Our Cups Runeth Over

Tanner and Abigail will be two years old next month, can you believe it? I can't! In the back of my mind I know that they should be transitioning to open mouth cups but the thought of me standing in front of their highchairs soaked from head to toe with _____ (insert liquid here) just won't let me do it.

We practice with open mouth cups occasionally during tea parties and sometimes during snack time after their nap. I pour a little bit of water or diluted juice (a.k.a. minuscule amount) into their tea cup and they sip and/or pour it down the front of their shirt...good times, no doubt. I can't imagine allowing them the freedom to do this simultaneously in their high chairs during a meal or at a restaurant. Tanner's favorite thing to do with his sippy cup (more so than actually using it for drinking) is to throw it to the ground! He giggles when he hears the satisfying sound of his plastic cup slamming onto the kitchen floor no matter how many times we tell him "NO!" and reprimand him.

I don't enjoy lying to the WIC employee every other month when she asks, "How often are they drinking from an open mouth cup?" "Once a day," is my usual response. I feel like I am at the dentist when they ask how often you floss...."Um, let me think....the last time I flossed was when YOU did it a year ago!"

The Easter Bunny put new cups in Tanner and Abigail's Easter baskets this year. He bought two Playtex Coolster Tumbler Cups which are spoutless and use the same valves as the Lil' Gripper Cups we already use (that Easter Bunny is SO smart). These cups are insulated and designed for older kids who still have parents that need guaranteed spill-proof protection (that would be ME). I realize that sippy cups and pacifiers (another issue we have to tackle sooner rather than later) aren't good for them to use as their teeth come in, so I have decided that we will take "baby steps" to get to our end goal...open mouth cups!