Food is Not Just for Eating

As I kept observing my baby ate her food, I have come to realize that eating is becoming more enjoyable for her because she can manipulate a few food items. She likes to feed herself a cracker or small piece of bread. She wants to taste food, but she also wants to play with it, squeeze it, smell it, crumble it, mash it and smear it. Being messy is part of her learning process.