Last night Billy got into trouble for putting the feather duster in the dog water. Daddy has stepped up his punishment for playing in the dog water to encourage him to stop. He got a bum smack and a time out (10 sec).
So this morning when he got up and went into the kitchen to feed Buddy he went straight to the bowls. He looked sternly at the water bowl. "No! no!" he scolded, wagging his finger. Then he looked at the empty food bowl. "No! no!" he continued wagging his finger. He then got to scolding both of them at the same time, finger furiously waving. I had to drag him over to the food container to get Buddy's breakfast going.
Later, every time we walked through the kitchen he would stop briefly to scold the bowls. "No! no!"
Fingers wagging.
This evening when Billy fed Buddy he missed getting all of the food in the bowl, as usual. Except this time many of the pieces went for a swim in the dog water. "Uh, oh!" Billy quickly reached to fetch them out, but I stopped him. Just then Daddy got between me and Billy so he could talk to me. Billy was suddenly out of my view and right by the bowls. I knew immediately what would happen.
"Daddy, please get your son out of the dog water."
"Huh, what?" Sometimes Daddy is oblivious to these little things. But when he turned around there Billy was trying to fish dog food out of the bowl. To be fair, he was trying to be nice to Buddy. But I had asked Billy to leave it alone twice by this point and he knows not to touch the dog water. So Daddy repeated the punishment of the previous night.
After a quick time out and a few minutes of tears while I held him (out of frustration for not getting his way) I took him back into the kitchen for dinner. He went straight over to the bowls and gave them a thorough punishing and finger wagging. Then he looked up at me.
If he had had the vocabulary to say what his eyes were expressing, he would have said, "but Mommy, the dog bowls made me do it!"
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
February 2, 2012 ~ Billy's First Chore
That's right. Starting yesterday we gave Billy his first chore. He was so excited when we told him. "Billy, go feed the dog his breakfast." That was followed by a blur of toddler wrapped in a hooded pooh towel barreling towards the kitchen screaming, "ah ah ah ah!" (translation: yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!)
He is now required to feed Buddy both breakfast and dinner, with a little help of course. Here's how it has gone both days with both meals:
"Billy, please feed Buddy."
Billy ecstatically opens the dog food container and picks up the scooper (a plastic mug). Then he bangs the mug against the dog food. When the dog food refuses to jump into the mug of its own volition Billy turns to me inquiringly.
"Here, let me help you."
I make him hold the mug while I help scoop dog food up and fill it to the brim.
"Billy, go put it in the bowl, please."
Billy carries the mug towards Buddy's bowl, a mere three feet, and manages to spill at least a third of the contents. This is when Buddy the Vacuum jumps in and scarfs down every morsel dancing across the kitchen floor.
"Uh, oh," Billy says.
"It's ok. Go put the food in the dog bowl, please."
Billy crouches down and shakes the mug over the bowl. Some of the pieces make it into the bowl and about the same amount join their already escaped friends on the floor. Then Billy stands up with the mug still half full and heads back to the container.
"No, honey. Put all of it in the dog bowl, please."
He goes back over to the bowl, crouches, and shakes the mug again. Then he remembers to tip the mug so the contents fall out. Some make it into the bowl, about the same amount unite with the remainder of their freed brethren on the floor. Buddy continues to hunt down each and every piece.
"Billy, help pick up the pieces that fell out, please."
Billy pushes Buddy away from the dog bowl and picks up the pieces one at a time and put them in the bowl. By this time Buddy is doing something akin to the "pee dance" trying to get to his food. Once Billy gets every last piece into the bowl he then feels that the dog food needs to be leveled out and goes about doing so with his hands. Once it is leveled it then requires mixing, so he picks up a handful and then puts it back in and levels again. Rinse. Repeat.
"Ok, that's enough. Please go put the mug back in the container and close the lid."
Billy jumps up, completely forgetting the bowl and runs over to the container, sticks the mug in and closes the lid.
"Can you lock it please?" It has a locking handle to make it air tight.
He locks it, then unlocks it. Then he pops the lid open and goes for the mug again.
"No, no. One meal is enough. Thanks!"
Billy looks disheartened for a split second and then tears off into the den to get a toy.
He is now required to feed Buddy both breakfast and dinner, with a little help of course. Here's how it has gone both days with both meals:
"Billy, please feed Buddy."
Billy ecstatically opens the dog food container and picks up the scooper (a plastic mug). Then he bangs the mug against the dog food. When the dog food refuses to jump into the mug of its own volition Billy turns to me inquiringly.
"Here, let me help you."
I make him hold the mug while I help scoop dog food up and fill it to the brim.
"Billy, go put it in the bowl, please."
Billy carries the mug towards Buddy's bowl, a mere three feet, and manages to spill at least a third of the contents. This is when Buddy the Vacuum jumps in and scarfs down every morsel dancing across the kitchen floor.
"Uh, oh," Billy says.
"It's ok. Go put the food in the dog bowl, please."
Billy crouches down and shakes the mug over the bowl. Some of the pieces make it into the bowl and about the same amount join their already escaped friends on the floor. Then Billy stands up with the mug still half full and heads back to the container.
"No, honey. Put all of it in the dog bowl, please."
He goes back over to the bowl, crouches, and shakes the mug again. Then he remembers to tip the mug so the contents fall out. Some make it into the bowl, about the same amount unite with the remainder of their freed brethren on the floor. Buddy continues to hunt down each and every piece.
"Billy, help pick up the pieces that fell out, please."
Billy pushes Buddy away from the dog bowl and picks up the pieces one at a time and put them in the bowl. By this time Buddy is doing something akin to the "pee dance" trying to get to his food. Once Billy gets every last piece into the bowl he then feels that the dog food needs to be leveled out and goes about doing so with his hands. Once it is leveled it then requires mixing, so he picks up a handful and then puts it back in and levels again. Rinse. Repeat.
"Ok, that's enough. Please go put the mug back in the container and close the lid."
Billy jumps up, completely forgetting the bowl and runs over to the container, sticks the mug in and closes the lid.
"Can you lock it please?" It has a locking handle to make it air tight.
He locks it, then unlocks it. Then he pops the lid open and goes for the mug again.
"No, no. One meal is enough. Thanks!"
Billy looks disheartened for a split second and then tears off into the den to get a toy.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
New Postings ~ Moving Forward
Previously I have posted a Billy post daily plus additional posts, including the Drawn In comics.
In order to provide you with better content I am going to alter how this is done. There will still be a post every day but you will see some differences.
Drawn In Thursdays. These will become the only posts for Thursday viewing. I will not be posting a Billy post regarding Wednesdays from now on. If he does something exceptionally cute, I will be sure to mention it in the post that I write Thursday night.
The Sunday Post. This will be a new group of posts that may relate to Billy but won't be about his daily activities. It could be about anything Mommy or baby related.
I hope you like my blog and I hope the changes that I make will better the content on this site.
Thanks for reading!
In order to provide you with better content I am going to alter how this is done. There will still be a post every day but you will see some differences.
Drawn In Thursdays. These will become the only posts for Thursday viewing. I will not be posting a Billy post regarding Wednesdays from now on. If he does something exceptionally cute, I will be sure to mention it in the post that I write Thursday night.
The Sunday Post. This will be a new group of posts that may relate to Billy but won't be about his daily activities. It could be about anything Mommy or baby related.
I hope you like my blog and I hope the changes that I make will better the content on this site.
Thanks for reading!
January 31, 2012 ~ Outside Pressure In Mommyhood
If you compare my recent posts with those from back in 2011 you might notice that the posts from the fall were more humorous and light hearted. I suppose you could blame this on the winter blues, but the truth is that when you have external pressures it affects every aspect of your life from blogging to raising a Billy.
A few weeks ago I had a major crisis happen in both my work life and professional life- on the same day and only two hours apart. At work, I wasn't the originator of the crisis but I was the one to discover the problem and am a major participant in the resolution. It's akin to a novice climber with all of the right gear and all of the right knowledge standing at the base of a mountain. I still have to climb the mountain. In my personal life I can't control what's going on and at this point just have to ride out the crisis as best I can. Unfortunately, the subsequent shockwaves from each event have hit on the same days. I'm sorry but I don't feel an open web forum is the appropriate place to discuss what's going on, so I'm not going to provide further detail. I'll only say that I'll pull through somehow.
Having all of these external pressures in both my personal life and work life means no escape and is affecting my parenting and the other aspects of my life. I am at wits end and it shows with Billy. I don't have the patience to tolerate his general whining and toddler tantrums and am short with him. Having him go through another course of major teething while the crises are occurring was a very difficult time.
I don't think I realized how much my stress level was affecting Billy until today. He's a happy baby and loves to laugh. I had him in stitches today over dinner. And he laughed yesterday. But it's been awhile since peals of laughter and happiness have rung through the house. I miss those pleasant noises.
The reason I started this blog was to keep track of and share the silly and absurd things that happen raising a child. I promise to try harder to again capture that sense of the silly and the absurd. Bear with me as I try and pull all of the pieces of my life back together.
A few weeks ago I had a major crisis happen in both my work life and professional life- on the same day and only two hours apart. At work, I wasn't the originator of the crisis but I was the one to discover the problem and am a major participant in the resolution. It's akin to a novice climber with all of the right gear and all of the right knowledge standing at the base of a mountain. I still have to climb the mountain. In my personal life I can't control what's going on and at this point just have to ride out the crisis as best I can. Unfortunately, the subsequent shockwaves from each event have hit on the same days. I'm sorry but I don't feel an open web forum is the appropriate place to discuss what's going on, so I'm not going to provide further detail. I'll only say that I'll pull through somehow.
Having all of these external pressures in both my personal life and work life means no escape and is affecting my parenting and the other aspects of my life. I am at wits end and it shows with Billy. I don't have the patience to tolerate his general whining and toddler tantrums and am short with him. Having him go through another course of major teething while the crises are occurring was a very difficult time.
I don't think I realized how much my stress level was affecting Billy until today. He's a happy baby and loves to laugh. I had him in stitches today over dinner. And he laughed yesterday. But it's been awhile since peals of laughter and happiness have rung through the house. I miss those pleasant noises.
The reason I started this blog was to keep track of and share the silly and absurd things that happen raising a child. I promise to try harder to again capture that sense of the silly and the absurd. Bear with me as I try and pull all of the pieces of my life back together.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012 ~ Over Under Sockscapade
Today while Billy was running around playing his socks fell off. He grabbed his socks and hid between the sofa and the coffee table. I guess he didn't want Mommy's help because he started trying to get his socks on his feet in his little hiding spot. I watched through the legs of the coffee table as he attempted to slap his socks onto his feet. Then he tried rubbing them on.
Before he got frustrated about the socks he realized he had an audience. I was looking at him under the coffee table. So he looked up over the coffee table. Then I looked at him over the coffee table. Then he looked at me under the coffee table. And I looked at him under the coffee table. He thought this was just too funny and laughed and laughed. It went on for more than ten minutes.
It ended when the tickle monster went after his bare foot. He jerked it away and then stuck it right back in my hand to tickle again. I got him in stitches before he crawled out to give me a big hug.
Before he got frustrated about the socks he realized he had an audience. I was looking at him under the coffee table. So he looked up over the coffee table. Then I looked at him over the coffee table. Then he looked at me under the coffee table. And I looked at him under the coffee table. He thought this was just too funny and laughed and laughed. It went on for more than ten minutes.
It ended when the tickle monster went after his bare foot. He jerked it away and then stuck it right back in my hand to tickle again. I got him in stitches before he crawled out to give me a big hug.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
January 29, 2012 ~ Sofas, Balls and Embankments
Yesterday, my Uncle came to get the sofa so we pulled ours out of storage. Our sofa is 25% bigger than the one that had been in our den, so we had to totally rearrange the room. Billy is not a fan.
The coffee table and his stools are in opposite locations. He's used to looking at the tv and gripping with his left. But when he did that today he fell over because the tv is now on his right. He did it twice before he gave up. The ottoman is over by an end table in the same location where the old sofa had been and he decided he'd rather be over there. I guess it's more comfortable.
It's also a different style of sofa. The old one had a hard back. He used to peer over the back of the sofa for fun. But the new sofa has a low back with lots of pillows. So when Billy tried to lean against the back he nearly tumbled on his head. He did that twice before he gave up.
And his play area is a completely different configuration too. I he took all of his toys out of the play area and over to the wood floor, where the configuration is still the same. He would not play on the carpet where he used to.
It's ok. He'll figure it out. But it's new and strange and he's just not used to it.
He had a good day though. He played with lots of bouncing balls on the wood floor. He even threw Buddy's ball for him several times. And, of course, every time he threw a ball he had to shout "baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal". It's very similar to Pro Soccer "Goooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaal." Just like that.
Billy also got a Daddy day. After his nap Daddy took Billy to the NCR trail with his tricycle for a walk. Billy sent Daddy on a wild adventure when Billy chucked a toy down an embankment along the river. Then Daddy took him to the diner for dinner. They got home just in time for bed.
It was my official day off, although you wouldn't be able to tell. I did four loads of laundry, packed for our move, cleaned, etc. The whole day was spent doing chores. I did break briefly to look at the internet, but a Mommy's job is never done, even if she is on break.
The coffee table and his stools are in opposite locations. He's used to looking at the tv and gripping with his left. But when he did that today he fell over because the tv is now on his right. He did it twice before he gave up. The ottoman is over by an end table in the same location where the old sofa had been and he decided he'd rather be over there. I guess it's more comfortable.
It's also a different style of sofa. The old one had a hard back. He used to peer over the back of the sofa for fun. But the new sofa has a low back with lots of pillows. So when Billy tried to lean against the back he nearly tumbled on his head. He did that twice before he gave up.
And his play area is a completely different configuration too. I he took all of his toys out of the play area and over to the wood floor, where the configuration is still the same. He would not play on the carpet where he used to.
It's ok. He'll figure it out. But it's new and strange and he's just not used to it.
He had a good day though. He played with lots of bouncing balls on the wood floor. He even threw Buddy's ball for him several times. And, of course, every time he threw a ball he had to shout "baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal". It's very similar to Pro Soccer "Goooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaal." Just like that.
Billy also got a Daddy day. After his nap Daddy took Billy to the NCR trail with his tricycle for a walk. Billy sent Daddy on a wild adventure when Billy chucked a toy down an embankment along the river. Then Daddy took him to the diner for dinner. They got home just in time for bed.
It was my official day off, although you wouldn't be able to tell. I did four loads of laundry, packed for our move, cleaned, etc. The whole day was spent doing chores. I did break briefly to look at the internet, but a Mommy's job is never done, even if she is on break.
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