Parenting hypocrisy

John and I talk often about parenting philosophies and have decided that we want to have parenting principles that will apply across the board. For one thing, it's less confusing for children when you're consistent and for another it makes application of rules easier when there isn't as much grey area to deal with.

For instance, we don't want to lie to our kids (and most parents don't, right?). So, we aren't doing the Santa thing or the Easter bunny thing, because when it comes down to it, we'd be lying to them about the existence of these fantastical creatures. I know it's not a popular thing to do, but we feel like it's the right thing.

Anyway, another principle we've been trying to figure out how to apply is the "sharing" thing. See, when you go to a park and you get out snacks or toys, you're expected to share, right? So, when we've gone places and another kid wants the toy that Johnny is playing with, my first reaction is to tell him to share. Well, this bites me squarely in the butt when Johnny manages to grab something I don't particularly want him to have, like my phone or a kitchen knife (yes, he has grabbed a kitchen knife off the counter before). When I go to take it from him, he'll jerk it away from my and say, "Share?" That always made me stop. How can I expect my child to share his things with others when I won't share certain things with him? Quite the pickle.

Finally, John and I came to the conclusion that he doesn't have to share if he doesn't want to. The flip side of this is that the kid at the park with the cool truck doesn't have share either. I know this is going to be a difficult thing to enforce with a toddler (toddlers say, "What is yours is mine and what is mine is mine", right?), but at least it'll be consistent, which is worth it to me.

Look what I found!!

 IT'S A FOOT!

Hank just discovered his foot and has a great time holding it and looking at it. Whenever he is lying down, in his infant seat or his swing, he curls over, grabs his right foot and marvels at it. I love babies that are easily entertained.

O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D

Johnny has an obsession with Cars, as I may have mentioned previously. Multiple times. So when I saw Lightning McQueen and Mater toys at Target, I didn't hesitate to purchase them. Just as I thought, they have become his favorite things in the world.

He has them while drinking his morning milk.

He has them while watching the Cars movie.

He has them while going places in the car.

He takes them shopping with us.

 These little cars have gone EVERYWHERE with us. I used to be really nervous about him dropping one and consequently losing it, until he dropped one in the grocery store and lost. his. mind. "DROP! MAAAAAY!!! DROP!!!! MOM!!!!" (Maaay = Mater, the brown truck) I have to admit, it's really cute that he has an attachment to these toys. Sometimes it's a little obnoxious, like when I'm by myself trying to get both boys to bed and Johnny won't settle down until I get him Mater and Lightning McQueen, but I can't find them and run around the house repeatedly until I find them in his toy barn... true story. But most of the time, it's adorable.

More evidence as to Johnny's obsession: he has six Cars shirts. I counted. SIX. He had one that I got at Target on clearance:

Yeah, my kid's eating an Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookie... judge my parenting skills accordingly.

It was a double whammy: his favorite color, red, and it had Mater on it. But then he wanted to wear it all the time. And I mean every day and every night. After a couple of days and nights I had to put my foot down and put it in the hamper... only to have him take it out again and give it to an unknowing Daddy to put it on him. He's sneaky, that kid. There have been other instances where Daddy will tell him that he can't wear his Mater shirt because it's dirty. So Johnny will say, "Wash!" and put it in the bathtub and run water over it. Or he'll give to me and insist I wash it right then and there. So, I had to invest in a few more shirts. Oh, and a couple sets of pajamas.

Mater and Lightning McQueen making yet another appearance.

I know, you've seen this picture, but he's wearing his black Cars shirt in this one.

Thank you, Walmart.com for your uber-cheap character shirts and even cheaper shipping!

Talkin' up a storm

Johnny's vocabulary has consisted of one-syllable words since he started talking. When he added "Daddy" and "Johnny" to his repertoire, I thought that more two-syllable words would begin to tumble from that little mouth of his shortly thereafter.

Well, I was wrong.

After months of saying "Maaay!" for "Mater" from the movie Cars, he has finally started stringing words together to be more specific. Now he says "Wat Maaay!" which, of course, means "Watch Mater!" Duh.

He also says "both WAYS" (with the emphasis on the second word) when we cross the street since John and I are constantly telling him to look both ways before crossing the street. When he wakes up in the morning, he says, "Find nine?" meaning he wants to go in the play room and have me quiz him on his numbers.

This communication thing? Is FREAKING AWESOME!!!!! I can't even begin to explain how cool it is to have your child talk to you. We have conversations. For reals. Yeah, he only says two or three words at a time, but I totally get it. Other people may look at me quizzically when he says, "red torrrr?", but I know that he is talking about Vons, which has a red sign. That's one of the best things about being a stay-at-home-mom is that I understand 99% of what Johnny talks about since it's all in context. Being around him all day everyday seeing everything that he is experiencing makes it way easier to understand him.

From Aunt Lisa

Oh yes I'm blogging this.

Thanks for the onesie, Aunt Lisa! I'm sorry it took so long to get a picture of it... without poop or spit up all over it.