Friends

Since Ishish got his Dora, Boots, and Diego toy set at Christmas he has grown more and more attached to them. We all refer to them as his friends now. Shortly after Christmas he also asked for his "blue trick or treat car" and found it. I guess it's one of the cars I put in his pumpkin for Halloween? He has such a better memory than me! They travel around the house with him quite a bit and always have to be together.

Here they are in the "gas station".

They have to be in his bed for every naptime and bedtime and in this exact arrangement. As he explained it to me "Esnug Diego, George Dora Boots, Ishish blue trick or treat car" (no, he never abbreviates it to "car" or "blue car").

He will also occasionally line them up to "watch" him do different things, like have a snack.

I found this scene when I went in to get Ishish up the other morning. You can't see them here because they're next to George on his far side, but I thought it was adorable that he moved his friends over to read the book with him!

Documenting A Day

I'm a week late in posting this, but here's how some of our day went a week ago Friday.

Once a week, Dada and I each try to have a sleep in day. The night before we'll tell Ishish that one of us will be sleeping in so he knows not to expect us in the morning. When I went into Ishish's room that morning he was playing (as he often does after he wakes up). When he saw me he jumped into bed, pulled the covers over him (which is funny because when he goes to sleep he pushes them as far away as possible), and said "Ishish sleep in day".

He refused to get dressed and asked me to "close drapes". I said "ok, let me know when you're ready to get dressed and come out". A few minutes later I heard the door shut, and then it was quiet. Then I heard some clunking sounds and the door opening and closing a few more times. When I got up and went by his room, I found this.

He had thrown out George, Esnug, his clothes and diaper I had set out, and the bin his books go in (a source of conflict from the night before... long story). I think someone was pouting. Anyhow, if he wanted to stay in his room all morning that was fine with me! About a half hour later I heard the sounds of someone drinking from a sippy cup. I came out of the office and found him in the kitchen. We went back in his room to change clothes, and he kept the fussing to a minimum.

In an attempt to keep him occupied, I pulled out a new fishing pole puzzle.

Then he decided to be an auto mechanic and requested "Mama take picture fixing car".

Ishish repeatedly asked to play on the porch so I agreed. The cats were excited to join us but with the temperature in the upper teens Kiks lasted five minutes and Bucky only one. Ishish kept busy "driving to work" and watching the remaining snowflakes fall.

For lunch he wanted "yellow pasta " (i.e., leftover kugel). When I gave him his third helping I told him that would be his last. He asked for more so I gave him an orange. This picture makes me laugh (I promise he wasn't about to put his knife in his mouth!). Also note the great job he did lining up his orange pieces.

After lunch he wanted to "play dressup" and enjoyed pretending to sleep.

An hour after he started his nap I heard his door handle. I went to his door and saw the handle turning. I said "Ishish? Ishish you're not opening the door are you?" It stopped turning so I went back in the office. A few seconds later I heard crying, which surprised me. I assumed he had just gotten up and was messing with the door because of what he did that morning. But usually the only time he cries during naptime is when he's sleepwalking. Hmm. I went in his room and he was sitting on his bed looking very sad and mumbling something to me. I still couldn't tell if he was awake so I said to him, "Why don't you nap a little longer, and then you can get up and play". And then I left. He was quiet within a minute which meant it was sleepwalking. I hope he never actually leaves his room when that happens!

I wanted to get more stories and pictures of the day but we found out we were having a house showing the next morning. So cleaning superceded everything else!

Car Wash

We went to the car wash last weekend. When we'd gone before Ishish was terrified, but it had been a long time. We told him where we were going and how fun it is (one of my favorites!), and he seemed happy. As we approached he started looking apprehensive. I told him that if he felt scared he could hold my hand. A few seconds passed and I heard "hold hand Mama". So I held his hand during the car wash and talked about what was happening. When we left Ishish said "It fun! Big boy Ishish not scared". That's my brave boy!

Birthday Playdoh

Ishish and I were playing with his new R2D2 playdoh set, and we smushed the playdoh out of R2D2's head. Ishish got excited and told me that it was a "happy birthday" (i.e., birthday cake). Then he tried to blow the "candles" out.

Snow Day (sort of)

It started snowing lightly this morning, and Ishish really wanted to go outside and make a snowman. He reminded me about the last time we did that: "you, me, Dada snowman outside". Unfortunately we didn't get enough snow. He wouldn't stop asking to go play in the snow, so eventually we went outside. Because there wasn't really any snow to play with I took a frisbee out. I showed him how we could throw it to each other, but he thought throwing it into our tree was a better idea! It was still snowing while we were outside, which was fun to see him experience. He told me that there was snow falling on our noses. A few flakes even stuck to his eyelashes!

Spelling and Speaking

Ishish is learning how to spell his name. While it's not the shortest it seems pretty easy for him to recognize the letters. This weekend when I was making a shopping list he asked me to write his name on the paper (and again and again).

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I have considered myself lucky that Ishish has been able to communicate with us as well as he does. When I don't understand I'll say what it sounds like he's saying and then he can try to correct me. Recently, we were having a snack, and he pulled a teddy graham out of his snack cup and held it on top of the table.

Ishish: (sounds like) teddy graham go swimming pool
Me: The teddy graham is going in a swimming pool?
Ishish: Mmhmm.
Me: Wow.

What else could I say?

End of Naptime?

Ishish seems to be giving up his afternoon nap. He protests when it's naptime but used to stay in his bed anyway. Generally he would sing, sing, and sing some more. Aside from Jingle Bells, his other recent favorite is Ring Around the Rosie.

Now Ishish has transitioned to playing around his room during naptime. He discovered that he can reach his sink thanks to the stool and that water is tons of fun! I went in one day to find a lot of water on various parts of the floor and side of the sink. On the other side Ishish had taken down the hand towel and set George and Esnug there so they could "watch". That side was totally dry, so I guess he knows how to be careful when it matters! (Now we put the stool up.)

Passing Time

I tried to come up with things to do over the three days that Dada's gone and Ishish isn't back at preschool yet. For day one, we revisited the science museum. We were there for hours, and there were a few tantrums when it was time to leave various exhibits and the museum altogether.

On day two, we hit the mall for playtime and shopping. A few more tantrums followed when it was time to leave. I detect a trend. Today we wrapped up the break by trying out an indoor playground. It was a little crowded, but Ishish still had a blast and was able go on a lot of equipment he's never seen before. And, yes, once again he didn't want to leave. We're both looking forward to the return of preschool tomorrow!

Reading, Cont.

With the exception of a few days after Christmas when he wanted to read his new books, Ishish now prefers to read a "Dada book" instead of an "Ishish book" or "Mama book" before he sleeps. By that, he means reading a Dilbert book. So I pick one out, spend several minutes reading the comic strips to myself, point out the main characters, and declare reading time over. Not a bad way to spend some time! So far his favorite characters are Dogbert, Ratbert, and Catbert. At first he thought Alice was a house, but I explained that she just has triangle shaped hair.

Last night we were reading one of the cartoons that featured a couple aliens. I asked him if he knew what aliens were and he said he did. I said, "Aliens live far away right?" And he told me that Grandma and Grandpa live with the aliens. I said, "Well, they are far away too".