The Name of the Game

With toddlers, "change" is the name of the game, and EH is no exception.  Every day it's something new - a new word, a new mannerism, a new skill we didn't know he had. The other day DH tapped his finger on the table top as he was telling a story to making his point, and EH started doing the same.  The Parrot.  Last weekend the Daredevil also made his appearance when EH was trying to run - a maneuver he hasn't quite mastered yet - and he fell, ramming his super sharp bottom teeth into his upper lip causing a massive amount of bleeding, swelling, and sadness for all involved.  There are some changes - the injuries, for sure - that we aren't really ready for at all. 

And at the same time DH and I are learning how our lives need to change to accommodate EH.  Two weeks ago we took him to a restaurant.  It was a place that had closed for renovations and had recently reopened so we wanted to check it out.  In retrospect, we should have known - it was too crowded and the tables were too small for a toddler and two adults.  EH wanted to touch everything - our hot plates, our drinks, the woman behind him who was so close he could grab her cane.  It was a nightmare for us and he hated it too - he yelled and fussed most of the time.  After that experience DH claimed to everyone he talked to that we may have reached the point where we can no longer take EH out to eat with us.

But last weekend we went out again. We hadn't been out since that last meal two weeks ago and we needed it.  We decided to go to a mexican restaurant that we knew was fairly kid friendly.  At 6 p.m. on a Saturday night we were surprised to find that it was less than half full, and on this beautiful fall evening there was no one sitting outside on their patio, so we had the patio to ourselves.  EH was his usual loud and somewhat messy self, but we didn't have to worry about it, so we enjoyed ourselves instead of stressing about it. Our waitress thought he was adorable and didn't mind his mess at all, and when we were done eating we let him walk around and explore while we finished our drinks. It was relaxing and wonderful and we had a great time.

Now we know - we can still go out to eat, but we need to go to places that aren't too crowded and places where we don't have to over-worry about him being a little messy or making noise.  He's a toddler, and we can't control everything that he does, but we do know that he's a great baby as far as babies go. 

Similarly, we learned last week that he no longer sleeps well in the car and that we should, whenever possible, avoid the need for him to do that. He's a crib baby now, a tried and true stomach sleeper, something that just can't happen in the car.  And trying to force that just makes for a miserable ride for everyone involved.

Speaking of change, the leaves are changing so quickly that I think they might be at their peak of color around here.  The first picture in this post was taken on September 28th.  The second picture a mere 10 days later but there is so much less green, and so much more yellow and red.  EH has been loving playing around, exploring on his own two feet, picture up acorns and rocks and sticks and everything a boy should enjoy.  Fall is such a fun season and hopefully next weekend it will be dry enough so that we can blow the leaves into a big pile and let EH play in them.