Giving Thanks for Basalmic Vinegar

Today I am grateful for the following three things:

1. Basalmic Vinegar.
2. Choices.
3. Natalie.

Read on to find out why...

1. Basalmic Vinegar: So Ethan does not eat anything that isn't sweet or isn't dairy. Forget about breads, vegetables, or proteins. His daily diet goes something like this - Breakfast: Milk, Yogurt (sometimes I can sneak in a few Cheerios with the yogurt. sometimes.) Lunch: Cheesy quesadilla, bananas. Dinner: Nothing.

This is how dinner usually goes - We put something on his tray, like chicken, for example. He screams and waves his arms and writhes in his seat. Then he will either push each piece off with his finger, one at a time, or he will throw the pieces at Anders. Then he screams until we get him down.

Sometimes I give in and give him chicken nuggets. He used to eat those, but recently all he does is put the chicken nugget in his mouth, gums it for about 5 minutes, then spits out the chicken part, having sucked off all the breading.

My only consolation is that the breading is whole grain.

But last night, we had a breakthrough. He actually ate a piece of chicken (1/2 inch x 1/2 inch) that had been dipped in basalmic vinegar. It actually made it to his stomach. I was thrilled! Of course, he didn't eat any more than that. After that he just used the chicken as a utensil to get the basalmic vinegar into his mouth - he would dip the chicken and sucked off the vinegar.

Whatever floats your boat, kid, whatever floats your boat.

2. Choices: So today Andrea woke up in a foul mood. She grumped and groaned and cried pretty much all morning. For the first hour or so, she was such a stick-in-the-mud. And then, all of the sudden, she wasn't. She was happy. She was bright. She was cheerful. She was helpful and obedient. Was this seriously the same child who only 5 minutes ago was sitting on the potty while slamming the cabinet door over and over?

After this dramatic mood swing, we were all getting ready, and as she was helping Natalie get her shoes on, she looked up and said, "Mommy! I'm choosing to be happy!!"

Wouldn't it be great if more people realized they could make that choice?


3. Natalie: Yesterday was my sweet Natalie's birthday. The poor thing is like a door mat - she let's everyone walk all over her. She's quiet and considerate and a peacemaker, and so she often gets the short end of the stick, especially being the middle child. So I was especially happy to celebrate her special day. She got to choose every song we listened to in the car, she had a lunch date with Daddy, she chose dinner (pasta salad), she chose a Belle birthday cake, and all those presents were hers. It was so fun to watch her graciously shine in the spotlight.

Thanks, Grandma Miller, for the awesome Barbie clothes!

I remember the first time I saw her when she was born. She was a c-section, so I couldn't hold her right away, but Anders brought her to me and held her close to my cheek. I just remember how soft those sweet chubby cheeks were. Happy Birthday, Natalie! I love you, and I'm so glad you decided to join our family!

Natalie, sporting her new sun glasses, apron, next to her Belle birthday cake.