SR goes out to eat

So, I have only taken SR out to a restaurant a small handful of times.  At first when she was a baby, and then  this past September (to a small, Kosher, cafeteria style place) for my grandmother's birthday.  We haven't gone to a real restaurant since she could eat on her own.  We do go to other people's houses to eat.  The thing is, any time SR sits down to eat, she is put in her booster/high chair right as the food is being served...so she really doesn't have to wait.

Today I took her with a friend to a restaurant after school/work.  We had talked about it ahead of time and I asked her what she would want to eat and I gave her the choices.  So when I picked her up at "school" and reminded her we were going out to eat, she remembered she was going to eat pizza and salad.

When we entered the restaurant she was excited and looked around.  But once she was settled in her high chair, she was a DISASTER!  There were screams and genuine cries (with tears streaming down her cheeks) of "I want pizza!  I want pizza!"  I tried to get her interested in colouring or looking at things.  But SR expected her pizza b/c I told her we were going to eat pizza.

The waiter came over, and I asked SR to tell him what she wanted to eat.  She said, "I want pizza, please!"  And then she expected it right away.  She would not touch the bread that arrived first, or the salad that I knew she would enjoy.

But when the pizza arrived, she was excited...until I told her it was too hot!

Oh, BTW, for those of you who haven't gone out to eat with your babies yet....I went prepared.  I brought her all the things she uses at home:  bib, plate, bowl, cup, fork, and spoon.  I also brought the disposable adhesive placemat.  This definitely made eating out easier...the restaurant was ready to give her a ceramic plate...and what fork would she have held in her hand?  The placemat was the best idea...she kept putting her fork down, and eating food that dropped (as the high chair was very low for the table)....in hindsight, I should have brought the booster seat in too, but I think she liked the chair even though she was so low down.

I got her to "blow" on the pizza to cool it, and she told me it was "just right" even though I still thought it was a little too warm for her.  She at the pizza, and ate the pizza, and ate the pizza :)  Only about a piece and a half of a tiny pizza - most of it was brought home :)  Then she ate a plate of salad.  Once happily eating, my friend and I were able to talk a little bit.

Happy after a yummy dinner of pizza and salad.

Mmmmm....ice cream!

The best part was dessert - they brought 3 mini ice cream cones for her, which I knew she couldn't eat all three.  She told my friend and I to eat our ice creams.  But she refused to eat the cone...didn't know what it was, even when I told her it was a cookie on the ice cream - she just stuck her tongue in further.  We got a picture of the three of us, but I won't post it here without her permission.  All in all, the evening ended up successful.  Hopefully she'll remember that she has to wait next time.  Maybe it was just her cold making her extra cranky at first.