Table Manners

Ladybug came to my house with what was reported to be little experience eating table food. She was in the "exploratory stage"....mashing food with her hands, putting her fist in her mouth to eat, and no idea how to use a fork or spoon. The first week she was here, we ate outside every night so that the mess would be in the grass or I could just hose it off the sidewalk. As things progressed, we moved indoors. At the end of each meal, Ladybug would patiently wait as I cleaned her face and hands and stripped her down of the food-laden clothes. Lately, she has been able to eat without being stripped down. On Wednesday, after meatloaf, baked potatoes, peas/corn and watermelon, I grabbed the washcloth and the broom for our end of meal ritual. Bug helped wipe her hands and face, and, getting ready to jump out of the chair, looked down at the floor. She gasped: "Look Tammy! No food down there!" Sure enough, more food went into her belly than onto the floor. Not a single piece of corn was waiting for the broom. Progress!