Thursday, September 02, 2010

Birthdays, foie gras, and beets. Beat that.

Today is Betty’s birthday. Happy birthday, Mama!

We went to Cashion’s last night to celebrate, just as we did a year ago. Except last night we went at 6 pm, since Jordan has an early bedtime. Whereas last year he was only a couple weeks old and was still pretty dazed.

Hell, we all were.

I feel kind of evil admitting it, but I do sometimes miss the days when he was a confused little lump and we could just haul him out in his car seat and he'd fall asleep while we had dinner.

Now when we go out pretty much everything is about keeping him occupied and happy so that other people don't hate The People With the Annoying Screaming Kid.

I myself have historically done a lot of hating of those people. I've given a lot of stinkeye. Not anymore, though.

I forgot my camera, and I’m so sad about that. It’s one of those “what a difference a year makes” kinds of things, you know?

Jordan was in his Hugh Hefner jammies, because Betty thought it’d be best if we didn’t have to get him in his nightwear after the restaurant. The rest of us wore normal clothes.

Although now that I say that, I'd kind of like to go out for dinner with a group wearing pajamas. If anyone asked we could just say we were worried we'd be too tired to change after dinner.

I'm probably the only one who finds this idea highly amusing.

J typically goes to bed around 6:30, so even though he'd napped late, he was tired when we arrived. He was cranky and complainy and just generally NOT HAPPY to be there. Until Betty’s foie gras appetizer arrived.

We'd brought a bottle (Yes, we're trying to wean. No, he's not giving up the bottle easily.). We'd tried feeding him bread, nice, crusty bread, while we were waiting. Nothing doing.

And then, then this fancy hunk of goose liver arrived. Betty offered him a forkful, which I was sure would be spat out immediately.

Suddenly he was all, "Yum! More! NOW! MORE!"

He ate the whole damn thing. I think she got two bites.

And then, then he turned his attention to the beets in Nick’s salad. The ones Nick had been shoving to the side because, like some people, he thinks beets are evil.

Lucky for him, I've never suggested inserting them in his anus.

Anyway. The kid ate most of the beets.

And then he melted down and Nick took him outside while I asked if they could pack his main course to go. I mean, Nick had offered to take him home. I didn't just stealthily stick his meal in a box, all, OKthanksbyehoney!

I headed outside with the food and J's bottle, and they were nowhere in sight. I looked up and down the block, and then a guy said, "They went that way."

"A big guy with a baby?"

"Yes."

"Wearing monkey pajamas? The baby, I mean."

"Yes. That way."

I handed off the food, they headed home, and Betty and I stayed and enjoyed the rest of our leisurely dinner.

I think so far she's having a nice birthday.

19 comments:

  1. Oh, Happy Birthday Betty! I hope it's wonderful.

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  2. Happy Birthday Mama! Your grandchild has expensive tastes!

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  3. Happy Birthday Betty!!!!

    Lisa, once I blurted out to my evil mother in law "Are all your kids picky eaters?" Which I only meant in a "Gosh that would be awful to have to feed them" way. But I still get a chuckle out of it.

    Good for you that Big J is developing such a great pallet. I think. Then again, he may someday have to eat cafeteria food. He'll perhaps start a few food fights in protest. Which, the thought of that sort of makes me chuckle too. :-)

    Love those people born in September by the way.

    Lynn

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  4. Dagny - Thanks for the good wishes! I know she'll read them and be delighted!

    Kate - Thank you! And no kidding, huh? He hasn't shown any kind of preference for meet so far, and then suddenly, oh, foie gras!

    Lynn - Thanks for the wishes! That is hilarious! I can't say that to Nick's mom, because he's the only picky eater. How he got so fucking picky, I don't know.

    Jordan is so-so on the eating. He likes a lot of veggies, not a lot of fruit. He's categorically opposed to cheese unless it's on pizza. He likes penne pasta but not shells. I dunno.

    September people are just about as wonderful as August ones. :)

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  5. Foie gras & beets? I do not envy you that poopy diaper.

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  6. Happy Birthday Betty!

    My daughter ate veal like nobody's business when she was a baby. Seriously. Could not get enough. Weirdo.

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  7. I'd say be glad he's yet to develop a taste for truffles. That could get expensive. Glad to hear you had wonderful time, but I hope you'll forgive me my stinkeye.

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  8. Happy Birthday Grandma Betty! What a great grandmother, to share her foie gras. She must adore him, to not try to snag a few bites before he finished his first one.
    I have to say, your child has interesting tastes. No fruit, no cheese but some very adult foods? Know how he feels about the pasta shells though, they have an odd texture or something.

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  9. Happy birthday Betty! Very interesting cuisine for a one-year-old. Hope you're still celebrating!

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  10. Just have the happiest Birthday, Betty! Your grandson has quite the pallet. So far, we share his love of garlic. I'll pass on the beets :)

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  11. hehehe everyone out in pjs. That would be a hoot!

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  12. I, too, LOVE the PJs idea. Truly, if I still lived in L.A., I'd try to get my friends to do it. Although, they'd all be in their Victoria's negligees.

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  13. diatribes and dish - You had to go there! Apparently it was kind of terrible.

    Suniverse - Bizarre. So bizarre! And then I'm all, but why won't you even try a raspberry? Look how pretty they are!

    FoggyDew - Good point. I don't imagine he'll be anywhere near truffles, or foie gras again, for that matter, anytime soon. As for the stinkeye, I totally and completely understand. I'm still not a fan of kids in general. I just get it now.

    Susan H - She loves him more than sunshine. I'm pretty sure he could get away with anything.

    As for his taste, I feel like a lot of it is arbitrary and mood-driven. He will occasionally eat bananas and blueberries, but only out of my (or someone else's) bowl. And as for shells, I'm with you - they're not my preference either.

    HKW - She had a good day all around! Thanks for the nice wishes!

    kayare - Thanks for the nice Betty wishes! Beets, it turns out, are remarkably unpopular. Hmm.

    Grace - Wouldn't it? The more I think about it, the more I like the idea.

    J - Oh, I love that you said that. I wish I had a group I could get to do this. I have these nice cotton shirt and pants geisha pajamas. That's what I'd wear. Not remotely sexy and very clearly PJs.

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  14. Oh the monkey pajamas! We love those monkey PJs! And yes i think it is a fine trend to start - the wearing of pajamas out. You might get too drunk, for instance and need to just pass out in bed. Hmm, what about the shoes, tho?

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  15. Happy belated birthday Betty!

    Supposedly I was a beet loving baby also. Can't stand them now. I'm having a hard time believing I ever ate them, I'm thinking my mom might just be making it all up.

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  16. Happy (belated) birthday, Betty!
    Beets. Oh beets. I don't even want to talk about beets.

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  17. You know, Saturn Cafe in Santa Cruz used to offer a discount for people who came in for brunch in their jammies. I never tried it but always thought it would be a supremely fun way to spend a meal.

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  18. Happy Birthday to Betty! Sounds like J has well-rounded tastes. That's very cool.

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  19. A belated Happy Birthday Betty (I have been out of town a couple of days)
    Oh my at J's culinary tastes, he certainly is aquiring pricy ones and I love beets ad am facinated by an american recipe for red velvet cake which I understand is made from beets. Apparently its very nice so I am keen to bake one. Have you tried it and whats your opinion of it?

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