Two year olds and restaurants do not mix.

On Saturday we went to our first authentic german restaurant in Heidelberg. When Ben said we were ALL going out with another couple I had my reservations. I have taken Maddox to restaurants on rare occasions lately because, to put it bluntly, he is a little terror. This started happening somewhere between 15 and 18 months. He used to be the sweetest and most well behaved child..."used to be" is the key phrase.

The couple we were going out with have a 7 month old and Ben insisted Maddox would be fine, but the thought of it gave me a sour stomach. I really wanted to get out of the house and try some local food, so I agreed. The menu was all in german so we had no idea what to order, but the waiter was a kind older man who liked to put his two cents in. He reccommended some delicious dishes. I was going to try a schnitzel because that is traditional german food, but the waiter must have sensed my insecurities about it. I ended up having some kind of fish fillet, Ben had a pork steak, and Maddox ended up with french fries. We had planned on just sharing our dinners with Maddox because the waiter said it was a lot of food, but had to get him french fries after he loudly protested any fish, pork, or potatos. After two hours of Maddox screaming "NO", stealing food off our our friend's plates, and him trying to squirm out of his seat constantly we called it a night. I have come to the conslusion that restaurants and two year olds do not mix. I will only go out to eat if Maddox is left with a baby sitter from now on. We'll try again when he is three.