Gametes In Love

Should I be worried about G having a sibling?

Get ready; Set…

Jump

Go, Horsey, Go!

G at his new kitchen

He likes to wash everything… all at once

… cut his fruit …

… and occasionally eat it (or pelt it at my head).

Then he leaves a fine set of little things for me to pick up from the floor. I don’t like MY kitchen cleanup. This isn’t much better.

Today is the second day in a row that G has let me leave daycare without crying for me doing so.

Don’t get me wrong, he really likes daycare. He doesn’t cry because I’m leaving him there. He cries because he wants me to stay and play with him all day. Now, as much as I would like to spend my day finger-painting, being read to, fed snacks and milk, and nap for 2 hours in the middle of the day, someone’s gotta go make the doughnuts. Plus we’ve grown quite accustomed to sleeping inside of a weather-shielding structure.

Until now, when it was time to leave I had to sneak out, hopefully unobserved, so that G wouldn’t cry. I had 3 escape routes, and tried to mix them up as best I can. If S and I ever did drop off together, we also has an exit strategy. Over time G’s gotten pretty smart to all of them, so departure met with various success rates. I felt like each day I was making a prison break, that involved the daycare instructors as my accomplices. There were maps, and secret hand gestures involved. Believe me.

BUT… yesterday and today, I decided to try the “preschool” parent departure approach. It goes something like this: “G would you like to push me out the door?” Wouldn’t you know it? Yesterday, he did. G escorted me all the way to the door; I opened it; he pushed on my rear; out I went and closed the door as he ran back of to kick a ball, eat a piece of waffle, or whatever it is he does. No tears.

Today? Same thing. I don’t know if this is a temporary event, or our new departure routine, but I like it.

More of this, please!

We’ve got a new word. This on it’s own these days isn’t too much of a big deal, since G is sprouting new words & phrases left and right, but it’s more of “what” the new word is. G has now given us “Yeah!”

He got “No!” figured out quite quickly. He even has “Stop!” complete with the hand in your face, but any version of Yes has escaped him until recently. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is when you have a toddler ask for something that you don’t understand and you try to narrow it down? Grunts didn’t help, and when you couldn’t figure it out fast enough, it only made for one pissed off toddler.

So now it’s a bit easier. I can ask him a question and he responds with “Yeah”. Plus I get the added bonus of feeling like we’re having more of a conversation now.

Small steps, but big communication leaps.