Fastidious baby

Rachel seems to have an obsession with cleanliness. She'll put up with a certain amount of messiness on the tray of her high chair, but when she doesn't want to eat any more challah or Gardenburger, she'll push it away toward the edge of the tray as if she wants it out of her sight, NOW.

That is usually followed by her picking up miniscule pieces of soy or microscopic crumbs from the bread and handing them to me. This extends into her recreation; a couple of weeks ago at the park, she brushed a bunch of wood chips off the play structure before walking on it in her sneakers.

At the end of playtime at night, I've taken to holding out the bag of Duplos (big Legos) and handing her each one for her to drop in the bag. This usually occurs about 10 minutes after she has dumped the entire bag on the floor and laughed and laughed at the mess. I'm trying to gently introduce her to the idea that when it's time for bed, we pick up our toys and put them away.

I think Drew got a little jealous last night because Rachel wanted to feed me. She has done this for a couple of weeks now. When she's finished with her challah, she'll often take the second-to-last or last piece and hand it to me. When I cup my palm, she'll either ignore it or push it away and point the bread toward my mouth. When I reach down and eat it, a look of pleasure and relief crosses her face. It's so sweet! And generous!

Apparently she never does that with Drew. I think she sense that mommy may need more strength than daddy. Or else that mommies feed everyone and so they need to be fed occasionally, too!