Turning 6 "BITES"

My mother is a nice woman. Whenever I call to complain or seek wisdom about how to handle my kids when they are driving me crazy, she always takes the time to remind me how kind and generous she was when we were young and growing up. While I don't recall thinking she was so kind when the vacuum was running at 6 am on a Saturday morning- I do have to admit she was a lot nicer at the dinner table than I am.
Growing up, I was a pretty picker eater. Instead of fighting me at every single meal- she had a rule that if you didn't like what she fixed- there was always Campbells. I'm sure I lived off of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup for many years of my life.
Ironically, now I am the adult with a picky child and I am sure I am not handling it with the grace my mother did. I have tried the "there's always Campbell's" ploy with my kids until I realized that I was making soup EVERY night because they refused to try my cooking.
I got fed up, (pun totally intended there...) and the soup went flying out the window. We now have a rule around here. When the kids decide that they are done or they don't want to eat what I made I tell them that they have to eat as many bites as they are old. Aaron gets really annoyed by this. He tells me that if he has to take 8 bites then it's gone and he's had to eat everything. Kinda the point, I think.
Caleb is by far the worst offender. He's going through a phase where he doesn't like anything. I keep telling myself that someday the food struggle will pay off. That I WILL win this battle. That Caleb WILL learn to like more foods. And so I brace myself every night for the complaining that inevitably happens when he sees his plate. This is a battle I'm willing to fight.
Before I tell the next part of this story, you should know that Caleb has a flair for the dramatic. He talks in absolutes: "I'm NEVER going to get to do that..." and "You ALWAYS say that!" and "Nobody EVER helps me!" To hear him talk, you'd think his life is so tragic.
A week ago, when he realized his birthday was only two days away, he came to us, practically sobbing in his "Caleb-my-life-is-over" fashion.
CALEB: "I DON'T WANT TO BE 6! OH NO! I DON'T WANT TO BE 6! IT'S GONNA BE NO FUN!"
MATT:"Why not, Caleb?"
CALEB: "Because when I'm 6 Mom will make me eat SIX bites, instead of 5! I just can't do it! I think I want to stay 5 forever- but Mom's not gonna let me!"

(at this point I am trying not to laugh and am thinking, "gee, I didn't know I even HAD the power to turn birthdays off"... but I digress)

Poor Caleb. I don't think he's yet realized that he's not gonna win this battle. His Momma's just too mean I guess. Maybe he should go visit Grandma J... I hear she has soup. :)