Baby food

It was a moment of unprepared kindness. I said, "Why don't I take her through the dinner line and you can meet up with us?" I figure she and her husband could use a few minutes sans baby and really how hard could it be with an 18 month old? I asked what she was eating. She's notoriously picky about food and they are trying to get any amount of calories into her. "She likes sour cream and potatoes." I figured I would try anything.

My cousin's little girl is a hoot. She will snarl at you and scrunch her face up into a mess of anger if she feels she doesn't know you or doesn't want to. Then, a mere moment later, she will grin and coo and cuddle and be silly. Unless you annoy her and then *boom* she is back to snarling. At that particular moment she decided she liked me so I figured we were in. However, she hated everyone else that afternoon which was problematic as she is so dang cute everyone wants to poke her and make her frown. Or grin - but only if you have a camera.

We made it to the dinner line. I picked up my favourite dessert for me (date cake) and some pears for her (babies like pears, right?). I got extra meat and egg salad for her on my own plate and some veggies - carrots, sugar peas and celery. I loaded on the dressing. If I'm going to have to eat veggies, I'm going to enjoy it.

We sat down to eat. She was loving the pears. I would spoon her some juice and a piece of pear and she would eat it up. I thought I was doing quite well. Then she spotted my dessert. And liked it. Liked it so much, in fact, that pears became quite disgusting in comparison and were dropped out of her mouth onto my lap.

She's a subtle girl. None of this "spitting" thing for her. She just opens her mouth and lets the gross food drop out non-challantly. Onto my lap. Of course it wasn't the pears she did this with first. It was the egg salad. Which promptly slid between my legs under my bum and onto my pants.

I tried a piece of everything I had on my plate for her to try. Roast beef? Not a chance. Egg salad? Well, you know how that worked out. Veggies? Carrots were a no. Celery was a hell no. But sugar peas. It looked like we were getting somewhere. She took the pea pod, dipped it in dressing and popped it into her mouth. And chewed!!!! I was so excited. I thought I had gotten her to eat vegetables and I was about to be named the greatest cousin EVER. I was running out of peas so I made everyone at the table pass theirs over. "I need peas and dip", I shouted. I was so excited. None of this refusing to eat on my watch.

And then she did the inevitable. She opened her mouth and dropped a mouthful of chewed peas onto my lap. She sucked off the dip. The rest was a casualty of war.

I gave her back to her parents shortly after.