Taco Tuesday

Taco Tuesday is a new family tradition we started a little over a month ago. It's Andy's favorite day of the week! Ava talks about it all week, and on Tuesdays wakes up and announces "It's Taco Tuesday! Raise the roof!" (courtesy of Andy). But, for one so excited about Taco Tuesday, she doesn't eat a whole lot of taco.

Not to toot my own horn, but I make some pretty tasty tacos. The meat is spiced perfectly, taco toppings are plentiful and I fry my own shells. What's not to love? Ava gobbled them up when she was younger. But now, she eats all the cheese, sour cream, tomato, beans and a little meat. The shell remains untouched. However, she'll grab another shell, make herself another taco and do the exact same thing.

Ava's taco

Tonight, however, she barely even ate any taco fillings. Instead, she ate ketchup! Yep, ketchup. One might ask why ketchup was even available to my 2 1/2-year-old on Taco Tuesday. Let me tell you, it's because her Daddy thinks it's not a sin to put ketchup on his tacos. Have you ever heard of anything more disgusting? I'm pretty sure he learned it from his Grandpa Kleinman, who, legend has it, put ketchup on everything... even his ice cream!

Ketchup helping #1

Anyway, Ava just began pouring it on her plate and eating it with her fingers. She had four helpings of ketchup. Now, I know many, if not most parents would simply take the ketchup bottle away. But, we've been trying to give Ava more freedom in her decisions, lately. That's not to say I let her eat whatever she wants. She still has to have her recommended daily intake of fruits and veggies and I still limit her sugar. But, at breakfast and lunch I always give her several choices and allow her to decide what she'd like. Dinner, the rule is, you eat what's on the table. Technically, ketchup was on the table.

Jax salivating as he watched Ava eat ketchup