Ben's Dinner Time

Most of the time, we all eat together at the table. Sometimes if the timing isn't right, Ben eats in his high chair in the living room while watching a favorite show. We can usually get him to eat more if he's watching a show. It's a bad habit, I know, but when your goal is to fatten the kid up, it's okay. Hint to all overeaters out there: turn off the TV and you'll probably eat less.

I think we've succeeded in adding some fat to Ben's bones. We won't know for sure until we go for his weight check on Valentine's Day, but I see a little more roundness to his belly.

To commemorate this special time in our lives when we had to pretty much force Ben to eat as much as possible, I present a quick photo essay of Ben at dinner time.

This is Ben pouring ranch dressing on his slice of pizza. He's imitating Chris. This is before the Skinny Meals era, obviously. Ben didn't eat any of the pizza, and we had to give him a peanut butter sandwich instead later.

While I was fixing chicken breasts, broccoli and wild rice, Ben was eating more calorie-dense foods, like mac and cheese prepared with extra butter and whole milk, corn dog (he won't eat the breading) and corn niblets.

But breakfast is really his favorite. Take Monday morning's menu: yogurt, oatmeal and sliced apples. The front of his bib in this picture has a waterfall of yogurt down his chest. He loves to eat with a spoon, but as you can see, he tends to flip it upside down just before it gets to his mouth. This is generally okay for oatmeal, but has terrible consequences for yogurt.