Annika's first soda

We're pretty strict about Annika's fluid intake - she can pretty much eat anything she can get her grubby hands on, but I'm weird about drinks. No juice, unless it's a special occasion and definitely no soda. She gets chocolate milk about once every 6 months. It's milk and water for her, and she's actually ok with that.

Two of her favorite shows, Catscratch and SpongeBob romanticize root beer. Main characters in each show crave root beer and go to great lengths to secure it. She talks about it a lot - what is root beer? what does it taste like? why is it special? I told her that root beer is soda, and she's not allowed to have soda - so that's why it's special. She really never presses the issue.

We went shopping yesterday and wandered into the soda section. I thought to myself - be a hero! - so I plucked a 2 liter of Safeway's best (we can work our way up to the name brands) and announced she could try it. She was super excited and a little nervous (maybe I made her afraid of soda?).

The Negretes came for a visit that evening and after dinner I asked her if she was ready for her glass of root beer. Oh, she was! Check out the twinkle in her eye before the big moment:



Then the big moment:



And, finally, the sickening realization that this stuff did not taste right (check out Nico's terrified expression in the background):



She continued to make horrified faces for 2-3 more minutes and wouldn't be talked into trying another drop. Ha! Great news! My kid hates soda...I wonder how I can apply this to her candy habits?

So I asked her today why she didn't like root beer, and this is what she told me, "It was too sour and too bubbly. Actually, I think the bubbles caused the sour trouble."