Thanks everyone for the replies. Today I just put the bottle on the highchair tray and continued on with serving the other kids. Low and behold they picked it up and started drinking it. Drank the whole thing, not the usual slapping it away when I do it. I can handle this bottle thing for a while if they feed themselves. I'll just have to continue plugging away with the fruit and veggies issue. The best piece of advice you all gave was to not offer the yogurt or applesauce alternative. I am one of those people who always worry that a child is hungry, so often they end up getting fairly large snacks. And I do give them alternatives if they refuse what I offer. This ends today, with the obvious exception of knowing that they truly do not like a certain fruit/veggie, then they can have something else. Thanks for drawing to my attention my own part in this