good solid eater

On New Year's Eve we introduced Caleb to his first taste of solid foods. Rice cereal may be bland, but you wouldn't know it to watch him scarf it down. From his beginning, Caleb has never been one to refuse a meal. And not only that, but he also always finishes every last drop of his bottles.

These eating habits have made the transition with him to solid foods, this time in the form of fingers magnetically attracted to the inside of his mouth. The feeding process goes like this:

1. I give him a spoonful.
2. Caleb willingly accepts it, but because the ability to eat from a spoon is a skill he's still working to develop, about half of the bite ends up painted around his lips.
3. Suddenly, and almost out of nowhere, the pointer and middle fingers of his right hand are at his mouth, stuffing in the mess around his face.
4. He sucks intently while I prepare another spoonful.
5. With my left hand, I break free the suction of his fingers to his face and, before they can whip back into position, I give another bite with my right.

And with that, the process repeats itself. It's definitely a more labor intensive way to eat, and usually a little more messy, but it gets the job done, and that makes both of us happy.