Jumping In The Spot Light.

I was taking photos of Elsa in her new dress and you felt the need to hop into the chair with her.  She wasn't too keen on you cramping her style!  You quickly tired of the photos and moved onto playing with your cars and tractors.  Elsa recovered quickly, too.

Dr. Jekel; Mr. Haid.

Son, you were the on the best behavior of your best behavior ever this morning. You were on you A Game at the library, singing songs, participating, learning.  You were clever and sweet at my doctor's appointment.  You were funny and curious and demure when we played on the MU campus.    You were also the worst of  the worst from 1 PM to 4 PM today.  Major fits.  Major dirty diapers.  Major issues in defiance.  Major meltdowns.  Obviously, no nap happened.  It was a very tough time for you and I do take pity on what it must be like to experience such highs and lows in only a few hours span.  You must be clean wore out!  I know that I am still recovering from nearly losing my ever-loving mind during your stint on the naughty bench.  Since your behavior is so variable through the day, I am eagerly waiting for the next fun time we'll have, which should happen again soon.

20 Month Sleep Disturbances, Whines, and Sobs.

This has been an unpleasant month for our ears and our sanity in the Haid house.

Daniel has started to wake up screaming at least once a week, needing a parent's comfort for half an hour to all night.  He has coerced us into co-sleeping sometimes, especially at 1 AM when we are so tired and just want to sleep.

He has also started to throw fits.  These fits have screeching and very young baby pitch and volume.  They are unpleasant.  Some days ... especially afternoons and evenings, he is SO TOUCHY.

And the whining.  My-Mom-Ma! Dad-da-da.  No- no.  No-way! Nan-nana.   We are sick of the whining!  Especially the phrase, NO way.  I don't know where he learned this.  Its easier to blame on another person, right? I don't think we've said this with him.  I know we've said, No thanks!.

We are also putting our parenting foot down with him telling us no.  We are making him say Yes, mama or yes, daddy.  Or no thanks.    Its getting to be ridiculous around here, and much harder than many of the previous 21 months.

The Time with the Apples.

This morning getting Daniel ready for one of his last times of daycare and one of the last times I would go to work before the new baby, I left Daniel alone in the main part of the house while I went to get his diaper bag ready and find his other shoe.

When I came back, he had pushed his yellow step stool over to a chair at the kitchen table, climbed on the chair, and reached precariously for the fruit bowl.  He'd taken a bite out of every single apple in the fruit bowl and was working on gnawing through a banana.

"Ap!" he said.
"Anana!" he said.

"Good grief," I said.

Table Manners

I am happy to report that Daniel's table manners have improved since he was twelve months old!  He spent about a month being rebellious and throwing food on the floor when he no longer wanted to eat.  He also used to be much more impatient when finished eating, demanding to be put down.

These days, DHH is pretty happy at meal times.  Meals must be short with few choices of food.  He prefers to use silverware, wear a bib, and have his hands and mouth washed JUST AS SOON as he has taken his last bite.  He also prefers his sip cup in one hold of the cup holder, but not the other.

There are times when Daniel will hold a fork and properly stab into a bite of food and then remove the food and eat it with his other hand.  He is better at using forks than spoons, but still loves to have access to them at meal times.

Meal time manners are far better at our own home than when we travel to our parents' homes or go to a restaurant.  He is so impatient with restaurants and needs A LOT of distractions before the meal arrives and after the five minutes he spends eating his own meal.  He also loves to show off for family members and other people who are dining around us, which is usually really funny to watch, but very distracting for every one involved.

Fits.

Here is what Daniel's 13 month old major behavior problem looks like.

Arching his back.

Wailing on the floor.

Getting up after a few seconds and trying the naughty thing he wanted to do before he was corrected again.

Cycle repeats at least once.

Stress at Dinner

Daniel gave his father fits during his 50th week during meal time.  He wasn't very hungry, probably because he had a stomach ache and got over tired most days.  Here are some funny shots from a dinner.

Note: They weren't funny at the time, they were comically frustrating!

I am totally miserable.

I hear bath water! Get me out of this chair! I want a bath!

BOO HOO.

I will only eat my graham cracker.  But I won't finish it!

No! I will not eat vegetable mush!

I am so mad that I cannot eat my cracker.

How pitiful.

Bummer about the floor, mom.