Benjamin was awful last night—just plain awful—so it's really a wonder he woke up (after finally falling asleep) so...cheerful. I actually woke up before the kids this morning because when my alarm went off it didn't wake up Benjamin for once (probably because he'd only fallen asleep about an hour and a half before it went off—and when Andrew's alarm went off an hour before mine you'd better believe I growled, "Don't hit snooze. Just get out of bed. If you wake Benjamin up you're toast.").
Five minutes into my shower, however, the shower door flew open (scaring me half to death) and there stood Benjamin.
He glowered at me.
"Me. Wake," he said.
"I see that. Good morning," I said. "I'm almost done. Close the door and go out."
He stomped out of the bathroom. Obviously this isn't the part where he was cheerful yet, but some switch went off in his head between his stomping out of the bathroom and my following him a few minutes later. He'd been a little upset that instead of opening the bedroom door he'd only managed to lock himself in, but he was happy I was out of the shower and quickly chose a "stripy" shirt for me to wear.
Once the bedroom door was open he ran to the cereal and chose some peanut butter Cheerios (or the knock-off brand, but whatever) and started opening the box (or ripping the top into unrecognizable shreds, but whatever).
"I take it you want some of that cereal," I observed while he ran to get a bowl and spoon.
He sat down on the bench, bouncing with anticipation, while I carefully started opening the package.
"Oh, no! Mommy!" Benjamin said. "Stop. Don't. More pea-bee see-ee-ah! See?" He pointed to the shelf of cereal. "More pea-bee see-ee-ah!" He was pointing to an already-open box of peanut butter cereal. "Sin-it? Pea-bee see-ee-ah?"
"You think we should finish that box of peanut butter cereal before we open this new one?" I asked. "That's a good idea. Thanks for seeing that."
After breakfast I was carrying him to the sink to wash him off and I started a fill-in-the-blank game with him.
"I love..." I said.
"ME!" Benjamin answered.
"Because you're my..."
"Happy boy!" Benjamin he chirped.
He remained happy for the entire day. He was even good for his dental appointment, which was shocking. We talked about how we should behave before hand—"When they say to open your mouth you open your mouth and you don't have to cry or anything. They just want to see your teeth"—and he listened and behaved well enough to trick me into thinking it was something special about my parenting. But then I remembered last week that children sometimes behave how they behave despite their parents' best efforts.
This week—the whole one day of it—has so far gone smashingly well compared to last week.
The girls played nicely together the entire day. They didn't have a single fight. Here they are climbing one of our trees together (with some stuffed animals, if you look closely):
Five minutes into my shower, however, the shower door flew open (scaring me half to death) and there stood Benjamin.
He glowered at me.
"Me. Wake," he said.
"I see that. Good morning," I said. "I'm almost done. Close the door and go out."
He stomped out of the bathroom. Obviously this isn't the part where he was cheerful yet, but some switch went off in his head between his stomping out of the bathroom and my following him a few minutes later. He'd been a little upset that instead of opening the bedroom door he'd only managed to lock himself in, but he was happy I was out of the shower and quickly chose a "stripy" shirt for me to wear.
Once the bedroom door was open he ran to the cereal and chose some peanut butter Cheerios (or the knock-off brand, but whatever) and started opening the box (or ripping the top into unrecognizable shreds, but whatever).
"I take it you want some of that cereal," I observed while he ran to get a bowl and spoon.
He sat down on the bench, bouncing with anticipation, while I carefully started opening the package.
"Oh, no! Mommy!" Benjamin said. "Stop. Don't. More pea-bee see-ee-ah! See?" He pointed to the shelf of cereal. "More pea-bee see-ee-ah!" He was pointing to an already-open box of peanut butter cereal. "Sin-it? Pea-bee see-ee-ah?"
"You think we should finish that box of peanut butter cereal before we open this new one?" I asked. "That's a good idea. Thanks for seeing that."
After breakfast I was carrying him to the sink to wash him off and I started a fill-in-the-blank game with him.
"I love..." I said.
"ME!" Benjamin answered.
"Because you're my..."
"Happy boy!" Benjamin he chirped.
He remained happy for the entire day. He was even good for his dental appointment, which was shocking. We talked about how we should behave before hand—"When they say to open your mouth you open your mouth and you don't have to cry or anything. They just want to see your teeth"—and he listened and behaved well enough to trick me into thinking it was something special about my parenting. But then I remembered last week that children sometimes behave how they behave despite their parents' best efforts.
This week—the whole one day of it—has so far gone smashingly well compared to last week.
The girls played nicely together the entire day. They didn't have a single fight. Here they are climbing one of our trees together (with some stuffed animals, if you look closely):
Rachel spent quite a while giving Miriam climbing lessons and they kept rushing inside to give me updates.
"She got fourteen on the sloth hang! She was only aiming for ten but she got fourteen!" I was told.
A sloth hang is when you hold onto the branch and hang there for as long as you can. Obviously.
They had a big stool outside and Rachel was boosting Miriam up so she could reach the branch. Eventually they managed to get her into the tree.
"Mom! Grab the camera! She's in the tree! She's actually in the tree!" I was told.
I ran outside to hear Miriam squawking, "Get me down! Get me down!" but she agreed to stay up for a few pictures.
Later she came running inside herself to announce, "I got into the tree and back down again! And it only took me like one try!"
"Or like fifty-five," Rachel appended Miriam's statement under her breath.
I kept waiting for the, "HELP! HELP! She's fallen out of the tree and broken her arm!" update but it never came. They're probably (but hopefully not) saving that for another day. They might be risking life and limb (both theirs and the tree's) but I'm just happy they're finally playing together nicely!
Did you see the modern family where the whole summer was great while Alex was gone...glad your break has gotten better without having to toss people out for it :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen ANY of Modern Family. But I can certainly imagine that episode in my mind. And sometimes I think I'm the person who needs to be ditched in order for everyone else to have a good time! :)
DeleteNancy. You need to watch Modern Family. So bad.
ReplyDelete