By: Revanche

My kid and notes from Year 2.11

February 14, 2018

Things I shouldn’t have to say

• Don’t use my finger to pick your nose.
• Don’t pick Seamus’s nose.
• Take your foot off my head.
• Don’t sleep on top of my head.
• No, I can’t trade socks with you.
• The climbing wall is for climbing. DO NOT LICK IT.
• Don’t lick the dog food!
• No, you can’t eat food off the ground. Seamus can have the apple you dropped on the ground because he’s a dog. You’re not a dog.
• Don’t eat boogers, that’s gross. No, it’s not funny.  GROSS.

Appropriation

Things that JB keeps trying to steal from me:

• purple socks, adult sized
• fuzzy boots, 5 sizes too big
• fuzzy blanket, one size fits all
• childhood teddy bear unearthed from old home
• favorite sweater
• Rogue Squadron books

Temper temper

I never know if we’re doing a good job with JB but sometimes in comparison to other spoiled kids ze positively shines. I don’t take credit for the sunny disposition or zir thoughtfulness when caring for a younger friend (offers food, water, treats, saves seats, brings toys over) because those don’t come from me. Ze isn’t always a font of generosity and thoughtfulness but ze is more than we realize and we encourage it. But we can’t take credit for it.

The thing we can take credit for is how many times ze doesn’t have a tantrum over insignificant issues. It’s not because ze doesn’t want to or doesn’t protest the disappointments of the world. Ze does. We just don’t allow zir to have a fit every single time things don’t go zir way. I can only hope this foundation sticks as ze gets older and the world is more disappointing.

Anthropomorphic animals and their livery

What are the rules for animals wearing human style clothing in children’s books?
Why does Daniel Tiger wear full pajamas but only puts on a zip up sweater when he gets dressed?
Why do the animals in The Tawny Scrawny Lion appear in varying forms of dressed and not dressed?

Exuberance

JB is both nothing like me and like the most advanced version of me possible. Ze genuinely likes people and wants to socialize, ze is sunny and energetic and loves running and yelling as much as a good book. It’s like pregnancy was a distillation process that took all the things I worked so hard on, characteristics that took me 33 years to develop, and popped them fully blooming into this tiny child. Ze has as much confidence as I have, if not more. Ze cares about being laughed at or judged as little as I care about any random person’s opinion. Less, even. There’s nearly zero self consciousness, just pure exuberance.

Perhaps best of all ze dances like anyone could be looking, anytime, anyplace, with total joy and abandon. From months 13-22, ze would stop dead in zir tracks anytime those ears detected music in the air, and start busting moves. Now, in zir approach to age 3, zir dancing is a little less pop and lock, and a little more Zumbastic, but the one thing that’s consistent is that if you feel the mood, you put on the groove. No exceptions. Ze could be in the middle of walking, eating, mashing clay. If ze has to break free from my hands half naked to dance, if ze has to hop down from zir bathing stool covered in bubbles streaming down zir face, ze will do it. The dance is the thing!

Learning & responsibilities

New lessons and skills

• “Reading” aloud – ze is memorizing stories from reading time and reciting full pages back to us. Holy cow.

Current responsibilities

Note: ze isn’t good at all of these, but ze can do the following tasks in some passable fashion and is willing or eager to do them. I’m proudest when ze reminds us that ze has to clean up first, or put away some clothes before moving on to the next task. This is getting fairly long so I’m going to link back to previous posts to show the current responsibilities starting next month.

• Setting and clearing the table.
• Brushing teeth.
• Turning off lights when you’re leaving the room. Ze forgets a lot.
• Many things Seamus: keeping his water bowl full, doling out kibble, asking him to sit and shake for treats, selecting the correct tubes of ointment for Seamus’s allergy treatment and putting away the medical kit when I’m done (He still doesn’t listen to zir commands)
• Cleaning up toys and books after playing,
• Loading the washer and dryer,
• Picking up clothes for the hamper,
• Clearing the table after dinner,
• Cracking and scrambling eggs,
• Pouring in the right amount of water and stirring pancake mix,
• Picking out apples and peaches,
• Putting away groceries after shopping,
• Hanging up zir own jacket in the closet,
• Setting the table without licking all the utensils.

Precious moments

Hi, tan I ‘ave a pezza? Yes! Dat’s all! bye bye!
Someone overheard Dad ordering a pizza.

Mommy! Are you ready to build a train?
Yes! I need to finish my sentence here and then I’m going to help you!
Otay! Dat will be awesome!
(Where did ze learn “awesome”?)

Goodnight, JB!
Goodnight mommy! I love you!
I love you, too! Sleep well.
I love you, too! Sleep well toooooo.
Ok. Good night.
Good night! I love you!
….I love you, too!
I love you, too! Sleep well!
…. please stop talking and go to sleep.

We let JB have a movie night. Never again. From zir room at 10 pm:
MOMMY! Did you peepee? I heard you.
MOMMY! Did daddy peepee too?
MOMMY! Just you & me peepeed?
MOMMY! we pet little dogs. (Earlier today)
MOMMY! It’s gonna be my birthday soon (been saying that for months)

10:30 pm….
JB: Daddy!
PiC stumbles out of bed. “What?”
JB: “Mommy needs to cut my nails.”
PiC: ….
I cough.
JB: mommy!
Me: yes?
JB: you need to cover your mouth!
Me: I did! (I didn’t)

:: Does it bother you when book animals are dressed or only wear some articles of clothing or is that only weird to me? 

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