Tobin eats dinner.

Project 365 * 2 -- Day 113

     I thought Adelyn was a messy eater. I was wrong. Tobin can make more of a mess out of 1/2 an ounce of bananas than I thought was humanly possible. Feeding him is hard. Adelyn was such a great eater. By the end of her fourth month, she was eating three square meals a day in addition to breastfeeding. Tobin is a different story. Tobin loves to nurse. He'd rather stick with that than eat bananas, or sweet potatoes, or pears, or peas. Getting the spoon in his mouth is next to impossible. And when I do, he spits the food back out almost immediately. So, when he "eats" 1/2 an ounce of bananas, he's probably only getting a few spoonfuls. Most of it ends up on his face, his hands, his clothes, the highchair, the side of the highchair, in his hair, on his ears, caked into his tiny eyebrows. I have no idea how this kid can make such a mess with such a small amount of food.

     I found myself getting frustrated today. Not with him so much. Just with the mess he was making. Almost every mealtime requires a bath. I was making every attempt to keep him as clean and as neat as possible. And then I realized it. Tobin is a boy. And his six month eating messes are going to pale in comparison to the messes he will be making when he starts crawling. And then walking.

     I realized, I must embrace the mess. If there is any time to be messy, isn't it with a baby eating food? If there is any time to color outside the lines, isn't it with young children? So, I let him go for it. I let him get good and messy. And it made him quite happy. He still didn't eat much, but at least the food didn't go to a total waste.

See his teeth? He has two on the bottom.

     Thankful for my messy eater. Thankful that I realized that with my Tobin boy, messy days will be a daily occurrence. Thankful for his smile. His smile makes my heart feel full and warm. Thankful that I get to cuddle with him every day. Thankful that Adelyn loves him so much. It makes my heart feel even more full and warm to see my children love each other.

Love.