Hosea used to be a very adventurous eater. He's munched sushi with abandon, loves sardines, preferred broccoli over chicken, and generally been up for tring anything. Pineapple? Sure, why not. Are you going to finish that curry? 'Cause if not, HB will take it. This summer, as we were feeding him a fish taco at Wahoo's, another couple remerked on his dining prowess, and we ust shrugged as if it were no big deal that Hosea was essentially a very small garbage disposal. When other parents complained that their kids would only eat pasta or toast or plain rice or whatever, I nodded sympathetically, but felt admittedly a little smug. "Oh," a small voice would say, "good thing you've kept Hosea on such a varied diet so he won't be a picky eater."

Right. Somehow, in the past couple of weeks, HBP has turned, by all accounts, into a Very Picky Eater. At first I thought it was the stomach bug; then I though maybe he was teething. Or tired. Or going through a growth or developmental spurt. Or blah blah etc. Now I just have no idea what's going on, except that there is a small list of things he will reliably eat:
-toast, with butter or cream cheese. Sometimes cashew butter will work, too.
- rice with butter and soy sauce. Never ever ever if it contains any tomato product or anything scented of poultry.
-rice pudding (recipe follows)
-oatmeal
-banana
-biscuits (i.e., rich tea or digestives)
-tuna or sardines with a little mayo
-mash
-*occasionally* black beans, mash, sausages, or other unexpected things, but will usually refuse them the next time they're offered.
-Nutella, crisps, ice cream, pumpkin pie, and any other thing that, for all intents and purposes, I will not allow to be a regular part of his diet.

In that last category I suppose I should include Thanksgiving leftovers. He absolutely devoured the stuffing, mash, craberry sauce, pie, gravy, creamed onions, cornbread, etc. Too bad that stuff is impossible to make on a regular basis.

Any ideas, folks? Is this a stage he's going through? How long should I expect it to last? 'Cause I am getting fed the heck up with my delicious home cooking ending up on the floor.