'd lay him in his bed, within minutes he was crying. I knew he wasn't hungry, or in need of a diaper change - so I tried letting him calm himself. That didn't work. He was getting too loud, I was nervous he would wake up Harper since their rooms are side-by-side. Then I'd have two kids awake in the wee hours of the night. No thank you!

Tuesday night was more of the same. I spent a lot of my night in the rocking chair with my friend, the neck pillow. His fever had gone down, but he was still pretty irritable. Poor thing. Wednesday night was similar, but when he wouldn't calm down (at 3am) I decided to try the swing. SUCCESS! Both he and I were able to get a good stretch of sleep! 

Luckily last night things seemed a little more on track. He slept in his bed most of the night and was able to calm himself down (he loves that thumb!) Needless to say, we've both been a little tired this week. Thank goodness for Diet Coke. Without it, I'm not sure I'd be functioning. 

He'll sleep through the night soon, right? Yes. He has to! 

This past weekend we had a really nice (kid free) dinner with my parents, Austin and Sarah. Bob and Deb watched the kiddos while we dined at Rodizio Grill. It's a brazilian steakhouse, so everyone was in meat heaven. Not to mention it's currently bacon fest - so many of the meats were bacon wrapped. The food was good and the company was great! Such a fun night out. 

Mitch went back to work this week after being off since the 22nd. The extended time off resulted in facial hair and him realizing having "time off" is a little different with a 3-year-old and infant at home. Harper and Emmett kept him busy and he was able to sneak in a couple pheasant hunting trips. I think he was eager to get back to work and his regular routine. 

I campaigned for the facial hair to stay, but sadly I lost. Working Mitch means clean shaven. I haven't given up! 

Until next time…

The Helleens