It is no secret that I make two of about every meal we eat...one for Trey and I and one for Reece. I honestly didn't intend for it to be this way; I remember my parents telling me the story of my second cousins and how they wanted Easy Mac and "pink milk" instead of the beautiful ham dinner my mom had made for dinner that night. They still tell the story to this day. I swore I'd never be that parent, that my child would have a diverse pallette just like mine (with the exception of cooked carrots and meat on the bone---YUCK!) and would eat right off my plate.

Yeah right. Sometimes this parenting thing, as much as you think you have it figured out, throws you a curveball. It all started on Reece's first birthday when he refused to drink milk. He just flat out quit drinking it and while everyone else's kids were guzzling 3-4 cups of milk a day Reece was having none of it. Then along came his dislike for eating anything on a spoon, or anything that had to be spoon-fed to him. This included yogurt, oatmeal, applesauce and mashed potatoes--things that were staples in his diet that he LOVED were now poo-pooed. He refused.

As the past 9 months have gone on, we've had a challenging time figuring out what Reece will eat and what he won't eat, without spending a fortune on food. I refuse to waste food and I also refuse to battle with my child to eat a meal. Reece has been on the skinnier side of the "charts" since he's been born, so I just refuse to force him to eat anything, rather let him eat what he wants. For dinners this limits us to quesadillas, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, hot dogs, mac and cheese, any noodle, and taco rice. No veggies. Fruits are strawberries, grapes, and now PLUMS AND NECTARINES! You cannot imagine how happy this makes me, but how sad it's about to make me once they go out of season!

I know it's probably not the most popular parenting option, but he's healthy and he's growing! Reece's pediatrician is glad he's developing a taste for what he likes, and that he's eating (especially calcium-fortified foods because he doesn't like milk).

Guess we'd better develop a liking for ham so Grandma and Grandpa don't tell stories about Reece!