Favorite Food

            Last night Michelle and I both didn’t feel like doing anything extravagant for dinner, so she decided to make a tuna casserole. It was partly because we know Celia likes tuna, and we didn’t want to have to deal with a difficult eating situation like we have been the last few weeks.

            Up until this month Celia has eaten practically anything we put in front of her, including spicy food and stuff I’d have thought would be way too extreme for a child like lemons or olives. But now she actually spits food out that she doesn’t like. I was shocked when she put a nice big chunk of meatball in her mouth, started chewing happily, then spat it out. “Phoo!”

            At first, we found this behavior slightly humorous, because it was rare. But it was only after a couple of nights where Celia woke up at 1am hungry that we realized that we have to figure out a solution for this new selective behavior, and fast.

            I think she’ll get even more finicky than this, from what I’ve heard. Isn’t the two-year-old stretch the hardest for food? I wonder if exposing her to a lot of different stuff now is the best option. As it is, I think she’s winning the battle. We’re starting to default to simple meals that we know she’ll eat.

            Like tuna casserole.

            Only I was shocked that she not only ate her entire bowl, but every single bite she took was accompanied by, “Yummy!” or “Mmmmm!”

            I smiled and said, “Do you like your dinner tonight?”

            “Yummy!” Celia said with a grin.

            I’ve never seen her go so crazy over food. It was funny, and now we know her first favorite food. I just hope we can find a few more good ones as well.