It's been three weeks of a meal time warfare, and I am starting to wonder if Elijah is really mine. I know that kids are notoriously picky eaters, but the hunger strike is a developmental milestone I could do without. Of late, the only successful tactic has been to occupy him with something particularly fun while I covertly slip spoonfulls of food into his mouth. Yesterday I gave him a bottle of vitamins to try and open (he did). A few days ago I gave him the yellow-ceramic-chicken salt shaker he's always eyeing (he emptied the entire thing). I tell him, "Elijah you are stubborn. Stub-born!!" He appears to take it as a compliment.
Today, however, things took a turn. I was attempting to resurrect some old family recipes - stuffed cabbage and apple cake. Elijah was on the floor happily 'cooking' with some tupperware. Ever once and a while, he would lift up his arms and say "up" at which point I would scoop him onto my hip and let him 'help.' It was an idealized version of our normal evening routine, all warm and cozy.
When it came time to get Elijah's dinner ready, I decided to try something new, a veggie dog. It was then that a long-forgotten food memory came to mind, hotdogs and split pea soup. When I was growing up, my mom used to put slices of hotdog in our split pea soup. I've been a vegetarian for most of my life, but the thought of it made me smile. I dug out a can of split pea soup, corraled Elijah in his highchair and watched on as he picked up his first little chunk of hotdog. I quietly beamed as gobbled it up and went to eat some more. I contemplated skipping the soup. What if he spits it all over the place and spoils my little victory? But I was so excited about the idea of him eating hotdogs and split pea soup that I couldn't resist. He didn't seem impressed with the first spoonful, but he swallowed and opened up for more. Maybe it was a fluke, maybe it was the smells of vinegary cabbage and baking cake, but for one nostalgic evening we had a truce.
"How old are you?"
