Today was Character Day at Cooper's school. He didn't go last week because of an ear infection, so I never got the information about Dr. Seuss Week. I just knew that Tuesday was Crazy Hat Day and today was Character Day. I assumed he was supposed to dress up as a character from a Dr. Seuss book, so we decided to go with the classic Cat in the Hat. I went to Wal-Mart and got a black sweatsuit (which was on clearance) and a white piece of felt. Add a little red ribbon leftover from Christmas and some eyeliner, and we had ourselves a cute little costume! Except last night as I was getting ready for bed, I had a moment of panic: What if they're not supposed to dress up as a character but bring a stuffed animal or something like that?!?! I got him to school a little extra early this morning so we could see the other children going in. I saw two boys getting out of their cars...no costume...I saw a little girl getting out of a car in a dress...couldn't tell if it was a costume or if she just wanted to be prissy today...I was starting to sweat! I got out when I saw a mom I knew and asked her. She said that YES they were supposed to dress up today as any character they wanted! Whew!!! So we got out and went in where we saw Strawberry Shortcake, Mickey Mouse, the Hulk, Cinderella, and a few other characters. Although I'm a little biased, I thought my little Cat in the Hat was the cutest :)!
This is what he did when I said, "Smile!"
Although he was a cutie this morning, he was quite a mess yesterday. Some days I feel so discouraged in motherhood, but surely they call this the "Terrible Twos" because all/most kids become crazy, disobedient, defiant, hyper monsters. Right?!?!
Since yesterday was another cold, rainy, miserable day, we went to the mall. When we got there, I took him in the toy store so he could play and maybe get a new little trinket. While he was playing, the sales associate came over and started this weird conversation with me about how criminals don't really get a second chance after they're released from prison because we're an overly vengeful society and how God isn't involved in the world. It was an odd conversation that I wanted nothing to do with, but it was also very aggravating to listen to his opinions which are completely opposite of mine, all while just wanting to play with my son. After awhile, I was about ready to let this man know how crazy I thought he was, and luckily another customer wanted to check out at that moment. I seized that moment to try to coax Cooper out of the store. Instead of cooperating in any way, Cooper ran to the back of the store and hid behind a rack of toys while screaming and crying! You would have thought I was kidnapping the child. I mean he was screaming bloody murder! I was very nicely trying to get him to come with me so we could ride the train or go get some "chick-chick and finch fies." Desperate times call for bribery. Each time I talked though, he screamed louder with huge tears streaming down his face. I started sweating because I desperately wanted out of the store and away from the creepy sales associate, not to mention I was humiliated that my child was acting like he was being abducted. The child has never deserved a spanking more than he did at that second, and of course, I could not give him one, but oh, how I wanted to! Finally, I just pulled him out from behind the rack, tossed him on my hip, and ran out of the store. Once out, he was perfectly fine! ERRRRR!!! I told Karl that this is such a stressful age to me because I want to do fun things with Cooper, but I never know which way his mood is going to go. It is exhausting when he decides to have a terrible two day in public!
He's also started pouting every time he doesn't get his way. I don't like it. He also is quite fond of the word, "No," and has even started pointing his finger at us when he says it. I don't like that either. The other night he stomped his foot at me while he said, "No, Mama!" and pointed his finger. I actually started laughing at that one. It was a little dramatic. I've found myself praying this is just a stage and not his personality. It's hard. He challenges me in ways I've never been challenged, and I find myself failing him in my response way too often. I yell or threaten time-out or say, "No!" back to him. And then I cringe because I see that maybe he's getting this from me. We've had many times where I get down on my knees so I can look him in the eye and tell him I'm sorry for *** and that I love him so very much. I want him to know it's not right, no matter what, to be ugly, and when we're ugly, we apologize and try harder next time. But then when I fail again the next time, I wonder what impact that has on his little impressionable spirit. That brings us to prayer. We've been doing a lot of praying with and for our little man. We talk about how we should act for God, and I remind myself this is just as big a lesson for me as it is for him. Parenting is tough. But it is so worth it.
Last night I was at the stove cooking dinner. Karl was away on a business trip. Cooper and Sadie were playing. All of the sudden Cooper rushed past me. He was naked from the waist down and pushing his little potty through the kitchen to the living room. I asked what he was doing, and he said, "Go potty!" Alright! He hasn't shown interest in using his potty in a couple months, so this was a good change! He put in on the carpet in the living room and started trying to pee standing up. I stopped him and suggested we put the potty on the hardwood. I got a very stern NO on that, but he did give in a little and sit down on his potty where he tends to aim better. I went back to the kitchen to check on dinner, and then returned to check on him. He didn't really have to go to the bathroom; he just wanted to. I kept trying to get him to put his diaper back on, and he kept insisting he was going potty. We have a really bad habit of eating at our coffee table, which drives me crazy, yet I continue to do it. So, I brought our dinner in and told him we needed to go put the potty up since it was still dry. He said he was going potty, and that is where he wanted to sit and eat his dinner. On his potty. As I type this, I realize how gross it was to allow it, but at least the potty had been thoroughly disinfected since it's last use a couple months ago, and he hadn't done anything in it at that point. Eventually, after dinner, he did go potty finally and let me return the potty to the bathroom. The kid is a character, and whatever he gets in his mind to do, he does. As grumpy as he can be sometimes (more often than I prefer), he keeps us laughing and entertained. And humbled. He keeps us very humbled these days!
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