Chopsticks and a brainstorming toddler

Daddy was planning to ride his bike after work today and I didn't feel much like cooking (or doing anything, really).  So on the way home from school, I asked Natalie if she'd like to go on a date with me.  After she agreed, I asked her if she'd like to go to the noodle place or to the hero sandwich (I was referring to a Greek gyro restaurant but called it "hero" thinking she would associate it with super heroes and flying and capes and other fun things) restaurant.

She was uncertain.

So we pulled up and parked right in between both of them.  I pointed to the "hero sandwich" restaurant and then to the noodle restaurant.  She looked back and forth between them.  Then she asked if we could go look in the windows at both of them.  OK.  So back and forth we walked.

She chose the noodle restaurant.  So in we go.  We order and wait.  She finds chopsticks and is instantly curious about them.  She looks around the restaurant to see what other people are doing with them. I showed her how I use them and the rest of this was all her brainstorming as she went.  I narrated the photos based on her facial expressions and what I can remember of the conversation.  Here are a few photos that capture the evolution of the chopsticks experience...

It started with her trying to pickup Edamame beans while we waited for our dinner to arrive, but I'll admit that it is tricky even for me.

Once dinner came, it progressed to trying to stab the big pieces of chicken...

But that wasn't reliable or super successful.  "Mommy, are you SURE I am supposed to use these to eat?"

Ok, let's try pinching food between the chopsticks with TWO hands.

Maybe....?

Nope - that didn't work either.

Ok, let's try holding them with one hand (like everyone else) and then putting the food I want to eat in the sticks with my other hand and then squeezing the chopsticks with a death grip until it gets to my mouth.

The two-handed assisted death grip WINS!!!!