Not All Rainbows and Kittens

Two days ago I decided Xander might be ready to play with his hand-me-down kitchen set of stove, sink, dishes, and food. (Jeff and Johanna, Mom and Dad, you would recognize this stuff--it's the Fisher-Price stove and sink.) He plays using his imagination so much more now. One day he pretended that I was Dora, he was Boots, Daddy was Diego, and Grandma Lucy was Swiper for quite a long time. (Nick was just Baby Nick, though.) Those are characters from a show called Dora the Explorer, by the way. Today during a macaroni and cheese snack, he speared macaroni on the tines of his fork and said, "Marshmallows!" He happily "roasted" and ate his "marshmallows." So I asked Xander if it would be fun to have a playhouse under his slide, and since that was a hesitant yes, I put all his pretend kitchen stuff in the bottom level of the fort portion of his playset. Yesterday and the day before he played outside by himself for about an hour--which was unheard of before the playhouse kitchen. I guess I'd rather have him run circles around himself out there for an hour to use up some of his energy, but I can't have everything.

I've been doing a preschool curriculum with Xander for an hour in the afternoons. The one I like has a weekly theme, and this week it's kittens. I can hardly believe how excited Xander is about kittens. He wants to read our library books about kittens every day, multiple times a day. He will never have one, though: if he ever gets Erik and me to agree to a pet, it won't be one we're both allergic to!

Today we went to Preschool Storytime. We go just about every other Wednesday because: a) Xander adores it and b) Nick does not do that great there. Hence the schedule of every other Wednesday. Xander gets to go in without me, just the other 3- to 5-year-olds and two librarians. The kids always come out bursting with happiness and pride (they do a craft at the end of the storytime and they're usually brandishing or wearing something). It's wonderful to see them looking like that.

Nick is wailing-fussy today. Not loud, just not comfortable. I really think it's teething, even if he doesn't pop out a tooth for another couple months. He drools all the time, has to have something in his mouth, when he doesn't have anything in his mouth sucks his lips, and has discomfort. We'll see, I guess.  When I go in to check on him during naptime or when I put him down for a nap, he smiles so hugely at me that it's almost impossible not to smile back. He wants to play and talk when he should be sleeping, so I try to keep a neutral face and tuck the pacifier back in. Do you know how hard it is to look at a smiling, cooing, and/or chuckling three-month-old baby and not sit and play with him? It is very, very hard. I think that kind of baby smile is the cutest thing I've ever seen, even considering videos of baby cheetahs being raised by mama orangutans and whatnot.

Footnote: I want to focus here on the fun, amazing, awe-inspiring, lovable things the kids do, because that's what I want them to know about later on. But in the interests of truth, I have to say that our moments are not all rainbows and kittens, and the kids can be dense and demanding when they feel circumstances call for it. Of course. Also in the interests of truth, I think I have to say that this morning I called out, "Xander, where are you?" a couple times and, getting no answer, said, "Xander, where the hell are you?" Immediately I felt that that was not acceptable, but I find that I do things that are unacceptable from time to time. I should remember that next time Xander does something I consider unacceptable. I really should. One more confession: A few minutes after that h-word episode, as I was trying to get Xander to focus on finishing a task instead of asking for five new things, I hurried out to the laundry room and said loudly, "Jesus Christ!" Hope nobody's too offended by that. I made sure to do it somewhat out of hearing and it made me feel ashamed, but better.