This is What It's Come To...

It seems I will do anything to get my kid to eat. The latest involves having a tea party of sorts -- in fact, maybe it's the little boy's version of a tea party: lunch with his airplane car. 

This is how the scene usually goes.

I announce it's lunch time in a sing songy voice. "Whooooooo's ready to eat?"

K., nonplussed, usually keeps playing.  OR, he says, "Cookies!"... which I ignore.

I say, "I know an airplane who's hungry!  Let's put the airplane on the table and get him ready to eat!"

I tie a bib on the airplane (K. particularly LOVES this).

I place K.'s lunch on his high chair tray.

I place K. in his high chair.

I say, "Time to put on your bib just like the airplane!"

K. whines and squirms and does anything he can to avoid getting the bib treatment.

I say, "You don't want your shirt to get WET, do you?  This doggy bib will keep you nice and DRY." (wet and dry are two new words that he's intrigued by at the moment, for some reason)

He relents.  The bib goes on.

I say, "Yum!  It's time to eat our [insert name of featured food here]."

K. says "NO!" and turns his head.

I say, "OK, Airplane, I guess you get to eat ALL of K.'s food since he is not hungry!"

I "feed" the airplane, which is immediately followed by giggles from K.

If we are lucky, K. will halfheartedly eat a few bites of [whatever is on his plate at the moment].

[Repeat airplane feeding steps above, for an indeterminant period of time.] 

All of a sudden, K. announces that it is time to take the bib off the airplane. "OFF!  OFF!  OFF!"

I take the bib off the airplane.

K. refuses to eat another bite.

I offer yogurt.

K. gets excited: "Yogurt, yogurt, yogurt!"

I give him some yogurt (usually attempting to smuggle fruit pieces in it).

He takes spoonfuls of yogurt and pretty deftly manuvers the fruit pieces out of his mouth, while still managing to swallow the yogurt.

We do this until one of us gets tired.

K. announces, "OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT"

I manage to wipe his hands and face (for some reason, he does not protest when I do this).

I lift him out of his chair.

He runs off to torment the cat.

[At the next mealtime, the entire episode repeats.]