A few months ago feeding Shelby was my most dreaded time of the day because it had become a huge battle. She would be so hungry, but absolutely refused to let me spoon feed her. She had just begun the stage of wanting to do everything herself, but not quite having the skill or patience to do it. One night after what seemed like an eternity of going back and forth and having yogurt hitting everything but Shelby's mouth, I'd had enough! I gave up. I pulled her high chair as far from any walls as possible, removed the rug from underneath her, handed her the spoon, and walked away, upstairs. Needless to say, we were both feeling pretty frusterated by this point. If she really wanted to eat she would have to figure it out on her own or finally realize she couldn't do it and give in. (Ha-that'll teach her!)
As I made my way back down to check on her, instead of crying, there was silence. For a split second my thoughts turned to worry and guilt...what if she had choked and I hadn't been there to help her?! I'll admit probably not the smartest thing to leave her alone while eating, but I quickly rationalized and thought she couldn't possibly have choked on yogurt. I know Shelby well enough by now and usually her silence only means one thing...she's up to something naughty! I turned the corner and found this,
Shelby just squealed with delight at the mess she had made,
as if she was so proud of her creation.
Such a goofy girl!
Even though she had made a huge mess which is not fully captured in these photos,I couldn't help but laugh with her. After this incident, I realized it'd probably be awhile before she was ready to spoon feed herself...at least yogurt anyway.
Fast forward a month or so later and I'm happy to report Shelby is doing much better! Here's the proof,
(notice the bib is gone now--that's our new battle, getting her to keep it on!)
She may have learned to use her spoon better, but she's still just as goofy!
That's my girl :)
