oh two, i love you.
Olen’s still mastering his name. If we ask him what his name is, he says “Oh-no”, which is so cute it just reduces me to a puddle of goopy goo. Close enough, kid. (And if you correct him, I might stab you.)
He’s started singing a lot this past week — not just singing along with things or hitting the last word of every rhyme, but actual unprovoked singing and instrument playing throughout the day. So when he sings “Happy Birthday” while banging on his xylophone or our piano, he sings “Happy Birthday Oh-no! Happy Birthday to Oh-no!”
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One of the ways we prepared Olen to go to preschool was by practicing separation at the house beforehand. I’d go to my office in the basement and tell him I had to go to work while he got to play with Dad. He got so used to saying goodbye for me to go to work at home that it was almost tear-free at school. Almost.
The other day on the way home from school he was chattering about his day. “School! Mama has to work day! Kids take a nap! Mama back real soon!” I always wonder what he thinks I do while he’s at school (or while he naps, even) so I just asked.
He responded, “Mama have work!”
“Yes, okay. What does Mama do for work?”
“Mama put away the work.”
Okay then. I think I’ll try asking again later.
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We have always had the habit of eating out several times a week. As a result, Olen is usually really well-behaved in restaurants. I emphasize usually, because lately he’s started freaking out when the food comes to the table, grabbing and screeching and flailing arms. It’s like he’s doing his best impression of a monkey hopped up on goofballs — and it’d be pretty comical, if it weren’t for all of the weird judgy stares. So, we started talking to him in the car beforehand about how we behave in restaurants, really emphasizing that he’s not to grab food (which could be — and often is — hot), keep his volume down, et cetera.
The other day we were driving all around running errands and as we passed by one of the restaurants we frequent, Olen shouts from the backseat “No grab food! No screaming! No crying!”
Well, as long as our expectations are clear!
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The last step of Olen’s bedtime routine is a backrub when he gets in bed. Ideally one of us would rub his back for a few minutes and then kiss him goodnight and leave, but he’s just not ready for that yet so sometimes the backrub part can last forever. I can always tell when he’s really close to falling asleep because he always makes a final request. Often, it’s asking me to rub his back — in true Overlord fashion –while I’m rubbing his back. “Rubba back,” the sleepy voice says. “Rubba baaaaaaaaack.”