This week: Not sucking as much as last week

Can I help you? Oh, yeah, these boots are made for sittin'. And looking at. NOT for touching!

It’s been a much, much better week, proving to me that the thoughts and prayers of my readers are effective. And that I must have a lot more readers than I thought. Oh, don’t get me wrong—there is still crying and angst at preschool dropoff (sometimes even on D’s part, poor fella), there’s still some pretty spotty at-school nap performance numbers (but 2 hours (!!) on Monday! A moral victory!) and there continue to be some neat new behaviors that make me grateful preschool exists at all (hitting? screaming? For the totality of the mere 3 hours a day I get with you, D? Seriously?) But now I feel I’m ready to join the ranks of those of you who are in loooove with your children.

[it’s not that I’m not always loving my kid and, despite said behaviors, enjoying him, but there have been some days—like most of last week—when the loving required more of, ah, a concentrated effort.]

For instance, taking the child to Alta on Sunday to see actual SNOW for the first time in his toddlerhood was awesome enough to make me take back the litanies of snow-hating vitriol that six winters in Central PA carved into my heart. This is fortuitous, as I now live in the state whose motto is “the Greatest Snow on Earth.” (One video below. More videos here.)

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Also, the advent of new and complicate words [refrigerator! humidifier! see below!] has been exponentialized by (drumroll, please) two- and three-word combos! Imagine the difference between our old, somewhat tired, list-style three-word combos like “mama-dada-lala!” and the sparkling new innovations like “Mama, bicycle UP!” (or its friends “Bicycle. Seat. Up!” and “Mama, bicycle please.”)

We’ve also added some new politeness conventions like “Skyoo-me” (usually addended to his proud announcement “BURP!”) and “Sah-ree,” though most apologies feature two parts devilish grin to one part actual contrition.

We also have a new favorite garage-sale acquisition, as the lead-off picture indicates: a pair of electric-blue, fleece-lined, “Sponge-bum” Squarepants moon boots, which, despite their being three sizes too big, are worn everywhere and at all times. With pajamas. When it’s 90 degrees out. In the bath. To bed. This is to our benefit, since the preschool has banned the orange crocs* from the classroom, but still, even my extremely blunted sense of fashion knows that this child doesn’t own an ensemble cute enough to compensate for the hideousness of the boots (again, pictures to follow). But I figure I’d need to start adding a disclaimer to most of his outfits one day anyway, so perhaps we’ll just get a jump on that now.

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** EDITED TO ADD: The crocs were banned because D kept taking them off all the time and the preschool peeps need to be able to move the kids tout suite if an emergency occurs, not because they're dangerous in any way. Please continue with your croc-wearing activities.