Just Don't Forget the Wasabi

We're back! The trip was great and all went well, food-wise and family-wise. I didn't post any more food videos because we spent Thursday afternoon at the baths (and I wasn't about to record THAT experience) and were too tired to go out again that night for dinner. Friday morning was spent on last-minute errands and then that afternoon, we went to pick up Little Brother.

Sometime last year, I was telling a friend about Little Brother and how he'd be almost a year old by the time we brought him home. The first thing she said was, Gee, he'll already be speaking/understanding the Korean language. I chuckled to myself because MY first thought had been, Gee, he'll already be eating Korean food. That tells you where my priorities lie.

When I finally got to meet Little Brother, one of the questions that I asked his foster mother was, what does he like to eat? She told me that he drank formula (250 ml every 4 hours!) and had a little rice porridge - jook - twice a day. She also said that she would give him a little of whatever the family was having at mealtimes. I did not get the impression, however, that he usually ate considerable amounts of solid food.

Back to Friday - that night's dinner was takeout sushi and bao from the food halls in the basement of the Shinsegae department store. Little Brother had fallen asleep during the taxi ride back to the hotel, so Paula ventured out to forage for our supper. The Lottle Department store has a food court/food hall in its basement too, also full of wondrous stuff: kiosks with bakery, confectionery, sushi, Indian food, etc. The Shinsegae store has an upscale market within (this was the place where I took photos of seaweed and anchovies on our last trip).

Paula set out the victuals on the coffee table and we tucked in. Partway through our meal, Little Brother roused himself and declared that he was hungry. So I promptly warmed up a bottle that his foster mom had prepared, gathered him into my arms, and prepared for the first feeding/bonding moment with my new son. Who looked at the bottle, looked at me, and then...slowly and deliberately...looked at the sushi. Then he looked back at me. The message was clear: why aren't you sharing?

Since we arrived back in Boston, it's become apparent that Little Brother is, in fact, quite used to solid food. Thus far everything that's been put in front of him has gone down the hatch to varying degrees (mostly depending upon the texture of the food - sweet potato and strawberries tend to slip out of his grasp, whereas green beans provide a more secure purchase). He has no interest in spoon feeding, and while I miss that baby-bird look of openmouthed searching, it is much easier to let him finger-feed on whatever we're having for dinner. Because if I give something to Big Brother and don't put it on little brother's plate too...he notices. Oh yes, he notices.