The Burden of Broccolli

The other night at dinner we decided to introduce a plate full of mixed pasta and veggies to Hollis. This was the first time we gave him a mixed dish and he dove right in. After a few bites Chris and I noticed he was very agitated. He kept his mouth tightly shut--"mmmmrrrr, mmmmmrrrr, mmmmmmmrrrrrrrr, " he yelled. He continued to shove food in his mouth but would not chew or swallow. With his cheeks packed for more than 5 minutes we decided to intervene and see if we could help. Not knowing what the "problem" actually was, I gave him some water to see if he would drink. He drank with is cheeks packed like a chipmunk but wouldn't swallow any of the food. Chris and I couldn't help but laugh at him. I then began to dive into his mouth to check out the situation. Index fingered hooked, I tried to clear a path from his tongue to his throat. He would not let me in at first and continued to say "mmmmmmrrr, mrrrrrrrmmmmmrrrrrr." Finally I was successful: pasta, peas, broccoli and carrots started dropping out on the table in front of him (tons of food). I thought I had everything out but he continued to say "mmmmmrrr, mmmmrrrrr, mmmmmmmrrrrr." After wiping away the tears from laughing so hard, I stuck my finger in a second time and fished out a piece of broccoli that was approximately 1.5"X 1.5".

Chris and I will never know how such a little guy could pack away so much food. We know he can eat a ton but had no idea he had the cheek capacity of a lion's belly