You guys are warriors!

One week ago today I shared a post on my Facebook page about Roo's eating--or, to be more specific, his LACK of eating. I think everyone knows by now that this kid has never been easy when it comes to food, but it was really getting to a point of frustration and maybe a little hopeless for me. For the past several months (maybe even a year), I have been able to feed him graham crackers and yogurt any time of the day or night, and try to sneak in other foods as he would see fit. But then he started to refuse even those favorites... and he was hungry... and I couldn't find what foods he DID want to eat... and he's two... and he doesn't have a lot of words to express himself... and, well, the end result wasn't pretty. Let's just say that I still loved him, but I wasn't sure if we were still friends.

So on Friday, I mentioned it on Facebook. I told you all, in brief, what I just said here, and I asked if you would pray. And you did. And you encouraged me and emailed me and generally helped lighten my load.

And if I ever need prayer for anything again--make that WHEN I need prayer again, because we all know that "if" is not the right word there!--I am coming straight back to you. Because you people rock. You are PRAYER WARRIORS.

On Friday, it seemed hopeless.

On Sunday, he ate everything in sight. EV.ERY.THING.

We went to lunch at Rockne's (a local chain). I ordered him applesauce, which came in a pastry bowl. He ate all of the applesauce... then he ate all of the bowl. I got soup with pita bread. He ate two pieces of pita (something he normally rejects). I gave him a bite of my soup--mushroom and brie bisque!--and he gave me a look that said, "HOW LONG have you known about this deliciousness??? How have you never told me about this before???" He ate close to half my bowl of soup! He ate a bunch of Lamb's potato chips (no real surprise there), then part of her hot dog (something that he normally HATES). We finally stopped feeding him because we were just out. of. food!

This trend has continued all week. In fact, this morning he ate a great breakfast of Cheerios and yogurt (which he insisted on feeding himself). He got down and played for a while, then started to sign "eat" again. He sat in his high chair for over an HOUR, eating! He ate a piece of toast, several bites of a ham and cheese omelet, a bowl of applesauce, and as many Cheerios as I would feed him! And he also tried a bite of celery, which he decided he didn't care to finish--but he TRIED it. Normally he wouldn't let something like that cross his lips.

This week he has been eating bread and egg salad and ham and spaghetti and French toast and... just so many things that he normally would spit right out--IF he let them get all the way to his mouth in the first place. No, still no fruits and veggies on that list, but we can generally sneak them into other things, so I'll take what I can get for now.

And we had ANOTHER victory this week! Although we have been trying both at home and school to get him away from the bottle, he has not been interested at all in an open cup or sippy cup. Tuesday, though, his school sent home a note (backed up with photos!) that he was drinking from a sippy with no problem. I decided to try it at home, and refused to give him a bottle for the rest of the day. To say that he was unhappy is an understatement. He cried and cried and BEGGED for milk, then screamed when I handed him a sippy instead of a bottle. But the next morning, he signed "milk", I handed him a sippy, and he took it like that was perfectly normal--and he hasn't given me a hard time since. Not even once.

So yes, he's eating. But that's only part of it. He's also understanding more. If he's eating yogurt and decides he doesn't want it any more, he'll arch his back and cry. But if I say, "This is what we have right now. You can eat something else when you've finished this," he'll eat it. This is NO. SMALL. RELIEF. Yesterday, he was trying to feed me some of his applesauce, and I said, "No, thank you. I'm all done. Are you all done?" And he smiled and said, "No!" And went back to eating! For real? I had no idea that he would answer my question. NO. IDEA.

I know that the better eating might be a phase--that he may just be going through a growth spurt, and he'll get rid of some of his "new" foods. But he probably will keep some of them, too. And the improved communication is HUGE. I am so, so thankful.

So thank you, prayer warriors. You are fabulous. And God is amazing. When I say that we have learned to celebrate even minor milestones in this house, I mean it. Even hot dogs and sippy cups are cause for joy.

Hallelujah!