The Negotiator

Had to pull out an old bib because Elijah FINALLY let me pour milk into his bowl of cereal one morning. He's still an extremely picky eater and up until recently he insisted on eating his cereal dry, but he's been a little more adventurous lately. I can't complain about his eating habits anymore though, because at least nowadays he sits down and eats all three meals and a snack or two every day. He's not into variety, so basically he eats the exact same things every other day...cereal, pancakes or granola bars for breakfast; breaded chicken, grilled cheese sandwich, spaghetti or macoroni for lunch and dinner; and yogurt, chips, apples, pears, and/or bananas for a snack. Notice there's not a single vegetable listed. We'll keep trying. In the meantime, he loves V8 Fusion which is 100% fruit & vegetable juice and we've got him on these all-natural multi-vitamins.

I swear, every time I look around, Elijah's got his boots on. Stay tune for my next posting...Elijah playing his guitar while wearing ONLY boots.

Before I finish, I just have to mark down the fact that this little guy is a FORCE. He is so opinionated that Rob and I are on our knees, praying it's just a phase. Because if not, then WHOA, Rob and I are heading down a very, very long road. When it's not exasperating, it's hilarious...the kid challenges and negotiates literally everything. I say three more bites, he says one, we settle on two. I say we read one book, he says four, we settle on three (yeah, he's tough.) On and on it goes. He is certainly learning the art of compromise (or I should say that's the lesson he's teaching us.) Of course, there are a few things each day that I won't let him negotiate (like washing his hands or brushing his teeth,) but as long as I give him what he considers to be a rational explanation, he relents. "Because I said so" will never, ever work with a Sagittarius...so I've learned. Luckily, he's a sensible little guy, so a truthful, straightforward answer will suffice. But man, we're mentally exhausted every night. Rob will tell you our daily mantra lately has been: "Serenity! Serenity NOW!" : ) ~Nasreen

For Grandma Jean & Grandpa Lou

...to remember all the fun we had, UNTIL NEXT YEAR, that is! See you both here this summer. We'll be missing you until then.