Mantra for Parents of 3-Year Olds

Take nothing personally.

When you have a 3-year old and they: put their stinky cute little feet in your face (after you've asked them politely not to repeatedly), hit you, hit the dog, kick the dog, tell you they are going to run away (genetic), prefer their father (to the complete exclusion of their mother), prefer their mother (to the complete exclusion of their father), urinate in the avocado plant, again (it's fertilizing mother), throw dirt in your face, scream at you, refuse to go into the (insert any location here), refuse to leave the (insert any location here), refuse to nap, refuse to take a bath, refuse to eat, I could go on.

All completely age-appropriate behavior. When I was a child, he would have been labeled a spoiled brat and beaten into sobbing submission - thankfully humans have the ability to evolve. We'd die before we'd ever resort to any form of corporal punishment. We have a lot of family meetings. We have a lot of dialogue. We ask a lot of questions. His dad is totally amazing. I am less than, but have decided that my purpose here on earth in this lifetime is to cultivate patience within. Oliver is 'helping' with this project. I get to work on myself daily.

We love him insanely, which is really fortunate for all of us right now.

He's 3 feet high and rising, take nothing personally.

First Day of Preschool

Sheesh...his dad dropped him off, mom picked him up, he was busy in the sandbox. He was so excited. 'I went to Montessori school and I had a lovely time.' He was just squirming! We headed out to Kent's Nursery and bought an oak tree to commemorate the moment + dad's birthday. Checked out the waterfalls and ponds, the lily pads, the bargain area, the trees, the fish, the dogs, the dinosaur tree, the gunnera fountains, the frog and alligator, the incredibly cool staff.

Then, during possibly the most anticipated week of the year, he promptly begins sneezing, sniffing, and coughing, feeling 'punky' and now he'll be missing the rest of the week! Dad felt punky past week or more, so...

We stayed home. We nuggled and ate Fig Newmans and watched the camels in the Gobi desert footage. Played in the yard. A little. It was sunny. It rained. We took a drive in the country to fall asleep for a nap. Now it's a 3-year old film fest with Milo and Otis.

Movies make the punky go away. Really.