A mind of her own.

Claire has no shame in making her opinions known. And this girl? She has opinions about everything! This morning at breakfast I wanted to feed her a mix of mashed up banana, pineapple and oranges. Three of her favorites all in one place. Usually, she loves this meal, all sweet and fruity. But today, she took one bite and refused the rest. It's not that she wasn't hungry - she was. She just wasn't hungry for that. So, after a few silverware-turns-into-an-airplane-and-flies-into-your-mouth attempts to which she simply crashed the airplane onto the high chair tray and turned up her nose, I resorted to a pre-made baby food that she also favors. Nope, two bites and she turned up her adorable button nose again. This girl has a mind of her own. Last option? Cut up bananas. Plain and simple. I dumped them on her tray and told her to  have at it, kid. She ate the whole thing, go figure. This scenario (which happens often) tells me two things:

1. Babies are just like us, only miniature. Sometimes I want lasagna for dinner, sometimes I don't. It all depends on what sounds good. Apparently, all she wanted was bananas. Mostly because she's slowly trying to get away from the puréed stuff. It must be getting boring. I don't blame her for that, although I certainly hope to use up my freezer and pantry stash before she vetoes baby food all together!

2. Sometimes she wants help, sometimes she doesn't. Last night, when she was tired, she wanted to be spoon fed. This morning, holding up her own bottle was way too much effort and preferred that I hold it. Today, she wanted to exert her indepence and feed herself. Why mess with a mama, a spoon and all that when I have two perfectly good hands? She's learning to do things on her own. That's a good thing.

As she is stumbling and tumbling from babyhood to toddlerhood, I'm sure there will be many more moments just like this one. Often, because they can't talk or walk yet, people assume babies don't really know enough to have opinions and preferences but it's the complete opposite. As she grows I look forward to learning more about her likes and dislikes. I just look forward to knowing her and her little heart.