milk factory blog

5 Orange Circles

It is an absolute chore to get Oliver to eat vegetables so I was very excited to hear Oliver talk endlessly about eating "lello corn" at daycare today.  Of course, we don't have corn in our house so I saw the opportunity to introduce the idea of other colored food...like orange circles (carrots) and green balls (peas).  Well!  According to O, that sounded like an awesome dinner!  Ha!

Me:  Oliver, dinner is ready!

O: Really?  Ok!  What you got for me, Mommy?

Me: Orange circles, green balls and pasta!

O: Oh!  Ok!

Oliver hops into his chair and spies the carrots and peas.  A quick push and the plate was across the table.

O: (arms crossed, full pout, sounding crushed) I don't like orange circles and green balls!

Me: But you haven't tried them yet.  Please eat ONE circle and ONE ball.

O: I can't!

Me: Why not?

O: Because it hurts me...I have a tummy ache...It's trouble...It's no good... (the excuses went on and on).

He managed to "try" ONE pea, spitting it out after one chomp.  And, after much coaching, he ate five carrot circles...mostly to the words "Daddy will be so proud of you!"  After the second circle, I asked how it tasted and got a "Good", after three circles, I got a "Yucky" and after the forth, an "I don't like Daddy!"  To get the fifth circle I held up four fingers and said "Eat one more and you can show Daddy you ate FIVE circles!"  O was beaming when Daddy called before bedtime - he held up all 5 fingers on one hand so Daddy could see through the phone that he ate five circles!

The Skunks Are Coming!

Tomi has been scolding me for not blogging, and I couldn't resist this short Ella story.

I'm sure this is partly because I'm a man, and therefore fascinated by bodily functions, but I've been wondering at what point young kids develop a sense of smell. Until recently, Ella has been really focused on touch and taste and sound.

As far as smell goes, I was really starting to wonder when she'd notice someone had passed gas. I would let one go and she'd laugh at the sound, noting that I'd tooted, but she'd never comment on the smell (even when it was worthy of comment). It just seemed to be something she wasn't detecting.

Anyway, this all changed out of the blue a couple of weeks ago while we were staying with her Auntie Em and Uncle Puff in Victoria. She was sleeping in our bed for the trip and the two of us took a nap together on the Saturday afternoon. We were all snuggled up face-to-face and drifting off to sleep when a very silent, but very rank bit of gas escaped me.

When the stank drifted up from under the covers she suddenly opened her eyes wide and--with a tone of some concern in her voice--declared: "Oh Daddy, I think the skunks are coming!"

Ah yes, another developmental hurdle cleared.