Fatherhood

Patrick's favorite foods ... pizza and french fries. The sign for "more" ... regularly used and one of the clearest words he knows.  It's become "more food" as time goes on. Tonight, he got both in one meal ... courtesy of a great local restaurant! What I found hilarious was seeing the beard of pizza sauce and ketchup on his face. He eats everything with gusto ... picking small bits if we let him and chomping freely when we prompt him. While he's hungry and eating, it is a very focused event. He gets the food in his hand, on the spoon, or stabbed with the fork and then, into his mouth (generally, covering some portion of his face to get there). When he's just somewhat hungry, the games begin ... sometimes, clearing the table with food to the left and right, winging it's way across the room. Other times, he wants to spoon from the container himself ... a trial by error, if I ever saw one. And, when he's done, the real games begin....

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 .....