Taking Candy From a Baby

My son just ate a pine needle.

It’s Sunday, January 3rd and our Christmas vacation is coming to an end *sigh*.  Fortunately I go back to work for one day and then we’re going to Disneyland!  N-e-way, James and I were busy taking down the tree.  The teeny little tabletop tree we chopped down at Culver’s with my mom this year.  As always, Jakey is playing underneath us, having a grand old time with the silver bead garland.  And then… I see his wet little hand grab a big pine needle.  You know, he palms it off the floor since his finger/thumb combo isn’t that reliable yet.  And then he deftly shovels it into his mouth in the exact same motion he uses for organic cereal puffs.

I quick try and get his mouth open but he won’t budge.  It’s very much like the scene in my favorite holiday movie, Elf.  Will Ferrell eats cotton balls at the doctor’s office like marshmallows.  Gulp!  This is exactly the image of Jake with pine needles.

All right then, if I can’t get it out then let’s wash it down with some water.  Apparently washing down a dry pine needle with water insights significant gagging, gurgling, and gutteral noises.  But fortunately not the insta-tears from Friday when I took dried cat food out of his hand.  I’m pretty sure he got a piece of that down the ol’ hatch before I noticed, too.  You’d think I had literally taken candy from a baby… not salty little tuna-flavored kibble.  This kid will eat anything… more on that later.