Gross Dinner is certainly one perspective, though it was admittedly a near-miss for our tired chef (me). I made my mom's turkey-stroganoff over rice this evening, and the kids helped me cook. Since I don't measure the spices, I discovered it's a bit harder to 'eyeball' the amount of the spices in a tiny kid-hand, and ended up with a tad (read: YUCK) too much garlic salt in the gravy. Not to worry, I made enough rice to stretch it out and make it palatable.
Enter Josh, who claims he doesn't like stroganoff (though he loves to help me make it), even though he's been eating it since he was in the womb. We had broccoli with it, which is the bane of his existence; certainly the nemesis of any 3-year old boy (he was once only offered his broccoli at every meal/snack until he choked it down the next day at lunch).
Unfortunately for him, I mixed his broccoli into his stroganoff. In order to make dinner a bit more enjoyable I offered cheese into the mix, which he accepted gladly, stating he would then eat his yucky stroganoff and broccoli. He still didn't touch it until I picked it up and took a bite (which I might add, was quite good, the broccoli along with the extra rice and cheese was VERY good, enough so I may have a new cassarole on my hands...but I digress). Once I took a bite he was super interested in eating it himself, so long as I fed it to him. I don't usually go along with that request, but he was eating it (broccoli included) so I just went with it.
On EVERY bite with broccoli, the kid gagged. I still don't know if this is acting or not. I know Miguel has a very sensitive gag reflex, so it could be real, but I still haven' t decided if I buy it or not, especially since he does it with anything he doesn't want to eat, but I like to give him the benefit of the doubt. His last bite of broccoli was a small "tree" which I knew couldn't be very crunchy, and is the part I like the best. He took it and started chewing *and gagging* all while being praised for his valiant efforts of eating his veggies like a good boy. He gagged, and gagged, and gagged again. And finally...he threw up on the table.
Josh 1 Mom 0
He didn't ask for anything else and proclaimed he was finished at that point. I didn't fight it, though he certainly didn't get any "treat" (read: iced animal crackers - YUM) after dinner.
Oh well. On to figuring out new ways to disguise vegetables with dinner. And, just to let you know, normally when I offer veggies it is alongside something he enjoys eating. So I have him eat a serving of veggies first, then provide the good stuff. I guess I have to switch to fruit on the nights we have an entree he despises...hmmm...that may be my new strategy. At least he will eat any fruit I put in front of him. If he could live on fruit, yogurt, cheese and peanut butter sandwiches, I think he'd be the world's happiest kid.
excited. When he sees someone outside of our fence he will start jumping and barking at the same time. It's almost as though the two actions are connected, somehow. He'll jump so high his body easily gets above the fence. Thank goodness he's lazy and has never tried to jump the fence. 
