Juno What I Mean?

Now onto an update on the little boys I live with. This photo is of the sticker decal thingys Miles got from Nanny and Bapa for Christmas for his walls. He also got bedding with these same vehicles on it and he loves to be in his bed because of it. He helped put the stickers around his room and now he takes them on and off all the time. I started to fight that battle and then I thought, oh well, it’s not that biggadeal. They don’t peel the paint off and he has so much fun with them, it doesn’t make sense to battle that one. What fun would it be for him if all he could do was look and not touch? They’re cars for goodness sake! He HAS to touch them!

On New Year’s Eve day our neighbors Jeep was hit by a garbage truck. The Jeep was parked in the driveway in the alley and the garbage man came along, pushed the Jeep into a boat and boat trailer and then dragged the garbage can up the hill. oops. So I’m telling Ryan about this and Miles is listening intently about this terrible “axiscent,” and then he and Ryan go check out the damage. They’re outside looking at the Jeep and Miles says, “I want to tell the garbage man sorry.” Ryan asked him why and he said “the garbage man made a mistake.” Oh, Miles, you’re the best! He cared more about how badly the garbage man must have felt than anything else. I love that. I’m sure the garbage man didn’t feel great when he discovered the wreckage. We should all think like Miles instead of the adult “usual” reaction of “WHAT AN IDIOT!” I hope he holds on to this sensitivity for how other people feel. He brings me good lessons every day.

Sometimes the lesson is that I should try prevention when it comes to things kids inevidibly end up doing. Like maybe I should have said, “NEVER put your hand down the back of your diaper no matter how curious you are about what’s in there.” But I didn’t think to have this conversation until it was too late. Yup, it happened. We can cross that rite of passage in parenting off the list. When you hear, “Daddy I have poop on my finger,” it’s never good. I’m so thankful I had a second to compose myself so as not to totally freak out and make such a big deal that he would do it again. And I even caught Ryan’s eye long enough to shake my head like, “DON’T freak man! We gotta just get through this and pretend like it never happened.” So we washed hands very very well and had a short chat about poop germs. Then we moved on. Ugh, I just never guessed I would hear things like “take this big booger off my finger,” or, “I have poop on my finger.” It gives new meaning to, “you don’t know where those hands have been.”

Asher is continuing to fight the good fight about going to sleep. But we’re still trying to “win.” He has started to slowly come to terms with me putting him in his crib and seems to realize he may not win in the end. So we’re getting there. Smart little boy knows just how to push our buttons and tries every trick. He is only five months old and at times I think he’s truly smarter than we are. He will let out really frantic cries and I’ll come to the door and he’ll be turning his neck, stretching to look, waiting for me to appear in the doorway. Tricker! It’s not that I simply want to win this battle for the sake of winning. I just want him to have good sleep habits. I want him to learn that sleep isn’t scary or bad. That’s why I don’t just leave him to cry. I’d imagine that would be pretty scary to be left all alone in a dark room with no one responding to you. Especially if this “going to sleep on your own” thing is brand new. So we’re taking baby steps. After all, he is a baby. I want him to feel rested and content, rather than over-stimulated, out of sorts, and a bit nutty because of it. We’ll get there! Mark my words…. or don’t… don’t mark my words!! I really don’t know, so I take that back!!! This boy is a doozy!