then don't eat it.

i say this probably every day. no, really.

as a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it, or leave it. ~buddy hackett

sawyer is somewhat like a garbage disposal. she will eat most anything.

aidan, on the other hand, has only a few food groups.

1. cheese. more so queso, but whatever. really any mexican food, including beans and rice.
2. velveeta shells and cheese.
3. carbs. like pasta, tortillas, jelly toast, grilled cheese.
(you seeing a theme?)
4. poptarts.
5. pepperoni. on pizza or not. she's not picky. *eyeroll*
6. donut holes.
7. FRUIT!!!! WIN!!! any kind. i can fill her up all day on fruits!!!
8. chicken nuggets.
9. meat from a pig. like sausage, ham, bacon... and hot dogs. i'll pretend thats from a pig to make myself feel better. ;) mooooving on...
10. cereal. luckily, her fave is special k with red berries.

ok, yes, i am being funny for blog's purposes. I DO FEED HER MORE THAN THESE ITEMS. but that doesn't mean she likes them. she tries them (sometimes). and by tries, i mean "puts it in her mouth, gags and spits it back onto the plate"... or into my hand. thats always a delightful part of being a mother.

EJ or i make dinner. and aidan will say "i no WANT that". ok, dude. "then don't eat it."

if i leave the plate in front of her, 2 things may happen: 1. it sits there. until i pick it up. 2. she eats it. but i never know which will happen.

am i a short order chef? yes. sadly, i give into that. but it depends on how much aidan has eaten all day. because, here's the deal. there are a few types of eaters, in my opinion.

1. kids who eat all the time.
2. kids who eat at meal time.
3. kids who rarely eat. and then make up for it later.

aidan is the latter. if she ate a big breakfast, she prob won't eat lunch. and then will eat a small dinner. then prob won't eat breakfast the next day, will eat lunch, and then something for dinner. so if she truly doesn't want to eat dinner - i think "well she had a big lunch" let her have an apple and some toast (if thats what she so chooses) and she's perfectly full til morning.

do i worry about it? no. i see asked online all the time "OMG MY KID DIDN'T EAT LUNCH!!! should i wake him from nap early?!!?!" <--- ok thats an exaggeration. but its similar to that sort of dramatics. sawyer is, um, lets just say #1 on my eaters list. she eats non-stop. and oddly, is my twig. her little waist fits into her last year's 12mon shorts lol she will bring a snack in the car on the way to dinner. eat tons of dinner. and then pick the rest of that snack back up on the way home. its fascinating. i never thought id have a bottomless pit after having a kid like aidan. lets use tonight as an example. aidan had a huge breakfast, didnt want to eat lunch, and then dinner time came... EJ grilled some sort of bratwurst or sausage something for sawyer. aidan wanted none of that. "then don't eat it". she wanted "QUESADILLA!!" (which, by the way, in aidan's terms, is a tortilla with a side of queso). i tossed a tortilla at her and then actually made her quesadillas lol she ate them. la dee da. which by the way i let eat in the cabinet. i do this often bc she eats more here lol (oh, and dont mind the outfit. she actually wore this to target as well - with flip flops and sunglasses hanging on the front. pick your battles...)

some might say, slip some chicken in there! really tiny pieces!! - fail. tried that. she feared the quesadillas that i made for about 2 weeks until i proved to her that it really was only cheese and tort. sigh.

so anyway, im up for recs for kids like her :) but if not, just take note that your kid isn't the only "bad eater". your kid is also NOT going to die if he doesn't eat dinner. kids eat when they are hungry. some are more hungry than others. i promise.