Yes, he can eat by himself! Hallelujah!

Today I had both the kids for lunch by myself for the first time. Their mother needed to go to a meeting, it was her day with the kids, but she asked for our help. However, Yoram was at work so I took on the mission. Ziv eats with me often, but Gal has still not been alone with me any longer moments, and especially not during a meal. He is a picky eater. Both are, but Gal is like the king of picky eaters. Not only picky, but most of the time he does not even want to eat the food he likes. He effectively drives his father crazy and manipulates him to always end up hand-feeding him under occasionally dramatic forms. I was prepared to my teeth and had it all figured out. I would make it easy, but still a bit hard, sausages and pasta penne, which they like, but I was also determined that he would eat a carrot stick. Ziv eats his vegetables without too much fuss nowadays, but not Gal. He started by saying that he would not eat without daddy, upon which I told him quietly that daddy is at work and that he would eat now, with me and Ziv. I imagined sitting patiently by the table the whole afternoon if necessary and putting him alone to his room if he started creating a war. Much too my surprise he stuffed both sausages and then all the pasta I had put on his plate, on his own, with good manners, and without any fuss, accompanied by my wild praising and cheering. Only thing that needed a slight encouragement was the carrot stick, but as he understood that I meant business, he simply ate it. My problem now is how to get Yoram to actually believe me. His 4.5 year old can actually eat all by himself... There is still hope for humanity!