Meal times

Just wanted to post a few fun pictures of our meal times lately. They have been getting better and better. Well, until tonight when Max would only eat one small bit of scrambled egg and some corn, after A LOT of negotiating, since he did not want to eat the really really nice halibut or soy beans we were having for dinner.

Dinner at the Keg was full of a lot of hugs and cuddles for Dad:

Max's favourite drink, water.

This is Max's "kids meal". He got to start with some raw veggies, then 2 mini burgers and cooked veggies for dinner.

Dad, helping Max with dinner

Max loves dipping. He doesn't always understand that you're supposed to eat the veggies after you dip it, not just lick off the dip and then dip it again. Look out if we're ever visiting. I try to catch him before he does it... hehehe.

MMMMmmm, a nice Mondavi Chardonnay. I miss really good wine. This isn't the best wine I've had, but I really can't bring myself to open a nice bottle at home to have just one glass.

I had to take a picture. Warm almond crusted goat cheese... so yummy. Oh yeah, there's also a tomato bruschetta there.


Another dinner. Meal times work best if we have some distractions. Tupperware snack cups are great, Max likes to rearrange everything and group his food into each cup.

more "cleaning up"

I think this meal was pomegranite, cucumber, corn and sausage.

I had to take a picture. Max was playing with his cars on the counter beside Dad, while Dad was making dinner. Lucky for Dad, he had already used the yellow pepper before Max grabbed it and took a bite!

"oh no!" I'm not sure why, but Max says this a lot...

Going to the parade.

The first parade was Lynn Valley Day. It started a little later, so we had some time before they closed the road to find parking at the mall and wander a little (I definitely needed more cough syrup) and I wanted to get some healthy snacks for Max (raisins & some of those great organic brown rice crackers with nothing added - I think Heinz makes them). We found a great spot on the corner where we could see the parade without anyone in our way.

This is where Max started watching the parade. We re-applied sunscreen (it was hot and sunny).

This is where Max ended up watching most of the parade from (after a particularly loud float):

and one of his more favourite parts:

A couple of weeks later, we made it to the Height's Hat's Off Day parade in Burnaby. I'm sure the merchants were slightly disappointed with the weather, it wasn't a sunny day. I LOVED it. No need to re-apply sunscreen and no rain. It was perfect. Jess came with us and we went out bright and early (830am, ugh), found parking and started the trek up Hastings. We settled in front of Cafe Artigiano (convenient, considering it is my FAVOURITE place to get coffee). It was a long wait, but well worth it. The first 2 drill teams came through and did a demonstration block-by-block.

Jess (thanks for getting up so bright and early)

The American drill team was particularly impressive. I wish I was a better photographer, or had a better camera so I could get some better pictures.



As the day went on, it warmed up and we decided to have a porch bbq with friends (Eyola, Daniel & Jess). More to celebrate the fact that our deck was cleaned and cleared off enough that we could (thanks Daniel!).

Jess relaxing after dinner!

Max wearing Eyola's sunglasses, isn't he cute?

Peas for dinner

So we tried a whole lot of stuff for dinner. The first few things didn't go over so well (you can see them sitting in the orange divided dish on the table): cauliflower, pulled pork tenderloin, potatoe and tofu curry. These are all things that he ate at lunch and/or the day before.

So, we moved on to the peas...
and Max finally gave up on the spoon.

Notice the peas all over the table too. I should have taken a picture of the floor.

All done?

No Max, there are still a lot of peas left in the dish and I need to clean up the floor!

All done? All done?

The whole eating thing is a work in progress and I'm sure it always will be. Some days are amazing and easy - as far as meal times go. Other days are difficult... Imagine:

Mom: Max, we should eat something.
Max: Trucks?
Mom: No Max, you need to eat something, you can play with your trucks after we eat something. Let's go take a look at what we have.
Max: No.
Mom: How about we go play hockey in the kitchen, and while we're there, we'll take a look at what's in the fridge?
Max: Hockey?
Mom: Yes Max, hockey. Get a ball and we'll take the sticks into the kitchen.
Max: Ball?
Mom: Yay, here's a ball, let's go!
Once in the kitchen...
Mom: macaroni?
Max: No.
Mom: Beans?
Max: No.
Mom: Cheese? Mmmm, yummy cheese!
Max: Yup!
Mom: Really? Cheese?! Here's some cheese Max!
he eats a piece and then...
More cheese Max?
Max: No. Nana?
Mom: Banana?
Max: Nana!
Mom: Whew, we have some. Here's some banana.

I'm sure you can imagine... it goes on and on from here. A lot of the time I can be seen stuffing spoonfuls of food into Max's mouth as he runs by or plays. Most regularly at the aquarium on Wednesday's and at Grandma & Grandpa's on Friday's.

I imagine it's not the best habit to teach him, but any other way and Max could care less if he eats most days. He honestly doesn't want to eat a lot of the time and it would not bother him a bit if we forgot a meal.

I guess I can relate... Anyone who knows me (before I was pregnant) know that I'm the exact same way. Poor Max! He's probably got his dad's super fast metabolism and his mom's really lame appetite. Occasionally he goes through a growth spurt and asks for all kinds of food and we wonder where he fits it all.

Poppa & Oma's visit

I'm horrible with remembering to take pictures, so here's a few that I got on our last visit with Poppa & Oma.

Max and I spent the morning at the Aquarium with them and had a great time! Unfortunately, the only picture I have, is of a sea otter, basking in the sun. So, I won't post that here.

We were set to meet for dinner at the Boathouse and they were running a little late (and we were a little early, believe it or not!). So, we decided to take a walk on the pier. Max decided to go back towards all the noises he was hearing from the truck back where we started.

"Bye, bye!"

It was such a beautiful day, and I so rarely get decent pictures of Max.

"Water! Water?"
"Yes Max, that's water, but you can't go in there, please."
We also decided that Ross would jump in after him if he somehow did get through there (I am a huge fan of planning for it, as a prevention strategy - Murphy's Law, you know!).

Poppa playing with Max at dinner.


And another one of Poppa & Max...

Max has not been feeling well. He has not been eating much for the last 4 days, so it was so nice to see him laughing, having fun, and yes, eating. He ate lobster, clams, mussels, halibut, chicken and gnocci. In fact, he ate more than he has eaten in the past 4 days all together!

I am hoping this is a sign that he is getting better, since we're supposed to be going away tomorrow. He was happy, singing and laughing and having fun and most importantly, eating. Yay!

Ross and I are going away for a couple of days for a friends wedding in Las Vegas, so we're leaving Max with Grandma & Grandpa (the first time I've ever been away from him over night). Hopefully I'll have something interesting to post soon.