Will post some photos from work soon....
Whew. Too busy on so many levels. I have been home again for a week but am still living partially out of a partially unpacked suitcase. Some travel with Nolan (Miami) and some alone, leaving the boys to fend for themselves for 2-4 nights (Tampa, Jasper, New York). AM not on call this weekend so am hopeful for a chance to normalize/get stuff done.
Since the last post (vomit bath) Nolan has:
- frequently suggested "Mommy get in tub?" Cause he LOVES getting a play by play of his drawing and so on. By the way- MAJOR EUREKA MOMENT: Background - Tub crayons are necessary. I can't always find them in kid stores here and have previously bought them in Atlanta, New York, and my local Zellers. Finding - washable "My first Crayon" crayolas are, in fact, indistinguishable from "real" tub crayons in performance, especially if you reuse the plastic holders from the original sets to keep your fingers from getting too colorful.
- taken to pulling the medium or high kitchen stools all over the kitchen to climb up, open cupboards, and look for CANDY. He has also learned to whine when he is refused candy- worse when he has seen something and we say no,but also when there is none to be found. Whining is my kryptonite as a parent, so to speak, I dread it and find it REALLY hard to deal with. Am trying an antiwhining campaign which predictably has had no effect whatsoever so far.
- WAY chattier, using long sentences, playing pretend games a lot- it's really fun seeing what he comes up with. Two evenings ago we went outside post rainshower to smell the rain and look at puddles, just before supper. He wore a yellow rain poncho with a hood and bill (the ones that make children look like ducklings) and had initiated the trip by putting his red rain boots on (wrong feet), while not wearing pants.... so he looked like a barelegged red footed duck. It was pretty cute. He went to his friend Christopher's house (6 houses down at the apex of the park) where they have just built a new porch, and went up their new stairs. And started marching back and forth saying "Marching! Hup two free four......." No idea where the marching idea came from.
Finally - 5 things Nolan Likes, and 5 he does not
Likes:
1) Black licorice pastilles (echh. I don't even know why I had them in the house. And, they make brown drool)
2) Nutella on bread (Have bwead chocowate??)
3) Drawing with grown up implements (Highlighter or pen trumps crayon, every time)
4) Going hyper affectionate ( I was carrying him in the park Mothers Day morning and he suddenly showered me with kisses - 9 in a row, right on the lips, with short breaks for breathing.)
5) His Yeeago (Diego) shirt - occasionally removing this for a bath had been followed by meltdown cause he wants to put it back on to sleep.
Does Not Like
1) Thwarting of plans. Example, heading outside with an egg carton, his toy hammer, and a box of Kraft dinner, in his pyjamas. I wondered if he was maybe going to do some kind of surrealist art installation.
2) Any kind of vegetable aside from potato.
3) Being helped to do anything. Shakily trying to pour his own juice after snatching the box from my hand....I reach to steady him and he will shriek "No!" and pull back, spilling of course....
4) Going to bed. Always a battle. Will resist sleep for 2 hours easily, til he is standing, weaving from side to side like he has truncal ataxia, and rubbling his eyes, saying "I tired"...and then when I put him down he will spring up like a jackrabbit and start chattering away.
5) My new haircut, chin length with "sexy" side swept bangs. The bangs occasionally kind of unsweep and obscure my R eye- he looks at me, says "My eye!!!!" (well, that is what I call it, so....) and gently pulls my hair back, re-tucking it until it stays back, when he nods in satisfaction. And sometimes gives me a kiss. This is very sweet.
So, my tall, longlegged toddler boy is continuing in his stubborn, sunny, funny way, headstrong and intense, but at least with the bad side of that intensity (major clashes of will) comes a good side (amazing enthusiasm and excitement). He has learned some drama queen type moves, but also can literally dance with excitement about blowing bubbles in the back yard, or suddenly be so affectionate it's breathtaking....another example, we were all sitting on the couch in the flex room (Nolan's room, really) Nolan cuddled at my side, when he moved to the middle, grabbed Mike's face, and then put his hand behind my neck and steered me in to give Daddy a kiss. Twice. And said, definitively
"There!"
