Hold on, sudden changes ahead

2009 was not a great year for me of parenting for me. And, three has not been an easy age for Zeke. We have had some rocky moments in the past year. Part of it was seeing so many changes in Zeke that were/are difficult to parent through. And, not knowing what is going to change suddenly and leave you and your once happy child absolutely frustrated is challenging to say the least. I haven't always navigated this cooly and it's possible I have had as many tantrums as Zeke has, if I am really honest.

One of the changes that was difficult is that our perfectly flexible and great eating two year old a few months ago turned into your stereotypical picky preschooler. So, one day he is happy eating sauteed greens and ethnic food. Yum, yum, more quinoa and 16 bean curry stew with sprouts, please! Then without warning he only wants (veggie) bologna, (veggie) chicken nuggets, yogurt and pasta and will not touch anything that is a vegetable or with a sauce other than marinara. Mostly, we have just ignored this and not offered him any special meals. We figure he is a healthy weight and will eat when he is hungry. It is usually only an issue at dinner and usually not much of a power struggle, just a frustration. The one healthy constant has been that Zeke is always willing to eat fruit and fruit in any form. He did, however, give up some of his regular choices. Bananas, for example, have been exiled from his diet for at least four months.

Yesterday, he wakes up and is chatting with me. Out of the absolute clear blue with no prompting, he says, "Now I will eat bananas." You know what? Now he eats bananas. We went to the store that day. I asked him to pick out some bananas. He did. Today he peeled and ate the first banana in four months.