For the Love of Chocolate

Yesterday I was super tired but Andrew wanted to play in my studio. I thought about it and realized I dont really have any current pictures of him so I told him we could go in there and play, but asked could I please change his clothes first so I can take pictures of him? To my surprise he ran to his room! So I put on a suit and tie and we went and played in the studio. He had so much fun climbing on chairs, on my sofa, driving the fire truck, and dancing. It was hard for me to be doing this by myself since kids his age dont stay in the chairs very long and I couldn't be next to him to keep him seated and I couldn't be behind myself acting silly to get him to laugh. I could squeeze a smile out of him by singing "If You're Happy And You Know It" but he'd get up and dance too so it was hard to get what I was going for. I still love the pictures and I love his expressions but when you see all of the pictures I took in sequence you can see him bouncing up and down in almost all of them. On the red sofa I got a shot that looks like he was smiling - but he's really neighing like a horse for me. lol  Whatever it takes!  I dont mind his serious expressions - but he's so bubbly when he's happy, that is my favorite thing to capture.

He is very much interested in how things work. Even the other day when I was vacuuming my studio, he laid down on the carpet and watched like he was trying to see the underside of the vacuum as I used it. He is still obsessed with the vacuum. He pulls it out of the closet and pushes it around the house every day. As well as the laundry basket, the foot bucket, and his wagon.

He does RIDE his toy fire truck now instead of only push it around. He is very good at it now and rides all over the house, albeit slowly, since I'd imagine its hard to go fast on that thing. I almost feel like he's too tall for it but it works for him enough I guess.

I was awake every hour last night, and then Andrew was crying at 4am. I finally got him back to sleep just after 5am, and then he did the unthinkable: Sleep until 7:50!!  I knew at that point that our whole day was going to be off - but I had no idea what I was really in for! I decided we would go in the ministry. There are four adults and two toddlers in our group. So Andrew gets to sit in the way back of a Ford Explorer by himself - in my arms reach of course. Jade flips out when Fawn gets out of the car and screeaaaams like someone is trying to kill her. That freaked Andrew out the first time, but he handled it okay.  He mumbles and gets upset a few times like he's frustrated about being stuck in his car seat throughout the morning. By 11:22am - he'd had it. He completely flipped out. He cried so hard he gagged a couple of times (and thankfully did not throw up because I was already car sick and probably would have joined him if he had!). Before he went into overdrive - he stopped crying for about 3 minutes as I was explaining to him what we were doing - riding in this car and heading back to the hall to get in mommy's car, etc.  But I was feeling worse being turned around so long so when I turned back toward the front - he started screaming even harder. All the way back to the hall - nothing calmed him down. He couldnt' even help it. He finally stopped crying just a couple of minutes away from the hall, and right as we pulled in his eyes were getting heavy and he would have fallen asleep if we'd kept going. I felt so bad for him. He has never acted this way.

Now I am having to let him walk around in the cold grass, barefoot and without a coat so that I could put his seat back in my car.  Of course, as soon as I pick him up, he gets upset and starts crying again. I explained to him that we were going home and he calmed down. However, once home, I get him out of the car and he realizes we are not going to play in the yard before going inside and he gets mad again. I put him down inside and he just went off. Screaming, banged his head into the floor. I offered him his cup, food, hugs, even a bottle - and nothing even remotely worked. (Usually a bottle will.)  I changed him despite the fight and fixed a bottle with oatmeal and green superfood juice since he hadn't had lunch yet and needed something more than milk.  I tried to hold him and rock him but he's still refusing the bottle and refusing me. So I sit up in the rocker, say a prayer outloud for him, set him in his crib and walk out. What else could I do?  Instead of sit outside his door and wait a few minutes for him to calm down on his own, I walk out to the mailbox all the while praying. Bring the service stuff in from the car. Then grab his bottle and walk back down to his room. He wasn't crying as hard, but still crying. I take him back out of the crib and try to offer the bottle again.. no.  I go to the hallway pantry and grab a bag of fruit snacks. He gets quiet. I take him back to his room and he eats two fruit snacks, asks for the bottle, drinks it, lays down in my lap and smiles at me. I hold him for a few minutes longer, kiss him on the head, and put him in his crib. He's finally happy.  I leave the room and leave his door open.  He sings and talks for a few minutes and finally falls asleep. I close the door and decide its my only chance to close my eyes and rest before the next battle. He only slept for an hour. And although he didn't seem cranky at first, he was shrieking at me and getting frustrated with me when I wasn't doing anything with the bucket he handed me. Ted came home and tried to put him down for another nap and that was just a ball of tears. Andrew was a little more tolerable after that though. He didn't eat much dinner but played okay. I hope he sleeps well tonight. It has been a long hard day for both of us. I am proud to say that not once did I lose my patience or anything. I stayed cool, calm, and collected the entire day despite the incessant whining, crying, screaming, shrieking, and frustration.

On a lighter note.. he made the sign for dad yesterday evening. He says "Down" and "Done" very well if you make him say it before getting what he is asking for.  I think he is up to 83 words that he can read for sure.

Oh.. and he actually voluntarily used the toilet the other day. He hasn't been wanting to use the toilet lately. So I started offering him chocolate. I have these chocolate balls that are made with blueberry and acai berry that he LOVES but doesn't get often. So I'm using them as the potty training bribe. He gets one for voluntarily sitting on the toilet (which hadn't happened yet) and another for using it.  So I dont remember what he was doing - he wasn't 'pushing' - but I asked him if he wanted to sit on the toilet. He thought for a second and then ran to the bathroom doorway and turned around to see if I was coming to. So I followed. He tried to open the toilet lid and then helped me put his seat on it. I sat him up there, and he pointed to the bag of chocolate. lol. He's too smart.  I gave him one. He asked for more and I told him that he only gets another one if he poops or pees in the toilet. He didn't really have to do either so he didn't get another one although he did stay up there long enough to have tried had he chosen to. It's a step in the right direction. He hadn't been wanting to get on the toilet but now I guess its worth it to get chocolate.  The last time I was in Costco, it looked like they weren't going to sell those anymore, so I'll have to come up with another semi-healthy bribe for him. No real candy. Maybe I'll have to share my healthy chocolate - he does like that too.