No, I just like milk and water...

Dave has been gone for six days helping his Grammie move from "The Crick" in Maryland to her new home in Colorado. He helped his sister and mom pack things up and then he drove two 16 hour days with a full Penske truck and Margie's car on the carrier. They (both of his sister's live in CO) unloaded quickly and helped to set Margie up in her new space, Dave then spent a night at his sister Kelley's house and flew home today in time for the Twins Game (free booze and food c/o Colle & McVoy which he did NOT want to miss out on).

Cole, Tucker and I picked him up at baggage claim. Cole had been quite melancholy the longer Dave was absent. He is used to his daddy traveling a great deal for work but never for six days straight. We excitedly (well, Tucker and I since Cole fell asleep on the drive to the airport) greeted Dave who had sprouted a beard during his travels.

We came home and Cole immediately wanted to play trucks and wrestle around with his daddy. As Cole followed him into the kitchen Dave asked him whether he liked his beard to which Cole replied "No, I just like milk and water, I don't drink juice or beer, that is so silly, just daddies drink beer and mommies drink juice (I call my wine "mommy juice""...obviously thinking Dave said BEER not BEARD...we had a good laugh and I was delighted to see Cole so receptive to Dave considering this morning, he said to me "Daddy still isn't home, he has been gone a long time and that makes me sad". He then got quite indifferent when I mentioned we were going to pick up Dave a few hours later. Luckily in the world of a three and a half year old, you don't need to explain much why you've been gone, all that matters is that you have returned!

My little writer...

He might not be potty trained like 90% of his peers but Cole has always strayed from the "normal" range of activity/development for his age group and done his own thing his own way (hmmm, sound like anyone else you might know??)...so although he still proudly wears his PULLUPS, he can write his name without assistance and I am awed by that considering he isn't even 3.5 years! I am glad he has a short name to tackle though he tells me the "e" is "tricky". He has been tracing words and his name at school and home for a few months now and voila, one day I pick up his work from his cubby and there his name is scrawled in free hand with a star and note from his teacher! So I had him sign all his grandmother/great grandmother cards this year which he loved. It simply amazes me how a child's brain learns these functions and all that he has come to be able to master in a short 42 months!

Yeah...now I can BRMMM again...

Cole is rough on his toys and they obviously have not been through as strict of quality control as the packages say they have because in reality, three year old boys drop, push, squeeze, pull, and bang their toys over and over and over; so when a tire pops off a new toy soon after it has been removed from the plastic tomb it came in you know you are in for irritatingly repetitive requests to fix the aforementioned wheel. I can't tell you how many times this has occurred and annoyingly no matter what the price point is, this has happened to various wheels of many of his beloved trucks/cars.

Superglue works wonders on anything you DON'T want to move again, but the pickle comes in when I need to find a fix for one of the many darn wheels, because if the tire doesn't work, Cole becomes distraught because of course, said with a whine that probably makes Tucker wince since it makes me cringe, "I can't BRMMMM it with only three wheels".

I try to address the repair if I know it simply needs a quick snap back into place but sometimes I have to go get tools and if I am in the middle of something else, I don't want him to get accustomed to having his demands met right away, nor stop whatever household task is so vital at that exact moment, so I tell him he has to wait and to go find something else to play with. I have about a 15% success rate with that attempt at redirection. So the other 85% of the time, probably with a sigh or a look on my face showing my exasperation, I trudge off to Dave's workbench scrounging to find the proper miniature set of pliers or the like.

Cole follows me around watching me work my mommy magic and with such joy on his face he lights up the room with his smile as I hand back the temporarily mended vehicle. "Yeah, I can BRMMM now". The last time I made this fix, I obviously made apparent that I was inconvenienced... as he trotted off with his newly repaired (for the 84th time) truck, I saw him detour into his playroom, heard him shuffling around (I was back to folding laundry)...he comes out and says "Here Mom, I have something for you". With that, he grabs my hand and puts a star sticker on it proclaiming "you fixed my truck because it had a flat tire and you made it BRMM again."

**SIGH** in that OMG manner; once again another lesson learned from my son about what truly matters...

The rain is racing...

Since we got back from California two weeks ago, Cole has asked to take his nap in our bed. He sleeps fine at night in his bed but I think it was fun for him to be in our big bed while we were on vacation staying in hotels. He has also come into our room early in the morning (4am or so) for as long as I can remember and snuggled up with the two of us, sometimes three if Tucker is there for another hour or so.

Anyway, he ambles up into our bed throwing my decorative pillows to and fro, making room for himself to curl up under the covers with his blue blanket. I normally lay with him until he settles in, it is our mommy and Cole quiet time. I love watching his eyes gradually get heavy, his little mind trying hard to fight the sleep, his feet kicking and moving around as well in an attempt to find a resting place.

He typically whines about taking a nap but being an early riser and an active little boy, he needs the nap, no qualms about it. Believe me, on the few times where a nap has not been mandated, 4-7pm is a war zone around here.

The other day as he lay nestled up against me, his gaze was drawn to the skylights above our bed. Our roof is at a steep angle to better shed the winter snow we get here so the skylights slant deeply as well. It was raining hard, the skies gray and gloomy, setting the best kind of mood for a lazy warm nap. Even I contemplated just zonking out with him. He had been quiet for awhile but his eyes remained open so I knew he wasn't ready quite yet. Very softly, he goes "Mommy, look, the rain is racing"! Sure enough as I looked upward towards the skylight, the rain was beading at the top of the window and the rivulets were racing in streaks downward, like cars drag racing. I said "your right Cole, the rain IS racing, that is a very good observation". He goes "yep, that is what I see"

My heart skipped a beat and my eyes teared up, it was like hearing poetry from a three year old, his analogy touching me with its sheer innocence. It made me see the falling rain against the skylight from a whole new perspective. It was a moment I won't soon forget.

I know some day...

I know some day, this house will be a PULL UP free zone...some day...

At almost 3.5 Cole still isn't potty trained. He isn't remotely interested. His Montessori teachers ask him to try every day and I have attempted to get him interested using everything from cheerios in the toilet to crossing streams with his daddy. Nope, still not interested. I have blogged before about researching possible methods to use with him but he is just not interested PERIOD! When he becomes frustrated at learning any OTHER skill, we gently prod him to try and try again with lots of hoopla when he does succeed. When we even bring up the subject of peeing on the potty he contorts his face as if we have asked him to eat snails and says, "it's too hard". If we push him to try, he fights us tooth and nail all the way to the bathroom and just stands there. Power of the wills, probably. A game, I don't want to make it that with him, he is too smart already. I need him to think he is the one in charge. Believe me, I know the type.

So what is a mom to do other than back off seeing that 75% of what I read says don't push the wrong buttons or it will take even longer? I know someday he'll amaze me by walking into the bathroom, closing the door, he'll pee, he'll flush, he'll wash his hands, he'll come back out and say matter of factly, "see mom, I went potty" with an impish grin on his face. So I just take solace in knowing that some day it WILL happen...