I am NOT a morning person.  I trip out that after 5 years my son STILL wakes up like a light bulb, fresh and ready to go.  Always happy, always ready to play.  He definitely did not get that from me.  As a child, I remember just drrrraaaaggggging myself out of bed every morning before school.  Then as an adult, it really hit me how much of a night owl I am when my job essentially forced me to be.  My company is based overseas, so it actually behooves me to stay up late because that matches their office hours better.  I love the quiet of the night, and I love sleeping in.

So, when we got pregnant I guess I surprised myself a little when I basically made it clear that we didn’t need nannies or anything because I work from home and I could take care of my son while my wife was at work.  Why in the hell did I do that?  Mornings suuhhh-hhuuhh-huuuhh-huuucckkk!!  What was I thinking?  But, I/we really feel that it’s best that we take care of our son whenever possible so that he grows up as a reflection of US, not a combination of nannies, sitters, grandparents, etc.

So, after my wife’s work leave expired, it was just me and my boy, from whenever he got up until whenever my wife got home.  When I look back, I’m stunned I made it so smoothly after almost 10 years of being a night owl.  But, and this is going to sound corny/spiritual, one of the ways I was able to do that was by borrowing my son’s energy.  When he was happy, surprised, excited, etc., it made me feel the same way.  And one of the ways I manufactured these magic moments was to make creative (for me, anyway) breakfasts.  I was often a friggin’ zombie when I prepared these meals, but seeing his little face light up when I put the plate in front of him was like plugging myself into a light socket.  It woke me up and made me so proud to be a dad that could bring joy to his son.

Anyway, this is just a small sample of what I forwarded to my wife via cell phone over the years.  Hope you enjoy as much as my son did.  😉

 

Strawberry Banana:

I’m pretty sure this is the earliest documented example of me trying to be creative.  I think this one was actually just inspired by the plate itself.  Strawberries and bananas are my favorite fruits, and I thought the strawberries would look rad served on this little plate.  Then I just surrounded them with the nanners, and I’m like, “Wow, that looks sort of cool.”  You have to keep in mind, I never really even make breakfast for myself, so give me a break; I’m just getting started.

 

 

Supernova:

Again, inspired by these cool little plates, I decided to get creative once more.  I think I saw something on the SciFi channel about the solar system the night before and I was going for this sort of exploding star type thing.  I don’t know, I thought it turned out kind of cool.  Note the addition of graham crackers this time.  My little guy’s teeth must  have started coming in by this point.

 

 

Smiley Face #1

Sort of self explanatory.  I’m not even any good at drawing things on paper, let alone food.  But just wait, I get better.  At this point I was mainly trying to throw as many different kinds of food groups as possible while dealing with his very picky appetite and limited chewing capabilities.  I managed to get cheese, jelly, bread, and fruit in there without really knowing where else to go. He looks bald, though.  That will change.

 

 

Smiley Face #2

The reason I know this is Smiley Face #2 is because I’m still trying to serve him scrambled eggs at this point.  I’m pretty sure he ignored the eggs and just ate the fruit.  Mr. Particular will only eat his eggs if they are served like a flat plain omelet, and then cubed.  But I think this was a pretty vast improvement.  I was sort of going for shaggy surfer thing.  Note the fine detail of how I chopped the mouth slices smaller than the eyes and nose (yeah, ok…).

 

Smiley Face #3

I think I sort of regressed a bit on this one.  I lacked confidence due to the fact that I still sucked at creating the omelet the way he liked/needed it to be.  And who has that many banana teeth really?  But you have to give me credit for hollowing out the bread to make eyes and leave extra to make the nose (I ate the other nose myself, by the way).

 

 

Getting Better:

Ok, you can see I still suck at making the omelet, but note the introduction of eyebrows this time and application of multiple fruits.  Also, notice how the strawberries change direction mid smile, upturning on each side, so as to emphasize ultimate happiness of the Eggman.  I am really beginning to push boundaries at this point.

 

 

First Masterpiece:

Ok,  I’ve come full circle at this point.  Though my mastery of omelet creation is not reflected in this piece (my son was on a heavy bacon kick at this stage), you can see the vast array of different medium I’ve incorporated: large bacon strips to construct the face and sturdy jaw line, smaller bacon strips to create the finely manicured eyebrows, the introduction of a large pudding nose with two blueberry nostrils, fresh raspberries to create the smile and eyes, and  thinly sliced oranges to create the spikey blonde hair, much like his father. I had truly emerged as an artist.

 

Breakfast Deluxe:

With my mastery of faces now complete, I decided to explore different forms of presentation. Inspired by a sushi dinner the night before, I call this piece “Breakfast Deluxe”.  You can see the tried-and-true banana slices on the left, as well as the introduction of the finely sliced and similarly shaped sausage on the right.  As the centerpiece we have another new item, blueberry oatmeal with a raspberry garnish.  The customary drink of choice for this meal is milk (which he never drinks).

 

 

Koki #1:

I’m pretty sure this was my first attempt at Koki. This was when his Wild Kratts Phase crossed over with his Heavy Bacon Phase. The eye color is not right and after trial and error I feel the best medium for Koki’s hair is blackberries.  But, like I said, this was an early attempt and still a worth addition to the archives.

 

 

Lunch Deluxe:

Somewhat disappointed by my performance on the Koki piece, I decided to revisit an earlier platform which I enjoyed very much, The Deluxe Meals.  This was one of my finer pieces in the Lunch Deluxe gallery.  You can see my slight node to cubism with the offset rectangles in the turkey and cheese melt.  I’ve also challenged my son to push his levels of maturity with the introduction edamame.  Rounding out the color palette are freshly washed blueberries and raspberries.

 

 

Angry Man:

With renewed energy from the success of my latest Lunch Deluxe offering, I returned to the world of faces with a fresh outlook.  One of my first discoveries was that not all faces had to be happy.  I forget why, but I my son had made me angry, and I told him I was going to show him that with my breakfast that morning.  Needless to say, I think he got the point.  Note the oversized bright red ears and upturned eyebrows that really highlight my frustration that morning.

 

Monster:

Another realm unto which I explored was that of the unhuman.  I can’t quite remember what this creature is, but I DO remember that I nailed it.  As soon as I put it in front of my son, he knew exactly what it was, laughed out loud, and proceeded to gobble it up. I just wish I could remember what it was.  If this looks familiar to any monster experts out there, please drop me a line.

 

 

 

Mustache Man:

I think this one was sort of inspired by Ned Flanders.  I had dabbled in the use of bacon eyebrows before, but never this extensively, and I had never entered into the realm of facial hair before.  Hmmm, there’s a lot going on here.  I would say it’s one of my more “aggressive” pieces.  Lots of jaggyness.  Friendly to the taste buds but not so much to the eye.  We all have a dark side, I suppose…

 

 

 

Koki #2:

But the surefire way to have a successful piece of breakfast art was to create another rendition of Koki.  There have been many versions of her over the years.  With the exception of the oversized white ears, this is a pretty “safe” version for me.  The grapes are closer match to her auburn eyes.  The blackberries are a proven winner.  And the freckles put the final touches on this piece.

 

 

So that was just a taste (har har) of my breakfast creations over the years.  If you took my descriptions seriously, you’re thinking too hard.  Have fun with it!