pieces coming together

Well, the most significant thing that happened today is what didn't happen. This was day 2 without a tantrum. There were several things throughout the day that could have pushed him over the edge but didn't, like when his water bottle was missing or when he noticed that one of the lights in his shoes went out. So we're hoping that the terrible 2's are over, and maybe we can move on to the threes. Whoever is praying the "keep it together boy" prayer, please keep it up, it's working.

And two pleasant surprises:

Turns out the kids like jello, so we can add that to the repertoire.

Also, the past couple days we've been creating scenarios where one of us leaves. Initially there was the, "No mommy stay! Stay! Oh, mommy stay!" but one good, "Mommy's getting bananas for breakfast tomorrow" and there was no further argument. So where I'm going with this is that today I took the kids to the playground by myself so that Chris could have a bit of well-earned mommy time. The playground experience was pretty uneventful, and time-wise we had hit about the 45 minute mark when the kids were finished. I really wanted to give Chris a full hour, so as I'm trying to figure out how to casually kill 15 minutes, Y unclasps her seatbelt and says, "Daddy, One." and makes a circle with her finger. "Ok," I said, as if I had a choice or knew what she was talking about. All I really knew for sure was that it was going to take some time. So she jumps out of the car, runs a lap around the parking lot, and gets back in the car. Not to be outdone, her brother decides to do it too. She gets out again and does a total of 3 laps. Then we all ran around the school. Then the kids decided they would run home, not that they knew where home was, as long as I drove really slow beside them and told them where to turn. When all was said and done, they ran about a mile and a half, maybe two and insisted on doing it again tomorrow.

By the gods, do we have a hobby? Now if only there were a strong track program here in town they could participate in... (for those of you not from around these parts, Belvidere likes to run.)

As a side note, bathing was no problem tonight, however this is the first night Chris and I are not responding to cries for Mommy and Daddy. If you really want us, drag your butt all the way downstairs so we can turn you around and escort you right back upstairs. No words. No eye contact. I've done it 4 (make that 5) times now since I started writing, but there hasn't been any begging or sobbing since the second.
-Lee