Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Clothes Hamper

Gabriel is at the "good helper" stage. If you ask him to get his diapers and wipes, he will bring them to you. If you ask him to throw away a dirty diaper or a tissue, he will. If you ask him to put a toy in the toy bin, he will. When he accomplishes his task he comes back into the room, clapping his hands along the way and saying, "yaaay."

His wires get crossed on certain tasks and he just can't get them right. Every time I ask him to bring a piece of dirty clothes to the clothes hamper (in his room), he does the same thing. It doesn't matter if it's a shirt or pants or socks. Here, Gabriel, bring this shirt to the clothes hamper in your room! Off he goes and a moment later he is coming around the corner clapping his hands. BUT.... I later find the shirt stuffed into the tiny bathroom trash bin. I've even tried correcting him and telling him that the trash is the wrong place and demonstrating where the shirt is supposed to go.

Last night I found a tiny blue sock stuffed into the bathroom trash and we had a pretty good laugh about it, while the kids were in bed. The hilarity is compounded because he is SO proud of himself when he does it! I guess I should be happy that he doesn't stuff them in the toilet.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Oh, NO!

The time I've been dreading is here: Gabriel has hit his terrible two's early. We easily skipped this stage with Krista and did not miss it one bit. But, we are not so lucky with the little man. The last few days he has learned how to say, "NO," quite effectively. For three days straight, this word had rung in my head as he learns to assert himself and tell us what he wants. I'm already done with it and I believe the road is going to be a long one. He's already been briefed on the time-out system for previous minor offenses, but has only been there about 3 times total. This number may drastically increase throughout the rest of this week. He's a smart little bugger, so I'm hoping he learns the lesson quickly. I don't mind the assertion of the "no," I just won't accept the tantrum or frustrated hand swatting/hitting he does when he doesn't get what he wants. Let the fun begin!