It's Expert

Little Hays has quite the appetite.  We have been trying to get her to start eating a tad less, uh, let's say, junk.  I have always been the kind of Mom who says, "Food is just food.  There isn't any bad food or good food, it's just food."  But after seeing Hays tear through an entire bag of Cheetos in a 15 minute sitting.  I knew I had to get serious!  withholding a smile here. God love her.

We have always locked the pantry...only so I could keep track of who was eating what and when.  But now, I mean business about keeping it locked!  However, she has bat like sonar hearing for the "zzzziiiipp-click" to the lock on the pantry.  And if she doesn't hear it (because some poor soul has forgotten to re-lock it), she makes a bee line to the kitchen.  She knows she's got a tiny window of opportunity before I catch on to what has happened.

I was heartbroken because I had to stand her in front of the mirror and say, "Haysie, look at your belly.  It's Biiigg."  She laughed, "No, it's lllleeeeettteeeel."  I grab whatever is close, Jack.  "No, Jack's belly is little.  Haysie's is big."  "No, giggle, it's lllleeeeetttteeeel."  This tactic was not working.  And, it kinda made my stomach cramp, so I found a new method.  Later, like 30 minutes after the Cheetos,  she said, "It's hungry."  I say, "Oh, Hays.  I don't hear it talking.  You must not be hungry."  That seemed to work.  These days, she will say, "It's (her belly) hungry."  and I say, "It wants a banana."  She laughs and barters for a donut, but eats a banana.

The other day, Jack, Tom and Hays were laying on the couch.  Tom rubs her belly and says, "Haysie, how did belly get so big?"  She said, "It's expert."  Then.. Jack is beginner, Tom is intermediate and she is expert.  I just love her self-confidence.  I hope I never crush it, I just want her to learn about health....without all the body image craziness.