Monday, June 22, 2009

The Sense of Entitlement

Just a few minutes ago, Stephen came into the kitchen crying. "Where's our garage?" he said.

I repeated back to him: "Our garage?"

"Yes," he said.

"Stephen, we don't have a garage."

The look of sorrow on his face was truly devastating.

I guess being at grandma and grandpa's house got him used to the fact that houses have garages. And our Little People toy house has a garage.

I guess we have a lot of work to do to help him understand what a "need" is.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Of Trucks, Somersaults, and Bathtime

Stephen continues to crack us up with his drama and out-of-the-blue statements.

Today we were walking down a sidewalk and there was a truck blocking the sidewalk because it wasn't pulled up far enough in a driveway. Stephen said to me, "How are we EVER going to get around that truck?" (I showed him and we continued on our walk without a hitch.)

Then after his nap he wanted to do some somersaults. He just started doing them a week or so ago and he inevitably uses them as a stalling technique when he doesn't want to do something else. "I need do somersault," he tells me.

But then he asked me, "Does Great Grandma do somersaults?"

We still haven't gotten an answer.

Last week dad got Stephen to a pretty good point where he was enjoying taking baths again. But a couple days ago when I gave him one, he still didn't want me pouring the water over his head. (I've tried having him tilt his head back, holding a washcloth over his eyes, etc.) But then later in his bath he took a little toy cup and poured water on his own head.

So tonight I got smart. I shampooed his hair and then let him play for awhile. Then I said, "why don't you pour water on your head?" And he proceeded to fill up his little toy teacup and lift it up to drip down the side of his head. And behind him, I had a plastic cup full of water that I brought up from behind and gushed on him. He didn't mind at all because he thought he was doing it himself!

Monday, June 08, 2009

My Daughter's Quirks

One of Abby's many funny practices is that she likes to eat food while carrying it around. And she wants to have the whole piece. For certain foods that is a problem, because we can't give her food she could choke on. But there are many things that aren't a problem.

For instance, this morning she was vehemently rejecting the bits of banana that we were giving her but still reaching for the peel itself. I let her have it, and she proceeded to walk around with it proudly, sucking occasionally on the top of the fruit.

Well, Stephen wanted a bite and she was happy to oblige!

This evening during dinner, she didn't want peas or raisins. And she didn't want the little pieces of mom's good Jarlsberg cheese. She wanted the big hunk of it, "to go," please.

I know I could just refuse to let her eat this way, but really it just backfires on me when she is extra-hungry at night and wakes repeatedly.

Before I had Abby, I didn't know why parts of toys ended up all over people's houses. Stephen pretty much plays with toys where he finds them. But as I type this, she is bringing me a windmill from a train set in the other room. Thanks, kiddo.

Monday, June 01, 2009

What have we done?

Stephen is giving Abby a haircut with a fork.