The Dinner Party

Yesterday, when we went to the doctor we determined that Matias should start eating solids. He has been giving three signs to indicate this. First, the past couple of nights he has been getting up at around 3 AM hungry. He used to last more than this sleeping. He could normally do about 6 hours straight from 11 to 5. Second, he is eating a lot, a baby his age eats about 32 oz a day, he is up to something between 36 and 40 oz. Finally, whenever I have been eating in front of him, he just stares at my food begging like a puppy.

We bought some cereal powder that you mix with the baby formula to make a liquid that has the consistency of an oatmeal bowl. We waited until dinner time and he was very hungry. He was crying when I sat him in his chair, but as soon as that spoon came close to his mouth he knew exactly what to do. He really enjoyed it and would get upset if Alegna took longer than she should giving him the next bite. We started small and just gave him 2 oz of cereal to see how he handles it today. After that he drank the rest of his bottle and went placidly to sleep.

The plan is to give him this cereal for the next few days and then we can start giving him more interesting foods like vegetables and fruits. We are supposed to start with vegetables first because if you give him fruits first, he will not enjoy the less delicious vegetables. I remember how exciting it was with Lucas whenever we were giving him something new. We would laugh at his faces. It's going to be fun. We can make videos of him trying a lemon. Lucas really wants him to try mangoes.

What did I watch?
The Parent Trap: The original, not the Lindsay Lohan one. It was enjoyable but I could not get past the most glaring plot hole. Imagine hating someone so much that you decide to divorce him and send him away to the other side of the country with one of your children and not even try to see them again in 14 years. There is no way there is the slightest chance of these people getting back together, I would even question a cordial relationship between them.

The Cafe

I decided to project my childhood memories on Lucas again. This time it was the Rainforest Cafe's turn. This was one of the places I clearly remember from my trips to Florida to visit my grandparents. I remembered how the smoke that doubled as mist smelled. I remembered the Gorilla Sandwich I would always order. I remembered having to wait longer than the usual restaurants I would go to, patiently waiting for the microphone to announce it was our "expedition's" turn. I remembered the animatronic gorillas and the elephants going wild when the rains would start. But most of all, I remembered how happy this place made me.

I wanted Lucas to experience all of this, so I gathered my family and insisted that this was something that we had to do on this trip. We drove to the Sawgrass mall and walked straight to the restaurant. Things looked exactly the same as I remembered them. The crocodile and the snake at the entrance and all the tropical fish in the big tanks brought back many memories. I talk to the lady in the entrance and tell her we have a party of 10 with no reservation. She replies that it will probably be a 45 minute wait. We are all really hungry but I convince everyone to wait. We are here for the experience. The group disperses around the mall, but I stay around eagerly waiting for the lady to announce our party. About 45 minutes later they finally call us and we go in.

As soon as we are walking into the restaurant one of the thunder storms starts. Lucas gets terrified and climbs on top of his grandmother. He does not seem to be enjoying this as I hoped he would. We try to show him the elephants and the gorillas but he is not very interested. We sit down to eat, my favorite sandwich is not in the menu, makes sense, the last time I was here was probably 15 years ago, but I order a burger. The food is not great, but it isn't bad either. What you are really paying for is the experience, an experience to which Lucas was indifferent. At least he ate all his food.

I'm not disappointed, Lucas likes what he likes and I like what I like. Sometimes I'm guilty of trying to live the moments that made me happiest when I was a kid through him. I just hope I can let him be as happy as my parents did for me, that is all I really want.