Pooh and the Tantrum

I guess it is pretty bad when your mom tells you that you better get your butt on the computer to write an article. I have been so busy lately with Parker, and my studying that I have not had time to write. Thank-you to my wife for saving me on Wednesday when she wrote the article.

Where should I begin? Maybe we should start with Parker and his newest past time. The temper tantrum. I thought it was supposed to be the terrible twos not the terrible ones. I don't know what it is but Parker gets so angry when he has to do something when he does not want to . Diaper change, putting on or taking off clothes, eating are just some of the things that Parker yells at us for. DADADADADA he yells as I sit in front of him with his food, then when mommy steps in it is MAMAMAMAMAMA. When I turned my head, not to look at him while he is yelling and crying it gets quiet for a moment. Then he laughs. I remember when I was in grade four and our class read the Judy Blume book, "Tales of a fourth grade nothing". The boy had a little brother called Fudge and I consider renaming Parker to that.

Not to say that Parker is like that all of the time. It is just that when you are used to a quiet, independent little baby who does not mind playing by himself in his playroom you are a little set back when you hear that high pitched scream come out of his mouth. You know the one that that little child does in the mall and you tell your wife or husband that our son will not be like that. "How could that parent let their child scream like that?" It was funny earlier this week when Parker made that scream in his high chair and in complete synchronisation my wife and I stopped what we were doing, turned to Parker and said "No!". He is pretty good at not using that scream during a tantrum and instead just crying and squirming every which way to break free of the shirt that is trying to be placed over his head.

Like I said, when he is not acting out, he is the Parker that we have all known to love. Playing in the main room while listening to Brainy Baby. He regularly takes his puzzle pieces and places them in the correct spot. He uses the front of his walker where he can push buttons, listen to music and take the pieces (ball, star, cube and triangle) and place them in their respective holes. Sometimes, when he gets on his truck he travels around the main floor with great speed. He drives around the pole in the kitchen. Over to the stairs as he contemplates getting off to go upstairs to Winnie. But instead he spins around, back to the kitchen, just to show us that he has mastered the 180 and 360 degree turns. Then he decides that upstairs would be more fun.

Parker drives over to the stairs, carefully places his hands on the first step. Then slowly unstraddles his leg so that he he can use it to push the vehicle away from the him and the stairs. Now, with two feet firmly planted on the floor, Parker can begin the journey up the stairs. First his right knee, then his left, his hand goes to the next step. Now he can stand on that step to do it all again. But this time he decides to throw it into a higher gear so when it is time to place his knee down, he goes right to his foot instead. One step after another, half way up he stops and looks at the landing in front of him. Then he puts his head back down and continues his trek up the stairs. Finally, he reaches the landing. He pops himself up, looks around to make sure his daddy has not fallen too far behind, then he makes the turn to the next set of steps. Only six more steps to go. One, two, three, four, five, six. He does it. He raises his head slightly to make sure he is headed toward the middle room. There he goes, with daddy a few steps behind. Then it hits me. I always forget until I see him race to the middle room. Winnie! I hope that the closet door is closed so that Parker is unable to see him. Carting Parker around for 10 minutes on Winnie the Pooh is much more fun for Parker than daddy. I peak my head into the room. Oh no, my wife left the closet door open. Parker sees the open door as he enters the middle room. I pop up from my knees to a standing position in hopes that I can get to the closet door in time to close it, but my attempt is feeble as I see Parker make the turn into the closet. When I finally get into the room with Parker and Winnie, Parker has his hands securely on the handles and is attempting to climb over Winnie from behind so that he may sit there, ready for his daddy to pull him out of the garage for his daily Winnie the Pooh ride. I figure if he can drive over to the stairs, climb them, crawl over to the closet where Winnie is stored and then get on by himself, he deserves a special ride on Winnie the Pooh.

Parker would like to wish his Nana a very happy birthday once again. Yesterday was Nana's special day and I am sure that we all can probably guess what her birthday wish is this year!