Black Bean Goatee

Mia has become interested recently in using a utensil of one kind or another when eating. A spoon is the most obvious choice. I've been letting her try it after I have fed her the majority of her yogurt. She still manages to spread the little bit left all over her face, hair, arms, etc. She really concentrates on getting the spoon to her mouth. If you praise her for doing it, she smiles big and is so proud. She mostly uses a dipping motion into the yogurt rather than scooping it up. She ends up not having much on the spoon by the time it gets to her mouth, but she doesn't care. By the end, she just dips her fingers in. Dipping sauces are a favorite as well. I gave her some black bean dip and a few chips one evening to see what she would do. She went to town on that bean dip! The notion of just eating the chip hasn't sunk in, though. She would repeatedly dip the same chip, lick off the bean dip, and dunk it again. She's a double-dipper! Or a triple-dipper...anyway. We tried the same thing with a tater tot and ketchup. Once again, it was a success. I think it makes mealtime more fun for her to eat different ways whether it's dipping something or using a spoon or whatever.

Mia with her black bean goatee
Trying out some ketchup on her tot
First attempt with a spoon