Back when Kate started solids strawberries and grapes were her favorites. She would eat them all the time if I gave them to her, and she would get so excited at the sight of them!

Sometime over the summer she decided she no longer liked either – to the point where she refuses to put either in her mouth, period. I kept offering but got tired of picking up strawberries off the floor and throwing out half the carton. Two of the very few foods she refuses to eat, by the way.

Last week we were over visiting her cousins at around lunchtime. My SIL was dishing out handfuls of cut-up strawberries from a tupperware container for both of them. Kate stared and started yelling at me for some. I explained that they were strawberries, you don’t LIKE them, but she was apparently hungry and continued to yell. So fine, I grabbed one little piece and popped it in her mouth. I waited. She chewed. She opened her mouth again and squawked like a hungry baby bird. Uhhh, what? So I kept offering her more, and she kept on eating. She ate a whole bowl of strawberries! Amazing!

Today I bought a carton of strawberries and cut them all up in advance. At lunch time I grabbed some in a small bowl and picked one little piece up, preparing to put it directly in her mouth so as to avoid the initial refusal. Well she refused anyway. She shook her head from side to side, mouth clamped shut, and growled, “Mmmmm!” at me, which I gather to mean something along the lines of, Stop it!! I persevered and finally pushed a small piece of strawberry into her mouth. She stared at me with annoyance. Her mouth hung open. Drool pooled up. Her mouth slowly closed and she chewed a little. Then her face brightened up.

After a few more hand-fed pieces I gave her the whole bowl, which she proceeded to empty in short time with the assistance of her fork. Strawberries? WIN!

Now we’ll just have to see how she reacts again next time.

Toddlers are weird.