Dinnertime Cheers!

Finally, dinnertime is becoming much less painful!  I used to loathe mealtime because it was such a chore to get the boys to finish their meals...in less than an hour!  Actually, I shouldn't complain...we've never really had the kids who have struggled to eat, it's been more the process of getting them to eat it...and on their own (by this I mean more Evan!) Evan has always been a wonderful fruits and vegetables eater....I mean the kids loves bananas, apples, plums, oranges, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, canteloupe, watermelon, grapes, kiwi...he loves most raw vegetables - red/green/yellow bell peppers, green beans, corn, celery, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, peas if they are in fried rice, and even asparagus (we've yet to get him to like things like potatoes, brocolli, or spinach..but I can't say I liked many vegetables until I was in my 20s, so I can't really complain!).  As for Cooper, well he pretty much eats any vegetable in puree form, but he LOVES cucumbers and will also eat celery and carrots and occasionally sweet potatoes!  As for fruits, he prefers his apples, bananas, strawberries, pineapple and watermelon!  And for a main dish, we haven't been able to get him to eat more than grilled cheese and turkey sandwiches (which we call "bagel bites"...don't even ask!!...or what he calls "bay bites"), spaghetti, chicken nuggets, fish sticks or minced chicken in a pureed vegetable...oh and he LOVES rice...such a little Malaysian!  So as far as what they will eat, I could never complain....but Evan has always been so slow and always required someone to feed him just so we could get through a meal.  WELL, in the last 4 or 5 days, I'm not sure what has happened, but both boys have become great eaters....eating all on their own, finishing in about 30 mins or less and eating everything on their plate (granted they still get to have their last few bites as "walking bites" (something we've already discussed will come to an end once we move back to the states!), but they've eaten it all!!  It's been so nice to sit, eat and be done!  No playing with a million different things at the table to occupy the time as we shovel food in their mouths anymore...it's been great!!

So this is what 2 precious little boys, being big boys and eating all of their lunch looks like....too precious!!  A wonderful sight for me, that is for sure!!  Maybe it's that they are recognizing that we aren't going to have Marte around once we move back to the states, so they better start practicing now for when we are on our own....or maybe they are going through a growth spurt and are just hungry....or maybe they are finally just "getting" it....but whatever it is, I'm loving it and hoping it's not just a temporary phase!