3/8/2010

Monthly Miles Memo #26

Filed under: — Aprille @ 10:17 am

Dear Miles,

Oh boy.  Was it just last month that I was saying the Terrible Twos seem not to be affecting you?  My, how things have changed.

That’s not quite fair—I wouldn’t say your behavior is terrible, overall.  You’re still a very sweet boy a lot of the time.  You’ve just gotten awfully opinionated.  I asked Mubby and Skittergramps for advice on how to manage these issues (and maybe that’s an indication that I’m in my Terrible Thirties—I’m asking my parents for advice and genuinely appreciating it).  Skittergramps said, “Make him think it’s his idea.”

That sometimes works, when the topic is innocuous, like getting you to take your vitamin.  If you refuse it, I can just leave it out and it’ll find its way into your mouth.  Unfortunately, Hy-Vee does not yet sell naps that taste like gummy bears, and lately, naptime has about a 90% correlation with tantrum time.

But let us not focus on the negative.  You are really great in a lot of ways.  You still love to read, and you’re beginning to understand the concept that letters work together to form words and phrases.  I got some video of you going through the letters that make up the title of one of your noisier books:  you touched each letter and said “S-N-A-P-P-Y  S-O-U-N-D-S…” then ran your finger across the words and announced the title:  “Loud book.”  You did the same thing with a sweatshirt I was wearing.  “A-R-I-Z-O-N-A:  Mommy.”

Arizona sounds pretty good these days, with all the snow we’ve had.  We’re planning our summer trip to California, which I know you’ll love due to the proximity of a swimming pool at Uncle Larry’s house.  In the meantime, though, we’ve been slogging through snow.  Skittergramps taught you how to shovel, and that’s kind of like taking Intro to Art Appreciation with Prof. Michelangelo.  He got you a pair of shoveling gloves and a bright yellow shovel, and the two of you did some good work on our sidewalks.

We are all excited about the end of winter.  The days have been getting warmer, and it won’t be long before the snow is gone and we can get outside to play more.  You’ve been celebrating the coming of spring with rampant nudity.  You love to be nude (or “newt,” as you say).  You have a little trouble differentiating between partial and complete nudity, though.  To you, any exposed skin makes a person nude, and it was a little embarrassing when we were at a restaurant the other night and you requested your book that has kids wearing swimsuits by yelling, “More nude girl!”

You also had fun this month at a birthday party for your Great-Great Uncle Joe.  Any excuse to see Nana, Uncle Mark, and Aunt Shannon is okay by you, and you had a really fun time playing with balloons (“balloo-noo-noos”) and puzzles and running around like a crazy man.  We went to an Academy Awards party last night, and on the way there, you said “Uncle Mark.  Nana.”  We had to explain to you that not every party has Uncle Mark and Nana at it.  It turned out okay because you got chocolate-covered strawberries and cake and got to climb up lots of stairs.

This morning we were reminiscing about the weekend’s activities, and we asked you what you had fun doing at the party last.  You agreed that the stairs and the food were fun and that it was cool to wear your sparkle vest and watch very big videos.  Then you mentioned what might have been the best part of the evening for you:  puddles.  You were very reluctant to leave the party last night, even though it was past your bedtime, so your dad and I tried to entertain you by doing a “one, two, three, WHEE” over puddles, and apparently it made an impression.

The best part of the month for you may have been your daddy’s birthday, which is technically today, but we did most of our celebrating over the weekend.  You like to sing “Happy Birthday” and fill in the blanks with the honored person’s name, you like helping to open presents, and you really like cake.  You firmly believe that cake is appropriate for every meal of the day, and also snacks.  You haven’t really caught onto pie yet.  We’ll see what happens later in the month, because Mommy’s birthday is next, and I think I’m getting pie.

Maybe you’ll eat pie if we make you think it’s your idea.

Love,

Mommy

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