Cupcakes and More

We went to a party this past weekend where, of course, the staple toddler birthday treat was present: a cupcake.

"Take the paper off?" E. asks Dave.
"Just peel it as you go," says Dave, not one to coddle.

Dave walks over to me and we look over at E. who isn't peeling the paper off. He's mostly trying to eat around it which is making the whole process go kind of slow.
"Have you ever seen someone savor their cupcake more?" Dave asks me.
"Yes, actually." I point to a kid in front of us who is only interested in the icing. He sticks his tongue out and waits for his mom to hold up the cupcake to his mouth before he takes a swipe. We watch as little dollops disappear from the top of the kid's cake.

Then we look over at E. He has finished his cupcake and the evidence of his enjoyment is all over his face. Dave goes to clean him up and notices a completely empty plate in front of him. He looks over at the girl next to E. She has a cupcake wrapper on her plate.
"Where's the paper?" Dave asks.
E. looks around bewildered.
"Did you eat it?"
"Yeah," E. says, matter-of-factly.

There are some things you think you don't have to explain. And then you turn out to be wrong.

We learned an important lesson that day: Don't underestimate your child's ability to eat just about anything.

Another lesson: If it does happen, don't fret about it. Paper digests quite easily.