Why?

But why is my foot not big enough for this shoe?

Why you don't want me to throw (fill in the blank here)?

But why?

Why?

Why?

He also repeats what we say with a question mark at the end.

My oatmeal is ready? We have to get in the car? Your head just exploded?

Why?

Overheard Today

Tom: Hi Thomas. How was your day?

Thomas: Good. Thanks for asking.

Do you see why it's hard to reconcile when he's flailing around about a dinosaur bowl?

Another Health Quiz

Q. If a babysitter gets a cold will Thomas wake up in the morning sneezing?

A. Ah-choo.

As soon as Tom gets home I'm headed to the CVS to replenish our Kleenex and saline stockpile.

D-R-A-M-A

It's not just for little girls!

I got the wrong bowl for oatmeal this morning.

Based on the sounds he made and the tears he cried, you would have assumed that there was a large animal chewing on his leg or that there was some manner of needle poking his eye.

Nope.

Next time I guess I'll use the dinosaur bowl.

Back to the old buddies.

After months of hanging out in the box (waiting in the wings), Bentley and Otter have recently gotten called back. The difference: Now they are being shown how to do things. "Pay attention! This is how we drink juice, Bentley and Otter." They are still allowed to share the juice, of course.

They have also been instructed how to remove clothes and put on new ones and how to play with trains. Now, if Thomas could just independently go to the bathroom and fix his own oatmeal we might be in business on these early weekend mornings!

Fun times in the kitchen

We're learning to be very careful with our directions ...

No we didn't tell him to get naked. It was after lunch, almost time to get ready for nap time. Tara told him, "Pretty soon you'll need to go and get undressed so I can put on your pajamas for nap." He showed up in the dining room NAKED! Then he asked if he could just play naked for a little while. Of course, Tara grabbed her camera - cause ... how cute is that?!

Predator

Thomas loves Abby, our summer babysitter. Today he was directing her to go hide and told her that he would come find her because he is a predator. Yes, he actually said predator.

In other news, the TV and his favorite snack of Pirate's Booty are being held hostage. They are released 2 times a day if he stays in his bed and doesn't get up until the lamp comes on. Much more sleep is happening around here!

Working

Thomas ran in today and said, "Mommy I'm so glad to see you. You've been gone forever."

He was at the park with the babysitter for an hour while I worked in my office.

Drama anyone?

Is Summer Over?

It certainly feels too hot for summer to be ending! Tom is headed back to school for pre planning tomorrow, the babysitter arrives at 9:00 and Thomas is less snotty (in all ways) than he has been.

The pressure washing and staining of the deck has been a horrid process but hopefully will be done today (unless Tom kills the guy doing it). Trust me when I tell you it will be justifiable homicide.

We went to a birthday party yesterday and compared notes with some friends about the demonic possession of our children. Turns out almost 3 years old is WWWWAAAAAYYYY worse than almost 2 years old. Thomas must have heard our plotting and planning to deal with them. He went to bed easily and early and made it almost to 7 this morning. Hmmm......

A Quiz

Q: If a child in another class gets sick, can Thomas catch it?

A: Of Course.

We knew he was gifted.

Any guesses on how long it takes before the ear infection kicks in?

The next day

We talked with Thomas about no temper tantrums at bed and no getting up until tomorrow. He went to bed early and easily. We congratulated ourselves for solving the problem.

At 6:42 AM today we levitated out of bed from the screams and cries coming from across the house.

Tom found Thomas in his bathroom, toilet seat set up, pull ups and pajama bottoms at his ankles, poop and pee all over the floor. Apparently he forgot he can't quite get on there by himself.

When I asked what happened Thomas said, "I was running out of time!"

We encouraged him to feel free to get us if he needed help getting on the toilet in the morning.

We reminded ourselves that in parenting "problem" is a moving (and sometimes messy) target.

C-R-A-Z-Y

The boy is killing us sometimes! He has been fighting bedtime lately. When he naps, he can't fall asleep until too late, then he's overtired and wakes up earlier than normal. When he doesn't nap, he's no good in the late afternoon, but sleeps better at night. Sigh...

Yesterday was a good nap day. Last night, however, we had the mother of all tantrums. He was literally running in circles screaming, opening and then slamming his door. We would just walk him to his bed without talking, hoping that it would end soon. Finally he got quiet. I could hear him in his room and he wasn't in bed. I thought he was making a point that he wasn't in his bed so I left him and thought I could just pick him up off the floor when we went to bed.

Well, I was wrong. All of a sudden he starts screaming again and his door opens. There he is - NAKED screaming, "I'm a naked boy I'm a naked boy." He is running in circles, screaming, crying, snot and tears everywhere and he has on NO CLOTHES.

We go in his room, retrieve his pajamas from the laundry basket (at least he's neat when he goes psycho), wipe his face, put back on those pajamas and he gets in bed. Nobody speaks at all. He doesn't get up again and he doesn't cry any more.

C-R-A-Z-Y