After many months of watching and wondering, I think I've finally come to the realization that we are the parents of "That kid". You know... the one who screams the entire time his mom shops at the grocery store, or is unbelievably distracting during church, or somehow manages to throw his happy meal toy at someone, despite his mother's best efforts. Emerson is indeed "That kid". After a particularly trying 2 weeks, I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. Here's some of the highlights.
While shopping at Target, he managed to wrangle free of his harness (which has become less of a novelty since he's realized that barking at people while he has his leash isn't so fun anymore, but that's another story) and disappeared in a matter of seconds. I'd like to think that every mother has at some point had an escapee, unfortunatly for me, Emerson was out of earshot before I could catch him. And, so began the re-enactment of "That Mom"... you know, the one wandering through the store yelling out her kids name, sounding more angry than is socially acceptable in a public setting, and looking like she could be on the parking lot security videos beating her kid on the 10' oclock news. Fortunatly for me, someone found him quickly and a page for "Grace's mom" came over the intercom before I started knocking over clothes racks. Wait a minute, "Grace's mom?" you ask? Yes... when asked his first name, all he could think of was his sister. We've been working on that.
Oh, and here's a doosey! His newest obsession since our first attempt at potty training has been the flushing of various non-septic approved objects. Barretts, small stuffed animals, writing utensils, and other objects have found their way to untimely deaths via the toilet. When he told us recently that he had just flushed a washcloth, we weren't really sure that was possible. John had recently replaced BOTH toilets due to toys being lodged deep inside the old ones. Sure enough, a few days later the drains began to back up with some pretty nasty smelling water. After 3 days of frustration, several plumbers, and the employment of a backhoe (not to mention a $2500 dollar bill) the culprit was removed. He had indeed flushed a washcloth, which was caught behind a large pair of nail clippers, and some other unidentifiable objects which we're still not sure of. (We have since purchased door handles which lock with a key, so he can't get in).
Don't get me wrong. Emerson has his good moments, and I really do think a lot of his acting out has stemmed from the competition with his new brother Porter. I think he is so desperate for attention, he is willing to take anything, even if it's negative. And even with his testing of boundaries, he has a very sweet side. He stopped his crying in the middle of church today to pick up a water bottle someone had dropped in the row in front of us.
I guess what I'm saying, is that even with the difficulty we're having with him, I wouldn't trade this time, these two weeks even, for anything. At the end of the day, he goes to sleep, and I sort of momentarily forget how angry I might have been, and can only count my blessings that I have been entrusted with these little spirits who are teaching me so much!
While shopping at Target, he managed to wrangle free of his harness (which has become less of a novelty since he's realized that barking at people while he has his leash isn't so fun anymore, but that's another story) and disappeared in a matter of seconds. I'd like to think that every mother has at some point had an escapee, unfortunatly for me, Emerson was out of earshot before I could catch him. And, so began the re-enactment of "That Mom"... you know, the one wandering through the store yelling out her kids name, sounding more angry than is socially acceptable in a public setting, and looking like she could be on the parking lot security videos beating her kid on the 10' oclock news. Fortunatly for me, someone found him quickly and a page for "Grace's mom" came over the intercom before I started knocking over clothes racks. Wait a minute, "Grace's mom?" you ask? Yes... when asked his first name, all he could think of was his sister. We've been working on that.
Oh, and here's a doosey! His newest obsession since our first attempt at potty training has been the flushing of various non-septic approved objects. Barretts, small stuffed animals, writing utensils, and other objects have found their way to untimely deaths via the toilet. When he told us recently that he had just flushed a washcloth, we weren't really sure that was possible. John had recently replaced BOTH toilets due to toys being lodged deep inside the old ones. Sure enough, a few days later the drains began to back up with some pretty nasty smelling water. After 3 days of frustration, several plumbers, and the employment of a backhoe (not to mention a $2500 dollar bill) the culprit was removed. He had indeed flushed a washcloth, which was caught behind a large pair of nail clippers, and some other unidentifiable objects which we're still not sure of. (We have since purchased door handles which lock with a key, so he can't get in).
Don't get me wrong. Emerson has his good moments, and I really do think a lot of his acting out has stemmed from the competition with his new brother Porter. I think he is so desperate for attention, he is willing to take anything, even if it's negative. And even with his testing of boundaries, he has a very sweet side. He stopped his crying in the middle of church today to pick up a water bottle someone had dropped in the row in front of us.
I guess what I'm saying, is that even with the difficulty we're having with him, I wouldn't trade this time, these two weeks even, for anything. At the end of the day, he goes to sleep, and I sort of momentarily forget how angry I might have been, and can only count my blessings that I have been entrusted with these little spirits who are teaching me so much!
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