discoveries

Here are a few discoveries from the past weeks:

1. Both of my boys prefer to be left alone in their beds when sleeping. Every night, Sean and I go in to kiss Shannon goodnight just before we go to bed. He remains mostly sound asleep, but he will often respond to questions. Sometimes, we get quite humorous things out of him. And, he loves it when I make up stories for him to "dream" about. But, if I ask him if mama should snuggle with Shannon, he will generally shake his head no. And, sometimes, he will push us away and say, "leave" or "go away." So, after being shooed out of Shannon's room, I go feed Jack. Given his love of being by mama during his waking hours, one would think he would desire the same in his slumber. Such is not the case. He will eat his fill and then fuss and cry until he is laying in his bed with his blanket and thumb.
   
2. Shannon discovered computer games. About a week a half ago, I decided to let Shannon give computer games a try. There are a large number of computer games online for his favorite cartoon characters. While many of them are simpler for younger children, I honestly didn't really think he'd get it. I thought he would just randomly click and move and enjoy seeing some animations. I feel bad now that I underestimated him so. I gave him about 30 seconds of instruction with the mouse, and he figured it out. He figured out the games too. I was amazed. He played tic tac toe; he "painted" various Bob the Builder characters. And then I gave him another minute of instruction and he figured out the drag and drop function. Sean and I were both astounded.
   
3. Why?? Some time ago, a friend of mine who has a boy about a year older than Shannon told me that she thought three was harder than two. She said that as a two-year-old, he had pretty much done what she asked. Now, he was questioning her and challenging her, which made for more complex discipline issues. I could see how this would make things more difficult, and recently had a taste of it. Several days ago, I was in the kitchen with Jack. Shannon decided to join us and he rode his "truck" into the kitchen. Since my kitchen is microscopic, I said, "No, Shannon, you may not ride that in the kitchen." Shannon looked at me and said, "Why?" I had not previously been questioned by my almost-three-year-old, so I just looked at him dumbfounded, not sure how to respond. So, thinking it might be a fluke, I just repeated that he could not ride his truck into the kitchen. He again asked me "why." I did not respond and just looked at him. He tested me for a moment and then backed up into the dining room. Then, later at lunch, I sat down with my food and hit my knee on the table. I said, "Ow!" and Shannon said, "too hot?" thinking I had burned my mouth on the food. I said "No, I hit my knee on the table and got an ouwie." He said, "why?" I said, "because I hit my knee on the table." He asked, "why?" I told him it was an accident. The use of "why" has not been repeated since then, but I have a feeling it will return in full force very soon.
4. This one isn't so much a discovery as a recovery. Jack has been sick for about the last week and a half. He had a variety of the stomach flu, thrush, and general lack of appetite. He went from being mostly content playing to desiring mostly to be held. He went from eating like a horse, to refusing almost all solids. Thankfully, he appears to be returning to normal. Yesterday, he was quite a bit happier and more content. And, his appetite appears to have returned full force. This morning, he ate more than a cup of applesauce, mixed with some oatmeal cereal.