March 29 ~ One More Hug

I dropped off Billy today at daycare, and just like every morning he didn't want to get down out of my arms. But then one of his friends had a toy he wanted and he hopped down to go get it. It was a little dog that belonged to another girl in the class. Suddenly, one of the kids started screaming for Billy to return it to its owner.

On a side note I have to say how weird it is for Billy to be in this class. All of the other students are vocal and can speak in full sentences. Some are fully potty trained. Billy is very talkative but we're still at "cackcack" for any bird and "beepbeep" for anything that has wheels. It's not like, "hey, Miss X, can I have some milk?" The best Billy could do is point and say "moo."

Anyways, now there's a kid screaming at Billy. So I lean down and I ask him, calmly, if he would return it to its owner. Mind you, the screaming kid was not the owner. The owner was preoccupied with a tea cup and couldn't care less. But Billy dutifully walked over to her and handed her the little dog and went to find another toy. The screaming stopped and everyone was happy. I didn't have to ask Billy twice and he didn't look to the adults for direction. He got it.

Then it was time for me to leave.

I tried to duck out the door, but he started crying (as usual) and ran to me. So I picked him up to give him his One More Hug. Head on my shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around my neck, and knees death-gripping my waist. He didn't want Mommy to go. But he knew it was his One More Hug, so when I put him down he didn't complain. Instead, he grabbed a toy and was off to the races.

When I was putting him to bed tonight he started screaming in his crib. That's actually unusual for him. So, I went back in to give him One More Hug. That's all he wanted. I held him for a few moments and then put him back to bed. He laid down without a sound and went straight to sleep.

Thank God for the One More Hug. It makes Billy a happy little boy.

January 17 ~ Three Syllable Success

This morning was the first time- the very first time ever- that Billy calmed waved "byebye Mommy" when I dropped him at daycare. No screaming. No running towards me. Nope. He just waved at me and said, "byebye Mommy". Will it last? We'll find out tomorrow.

When I got home this evening I found Billy and Daddy cooking dinner. Billy was standing on his stepstool against the counter and supervising dinner. Daddy was stirring the pot, naked from the waist up, dress pants still on, no shoes, no socks, but sunglasses. He apparently didn't want to get his dress shirt, under shirt, socks or shoes dirty while cooking. It was quite a funny sight. Daddy is silly like that sometimes.

I had just been to the store so I had some goodies with me when I came in. I put Billy in his chair and gave him some goldfish. I'm pretty sure he's had them at daycare, but I can't be certain. All I know is that this is the first time I have given him goldfish. You would have thought they were made of pure gold.

Also on his tray was a banana from daycare. He apparently really wanted some banana. So much so that he specifically asked for ba-na-na. Not na-na. But actually asked several times for ba-na-na. This marks the first time he has intentionally said a word with three syllables.

Of course, once the goldfish appeared he didn't want any more ba-na-na. He started begging for caca! (cracker.) You try saying it without any r's.