Bribery - It's What's for Dinner

I feel like we had a major breakthrough last weekend.

First, Little Miss answered questions. Sort of. Little Miss is allowed one television show before bed so she can wind down. Sometimes, it's only one segment of a show, but she's allowed a little bit either way. However, she calls every show "Choo Choo". For awhile, she loved Choo Choo Express and then she loved Chuggington. However, lately, she doesn't want to watch a program with trains so it gets confusing when she asks for "Choo Choo". Starting this past weekend, if you list her shows, she'll tell you which she wants. If she doesn't want a show, she shakes her head and starts mumbling and freaking out like you had the nerve to even suggest such a thing. If she wants to watch, she points to the television. Hey, it's a step. Full-fledged conversation is only a step away!

Second, we successfully moved to bribery. Last weekend, I read Goodnight Moon four thousand times or so... in a row. Meanwhile, Little Miss wouldn't eat her vitamin. She loves them, but lately, she's been fussy. So, I said I would read the book if she ate her vitamin. She ran into the kitchen, climbed on her step stool, ate her vitamin and then looked at me and said "Thank You". Then, she climbed down and ran to get her book. This morning, the same tactic worked again. I'm not proud of this, but sometimes, it's better than being a villain all the time or giving in.

Last night, Little Miss only wanted rice for dinner. We wanted her to eat some pork, too. So, I gave her a little rice and told her to eat some pork. She wouldn't. When she was done with the rice, she asked for more. I said she had to eat a piece of pork. She did. So, I gave her a half a tablespoon of rice. We continued this until almost all the pork was gone. She ended up eating almost half the rice we cooked. Then, after her huge dinner, we gave her a little bowl of ice cream after which she wanted more rice. The girl loves carbs.

Sidenote: Another favorite book is Elmo's ABC Book. She knows some of her letters and knows that U is for Uncle and P is for Pasta. It's kind of cute...and genius!