Ian Drives Mom Crazy
Pretty much all I have to talk about these days is potty training, but I'll do my best to spare all the details. In a nutshell, it's not going well. Just when I think Ian is ready, I'm not... and when I realize he's not entirely ready, I am gung-ho. We have to get on the same page. Unfortunately, it would work best if I was at home or if I could take a bunch of time off work to camp in the house with no pants on (Ian...not me).
My mom convinced me that it will happen very soon and he is interested enough to prove that he is close to being ready. She said that my brother took forever and was almost 4 before he was doing "big business". My sister, who is only a year younger, trained herself by watching my mom spend hours with him on his potty pleading for success. I'm sure that 40-something brother of mine from my last post will be so thrilled when he finds out that the entire adoption community, plus family and friends are all well acquainted now with his potty habits! Sorry, Rex... If only you knew how your immature stubbornness is an inspiration to me in my plight to tackle this mountain!
OK. Enough of that. Now to talk about how my perfect, well behaved, easy to manage son surprised me yesterday. After picking him up from school, I decided to take him to the play area at the mall. He loves pretending we're going to the mall... he reenacts going to the mall all the time and thinks we go to the mall to play at the kid's cove play area (or boat tunnel as he calls it). He pretends in the car, in the tub, etc. He was great all the way there and into the play area. He played well and was easy to pull away when it was time to leave. Unfortunately, the easy ended there.
We went from there to the coffee shop for a "spicy milk" (chai). While the girl behind the counter dilly dallied with my credit card, he was running out of the store and into the mall. He thought it was hilarious that I was running after him and I had to carry him like a football back into the store, which was hilarious to him, too...as he kicked and had giggle/wiggle fits. From there, he knocked over a coffee display and then threw himself in the middle of the floor and proceeded to pretend that his legs didn't work. No fussing or anything, just overstimulated fits of giggles at how "bad" he was being. He loved that I couldn't control him. I could see the onlookers thinking "that nanny has no control over her boss's kid".
I was then carrying my purse, his jacket, two drinks, and trying to control him. He walked calmly for a minute, but then tore off into a clothing store squealing with glee. I tried the whole "bye! See you later!" trick, but he just turned and said "bye bye mommy!" and ran. OMG! I also tried telling him that his drink was going in the garbage, but he calmly replied "go away drink!". There was no winning. I ultimately threw both of our drinks in the garbage and picked him up like a football...carrying him like a 32 pound sack of potatoes to the car. By the time we were in the garage, he was calm and fixed on a yellow jeep next to our car. I was sweating and out of breath. What a great trip to the mall. Not at all what I think of as an enjoyable trip.
He was fine until about 5 minutes to go and then wanted to get out of his car seat and stand up. He was pretending that the crotch strap hurt and that the shoulder harness was choking him. Literally, he was making choking noises and pretending to gag... and there was nothing anywhere near his throat and nothing was tight. Uggh.
I might have raised my voice once and I think I said "pissed". I can't quite remember all the details. God forgive me if I swore. I didn't mean it. Really, I didn't.
He was an angel as soon as we got in the door and in his chair for dinner. Great bath, great bedtime. He even let me brush his teeth, which is a feat on a good night, so I think he just wanted to be at home. I know now that an outing is not always fun for him and sometimes he just wants his "stuff" and his routine and to heck with the adventure.
Below are a few pics of his time at the "boat tunnel" play area. Not much since most of the time I was at a sprint after him. Who needs cardio when I have a 2 year old?
My mom convinced me that it will happen very soon and he is interested enough to prove that he is close to being ready. She said that my brother took forever and was almost 4 before he was doing "big business". My sister, who is only a year younger, trained herself by watching my mom spend hours with him on his potty pleading for success. I'm sure that 40-something brother of mine from my last post will be so thrilled when he finds out that the entire adoption community, plus family and friends are all well acquainted now with his potty habits! Sorry, Rex... If only you knew how your immature stubbornness is an inspiration to me in my plight to tackle this mountain!
OK. Enough of that. Now to talk about how my perfect, well behaved, easy to manage son surprised me yesterday. After picking him up from school, I decided to take him to the play area at the mall. He loves pretending we're going to the mall... he reenacts going to the mall all the time and thinks we go to the mall to play at the kid's cove play area (or boat tunnel as he calls it). He pretends in the car, in the tub, etc. He was great all the way there and into the play area. He played well and was easy to pull away when it was time to leave. Unfortunately, the easy ended there.
We went from there to the coffee shop for a "spicy milk" (chai). While the girl behind the counter dilly dallied with my credit card, he was running out of the store and into the mall. He thought it was hilarious that I was running after him and I had to carry him like a football back into the store, which was hilarious to him, too...as he kicked and had giggle/wiggle fits. From there, he knocked over a coffee display and then threw himself in the middle of the floor and proceeded to pretend that his legs didn't work. No fussing or anything, just overstimulated fits of giggles at how "bad" he was being. He loved that I couldn't control him. I could see the onlookers thinking "that nanny has no control over her boss's kid".
I was then carrying my purse, his jacket, two drinks, and trying to control him. He walked calmly for a minute, but then tore off into a clothing store squealing with glee. I tried the whole "bye! See you later!" trick, but he just turned and said "bye bye mommy!" and ran. OMG! I also tried telling him that his drink was going in the garbage, but he calmly replied "go away drink!". There was no winning. I ultimately threw both of our drinks in the garbage and picked him up like a football...carrying him like a 32 pound sack of potatoes to the car. By the time we were in the garage, he was calm and fixed on a yellow jeep next to our car. I was sweating and out of breath. What a great trip to the mall. Not at all what I think of as an enjoyable trip.
He was fine until about 5 minutes to go and then wanted to get out of his car seat and stand up. He was pretending that the crotch strap hurt and that the shoulder harness was choking him. Literally, he was making choking noises and pretending to gag... and there was nothing anywhere near his throat and nothing was tight. Uggh.
I might have raised my voice once and I think I said "pissed". I can't quite remember all the details. God forgive me if I swore. I didn't mean it. Really, I didn't.
He was an angel as soon as we got in the door and in his chair for dinner. Great bath, great bedtime. He even let me brush his teeth, which is a feat on a good night, so I think he just wanted to be at home. I know now that an outing is not always fun for him and sometimes he just wants his "stuff" and his routine and to heck with the adventure.
Below are a few pics of his time at the "boat tunnel" play area. Not much since most of the time I was at a sprint after him. Who needs cardio when I have a 2 year old?
Taking the steps from the mall floor to the dedicated floor that is the kid's area. He did every step without my help!
He loves the boats...along with every other 5 year old and under in our area
He especially likes the Ferry Tunnel
He badly wanted to scale this wall. Do I need to worry about his crib security? That will need to be my next big battle. I have no strength for it right now.
Sorry Steph, but I had to laugh at this post. I know how horrible it is at the time, but looking back it is pretty funny. I hate to tell you 3 gets worse. The heck with the terrible two the tortuous 3s are a nightmare! Don't worry about the potty training. Daniel was doing great for the longest time then decided he didn't care too much anymore and had 4 accidents in about a month...once while wearing underwear and sitting on my sofa. :^S
ReplyDeleteGod gives all mothers days like that just to remind us our perfect angels really don't walk on water! Most boys don't really do well with potty training until they are about 3 or 3 1/2. it will come and then you will be thinking, what were you so worried about? Aunt Jo
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