Pizza and French Fries

What a way to introduce a child on solid food.

It was a Friday night when Patrick was about three months old, sitting on his grandfather's lap, as we were eating dinner. Typically on Fridays we have pizza ... and this Friday was no different.

What was different was Patrick's focus. He was generally aware of the people around him at that point, but this time he was focused on the pizza. In particular, he was watching as his Papap lifted the pizza from the plate to take a bite and then back again as he put it down.

After about the third bite, Patrick started to lean toward the pizza with an open mouth.

We all laughed for a bit ... it was cute. Then, it got interesting as Papap put a slice of pizza into Patrick's mouth. He immediately started to gum the pizza (no teeth at this point). He got some cheese and a bit of crust, but mostly he was taking in the pizza sauce ... and loving every bit of it.

Our little man's first solid food ... pizza!

Within a few days, we got brave enough to try something else ... well, I should say that Papap was brave enough. He doused a french fry in ketchup and viola ... Patrick was eating his second solid food.

We've since learned that pretty much anything doused in ketchup is a hit ... ham, cheese ...

We were amazed and little Patrick got a lot of pizza and ketchup covered french fries in those early months. To this day, they are two of his favorite foods. And, we just found out tonight that he definitely favors getting the fries from his grandfather ... I offered one and was rebuffed; Papap offered and he took several. What a cool kid.

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Getting Involved

This is the second night in a row that we were able to spend time and Grandma and Papap's ... Patrick enjoys it so much! We even had a rousing rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" with all five of us involved ... yes, Patrick is pitching in now. He runs from person to person, giving a bit to each one of us ... there is never a dull moment. Tonight, he repeated a new activity from last night. Last night, it was getting everyone involved in chasing him around the house ... tonight, we had this activity, but what we saw was that he wanted to play different games and wanted certain people involved. This is when he went to each person that needed to be involved and grabbed a finger, pulling them along. He even checked every now and then to make sure they were still following. Such an amazing child ... knows how to ensure that we sleep well.

Outside Play

Patrick loves to be outside. When he arrived home yesterday, I was just getting finished with some weeding ... he and Jen immediately jumped in to help. We dragged branches to the pile in the back yard. Then, I found Jen and Patrick getting ready for a bike ride. Wanting to spend time with my wife and son, I opted into the ride. We didn't go far, my back and legs were a bit sore at that point ... but we did get out together as a family. The bike seat we have is not the kind I remember as I grew up. Patrick's is pretty close to my seat, in fact my heels hit the lower part of his seat if I am not paying attention. Despite this, we have a lot of fun. He loves to look around and notices things ... at one point, Jen wandered off and he started calling to her until she headed back to what he considered a safe distance. He is also a boy and likes to play. He "high-fived" my back and spent a few minutes pulling my shirt out. I hope I never forget the head-butt...

Family Time with Shoes

Last night was cool. Patrick was in a playful mood ... dumping food and drinks all over the place, sneaking toys over the back of the couch (then getting upset when I passed them back to him), and climbing over everything. He also got a family game going ... with everyone ready for bed, he had us put his shoes on, then Papa and Mama had to put on their boots. It was all very funny and exciting ... mostly watching his intensity. Then, we had to follow him ... around and around we went. Through the kitchen, into the dining room, through the family room, past the front door and into the kitchen again ... over and over, around and around ... stomping our feet in some sort of family train! Every now and then, Jen or I would fall behind and invariably, Patrick would stop to make sure that we caught back up. We played other games, as well ... but we always seemed to head back to the train ... oh, and don't forget the shoes ...

Fatherhood

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