Well, it’s happened.  His Royal Highness now gets mad when he’s not eating the same things we are.  This means a whole bunch of things, but mainly these: 1)      The grown-ups have to seriously watch what they’re eating, so that Baby gets good stuff (versus us getting take out while he gets a gourmet mash). 2)      A little more thought has to go into meal planning, so that whatever we have can be easily adapted.  This means that if we have something that doesn’t suit his diet (too hard, too spicy or contains ingredients he can’t have), we better plan for something that looks a little like what we’re eating, so he doesn’t feel short-changed. 3)      More mess – with His Nibs now using his pincer grip like a pro, he gets his food in little chunks, rather than pureed, so we are now in the world of trying to find a baby beneath the berry’d cheeks and lips, etc. 4)      More time – now that he’s eating on his own, gone are the days when we could just spoon feed and get to the playing.  So, dinner takes a little longer – but Mom and Dad get to sit back a little more, too.  Probably for the best of everyone involved. Ultimately, we all benefit.  Instead of doing a pot roast in a slow cooker with a sauce kit from a package, I make the rubs myself.  Instead of choosing something that is convenient but probably not the best choice, I have to plan, which ultimately means better decisions all around. Instead of mindlessly shovelling foods and worrying that I’ve made him eat pureed sweet potatoes AGAIN, I now know that he’s getting variety – just like we are. Last weekend, we all went to the Farmers’ Market.  There, I picked up some gorgeous Roma tomatoes, some fresh peaches and cream corn, some asparagus and more.  I’d already been to the butcher to buy some mouth-watering, large chicken breasts.  That night, we all enjoyed a tomato and cucumber salad with bocconcini, grilled chicken and fresh berries with cream for dessert. What was particularly awesome was this:  I cut up the tomatoes, the chicken (which I’d brined with garlic and rosemary), the cucumbers (I had to be careful and cut these really small, because they’re still a little hard for him to chew) and added some well-cooked asparagus pieces.  I tossed them together, placed them into a bowl with a suction base that stuck to Baby’s high chair and he went to town.  A second bowl, filled with chopped blueberries, followed. So, he sat back and ate alongside us – I know the meals are good when very little lands on the floor and he’s picking pieces to eat out of the pouch in his bib!