Lunchtime Games

He must have known that I wanted an easy day. 2 hours into a 4 hour stint where it's just Daddy & Clayton and he's been asleep for all of it. "This is easy... I could make a career out of this Fatherhood lark yet you know", I think to myself. But I'm cautious to boast too early, for moments like these are quite often the calm before the 'drown Daddy where he stands storm'. I decided to prep lunch, he'll be awake soon. And sure enough, it wasn't long before I was strapping our son into his battle station and watching him declare war on my culinary masterpiece.

A toddlers feast of cream cheese sandwiches, tomato puffs, grapes and blueberries.

The meal may look dull and bland, but his strategy certainly wasn't. How a 1 year old can be so methodical beats me, but he really is. He grabbed items of food, with both hands, taking no more than one bite from any one item. Once he had tasted everything that was laid out in front of him, he began ranking them in taste order. First it was the tomato puffs... one by one, they were devoured. Typically, he then opted to leave the fruit until last and scoffed down all four fingers of his cream cheese sandwich. I thought by then, he'd have ended the charade and just tackle the fruit all together, but no. Like a monkey picking fleas from it's mate, he carefully plucked all of the blueberries from the mixed pot of fruit; continuing to fill his face. That left only a handful of chopped grapes with which he proceeded, one by one, to pick up, look me in the eye and drop them onto the floor. I failed to hold back the smile I didn't want to show him and went to save him the job of clearing the contents of his tray onto the floor and take it away for him. He had obivously had his fill, or just didnt like grapes that day.

Only, when I went to clear the remains of his lunch, he cried out like I had done him an injustice. He then rapidly continued to eat the grapes as fast as he could! Until I stepped away that is, when he paused, looked at me and dropped the last few onto the floor, laughing.

This kid already has the better of me.