You Win Some, You Lose Some

One of the most challenging things I find about mothering Samantha is feeding her. Back when she was 9 months old and we took her to a feeding specialist because she wasn't on any sort of track to eating solid foods I found meal times to be nerve wracking because I was always so disappointed if she wouldn't eat very well. Now I know that she will eat when she is hungry, and that it is okay if she goes to bed and hasn't eaten a good dinner. Knowing this I still get excited when she eats a really good meal, or disappointed if she doesn't eat very well. Mealtimes can go a few different ways around here. Either she'll sit right down, be really hungry and eat nearly everything we give her. Or, she might just eat a few things and not touch other things. Or, she'll sit down and immediately say "NO!" and not eat a thing. Luckily the last one doesn't happen very often. Lately Samantha has been eating a good breakfast, decent lunch, and not so much dinner. I was really excited when I gave her BBQ pulled pork for lunch the other day and not only did she taste it, but she liked it and asked for seconds! Sometimes when offering something new it is frustrating because you know that if she'd just try it, she'd love it. But, some things still go untried. I forget what the number is, but some statistic states that sometimes it can take 15 or more tries before a child will actually eat something.

I have a feeling that we are entering the stage of those willful two's. Not only is Samantha showing interest in the potty, but she also wants to do lots of other things by herself. I am excited for her to be able to dress herself, etc, etc, but I must admit I've kind of been dreading some of these self help stages. By nature it means that some of our morning routines will have to be adjusted and slowed down to accommodate the "doing it myself". I just have to start adjusting my mindset that things are going to take longer, and that's okay.

It is evident that Samantha is listening to what we say even if she doesn't always comply. The other day I was getting myself a glass of water from the water dispenser and she pointed her little finger at me and sternly said "that's enough Mommy". Clearly she has heard us tell her she has enough water in her cup!

Jake is still moving around every which way except for forward. Yesterday Chris and Samantha were sitting on the floor in front of Jake, calling to him to crawl over. Instead of crawling forward, he spun himself around and pushed himself backwards towards them. We were amazed that he had actually made his way towards them. His movements were so purposeful!

Just in case you were wondering, Jake is not having any problems with eating his food! He seems to like any food that we put in front of him, however, he does have a preference for oatmeal over rice cereal. Who can blame him?