Pre-Birthday Bash

We have a restaurant close-by that has the most wonderful buffet of catfish and vegetables. The first time we went there after Wade started eating table food, we could not feed him fast enough. He ate white beans, green beans, stewed potatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, carrots, and cabbage. We don't go there very often, but Matt suggested we go there to celebrate Wade's birthday last night, since he ate so well the last time. Let me first say that we take our boys everywhere with us. We have always used the theory that we won't go somewhere with them that we can't leave if we need to. We want them to learn expected behavior in different environments. Restaurants have never been a problem with them. Boy, did our normally sugary sweet Wade throw us for a loop last night! I fixed his plate from the buffet immediately and started to feed him. He promptly began throwing each bite on the floor. If I tried to feed him with a fork, he would shove the fork away. If I gave him his paci, he would throw it to the floor. The cup went to the floor. Snacks went to the floor. Nothing made him happy. He wasn't crying, but he was definitely very needy and loud! We were sitting in the back room alone, since the front dining room was full when we got there. At one point, I told Matt and Lee that I wished another family with small kids would come and sit by us, so the front diners wouldn't know which kid was being so loud and messy. Before we left, I asked the bus boy for a broom so I could attempt to clean up the mess. It was that bad! Matt, Lee and I ate scarfed down our food in an effort to get our tiny terror out of there. Lee's favorite part of going to this restaurant is the ice cream machine. Matt claims it is the best ice cream you'll ever eat. Lee loves working the machine by himself, on top of being an ice cream-aholic. Matt and I couldn't leave without letting him have his ice cream. When the tiny terror saw the bowl of ice cream, he was all smiles and giggles. So, we got him a bowl.

He had not had more than 5 bites of supper, but desperate times call for desperate measures!
We ended up staying for about 20 more minutes, because we were having so much fun watching him eat this ice cream. He was really putting on a show.

We thought he would have a complete meltdown when it was gone, but I think he was overwhelmed and was done on his own.

We left a huge mess, a huge tip and with a happy birthday boy!

Today, Wade's precious Sunday School teachers celebrated his birthday with a "Wade cut-out" and a sign that says, "God made Wade."