Random stories

I haven't been keeping up with my postings lately so I have a backlog of random stories that I find entertaining....

Geoff recently hung Liam's swing from the tree in our yard and he LOVES it! I mean seriously has an obsession with swinging. He loves to "swing high!" Apparently only Daddy can swing him high enough. Whenever I take him out to swing he always says, "Get Daddy, swing high!"

Liam has been fighting getting dressed lately so I started a silly ritual of pretending not to know which body part to put his clothes on...pants on his head, shirts on his elbow, etc. He thinks it's hilarious and explains to me where things go, always ending with, "silly Mommy!"

In Liam's class at school, he's now one of the oldest children in the room and has begun to take on a leadership role. Last week, Liam located a can of Pringles that his teachers had set aside for their personal snack. While the teachers were busy changing diapers and preparing children for the next activity, Liam grabbed the can from the counter. He then proceeded to pass out a chip to every kid in the room!

It's funny when I realize there are certain things I haven't thought to introduce Liam to or teach him. Just recently I realized he didn't know how to give kisses! Whenever anyone asks for a kiss he sticks his cheek out and waits to receive. I've been trying to teach him how to give a kiss. At first he would go in for a big open mouth smooch. Now he purses his lips together, places them on your cheek and then makes a little smacking sound when he pulls away.

Just tonight, I was watching Liam play in his sandbox when he said, "Mommy sandbox." I told him that I couldn't fit in the sandbox. He thought about it for a minute, then got up, removed all the toys from the box and stepped out himself. He then took my hand and said, "here [you] go Mommy." So sweet! When I got in the sandbox he proceeded to hand me all his toys back saying "here go" each time.

Civilizing the Toddler

Liam and I have been having a lot of conversations about how we treat other people. We're working on listening (especially to Mom) and doing what we're asked. Liam's definately in that phase of toddlerhood where pushing and hitting are the top negotiation tools so we've also been talking a lot about nice vs. not nice. One of the ways we've been talking about it is when we read books. My favorite example is out of a book about a gorilla who pulls a lion's tail. Everytime Liam sees the picture he asks "nice?"

Well, tonight, all this discussion was put into action. I was getting Liam ready for a bath and Geoff came into the room, grabbed him and starting tickling his tummy. Liam started yelling "no, no, not nice, not nice!" Hilarious!