Vegetables

A few weeks ago, we took the girls to Busch Gardens, VA and we had a great day. The girls were pretty brave on the kiddie rides and they wanted to try bigger and bigger rides as the day went on. About halfway though the day, we cut straight across the park which took us by the one spot in the park where the four big roller coasters cross paths with each other. We had a particularly good view of the big drop of the tallest roller coaster in the park, called the Griffon. A group of what sounded like terrified girls went flying by us, screaming bloody murder which stopped Julia dead in her tracks. She was ready to march up and hop on. We explained that she was 46 inches tall and the minimum height requirement was 53". She could not get the Griffon out of her mind and she later asked us how she could grow more quickly. We told her that she should start eating her vegetables because vegetable would make her grow big and strong.
Ever since that explanation, Julia has been eating plate after plate of vegetables. I consider this a miracle because before Busch Gardens, she wouldn't eat anything green if life depended on it. Any little piece of broccoli , a single pea or even a minuscule piece of herb would cause a twenty minute battle of wills at the dinner table. Now, she eats spinach, asparagus, broccoli and whatever else we throw at her without a single complaint. Sometimes she'll ask, "How many inches will this piece of broccoli make me grow?" before she puts it in her mouth. We tell her that it will make her grow so tall that it will make her crash though the ceiling. She will then look at it as if to study whether it's worth it or not, and then eat it. The change in attitude about food has been pretty dramatic. For example, the other day we were supposed to be at Julia's school for a kindergarten class concert at 6:30. We were pretty busy that day so I said, "Girls, why don't we go 5 Guys for some burgers?" Julia immediately responded, "No Dad...Fast food isn't healthy." So, I had to quickly cook a healthy dinner instead. Today, we went out to Firehouse Subs for lunch and she ordered a salad! After all of this, I think that I'm going to do what any parent would do-- buy her some high heels and take her back to Busch Gardens at the end of the summer.