mornings

I am not a morning person. I don't like to talk a lot in the morning. Few things make me smile in the morning. But this sight does-Jared eating 3 bowls of cereal every morning. Each morning I stumble into the kitchen and see Jared at the table with his bowl, spoon, milk and cereal box always in the same place. I don't know why it makes me happy, but it does. And I want to remember this years from now, so I am posting about it. He is just so cute and growing up so fast.

claire's first day of pre-k

A week after the boys headed to school, it was finally Claire's turn. It about killed her to wait. She loves school. I loved her first day of school outfit-the ice cream cones are too cute. Claire was not nervous at all, just excited. She marched right in the room and her day was made even brighter as she saw that the class was having cereal and milk! What could be better for her...school and food! I kissed her goodbye and left her to fully enjoy her great fortune.

I picked up the boys first so they could come in and pick her up on her first day. As we walked into the class room, they were having a snack of apple slices. Claire looked at us, and then at her apples and then back at us. You could see her indecision...family-food-family-food?? Poor girl was being tortured until I said she could take the apples with her. Then she smiled and pick up her apples and ran to us with her arms open for a hug.

She had a great day and told me that she won the puzzle race. You go girl!

the bottomless stomach

As I have mentioned before, Claire loves to eat. I will now expand on this, as it is something I want to remember. Well, I don't know if I can forget, but I may forget how much food meant to her in her early years. I am assuming of course that she will outgrow this. Let's hope so.

First off, Claire did not have real food until she was about 11 months old. In China she was only given formula, and when we adopted her at 10 months we had to start introducing baby food to her slowly. You would think this would make her a picky eater, right. Wrong. This girl loves everything. This is the good part of her love of food. At an early age she could handle the spiciest of foods. She is still at 4 willing to try any food you put in front of her and likes most of it. She will ask to try a food we are eating that she doesn't know what it is. Since my boys have never asked or wanted to try anything new besides a dessert, I assume she is unique. The food she doesn't like right now: banana and tomato. That's it...seriously.

OK, for the annoying part of her love of food. She wants to eat ALL the time. Food is never to far from her mind. And it is not like she doesn't eat a lot already. She can eat all of us under the table at a meal. I am not kidding. The girl can eat. But no matter how much she puts away at lunch she is asking 10 times when snack time is, and then dinner. When she sees anyone eat something she makes a bee line for them and asks for a bite or just stares at you. It is a challenge for me to not get upset about this as children asking for food is a pet peeve of mine. Carter and Jared don't have this gene and so it is new for me with her. I am trying.

The one up side with her obsession with food is we always have the perfect punishment when she needs one. No dessert just about does her in. It makes an affect. But she is a good little girl and will remind us that she is not allowed dessert that night when we forget, which almost makes me want to give it to her anyway. Almost.