Our Optimism is All We Have

Two weeks ago, Ella did an evil, evil thing to her poor naieve parents...she was really, really GOOD for a week straight. We took her to restaurants, long car rides, and even a baseball game with my entire family. She ate vegetables, enjoyed her stroller, and sat still while being read to. We stayed out until after 10 pm two nights in a row, and she not only cooperated but even rewarded us by sleeping in the next two mornings. And just when we thought we had won a victory over toddlerhood, (pause for dramatic music) she begins to cut her molars.

All bets are off now, and in spite of our pediatrician's insistence that illness and teething have no connection, she has her standard chest cold to accompany the teething. Its been a particularly rough patch, marked by sleeplessness and little appetite.

Tonight, after a long day of basement and fridge cleaning while E hung out with her favorite person in all of people-land (aka Grandma Jan), our family retreated to the local Mexican hole for some dinner. I loaded my bag with Ella's favorite cuisine before we left, knowing that she would not be likely to have interest in our usual fare that we split at El Toro -- the bean burrito and cheese enchilada. But even when presented with chilled pears, wheat crackers, and even a rarely offered cereal bar, Ella would simply receive the food offering then politely hand it back to us. When she tired of our insistence on the food, she demonstrated this by tossing a lone wheat cracker over her head, allowing it to roll under the empty table next to us. It was not long until she was tired of the high chair, and in an effort to at least finish a portion of my meal, I let her stand next to the table while I gobbled. Of course it wasn't long until she was ready to venture forth, and directly to the stray cracker she journeyed. Before I could even reach a full stand, that damn cracker was IN HER MOUTH!

That's right, the previous 15 crackers I had handed her were handed directly to her father, but the one that hit the manky red carpet -- Mmmmmm!