Lillia loves food. Or, more precisely, she loves breakfast and lunch food. Dinner? Not so much. When it comes time to sit down and have what is typically our only meal together, Matt and I don our armor and prepare for a battle. Unless the menu features yogurt, Cheerios, or fruit, we can count on most of what is on Lillia's plate ending up on the floor.
And the fact that she doesn't put a lot of food into her mouth is only one front in the dinner-time war. There's also the Battle of Spitting, the Battle of Spilling her Milk, and the Battle of the Unprovoked, Blood-Curdling Scream (which always results in Lillia becoming a POW in her own bed for a minute or two).
This not-even-remotely-relaxing mealtime has been getting to Matt lately. So I prompted him to take a lunch hour with me one day last week (he doesn't usually get one). We sat down for a meal together at a run-down little diner sans child and, get this: CONVERSED. Two people. Married for nearly seven years. With a two-year-old daughter. And we actually managed to talk.
Matt was giddy with excitement. "I feel like I went on a date," he said. Novel idea, I thought.
So, that weekend, we went on another date. Matt's dad watched his darling granddaughter while we saw Avatar (recommended) (Also, the first time we've been to the theater since Lillia was born) (The last time, I was pregnant and we saw 'Knocked Up'). We packed some books, movies, and some food, as well as a booster seat for Grandpa to strap her into for the torture that is dinner, and dropped her off at his house.
When we came back from the movie, Lillia was still wide awake despite the fact that her bedtime had come and gone. "How'd she eat?" Matt asked.
And we must be starving our child, because after she ate her whole bowl of yams, plus the crackers and cheese I packed - just in case - Grandpa had to feed her several items from his own refrigerator. "She ate me out of house and home," he said.
Apparently, Lillia's only beef is with us, her loving parents who, as evidenced by our recent retreats, are slowly losing the fight.
