Feeling HOT HOT HOT

Since moving from NJ to MO...our restaurant choices have changed.  Gone are the days of popping in to a quaint, family-owned Italian joint for a slice of pie or some pencil points.  In St. Louis, the majority of the little, family-owned joints serve Mexican fare.  So, when we're lazy and tired after work and don't feel like cooking (or cleaning up) we pack up the Mermie and head out.  Five minutes later, we have two cold margaritas and a basket of warm chips and spicy salsa sitting in front of us...and now, since Mercer sits in a high chair...they're in front of him too.

Mercer's hands are in EVERYTHING now...if he can reach it, he can grab it.  And if he can't reach it, he's going to try his damnedest to stretch and contort out of that high chair to get whatever catches his eye. Unless, something is just magically placed in front of him...like it was yesterday.

Yesterday, like we always do, we ripped up little pieces of tortilla and placed them in front of Mercer, who will gnawed on them, some puffs and some rice while we ate.  He was a content little monkey, sitting in his high chair, snacking away.  That all changed when the waiter put a bowl of tomitilla salsa down in front of him.  Mercer caught the waiter's mistake right away and this wry smile crept across his face.  He laughed, then, because he knew he had us.  Before Mark and I could move the bowl of green goodness out of Mercer's reach, his hand was in the bowl and he had a fist full of green salsa dripping from his pudgy little hand.

And what does Mercer do with a fist full of green salsa?  First, he looked at it and then he put it directly into his mouth.  The look of shock on his face when his tastebuds realized the "wake up call"  that they were getting, was priceless.  His eyes popped open, his skin turned bright red and he started YELLING.  Not a cry - there were no tears; just these open mouth squwaks coupled with flailing arms, as if he was saying, "What the hell is going on in my mouth?" 

Being the amazing parents that we are, we immediate got him some water.  Immediately....after we stopped laughing at his reaction.  Between Mercer's antics and our laughing, people were starting to stare at us. 

After he got the water, he went back to chillin' and eating his carbs while we continued to giggle at his hilarity.  And even this morning, as we were getting ready, Mark and I were still laughing....

I wonder how Mercer would react to Frank's Hot Sauce....