Oh, Callum.

What’s the opposite of a banner weekend?  Or rather, the negative version?  Last weekend was certainly notable, so I guess if “banner weekend” doesn’t imply a good time had by all, we could call it that.  It seems more accurate to call it a flaming crap torch weekend, though.  It’s too distressing to hash it out here and now, because honestly I’m still recovering.  You seem fine.  Short version:  you are not potty-trained.  Not even close.  After many tears out of many sets of eyes (the saddest of which were Tobin’s, who is such an empath that he just couldn’t deal with it), we decided to back off and try it again later.

Fortunately, you don’t have any deadlines looming.  With both Miles and Tobin, we had major life events approaching (starting preschool and getting a new sibling) around this age, so we really needed to get the job done.  I don’t know if we would have tried harder if you had that kind of deadline coming—it’s hard to imagine trying any harder than we did—but in any case, it was all too traumatic to continue.

Anyway, on to happier topics.  It’s been a very good month with the exception of last weekend, so let’s revisit those a bit.

You and your brothers had the expected Easter fun, with egg dyeing, egg hunting, and candy eating.  Your egg dyeing skills currently have more enthusiasm than finesse, and more than one of the hard-boiled eggs ended up cracked.  You guys enjoyed it, though.  I think your favorite outcome of Easter was the Silly Putty Miles and Tobin got in their Easter baskets.  The bunny should have known that you would not abide being left out of such a great present.

You’re still the best eater among people in the house under five feet.  When I told you I was making “chicken bones” (your phrase for drumsticks) for dinner, you jumped up and down and shouted with excitement.  You like peeling your own boiled eggs and are particularly crazy about the marinated pork chops Skitter made when we visited.  I’ve tried to recreate the recipe, and you like it almost as much at our dinner table.

The biggest event of our month was, of course, the Florida Keys trip.  You enjoyed the biggest sandbox you’ve ever seen (aka the beach), and you spent a lot of time scooping up bucketfuls of ocean water and bringing it back to your spot in the sand to pour on things.  You love water, especially pouring it back and forth between container, so I’m not surprised you had so much fun.  You also loved the pool, shuffleboard, the many cocktail hours we celebrated, and you did a very good job on the airplane.

It’s a very good thing that this was a Keys year for us, because the weather this spring in Iowa has been just horrible.  We’ve had multiple late-season snows, and when it’s not snowing it’s been mostly rainy or otherwise gloomy.  We’ve had very few of those special treat days when it’s 65F and sunny.  Rumor has it we have some coming toward the end of this week, but with the snow that’s currently on the ground, it could be a soggy mess.  I’ve been procrastinating about getting you new snow pants and boots, because I think that surely we’re about done with the winter sludge, and I keep being proven wrong.  You have plenty of cute warm weather outfits, though.  I’m really looking forward to getting those out.

Photo by Denny

Your current favorites:  Curious George, both for bedtime stories and your stuffed toy; playing games on pbskids.org; “helping” me make dinner; playing with water in the sink (especially the kitchen sink with the sprayer, which is a disaster about 40% of the time); and giving bedtime hugs.  You especially like family hugs, wherein greater than or equal to three family members (sometimes including Curious George) gather together for a squeeze.  You’re still a big fan of cuddles, and I get lots of love from you every day.

Photo by Denny

Dare we say that now is the winter of our discontent?  That its season is passing and true spring is on its way?  I can’t promise that there won’t be more trouble coming, potty-related and otherwise, but a nice warm spell would really help move things forward.  Let’s regroup, build strength, and see what happens next together.

Love,

Mommy