Milestone -- Miriam Dips Now

We do live in Alabama...kidding. Not that kind of dipping. We had to skip the picnic because of the weather. So, we ran some errands early before the rain kept us inside all day. I took her to Costco where she was totally confused. It was just as the place opened, so they didn't have any of there food carts set up. As we went down each aisle, she would look at me and say, "Eat. Cookie. Eat. Eat. Cookie." I felt so sorry for her that she wasn't getting her usual 1/2 lunch, 1/2 snack at Costco. I ran her over to Jason's Deli for lunch. Just the two of us. I love eating with her like that! She got a hotdog and I cut it up for her, but kept the plate out of arm's reach because I needed to go up to the salad bar. As I walked back to the table she was holding the giant pickle spear and had eaten half. Too precious! I put some ketchup on the plate and showed her how to dip. I've done this a million times at home, but today it clicked. She dipped each hotdog piece in the ketchup and didn't spill a drop. After each bite, she would either clap or say, "Dip." She also didn't mess with the glass plate it was all on...she has a habit of lifting up the plate or just throwing it on the floor. I ate peacefully for the first time in a while. I was so proud. She's really becoming a big girl!