Feb 11

Feb 11 Defiant. Uncooperative. Confrontational. Toddler.

Mama is learning that raising a toddler sometimes feels like some sort of weird punishment. Toddler emotions and actions are volatile and exhausting to handle. One moment, they are being sweet and giving kisses, then you ask them to bring their sock over and, all of the sudden, BOOM! Crying. Screaming. Running away. More crying. Snack? Throw self on beanbag. Wants excavator. Throws excavator. Pee? By the end of the day, it leaves any sane person feeling… insane. Mama continues to remind herself: This is how our brains develop and our bodies grow. It’s not forever. So we push through and find some fun things to distract us!

Happy Chinese New Year!
Now that Kai is a little older, he can participate more in the holidays we celebrate. He helped make dinner, made lanterns with friends in the forest, and fed the lions in Makawao.

We’ve been spending a lot of time at home
Friends have come to visit us, Kai has plenty of things to keep him busy, and mama has just been too tired to venture further than downtown.

But we don’t miss a frolic in the forest with friends
Mama loves this time for both her and Kai because it really is good for both of them. Mamas finish art projects and the rest of the snacks while the children wander… It’s all fun and games until mama doesn’t believe Kai when he says “poop” and all of the sudden its everywhere and mama has to use Cullen’s wet puddle-swimming pants to wipe the poop because she was so ill-prepared. Lesson learned.

Planes, trains, and automobiles!
Kai is officially into cars! We look at the car book everyday, play with cars, talk about cars, point out different types of vehicles we see. Daddy got Kai construction vehicles and mama even got him car underwear!

At least he loves to do chores…
A majority of his day is literally helping with chores or cleaning his mess. Mama often hears him say, “Oh no! Mess! Clean!”. When he’s not cleaning, he spends the rest of his time pretending to clean things in his sink. Mama and daddy will enjoy this personality quirk as long as it lasts.