"If I had my every way, I'd eat PEACHES everyday..."

As much as I love using my Beaba Babycook, it's fun watching Cruz enter this next, very independent stage of eating.  It started with Gerber Puffs, and has morphed into most kinds of fruit.  Little chunks of banana and strawberries, blueberries sliced in half, and his latest favorite, fresh peaches.  As soon as he sees me carrying the cutting board towards his tray, he gets super excited, sucking in a little breath of air with a smile on his face, exposing those little baby teeth, and waving his arms up and down.  Then, he problem-solves.  Grabs a fist-full of fruit, slides it across his tray to the upward edge, drags it up off the tray, and shoves his entire fist in his mouth, a fist usually filled with fruit.  He's gotten quite good at this system, and besides the occasional banana on the floor or strawberry under his onesie, he rarely misses a piece of fruit.  

We've just started figuring out that instead of sitting across from him and watching him eat, we should use this time to eat ourselves.  The other day, as Cruz dove into a fresh peach from Hy-Vee, I decided to enjoy my own.  Of course, Cruz quickly became intrigued by the peach I was eating and decided his was boring.  So, as his sticky fingers reached for mine, I decided to let him give it a try.  

And he knew just what to do! 

 

The same thing ensued the following morning.  I enjoyed the top layer of skin on my peach, then gave the rest to Cruz, who sucked the juice out and scraped off chunks with his teeth as if he's been eating apples for years.  

 

The only problem with Cruz's new eating adventures is that he's showing less and less interest in the pureed portions I'm making for him.  I'm pretty sure he'd eat fruit until he'd turn into a peach himself, but he's not a fan of his veggies.  He used to love squash, and now, does his best to avoid the spoon.  He reaches for the table, turns his face toward the ceiling, and casually ignores the one-sided goal.  After lots of coaxing, some trickery, and yes, even the airplane and train sound effects, we'll eventually get it down, but, with far less satisfaction on both sides.  Has Cruz already graduated from baby food to toddler food?  Has he just developed a mind of his own and decided he's not a fan of vegetables?  Are there tricks for sustaining an interest in peas and squash and broccoli, while still giving him the fruit he loves?  What's the trick for reigniting the foodie in Cruz-ie?!?!