You can lead a horse to water...

...but you can't make it drink. This phrase has been on my mind a lot the past few days as I have been trying to figure out what makes my little boy tick. Specifically what makes his taste buds tick. Let's just say Luke is not the best of eaters. That really even doesn't describe it, he is a terribly fussy eater. And you really can't force a kid to eat. This is uncharted territory for us as Ava would (and still does) eat just about anything you put in front of her. To put this in perspective, the kids had their annual check-ups this past week, and Luke, at 1 year, weighed 16.6 lbs, FULLY CLOTHED! Ava weighed this when she was 4 months old (with nothing but a diaper on). Granted, she is in the 99th percentile on the growth charts, but as far as weight is concerned, Luke isn't even ON the growth chart. I never thought I would hear a doctor say this, but my orders are to fatten the boy up. The problem is getting him to eat. What kid doesn't like milk, even chocolate milk? Luke. What kid doesn't like peanut butter sandwiches? Luke. Juice? Nope. Grilled cheese? Not Luke. Hot dogs? No way! And the list could go on. So for fattening purposed I have turned to good old faithful mac-n-cheese, made with whole milk and butter. What is it about that blue box that gives kids so much joy and inspires them to eat? It goes against almost everything in me to make mac-n-cheese as often as I have been making it recently. We are eating a few other things (very few) and hopefully this is just a phase, but for now, bring on the mac-n-cheese, and all other fattening foods I can get Luke to actually eat. And I am always open to suggestions (thanks older sister :) if any of you out there have any!