Chris is Such a Good Big Brother. He begs multiple times a day to Hold Sam. He wants to play with him, to show him all his toys, and it's almost like he wants to share, though I suspect that if Sam actually grabbed for one of Chris's toys, Chris would not let Sam have it. If Chris wakes up either in the morning or from naps, and Sam is still sleeping, Chris gets worried and wonders where he is, and runs through the house to find him. Of course, on those occasions, he proceeds to be NOT QUIET so as to wake Sam. If Sam is hanging out or dozing in either his bouncy seat or the swing, Chris will sit right next to him, "helping" work the equipment, and generally entertaining Samuel.
That first week, Mommy's car was in the shop, and Mommy wasn't going anywhere, so Chris ran many errands in Daddy's car. Chris really loves Daddy's car, we were riding together in it, and Chris said See Sty widow(see sky window). I was perplexed, until Daddy opened the Sunroof, and Chris giggled madly. It was pretty adorable. Now everytime we go out, Chris begs to take Daddy's car. Also, Chris was having trouble climbing over the carseat, so Eric let him in on the driver side (his seat is behind the passenger), and he climbed across and then into his seat. It was easier for Eric to load Sam at the same time while Chris climbed in, and I stood and buckled him in. Now he wants to do it in the minivan too! This was back when I could not yet lift Chris into the car, so we were relying on his own ability to get himself into his own seat. Sometimes, he'd cooperate and sometimes not.
Althought that phrase really covers a lot of space with Chris lately.
"Sometimes he'd cooperate and sometimes not."
Now we get to the beastly part of the story. Chris does not listen. Now I see that phrase written down, and it really doesn't do justice to the stress of the situations. He climbs all over the furniture, taking his life into his hands. I tell him No, I don't want him to fall, he'll hurt himself, he ignores me, and then we move to 1, then 2, and at 3 he gets a timeout. However, Chris is so smart, that he knows he can continue up to 2, and not get a timeout. Then he's been moving on to a different piece of furniture, or something else I need to yell at him about, and waiting until I get to 2. The other day, by the 4th object, I just skipped straight to timeout. Then there's meal time, he won't eat, or he'll change his mind 3 times. We'll say Eat your XYZ, He'll say no, he'll climb down, but then as soon as we either a. eat it ourselves, or b. put it away, he'll pull a full blown tantrum wanting to eat it. It's rough. He wants to watch TV. All. The. Time. I say No. No isn't enough, I'll say not right now, we're eating, leaving, time for school, any abundance of reasons. But he'll go on and on, like he didn't even hear me give a reason why, he just keeps fighting I want TV, I wanna WATCH TV. Until he's screaming it in my ear. We also often fight about when he says No to something, and Mommy and Daddy actually listen. The other night it was during the bedtime routine, and we said, OK, go pick your story, he gets a story read to him every night at bedtime. He said No. No story. Just Bed. OK, we said, and we put him in bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he started screaming and yelling about how he wanted a story. We tried to explain to him that WE LISTEN when he says he doesn't want a story, and that is the decision he's made. We try to show him that when you make a decision you have to live with the consequences, but also more than that, that we listen to what he says.
The Riley folks say this is all "normal behavior". That may be true, but it's driving me nutsy.
Just when I can't take anymore, and I'm near tears, Chris (who is so smart and sensitive and observant) says to me, Mommy need a hug? And I always do. And I always feel better. And I have to work hard to not get distracted by how sweet and wonderful he is, and continue with disciplining for the matter at hand. That's hard too.
Meanwhile, some cuteness from this weekend...
Daddy and his boys on Saturday morning.
We all went to the White River State Gardens, and saw the flowers and the butterflies.
Chris peeks at Daddy and Sam from the butterfly walkway.
A Butterfly lands on Samuel's stroller.
Daddy and Chris watching the Butterfly.
Seeing the flowers in the Gardens.
Family photo op: Tiptoe through the tulips
Sunday, Christopher showed off his BOXING skills for Sam with his "yellow gox box socks".
If you haven't read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish lately, you should.
3 comments:
I have to tell you - the three-year-old not listening to you? Totally normal. Completely frustrating, but totally normal. Last night I almost burst into tears I was so aggrivated by Emily. You are not alone my friend!
I've been bursting into tears too!
been there, done that with a 3 year old not listening. Now I'm on to the 4 year old not listening. When does that end?
I love the yellow gox box sox!
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