New doors opening in his mind
Last night at bedtime
Sparkles finished nursing and gestured to be put in his crib. Surprised, we complied. There he staged an elaborate and silent play with 2 wildly different cats, 2 identical ducklings, a bear and a chicken, carefully placing and rearranging the animals relative to one another. (Coincidentally, this cast of characters bears a lot of resemblance to the folks who come to enjoy Little Bear's Birthday Soup (Else Minarik), which we had just read.) We watched quietly, though sometimes we played with the animals if they were ejected from the crib. I couldn't tell you the plot, but it seemed to feature a lot of kissing.
Then Jen has to go eat some dinner. He lay down a couple of times, rubbed his eyes. I picked him up, rocked him briefly with a little singing, and he went to sleep. It was nine o'clock, but the whole thing had been so darling and new, I didn't mind much how late it was. Even though I was practically asleep myself before it was over. (The previous night had been a very hard one for me.)
He slept the whole night through and woke after I did, calling, "Mom, Mom" very sweetly. He wanted Jen, and milk, but I had gotten to him first, and when both were there, he went to me to be picked up for a hug. Jen came over and we had a lovely family hug.
This is the same child who pitched a HUGE fit over getting dressed yesterday morning. I haven't heard such angry squalls from him since he was a helpless little infant. I got to work late wondering how toddlers ever survive without being killed by their parents. Similar fits today and Monday. Pants are the new enemy.
This is also the same child who loves his new toy stove, constructed by me from a big box and some crayons. With a judicious selection of real kitchen equipment, a couple of potatoes, some shaker eggs, and a giant duck in the high chair awaiting breakfast, I was able to completely empty the dishwasher with no interference. Then I made him feel important by putting the stuff he had done pretend cooking with in the dishwasher.
With the help of the pretend stove I was also able to make stir fry last night with somewhat less interference than usual. I also had him help rip up the real greens and wash the carrots. Discovered that he likes fried tofu. Most of his dinner was him at my feet begging bits of fried tofu while I tried to assemble the rest. Not the worst toddler dinner.
In the light of that success, I had him help me assemble the oatmeal for breakfast. By which I mean that I measured and he poured, including the shake of cinnamon. Then he wandered the kitchen saying, "Eh mo, eh mo." Was confused at first. Elmo? Why? Jen figured it out for me. "Eh mo," though it sounds exactly like "Elmo," was "oatmeal" in this context. Made pretend oatmeal from a stray paper napkin for him to "cook." Was messy, because he did dump it on the floor, but Jen is willing to coach him with sweeping up with his toy broom and dustpan.
He will be 18 months old on Friday. He's exhausting, frustrating, and truly charming.
Sparkles finished nursing and gestured to be put in his crib. Surprised, we complied. There he staged an elaborate and silent play with 2 wildly different cats, 2 identical ducklings, a bear and a chicken, carefully placing and rearranging the animals relative to one another. (Coincidentally, this cast of characters bears a lot of resemblance to the folks who come to enjoy Little Bear's Birthday Soup (Else Minarik), which we had just read.) We watched quietly, though sometimes we played with the animals if they were ejected from the crib. I couldn't tell you the plot, but it seemed to feature a lot of kissing.
Then Jen has to go eat some dinner. He lay down a couple of times, rubbed his eyes. I picked him up, rocked him briefly with a little singing, and he went to sleep. It was nine o'clock, but the whole thing had been so darling and new, I didn't mind much how late it was. Even though I was practically asleep myself before it was over. (The previous night had been a very hard one for me.)
He slept the whole night through and woke after I did, calling, "Mom, Mom" very sweetly. He wanted Jen, and milk, but I had gotten to him first, and when both were there, he went to me to be picked up for a hug. Jen came over and we had a lovely family hug.
This is the same child who pitched a HUGE fit over getting dressed yesterday morning. I haven't heard such angry squalls from him since he was a helpless little infant. I got to work late wondering how toddlers ever survive without being killed by their parents. Similar fits today and Monday. Pants are the new enemy.
This is also the same child who loves his new toy stove, constructed by me from a big box and some crayons. With a judicious selection of real kitchen equipment, a couple of potatoes, some shaker eggs, and a giant duck in the high chair awaiting breakfast, I was able to completely empty the dishwasher with no interference. Then I made him feel important by putting the stuff he had done pretend cooking with in the dishwasher.
With the help of the pretend stove I was also able to make stir fry last night with somewhat less interference than usual. I also had him help rip up the real greens and wash the carrots. Discovered that he likes fried tofu. Most of his dinner was him at my feet begging bits of fried tofu while I tried to assemble the rest. Not the worst toddler dinner.
In the light of that success, I had him help me assemble the oatmeal for breakfast. By which I mean that I measured and he poured, including the shake of cinnamon. Then he wandered the kitchen saying, "Eh mo, eh mo." Was confused at first. Elmo? Why? Jen figured it out for me. "Eh mo," though it sounds exactly like "Elmo," was "oatmeal" in this context. Made pretend oatmeal from a stray paper napkin for him to "cook." Was messy, because he did dump it on the floor, but Jen is willing to coach him with sweeping up with his toy broom and dustpan.
He will be 18 months old on Friday. He's exhausting, frustrating, and truly charming.