Oh, Connor. We were having such a nice month. You were napping more often, tantruming less often, and generally becoming such a big boy.
Then, two days ago, you painted your walls in poo.
[IMAGE REDACTED BECAUSE POO]
I know the rest of the month wasn’t so bad, but Wednesday’s incident is kind of hard to forget.
I guess we should talk about that first, and get it out of the way.
The story, as I understand it, is that you were nap striking and said at some point that you were eating poo. Considering that you’ve been known to eat Butt Paste when you can get your hands on it, and you eat garbage off the floor now, that’s not entirely a surprising statement.
What was surprising was when Daddy could smell the poo before he even opened your door.
By the time I got home, he’d already bathed you, changed your clothes, and put you in Time Out in your bed while he scrubbed the poop off the walls with Lysol Disinfecting Wipes. Then, I got to join him in the scrubbing party with the tub of wipes we keep in the kitchen, along with a bottle of Fantastic (to loosen the dried-on poo).
Daddy said that you hadn’t really seemed to understand the epicness of what you’d done until you saw that I was mad, too. Then you started crying.
That particular night also ended in the longest and most intense tantrum you’ve ever pulled before bed, so it’s a memorable evening.
We really hope you’ve learned your lesson… but, just in case you haven’t, we’re planning to close your diapers with clear packaging tape for the time being.
Anyway. Moving on.
Mommy actually took a lot of pictures of you this month, so let’s think of the happier times, shall we?
The folding chair Mommy bought for you finally showed up on backorder. I had thought you could sit in it while we cheer on the Glass City Marathon participants pretty soon, but I’m guessing you won’t actually sit still in it for long.
We had another taco party with your friend Harper and her Dad. You both love your cheesy quesadillas, although Harper actually had some salsa with hers. You actually kind of almost talked with each other, too — if you count “no” and “mine” as talking with each other.
You did give each other a super-sweet goodbye hug before we left the restaurant, though!
You continue to find fun places to pretend to go to sleep. Sometimes it’s the stairs, sometimes it’s the loveseat, and sometimes it’s Mommy’s guitar case.
Like I mentioned earlier, nap strikes are waning, but they still happen every now and then (like Wednesday). We got you some blackout curtains, and they do seem to help, although you like to open them sometimes if you’re done sleeping — whether during quiet time or in the morning.
You’ve been testing your boundaries, seeing what Mommy and Daddy will let you get away with, and seeing what you can physically do. You can successfully take the cushions off of the loveseat, although Daddy frowns upon you trying that with the big couch, with the nearby lamps and all.
Nicer spring weather means we’ve been getting outside more often!
We took a 20-minute stroller walk to the park this past weekend and played on the toddler playground there. You had a blast, and it was hard to get you to leave. What finally worked was telling you that you had to go home and eat lunch and nap because your babysitter Missy was coming over. (Which was absolutely true.)
The next day, after naps, you asked if we could go to the park. We didn’t have time then, but it looks like this might become a regular Saturday morning trip with Mommy and Connor.
You also like to just run around our yard. On more than one occasion, you’ve asked to play in the “snow,” then once we were outside, you asked aloud, “Where’s the snow?”
We also have been taking big-boy walks around the neighborhood behind our house. It’s easier to do now that we don’t have to get the stroller through people’s yards (since pushing it on the berm of a busy main road isn’t safe). We got to meet some of the neighbors during tonight’s walk, and you wowed them with your politeness. You even told one woman, “Good luck!” as we were leaving (she’s moving to Texas soon, but you had no way of understanding that, so that was funny).
You’re still obsessed with doing everything yourself. Sometimes Mommy and Daddy don’t have the patience to deal with the back-and-forth, though, and when you say you aren’t going to do it after all, Mommy or Daddy does it, which makes you even more angry. Sometimes (most times) a do-over helps.
When you’re in your right mind, and not in the midst of toddler rage, you’re super sweet and always want to make sure Mommy and Daddy are happy. Sure, you’ve kind of stopped picking up after yourself, and you’ve been known to dawdle and pretend and ignore us when we ask you to do something… but you’re still pretty cute most of the time.
