Vegetarian

Bohdin was grumpy after dinner so we all headed outside. Buddy had asked Bohdin if he wanted to see Wall-E at the theater but he said no. He of course changed his mind later but it was too late. He decided he wanted to go to the movie store so we walked to Blockbuster and then the grocery store for the Lipton Iced Green Tea Buddy has fallen in love with. On our way to the playground afterwards an older gentleman stopped to admire the kids. I think he was just using it as an in to start talking to us but whatever. He proceeded to tell us the story of his 37 year old baby girl who is a computer something in Manhattan. He told us that she lives on 5th Ave and 30th St with her husband Peter. He went on and then mentioned that she was a vegetarian and became one in college. "One day she showed up at the door at home and said this Peter, my husband. Peter is the last piece of meat she ate." I don't know how many ways there are to interpret that but I could only think of one. When he started the story again I left to find Bohdin who had run ahead to the playground. Buddy said he told the story 3 times.

Nyla is by no means a vegetarian yet. She's a meat eater. Everybody keeps asking if I'm going to make her a smash cake for her birthday. I put a piece of banana bread on her plate yesterday. She looked at it and thought about touching it but then decided not to. Maybe I'll make her a meatloaf instead. She would like that much better.

Nyla's walking skills have improved dramatically the past few days. She's taking more steps and she is choosing to walk instead of crawl more often. Buddy is going on trip this Sunday and won't be back until Friday. I think he is going to be surprised at her progress when he gets back. She could be a completely different baby by then. She will also be one when he gets back.

When Bohdin went to the playground yesterday a boy was playing on the play structure and dropped his ball. Bohdin went to get it for him but was a little timid. On his second attempt he picked up the ball and asked the little boy if he could borrow it. The boy told him he shouldn't pick up stuff that wasn't his. I was proud of Bohdin for talking to him. He's getting better at approaching kids. The little boy was playing with the ball by pretending to be Indiana Jones and looking for it. I felt a little bad for Bohdin that he had said no despite my post of yesterday. They ended up playing together anyway so it worked out okay.

How to not share

Bohdin went to a friend's house to play yesterday. His friend was a little grumpy due to hunger and tiredness. For most of the visit they played together nicely or played separately. This little boy had a sandwich while Bohdin was playing. After he was done eating, he started playing with a toy that had been out the entire time. They had actually played with it a bit earlier. Bohdin wanted a turn. They took turns. Then the boy moved on to a ball which had been sitting out the whole time. Bohdin asked him to share. The little boy was already grumpy and didn't want to share the ball he had just picked up. The ball ended up going in time out. Both of the boys were upset they couldn't play with the ball. We ended up going home shortly afterwards. On the walk home I tried explaining to Bohdin that while it's nice to share, it's not required. What he should have done was just wait a few minutes before asking for a turn. He had hardly picked the ball up before Bohdin pounced on him. There were several other balls laying around. I told Buddy about it at dinner and he thought it was a difficult message to navigate. How do I promote sharing at the same time saying it's okay not to share? That seems especially hard at 3 when a child can really be pushed to share and judged harshly when not sharing. When an adult doesn't share something it's usually not a big deal. Lots of people don't loan out their cars or money or their time. A ball is even more important for a brief time to a 3 year old.

The post is late today because Bohdin woke up at 6. Nyla ended up waking up also and then we were all up. Buddy, Nyla, and I went back to sleep but it threw off Nyla's day. She was tired at naptime but wouldn't sleep. On the positive side, I've done a lot of work. I finally folded the huge stack of clean clothes that had piled up, I washed the sheets, and we cleaned the bedroom a bit. It was covered in crumbs when Bohdin ate fish crackers on the floor yesterday. On the negative side, we didn't make it to the grocery store. It will be a creative dinner tonight or we'll eat some of the banana bread or fruit cobbler I made yesterday.

Fine Young Cannibals

Buddy chose this post title at lunch yesterday. Since he was going to be home really late, he called and asked us to meet him for lunch. I packed up the ribs that Buddy had put in the slow cooker the previous evening along with some beans, coleslaw, and cherries. We ate at the playground near his work. Bohdin put too much meat in his mouth and had to take it out. He put part of it on the ground and asked if birds like people ribs. Buddy said that vultures like to eat meat. Then Bohdin asked if we like to eat people ribs. We do not.

I stopped at the commissary quickly while Buddy stayed at the playground with the kids. It felt like a vacation to go by myself. I was quiet the entire time. Normally our trips sound like this: We're not going to buy any pistachios. We don't need bananas today. We already have broccoli at home. Go get a green bean for Nyla so she'll stop fussing. We're not going to buy that. We're not getting that. Can you get out of that person's way? Don't do that, it's dangerous. We're not getting sushi. Yes, you can put it in the basket.
It just goes on and on. So it was nice to be in the store and not talk to Bohdin or have his help.

I really enjoy and appreciate the comments that people make. I tallied the numbers for June and it looks like Paul won in a squeaker for 1st place.

Paul - 12
Todd - 11
Mom - 9

Here are my two favorite comments:
Isn't Bohdin about 50 years too young for the black socks and shorts look? Anna

I remember my first trip to the beach as a kid, I did the same thing as Bohdin, letting the water move the sand around my feet; at that point in time, it was the freakiest, yet coolest, feeling in the world. Can't even begin to tell you how long I stood there doing it. Cap'n Neurotic

The World is His Peeground

We went to Walmart yesterday to pick up some pictures to send to Buddy's grandmother who turns 80 today. Happy Birthday. As I was buckling Nyla into her carseat Bohdin pulls down his shorts and underwear and pees right there in the parking lot. This is the third time in a week that he has peed outside like that. The first time was in the parking lot at the playground while I was buckling Nyla in again. I came around to his side and there is a puddle on the ground. When I asked about it he said he had peed. I carry a potty in the car with me. The other time was at the swimming pool. We decided to change him back into his clothes after swimming because it had become a tad chilly to be wet. When he took off his wet bathing suit he just peed right there on the pool deck. When I saw what he had done today in the parking lot we had this conversation:
me: I have a potty in the car.
Bohdin: Well it's too late now.
me: Um. Okay. Well next time let me know and I'll get the potty for you.
Bohdin: Okay

Buddy says that Bohdin's comment sounds like me. I'm not surprised since he has stolen many of my comments.

I thought I might take some time and respond to some comments. When Buddy saw the video of Bohdin and the fabric cube over Nyla's head he said some people might have intervened. I agree and when I watched the video I thought that would be a common thought. Nyla is really really good at telling a person when she doesn't like something. I did intervene as soon as she stopped liking it.

Paul commented that Nyla would get picked on for a long time. Buddy disagrees. He says that Nyla is strong and is meaner than Bohdin so she will be the one to watch.

Cap'n Neurotic mentioned missing out on the sibling relationship since he was an only child. I love seeing the two of them have fun together. It is so much more work to have 2 kids but it will be worth it. The sibling relationship is generally the longest relationship of your life. I hope they always find as much comfort in each other as they do now. I know not all sibling relationships are great but I'm fortunate to have good ones. Most of my favorite memories of childhood involve Paul. Even as adults he's an important part of my life.

Walking update: Nyla is not taking any more steps than she was several weeks ago. She stands and thinks about walking at times but will usually decide to crawl. She is doing a better job of standing from a crawling position. She used to use a wall or another object to help her up.

Clean Up

Last night Bohdin and I made popcorn together. I think the air popped variety is better and I think Bohdin agrees. He was taking the big bowl off the counter when it slipped and almost the entire contents emptied onto the floor. I didn't know what to say. We didn't have enough brewer's yeast left to make another batch. The floor was relatively clean. While I was making up my mind Bohdin started to push the popcorn into a pile so he could put it back in the bowl. I grabbed the bowl and emptied out the clean popcorn for myself before helping him pick up the popcorn off the floor. If he thought it was still good enough to eat, I wasn't going to argue. We picked up as much as we could. Bohdin got the broom and swept up the crumbs into a pile for me. (He's good with a broom.) Then he got the vacuum so I could get it off the rug in the kitchen. I thought he did a nice job cleaning up and I never had to say a word.

Later we were reading books. He went into the kitchen to get some more OJ and brought it into the bedroom. He poured himself a cup. He took the cup from the nightstand and then peed his pants. It was so random and unlike him. He told he would get the baking soda to clean it. He took off his dirty pajamas and got new ones and cleaned up the mess. I had to help him more with this one since it was carpet. I don't understand why he did that. Nyla has been going without a diaper a bit recently and has peed but not on the carpet. I don't know if that was a factor or if he just wanted to clean the carpet which he enjoys doing. Unfortunately he's not very good at cleaning the carpet so he is just a helper while I do the hard scrubby work.

I went to the commissary (military grocery store) on Friday. Soon after I entered I smelled something. I sniffed neat Nyla's butt and thought she had pooped. It wasn't Nyla though. It was the smell of rotting produce. Have I ever mentioned what a ghetto area we live in? The dad I was talking to at the playground the other day has lived all over the northern US and he said this is by far his least favorite place. His favorite is Chicago in case anyone is interested and he grew up in Cleveland which he also likes.

Book Report

We haven't checked out new books from the library in three weeks. Bohdin tends to get tired of the books after about one week so I haven't read most of these books in a while.

Big time Olie / by William Joyce - Bohdin really loved this book which was a followup to Rolie Polie Olie. We read the original last year but he seems better suited to it now. This book did have a little singing. He also liked the Rolie Polie video we checked out during the same time.

Bunny, my Honey / Anita Jeram - a book about a little rabbit getting lost. It's pretty forgettable.

I call it sky / Will C. Howell - Bohdin isn't ready for this book. He chose it but wasn't interested in reading it.

Loopy / Aurora Jesset - Terrible book. Just very poorly written. It sounds like a poor writer was trying to remember what it was like to be a kid and failed miserably.

Moo Cow Kaboom / Thacher Hurd - Good book but it was a bit over Bohdin's head. We'll check it back out in a few years.

The Night Eater / Ana Juan - Fine story about a creature that eats the night away. After getting teased about his weight he stops eating the night leaving the world in 24 hour darkness. A sliver of night comes into his mouth and he's off eating the night again.

Peekaboo morning / Rachel Isadora - This book was better suited for younger readers. Bohdin still enjoyed it.

Trains : steaming! pulling! huffing! / by Patricia Hubbell - This book was a repeat for us but Bohdin still loves it. The whole series is enjoyable but not as much when I have to read it ten times a day.

Boom Chicka Rock / John Archambault - Nice idea but poor execution. Another awful book

The bunnies are not in their beds / by Marisabina Russo - Bohdin really enjoyed this book. I liked the illustrations. The bunnies keep getting up and playing different things and each time they are dressed in costume. Those cute outfits always made me smile.

Five for a little one / Chris Raschka - This felt like a series of poems about the five senses. Bohdin really enjoyed this one a lot also.

Seven stories / by Ed Briant - Not appropriate for Bohdin. It pulls elements from seven classic fairy tales. Bohdin wasn't familiar enough with those stories to "get" the book.


I took Bohdin and Nyla to the playground last night after dinner. There was a little boy there who was four weeks younger than Bohdin. Bohdin is not very good at approaching kids (even worse with adults). He wants to play with them but he doesn't know how. This little boy made it easy for Bohdin since he sort of latched on to Bohdin and sort of copied what he was doing. They had a great time running around and playing together. I had to talk to the dad though to get him off of his son's back so they could just play together. His dad was telling him he was running too slow or he should do this or do that. The first thing they did was play store. At first the little boy told Bohdin he wanted cereal but then went around and got it himself and gave it to his dad. I asked Bohdin for ice cream and Bohdin wanted to know what flavor. The little boy handed ice cream to his dad so his dad seeing what Bohdin said wanted to know what flavor it was. The little boy just said ice cream again. The dad had already told me that his son was a little slow. It just doesn't seem like a big deal to me that Bohdin asked what flavor. It doesn't make him a genius. It just means that we eat a lot of different flavors of ice cream and that we've played store several times before. I hope I never pull that kind of stuff with Bohdin or Nyla.

Love

The past several days I've been impressed with how well Bohdin has been taking care of Nyla. It's fun to hear him say the exact same things I say to her. When she gets fussy, he'll run to get her a carrot or a toy. When she has something she shouldn't, he'll take it away and give her something appropriate. In the car, I ask Bohdin to sing to her when she's crying and it usually calms her down. When we were in Philly on the bus one day, Nyla started fussing. Without prompting Bohdin started belting out the ABC song. He's by no means always nice.

Bohdin trying to ride Nyla.
 

Bohdin holding Nyla's foot while walking down the street.
 

Bohdin covering Nyla with a fabric cube. All of that stuff scattered around used to be in the cube but Nyla emptied it out. He also tried to play "make the box move" the other day which involved covering her with a cardboard box and watching her crawl. I put an end to that game quickly. She wasn't complaining but at the very least a bigger box was needed.



Bohdin received some new things for his Thomas track yesterday from Nana. He loves it all but I think his favorite is the risers which allows us to build higher track. He's been having a lot of fun with his new stuff.