17 July 2008

I'll take my baby puree Rare

Even though my oldest child is only 4, I already know that for all the events and characteristics that seem to be hints at the kind of person a baby will become, most are just false flags and turn out to be nothing.*

Hindsight makes clear to me, though, that heavily repeated habits and happenings can indeed serve as a reliable forecast method, as can certain distinct moments.

This is all a way of leading up to telling you of a clear indicator that my 18-month-old daughter M- will not follow in her Aunt** Katie's footsteps by becoming a vegetarian.

As we flipped through a Baby Animal book before bedtime last night, I asked M- what cows said, and after correctly responding, "Moooo," she paused for a moment with her finger on the picture. She then raised it and firmly pointed at the cute lil' fella a couple more times as she added, "Eeeeat-it!!"


* See the famous 10 reasons my 3-year-old son may be homosexual post for Exhibit A.
** Side note to my wife J-: that's pronounced "ant", not "ahhnt", you lousy Yankee. Nice try.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is soo hilarious!! At least J- is not calling her tante katie (tante = French for Aunt, pronounced "taunt" and often sounds like m'taunt "My Aunt") and where J and I grew up, this word is used A LOT much.

Bostonians like to look at me weird when my French-Canadian/Canadian-Maine words slip out.

I love reading your blog BTW, I feel as if I am getting to know M- and D- without having seen them in 2 years.
Tante Ashley

Anonymous said...

sorry for all the typos - coffee has not kicked in yet...

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the club, you little meat-eater! Can you say 'prime rib'?

Kori said...

That is my kind of girl!

unmitigated me said...

It's 'ant' hear in Motown if you are of the caucasian persuasian, otherwise it's ahhnt or tia.

Mama Dawg said...

What about ahhntie? Or, down here in the deep south...ain't?

Anonymous said...

Well, she has the right idea. Although as hungry as you say she gets, she might have pointed to most any picture then and said Eat It in an attempt to get you to give her food. Maybe she has some farmer blood in her from somewhere. I mean inherited, not actually IN her.

Leslie said...

Well, she didn't say "yummy" or "mmmm", so maybe it was just observational and not preferential?

It was always around 2 that my kids stop eating meat (except plastic nuggets) and didn't take it up again for YEARS. Eldest could still be happy with a protein-free diet. Atkins she ain't.

TerriRainer said...

YUM...cow! Gotta love a nice, thick New York strip...medium rare, I still want it moo'in!

And about my tote bag...I have a deal for you over at my blog that could have you owing one less tote bag!

:) Terri

Anonymous said...

My children don't realize that meat comes from dead animals.. When we pass the chicken plant my 5yr old says "What exactly, are they doing to those chickens?"

Cassey said...

Maybe,maybe, she was commenting on how much cows eat. Cause, dude, they are always chewing.

Unknown said...

Funny! I don't eat meat (only fish)and I "thought" I was going to raise my son that way. Well, when I was working full time and he was in daycare they gave him chicken and noodles because he wouldn't eat the organic veggie dinner I'd left for him. At that moment I realized I better go ahead and give him meat and he is a raving carnivore now.

KatBouska said...

I love reading the things kids say. I look forward to reading about why your son will be a homosexual. ;)

And I'm sorry, but we both know you would look H.O.T. HOT! in that apron...I'll see if we can't pull some strings for you! (and I don't know who "we" is...sometimes I just like to talk like there is more of me)

Brittany said...

That's awesome! Maybe find her a Jessica Simpson inspired onsie that says "Real girls eat meat."

josetteplank.com said...

We just had a big discussion in our house last night as to whether or not "ant" and "aunt" were homophones.

After long discussion, we decided that they were, indeed, not heterophones.

The baby calls the small bugs in our kitchen "Ahnt Ahn", after my sister.

small town city girl said...

Love it! That's priceless right there.

Anonymous said...

"Eeeeat it!!" I love it--so funny...but I hate to inform you Dan, that ants are something you STEP on, whereas an aunt is a beloved member of one's family. Wrong, wrong, wrong, you midwesterner you!

LiteralDan said...

faithgrl83: Hi Ashley! I hadn't heard that term before, but at least it's something new and different. There are so many languages spoken here that no one would think it odd for a kid to use a unique name. But to mispronounce, yes mispronounce, the good old American word is a totally different story. People would think our kids are snobby or something.

Glad you've been catching up here-- it's been too long!

MamaNeena: And I quote, "Pime... wib!"

For good measure, J- also made her say, "Bay-bee back... wibs!"

Kori: Wanna borrow her a few nights a week?

Middle Aged woman: I don't recall being persuaded to be Caucasian, any more than I remember being to the Caucaucus Mountains. I wonder what I'd pick if I had the choice... maybe Jamaican? Then everyone would think I sounded cool, no matter where I went.

MamaDawg: "Ain't"? Now that's just ridiculous. And "ahhntie" is just as bad as "ahnt".

Mary: Maybe she just wanted to eat the book itself.

Laggin: You make a good point-- I'm impressed.

My son also doesn't like most meat that's hard to chew, and his mom was the same way for many years as a kid. I wonder if M- will start that in a year or so.

TerriRainer: Mmmm... steak... though I can't say I'm often struck with that thought at the sight of a live cow.

Sweet deal-- I'll take it!

that girl: That's great phrasing for an appropriate question. I dance around the idea of eggs more than eating animals. Chicken especially is hard to avoid, because the animal and the food have the same name. So D- is okay with the fact that we eat some animals, just like lions and tigers do, but as far as he is concerned, chickens make different eggs for us to eat than the ones they grow their babies in. I can imagine having full understanding before you're ready could be somewhat traumatic in the sheltered little modern world we've made for ourselves.

Maybe that's where vegans come from-- the kids who found out the truth at the wrong time.

Cassey: Could be, but then you haven't seen this girl attack a cheeseburger and the fingers holding it.

Mekhismom: You might want to scale him back some the first time you see him take down anything larger than a bug when roaming outside.

Mama's Losin' It: Well now I want that apron so bad I can taste it! I assume someone must have dripped cookie dough on it, cause that's what I'm getting right now.

If you like reading the things kids say, you should check out my conversations with my son and daughter.

Brittany: I just saw an ad for those somewhere, but I don't remember where. Why is that inspired by Jessica Simpson?

Jozet at Halushki: I'm glad you all came to your senses after flirting with insanity. Though it sounds like your baby still needs to see the light, I'm sure she will in time.

small town city girl: Priceless though it may be, like Kramer in Seinfeld, I will sell you the repeating rights to this story for a very affordable price.

Christy: I agree with you completely-- ants are something you step on, and aunts are beloved members of the family. Why would you hate to inform me of the meaning of these two identical-sounding words?

Ann(ie) said...

Atta girl! Love it!!

LiteralDan said...

I take it you're not a vegetarian either? :-)