The Very Happy Caterpillar

Emma had a happy day. And she ate about 4,000 calories. She's been like a snake: refusing most things for days, then spending literally all day packing it in. I needed to work for a couple hours this morning, so my friend and her sitter, Sarah, offered to take her to Costco and then meet us at school at 11:30 for preschool pickup. An hour later she texted me: "So, Emma is yelling, 'hot dog!' Okay to give her one?" Then she texted me this:

Caption: "This is all that's left." Of a Costco hot dog. Which, if you've ever seen one, is 30% bigger than a normal hot dog. This was at about 10:45. After breakfast. And snack, including an entire banana.

When we came home, I got lunch ready for Cordelia. Emma piped up: "Cheese? Have it! Cracker! Grapes? MANGO! Raisin? APPLE!" She blew through those, too.

She had a great nap and awoke with the most heinous diaper I have ever seen, I think, and let me tell you: that is saying something. Then, more mangos. We picked Cody up from school and, in an effort to avoid the total gridlock on Old Bridge, took a back route home. I stopped at Sweet Frog to surprise them. Cordelia's eyes went wide: "ICE CREAM? In the middle of the day? You are the best mommy EVER and even when I am MAD at you I LOVE YOU!" Me: "Um, were you mad at me?" She replied, choosing her topping, "Well not right now I'm not!" Emma loved hers. Then it was home. She found a box of goldfish and dug in. As I was prepping dinner for the kids, she stood up on the tower with me, grazing. She saw bananas out of the corner of her eye and started vibrating: "BANANA! BANANA! HOLD IT! OPEN IT! EMMA DO!"

She ate the entire thing. Then, "GRAPES? SOME?" All of this made her very, very happy. Behold.

After all this glee, she suddenly looked concerned. She stooped over. Her cheeks reddened. I heard an ominous sound. Eyes wide, she looked at me and said, "Gas? Pooped? Peed. Change you? HELP!"

There are men in prison who couldn't match what that child did in that diaper today. (Twice. On the hood of a car?)

And before we go on (if you're still reading): Yes. I know this post is, as Cody would say, "a disgusting act!" But I write it not to offend you, but to console myself, when she goes a string of days saying, "NO?!" to every blessed thing we put on her tray.