Cookie.

The middle child is obsessed with sweets. I realize it's totally our fault for introducing them, but we are also fans of the sugary stuff and sort of take on the thought that life is just too short not to indulge. Sure, within reason and all that jazz. We don't feel deprivation is the key, at least not for our family. To each their own.

I started introducing "dips" to him when I was desperate to get him to eat something at the table. He's still a terrible eater. From about 6-12 months, he rocked the dinner table. And it's been downhill ever since. He ate 7 bites of dinner last night. That required 2 bribes. I'm not proud of it, but I do need him eating. You're probably thinking, "he'll eat when he's hungry." Sure he will. I know that. But I do feel a certain level of responsibility and guilt when he goes to bed at night having consumed the equivalent of 1.5 pieces of bread and a spoonful of peanut butter. All day.

"Dips" were first condiment sauces and jam for his PBJ (inverted). And one morning, we had pancakes. I gave him syrup dips on the side. He then requested those with his peanut butter sandwich. And the requests never stopped. He even requests those specific dips with just about everything else he eats. Though honestly, he probably entertains their use for about two bites before ignoring them. It's a control thing, I'm assuming. He likes making choices. We usually decline the request for anything but sandwiches because... spaghetti with syrup? gross.me.out

Our local Safeway chain closed in Chicago. I might shed a tear if I write anymore about that. I've resorted to shopping for groceries at Costco and Target for the most part. A couple weeks ago, we drove to a local town nearby (but too far to be our normal grocery stomping grounds) to check out their grocery offerings. We've had friends rave about the new store. It's a cross between a normal grocery store and a Whole Foods, but with reasonable prices and loads of really unique products in addition to the normal stuff. They have the coolest car carts for kids. And even those mini carts. It's really the best grocery store I've been to in a long time. We bought a few things and then scooted by the bakery department and picked up four Italian cookies. I was dreaming of our trip to Boston. We purchased our treats and headed to their cool eat-in area and shared cookies and cute little cups of water with sliced cucumber (added touch!) that was available in their condiment area.

We went back to that store today for the second time ever. As we were pulling in to park, Benjamin (who was practicing saying his name on the way to the store--3 syllables can be tough!) said it.

"Cookie."

By the sight of the very large grocery establishment parking lot, he accurately deemed this store the "cookie" store. You know, because the one time he had been there before, we shared cookies.

Naturally, after our Dunkin Donuts breakfast this morning, we had to get a cookie before exiting. After all, we needed to positively reinforce the learning that was going on here.