Saturday, July 30, 2011

Toddlers are weird #15

I will never be able to figure my child out.

Tonight we met up with friends at a carnival run by a fire department in the next county while Daddy played board games with some friends. We tried to get Little M to ride a horse on the merry-go-round, but ended up standing next to the horse and petting it while trying not to be dragged down by the horse next to me. Later we tried to have Little M ride the cars that went in a circle, but one weepy circle later, he was back in my arms.

The bouncy house went over well, since we've done that before, and he loves to bounce! And he was lukewarm about the giant slide. It was very stop-start since it was kind of hot and humid, so it wasn't like we raced down the hill.

I could not get him to go in the fun house that was just for kids, even when 'Miss Debbie' offered to walk through it with him. And the fun house that Mommy could go in was only about 5 feet more successful.

So you could say I was surprised when he said he wanted to go on the Dragon Roller Coaster. It's the kid-sized coaster, but this carnival let parents ride with very little ones, so I sat sideways in the car next to Little M in the seat behind his friend, Princess C, and her dad. After Little M tried to get me to move my foot and knee, I told him that they were going to stay there or Mommy was not going to be able to ride, and that calmed him right down. With him buckled in and basicalled pinned by me to the seat back, we were off! Round and round and up and down we went, jerked around the curves in ways my chiropractor can hopefully fix on Monday. But Little M was thrilled! He was laughing and smiling, giggling and chatting and just having a ball! In fact, we went on it FOUR more times!

Still won't go on the merry-go-round horses, but give him Mommy and a Dragon, and he is good to go.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Our fun week

It just occurred to me as I was dealing with trying to get my crying child to go back to sleep that he is really one happy kid almost all the time.  I am pretty lucky that way.

And overall we've had a great week, too.  We went to class at Toddlin' Time, the local toddler gym on Tuesday.  I actually had him on my bike and rode from the house to class with him in the heat, which was not oppressive, but took us 30 minutes instead of 5 minutes in the air-conditioned car.  But he was a trooper!  And so adorable on the way there, just being his normal curious self, wanting to know about everything he heard.  "What sound, Mommy?"  And there I am, gasping for breath on the way up a hill, trying to hold up my end of the conversation.

That class had some ups and downs for him, since there was playtime AFTER class time, which is normally before, so that was different.  And Miss Melissa was not there to give out stickers after class, which he missed.  He did get his Teddy stamps on his hand, which he really likes, so that was great.  But he had a little issue when Mommy tried to get him to share one of the play cushions, and a bit of a timeout was needed, so there were tears, and apologies.  But he was right back to running, laughing and giggling. And saying, "Thank you, Honey." to me.  This was also the night that he was up crying and wanting me to change his socks.  That's all, just new socks, then he went right back to sleep.  Bizarre.

Wednesday was awesome!  We went to see Gigi and Papa, and when we got there and started unpacking the car, Aunt K, Uncle S, and Cousin E were there to play too!  We didn't know till the car ride over that we were going to get to play with them, so that was a really fun surprise.  I brought Little M's new water table with us, so Aunt K and I set that up outside and we got the kids decked out in swimsuits for water fun, and the giggling began!  Much fun and splashing later, and about half the water was on the kids and the ground.  But lunch was ready, so we dried of the little ones and went to eat.  Little M and E made their cute little noises and mimicked each other, hugging and dancing and playing, just having a blast before each going down for a nap.  Little M didn't sleep as long as normal, being not at home, but we just hopped on our bike with Cousin G, who came back with Aunt K, and went to the playground.  Gigi and Aunt K met us there in the car and Little M got to play, play, play and get dirty, dirty, dirty!  It was just what he loved to do, much laughing there!  A quick bike ride back, and some more playtime with E before dinner.  At one point Little M kept running from Mommy to Gigi saying, "I love you Mommy!", "I love you Gigi!" for whichever one he ran too.  After a late dinner and some finally goodbyes, a sleepy happy kid was packed into the car for the trip back home.  He slept very well that night.  And somehow over the course of the day he picked up the phrase, "I love you more!"  His Daddy blames me.

Thursday brought another trip to Toddlin' Time, this time as a drop-in to class.  He had just as much fun as on Tuesday, but Mommy had more because we went in the car this time and I wasn't exhausted!  Little M loved the binoculars for exploring the "campsite" just as much as on Tuesday.  And this time he didn't touch the fire or the snake, even though they are pretend.  And he didn't bean anyone in the head with a plastic ball either, so there was no timeout or apology.  And he did great at using the potty!  So Mommy was happy too!  Afterwards, we went to IHOP for brunch, and while we were waiting for our meal Little M decided to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".  He was singing pretty quietly, not bothering anyone, so I just let him go, and after he finished the few tables around us all applauded.  It was really cute!  Then he kept going...and going...and going.  And getting louder!  I finally had to tell him to use his inside voice, and then the food came.  And the tables that had clapped each came over when they were leaving to thank him for the singing, which was really sweet.

Then today we had a pool playdate with our Mommy friends.  It's our Mommy Friday outing.  We used to do them every week, but lately we've all been busy.  One friend has an aunt who has a place in the mountains with a fantastic view and a pool.  The kids got to go swimming and we brought their lunch up with us so we could go in a little after we ate too.  Little M had to be convinced that he wanted to go in AT ALL.  But he warmed up and was really enjoying himself.  By the end he was laughing and having a really great time with his friends. On the way home he was chattering about all the fun things they did.  Then he conked out, and I drove around for two hours so he could get a nap.  When he finally woke up, I headed home so he could tell Daddy about all his adventures for the day.  I asked him if he could help carry in some things from the car and he says, "Of course I will!"

Ah the sweet days of agreeability.  Oh, toddlerhood, you have some moody, cranky, fickle ways we must put up with, but the rewards, they are worth it.