Day 19: pancakes

Pancakes have always been one of my favorite breakfast foods, but I never would have guessed how often I'd end up making them or much I'd appreciate them.

It took 2 long years for Dallin to start eating solid foods. Feeding problems are common with Williams Syndrome. Dallin was in occupational and physical therapy, we'd seen many specialists, we tried EVERYTHING to get Dallin to eat something other than milk, but he would refuse or gag on anything we gave him. It was a really frustrating, difficult time. One day, right before his second birthday, he took a bite of a chocolate chip cookie and it suddenly clicked for him. He was chewing and swallowing and eating! Slowly, he started adding more foods into his diet. It was a miracle. The problem was that he would eat a food a few times but his interest would wane quickly. I can't tell you how many times I stocked up on pretzel sticks or cheese puffs or frozen peas (which I greatly dislike) only to have him stop eating them.

When Dallin was about 2 1/2 years old, just before Connor was born, we discovered that he liked pancakes. And he kept liking pancakes. And he still likes pancakes now.

In a conversation I had with Mckay a few months ago, it came up that Dallin has had a homemade pancake made by me practically every day for 2 years straight. (I make them about once a week and freeze the extras to use the rest of the week.) When Mckay discovered this, he put his arm around me and sweetly said, "You work so hard." I appreciated the recognition of the work I do every day. And yet, all I could think was how amazing it would be if the only "hard" thing I had to do was make homemade pancakes for this child. With all the medical concerns we've faced (and continue to face) and the struggles with speech and walking, the struggles I'm reminded of at least 3 times daily are his feeding issues. After years of watching Dallin not eat and then discovering how he loved pancakes, I was overjoyed to know I could make something for my son that he would consistently eat. Dallin is still picky and selective with what he'll eat, but he'll always eat pancakes. Sometimes I dislike lugging out our pancake griddle and washing it, but that's a small price to pay for how well he eats them and how happy it makes him.

We've come a long way from the early days of small pancake bites in a highchair. Now, he sits at the table, uses a fork and puts his dishes in the sink when he's done.

I like making pancakes with Dallin. It's one of the few moments I get where I feel like he's just a regular 4 year old kid. He helps me scoop the ingredients into the bowl. He stirs the batter. Often, he'll eat two or three pancakes. I'm thankful for pancakes and I'm glad I get to make them with Dallin every week.