We don't eat out that often, but Eli quickly learned what french fries are all about. I think they must be his favorite food. Brian and I have to call them "FFs" when discussing a menu so Eli won't get too excited to eat other food. We always get the server to wait until mid-meal to serve anybody's fries or Eli won't want to eat anything else. Three times in Eli's entire life I've stopped at the McDonald's drive-thru and that was all he needed to memorize the shape of the "golden arches." We drive past a McDonald's and I hear a tot chant start up in the back seat. "Fwies! Fwies! Fwies!"
A couple of weeks ago I missed breakfast and lunch was overdue for me. Eli ate a healthy lunch at the nanny's, but I was about to drive home on the interstate so hungry that I felt shaky. I pulled into McDonald's. "Fwies! Fwies! Fwies!" Eli kept asking over and over while I ordered, paid, and waited for the food. Then the fries were so fresh and hot that I had to blow on them for what seemed like five minutes (almost hyperventilating) until they were cool enough for him. I passed a small bundle to Eli's waiting hands in the back seat and all became blissfully quiet. A few minutes later, I glanced over my shoulder to discover the "fwies" never made it into his mouth. He fell asleep clutching them.
Today we were driving past Burger King and Eli started chanting "Fwies! Fwies! Fwies!" What the heck?! We've never stopped there. Eli can't read fast food signs and doesn't see commercials. Then I discovered what Eli discovered a moment before. We had our car windows down and the whole street smelled like cooking fries.