K will be two soon. Very soon. Too soon. It’s a little hard to believe. And as much as I want to pretend he’s still my little baby…he’s not. He’s a boy. A sweet, smart, healthy, growing, boy. Just as he should be.

K wasn’t a huge gift opener at Christmas, so we’ve started prepping for his party by trying to get him really excited. He confirmed he wants pizza, balloons, and ice cream. He also requested chocolate milk, applesauce and raisins. 😀 The presents didn’t seem to be as exciting as raisins…but we’ll see what the day brings.

Nonetheless…I’ve tried to get most of the planning knocked out ahead of time since studying now takes up most of my evenings and weekends. The theme will be THOMAS THE TRAIN! If you’ve kept up with his recent obsession with trains that is probably no surprise. I had a really really cute Mickey Mouse camping theme planned out…but that was more for me than him. So trains it is!

All aboard! Raisins and chocolate milk, anyone?

Well…we’ve lasted nearly 2 years without seeking a babysitter. We’ve avoided events K couldn’t attend. Sponged off of friends, family and neighbors. Even buddied up with their booked babysitters on two occasions. But the time has come for us to find a babysitter of our own. One (or two) we can call in a pinch, that can know and love K, and be a familiar face with a caring touch. So I’ve started the search, and already have 3 prospects. If all goes well, we’ll have someone to help with K while we attend a church class this Sunday. If all goes really really well, we’ll have 2 or 3 that we can rely on in the future for date nights, work events, or other misc needs. Here’s hoping for the best!

Participating with Shell!
http://thingsicantsay.com/2013/01/pour-your-heart-out-the-sitting-moms.html

We’ve hit a wall with K’s eating habits. He’s slowly gotten pickier and picker the last few weeks until he would be just fine with a diet that consisted of nothing more than:

Yogurt
Fruit
Breakfast grains (muffins, cereal bars, pecan twirls, dry cereal, etc)
Mac n Cheese
PB sandwiches
Pizza

In just the last few days he has refused to TRY an english muffin pizza, butternut squash, baked beans, sausage, chicken fries, spaghettios, a non cheese sauce noodle…the list goes on. Note I didn’t say he “tried and hated”…he won’t even taste anything that looks remotely new.

If you think I’m pushing my luck with any of the above items, he is also no longer eating items he used to love…carrots, green beans, corn, grilled cheese (gave that one up a while ago) and even jelly on the PB&J.

Granted…there are some healthy things on his “yes” list. I’m so thankful that he will eat fruit and yogurt. And between the yogurt and PB I feel like we’re getting enough protein in him. But what’s a mama got to do to make a veggie appealing? And why STOP eating something he has clearly liked for a while? And what 2 year old doesn’t like grilled cheese!?!

So I’m curious…if any of you have dealt with a picky eater, what helped him/her overcome it? If it is a phase…how long are we looking at here? And where did you fall on the 0-10 “they have to eat…just give them something healthy they WILL eat”…to…”send them to bed hungry…they’ll learn to like spinach eventually” scale. I don’t know how hard to try to push and reason with a 2 year old whose will has proven to be surprisingly strong…

In case you are wondering…we are careful about fluids, especially milk around meal time. We try entertainment while he eats, and no entertainment while he eats. (Tonight tv would have been a reward IF he had eaten. Tomorrow we’re going to all sit at the kitchen table together with no other distractions. Etc).

Man can not live on bread alone…but can K live on mac n cheese?