Happiness by Any Other Name Should be Chocolate

There are times when I'm not entirely sure that Alexis is genuinely my child. When she eats an entire can of lima beans in one sitting, I suspect some foreign DNA must be involved. But then the kid who was too busy sliding out on the deck to acknowledge that I've been calling her for ten minutes will magically hear the muffled crackle of a candy bar wrapper and come running, and I'll know that's my girl. Honestly, I'm far more likely to pay attention for chocolate than I would be for my Mother, so I understand where she's coming from. And I find myself disturbingly relieved that chocolate has finally caught her attention.

Alexis has been a health food kind of kid for as long as I can remember. One of the first signs I had that I was pregnant was that I suddenly had zero interest in ice cream, french fries, and chocolate. And for those of you that know me, you can attest that pretty much all I eat is ice cream, french fries, and chocolate. I went through most of pregnancy unable to stomach the mere thought of junk food, let alone the taste. Clearly that weirdness was because my body had been invaded by a foreign object, and that foreign object prefers healthy food. Give her a choice between cookies and lima beans, and the girl will take the lima beans. While I'm all for it, I can't claim to understand.

So it came as a bit of a surprise to me when Alexis started to become a chocolate thief. Really I had no business buying Halloween candy over three weeks ago, again last week, and again today. I knew I would end up eating it at every available opportunity, but I didn't expect Alexis to start toddling up to me with her Frankenstein arms, pleading for a little piece of chocolate heaven. I have created a monster, and I think I'm proud of it. The smile in this picture? It's in celebration of the Kit Kat that is making it's way to her happy little mouth.