Why Is It?

Can someone please explain to me why it is that my son eats like a bird at home, but when we take him to a picnic/party/buffet he eats like no one I've ever seen? Well, that's not true. I think the original title of 'Eating Like No One I've Ever Seen' belongs to my brother. You don't want to see what he'll eat at a buffet. It's disturbing. Really.

Today we met my SIL, her husband, my niece and my FIL for lunch at a small Chinese buffet they have in a town about 25 minutes from us. Even though we live so close, both my SIL and her husband work full time, and my FIL has a weird work schedule, so we rarely get together unless it's a holiday or birthday. We try to fit meetings in between, but they are pretty few and far between. It makes me a little sad, because when we lived in Arizona, I made it a point to go out to my grandmother's in Chandler to visit whenever I could. We'd pop out for visits, dinners, BBQ's..You name it, we were there. Anywho, we get to the buffet, and David watched Claire while I helped Ethan get a plate for himself, which he protested, so I got my own plate and silently "followed" him (kept myself at a small distance behind him at the buffet so he would think he was on his own), and watched in silent shock as he loaded his plate with everything but green beans (ALLERGIC) and carried it off to the table. As we all sat down to eat, I carefully watched Ethan as he took his time examining his foodie loot, and then dug in. He ate the ENTIRE plate, and went back for more. Again, he came back with a plate piled high, carefully examined and ATE THE ENTIRE PLATE!! He did this TWO MORE TIMES!! Where does he put it all? At home, he eats one helping of dinner, and he's done. He doesn't want anything else. Now, granted, I am not the world's best chef. I try, but, let's face it, I can burn water. I can bake a pretty awesome birthday cake or a mean set of brownies, but cook..HA! I just don't understand it though, because he normally doesn't snack much at home either. He comes home from school, does homework, eats a few animal crackers/graham crackers/goldfish and continues about his day until dinner time. The insane amounts of food he eats when we we're out somewhere....It's crazy! I just don't understand where it all goes. Am I the only one with a child that does this? Is his little belly going to explode one day because he gobbles so much?

Oh, and another mystery I'd like solved, why does Ethan's dog hate to sleep in his bed, but thinks that our bed is the BEST BED in the world? Seriously, this dog waits for me to get up and go lie down, then makes himself a little nest in my blankets and gets all comfy on my pillows while I'm brushing my teeth. Is my bed that awesome?