Picking up food!

In the past few days, really since Memorial Day, our little baby has gone from only eating baby food to wanting to feed himself little chunks of food. It happened so fast! If I don't cut up some food for him to pick up, he gets very upset and tries to swat the spoon of baby food away. He now eats baby food in between bites of trying to pick up the food on the tray of his high chair. Sometimes though he wants nothing to do with the anything on a spoon. He's very particular about the texture of the food he is trying to pick up. Bananas, avocado, and cooked zucchini, which he loves to eat, he doesn't like to pick up. Maybe too slimy?

On Sunday at farmer's market, it was the first time he ever refused food...and it was even chunks of fresh fruit!! He just didn't want any of it.

What he does love to eat of his tray are beans!! On Memorial Day, we went to a BBQ and I made a salad with some marinated beans. On a whim, I gave him some to try and he loved them! I cut the bean into pieces of him to pick up. He also loves potato (which I discovered at the BBQ too), tofu and butternut squash. Most of the food ends up on the floor or in the pocket of his bib, but when he does get a piece in his mouth, he gets a lot of praise and is very proud of himself. It is the cutest thing to watch him try and try and finally get the piece of food from his tray, into his fingers, and successfully into his mouth. It is also amazing to watch him decide which type of food he wants to eat off his tray. He'll go for a piece of bean, then potato, then maybe back to beans. He's even learning how to transfer food from one hand to another to make it easier to get it into his mouth!!

Last night at dinner Kekoa discovered that he could pick up the potato, squish it in his fingers or pound it flat on his tray. He loved that. The night before, I had cut up zucchini on his tray and he had so much fun squishing the little pieces all over the place! Eating takes a lot longer now and is a lot messier!! :)

Tonight at dinner, Kekoa was a hungry little monkey. He ate all the pieces of tofu so fast, I had a hard time keeping up with cutting the little chunks!

Mmmmm, all these choices.

I'll try tofu!
Hmmm, not bad! :)

Kekoa loves, loves, loves the puffs, which my friend calls, "baby crack". His whole face lights up when I shake the container and he can hardly contain himself when I put one on his tray. I can only put one on the tray at a time or he will put all the pieces in his mouth at the same time. I took these pictures last Wed. He has changed so much since then!

I took this video last Wed. It is amazing how much has changed just since then. This was before he had to have cut up food on his tray.

I took these videos today at dinner. Kekoa was sooooo adorable, in such a good mood. Here he is babbling away, then he'll show you his fake cry!

Kekoa is so proud of himself!

What a mess!!