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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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 ...

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.

Painful Bits

Yesterday was a long work day ... I would have said a long day at work, but I was there, headed home, then had to return in the evening to work with the evening shift. I got home early in the afternoon and basically did nothing. I tried to nap ... to no avail. When Jen got home with Patrick, I basically had time to eat dinner, then head out the door again. The truly painful part was Patrick and Jen standing on the front porch ... with Patrick screaming, reaching for me as I drove off. I heard his screams until I well out of sight. According to Jen, as soon as he realized I was not coming back right away, he stopped yelling ... turned around and started playing with the doorbell and the screen door. His discomfort lasted significantly less than mine did ... I was ready to head home for hours. What focus!

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