Conversations

Little man is getting so conversational these days. Not that he particularly will just sit and chat (unless there's an iPad so he can see himself), but he can finally answer questions. He has definitely learned that NO is a power word and tries to use it to assert his independence at every turn. But sometimes he just can't help telling the truth:

On Friday during the summer, his preschool does snowcones. When I picked him up Friday, here's what we talked about.

Mommy: Hey sweetie. Did you have a fun day today?

Shepard: No.

Mommy: Oh, that's too bad. Did you have a snowcone today?

Shepard: No.

(Mommy, thinking, "well I paid for snowcones...")

Mommy: Hmmm. I was sure they were going to have a snowcone today. Was it yummy?

Shepard: No...yes. (in the same breath)

Mommy: Oh good. Was it cold?

Shepard: No...yes. 

Mommy: Do you want another one?

Shepard: No...yes.

Mommy tickles Shepard and enjoys laughter. Silly Shepard. You are allowed to say YES every now and again without starting it with a NO.

Sometimes Sunday afternoons are just grumpy. Seriously.

The other favorite thing he says right now is "unstuck it." As in...when he wants to get out of the car seat or unlock the door to go outside. He wants you to unstuck it.

Finally, a usual conversation in the car goes something like this...(three minutes into any car ride).

Shepard: ALL DONE!

Mommy: Not yet, honey. We are going to ride in the car for a few minutes.

Shepard: ALL DONE!

Mommy: We're going to ...(wherever it is) I'll tell you when we're almost there. But we're not all done yet.

Shepard: ALMOST?

Mommy: Yes, I'll tell you when we're close. Just a few more minutes.

Shepard: Almost...

(moments later)...TRUCK! BUS! CAR! HOUSE! TREE! (he really likes to identify everything)

Shepard: ALMOST? ALL DONE.

Mommy: Yes, Shepard, we're almost there.

Shepard: Almost.........Almost all done.

Mommy stops car.

Shepard: Unstuck it.

He is currently fascinated with straws and cups...though the drink-to-table ratio is beating the drink-to-mouth ratio in that format. We only do this at restaurants, in a pinch. And a bicycle update: he talks about his "cycle" a lot, but I think he got frustrated with just walking on it. He will NOT let us help him or show him to sit on the seat. We are going to recruit a small child to show him how it works. He also tells me "helmet HOT!" emphatically. Probably because the weekend we got it was about 95 degrees in the shade. Poor little thing was roasting. Oh well. We'll keep at it.

We're loving the weekends around here

Having Shepard in child care through the week is tough...I'm not going to lie. So, when we get the chance to cuddle, play, sing and generally hang out all day, we are LOVING it. And we have to squeeze in some laundry and stuff too. Weekends are like a little oasis in the hot desert and oh-so-precious. And of course, I have to whip out the video camera. This one is like five minutes long...and I never seem to have any plan of what we might talk about. Good thing it's just fun to look at a baby! Enjoy this week's installment of "Hangin' with Shepard." (12 weeks)