A Great Weekend (ok Great Friday and Sunday)

Good and bad days.  I'll sandwich the bad day with a slice of good days on either side!


This past Friday Tate had his swimming lesson.  He was all excited about going until we actually got there.  He clung to me as I pried his fingers off me and sat him on the side of the pool next to E.  Ms. V tried to engage him, offered him a toy and he turned his head in disgust.  E tried to give him a hug and he shrugged her off;  it was actually comical to watch him be so very mad.  His anger thankfully dissipated after about 5 minutes, but it did last 5 minutes.  He grudgingly went to Ms. V in the pool for his first 'swim' but did it and then he was fine.

After lessons I changed him and we headed out to Reliant Stadium for the rodeo!!  Actually we just went for the carnival!!  Turns out Friday was Black Heritage Day/Night.  John Legend was the scheduled performer for the evening.  Alas, I didn't think Tate would want to wait 12 hours to see John Legend, so we made do with a pony ride, visiting with some cows, sheep and goats, a couple of carnival rides and a bar-b-q sandwich for Mommy.  He LOVED riding the pony; his was named Gem. These ponies are so sweet, but I was sad for them.  Subjected to a life of going in circles at the whims of humans and most of all human children.  Are they treated well?  Do they enjoy this captivity (certainly not!)? Is it humane to subject them to this?  Yet, I turned over my $6 and placed my sweet cowboy on Gem and reveled in his smiles and glee.

Giddy-up!

 

We then headed over to the cows.  As we went in some ladies gave Tate a little card describing what the cattle do on the ranches.  His response was just precious.  Once we were going through the make-shift barn/tent he held up the card to each cow as if asking them to read the card. He was almost proud of being so informed and wanted to make sure his new friends knew he was interested in their lives!  And most impressively he was not the least bit intimidated by their sheer size!!  He just wanted to pet them! (which wasn't allowed)

We then headed outside for some great music and a bite to eat.  Tate's chicken from home and my bar-b-q sandwich from the always yummy Goode Company Bar-B-Q!  Look at my laid back little cowpoke!

Just hanging out!

 Then it was time to get on the festive rides!!

Then it was time to head to Grandmommy and Papa's for the remainder of the day and night.  We left the rodeo around 12:15 and once in the parking lot around 12:30 it was patently obvious that my little boy was tired, and that naptime should have started 30 minutes earlier :(.  He cried and cried for reasons unbeknownst to me other than sheer exhaustion.  Once I wrangled him into his carseat and got us moving (with full on screaming and crying for about 10 minutes of our ride) he finally fell asleep.  We got caught in traffic, so our ride to my parents took well over an hour, so he got a good 90 minute nap in.  Yet as soon as he woke up (we sat in my parents' driveway while he finished the last 10 minutes of his nap) he started screaming and crying and throwing a full on tantrum.  I honestly had no idea why.  It went on for a good 30 minutes.  I let him scream for about 10 minutes in the car, then wrestled him into the house.  It was awful; my mom was beside herself which only serves to stress me out more.  I tried cuddling him; I tried ignoring him; I tried putting him in the crib for a time out.  Nothing worked.  Finally I put a Thomas DVD into the player and started 'watching' the video myself.  He came over still hiccuping and crying, but finally calmed down.  He did fairly well the rest of the night and went to sleep with much fussing, and did not want to go to sleep.  I ended up having to go in the room after hearing him throw everything out of the crib and pretty much lost my patience.  But he finally calmed down and went on to sleep.


Saturday was quite an experience.  Three grown adults held hostage by a 2y7m old.  All seemed fine in the morning at first.  But then a fit over what I can't even remember.  Crying, stomping around, screeching for a good 20 minutes.  That's finally over and we head out to an indoor playground called Stomping Ground right when they opened, so he could play in the big kid area safely.  He had what seemed like a pretty good time, but wanted me with him all the time.  Then my mom and I made a mistake...we said we would walk to Babies 'R Us with him in the stroller.  My child LOVES being in his stroller!  Well, it was chilly out and he refused to put on a jacket of any sort, so I opted to drive us over there.  All hell broke loose.  I tried to explain in simple quick words that if he wore the jacket we could walk in the stroller.  No dice on the jacket...no stroller.  But I was able to get him in the car.  Once we left BRUs that was a different story.  Screaming, crying, refusing to get in the carseat, bucking.  I opted to let him sit in the back seat and calm down for a few minutes, so we sat in the parking lot while he smiled and played in the backseat, then I forced him, and I mean forced him into the carseat.  He cried over half of the 15 minute ride home.  Once home we had lunch and a disaster going down for his nap.  I put him in the crib with anger as I was at the end of my rope with this child.  He didn't want to be rocked or read to.  10 minutes later I hear banging and singing.  I go in and he is eating his toothpaste (thankfully fluoride free and it was a good TWO feet away from the crib on the dresser!)  Pillow on the floor, animals on the floor...an absolute mess.  I was furious and he was laughing.  I took him out and gave him the what for.  And realized that I needed some space and that my frustration and anger were probably contributing to his acting out.  He can feel my anger and frustration and I do let him know it sometimes in the way I talk to him, grab his hands or in my simple manner with him.  So of course he mirrors that back to me.  And yes certainly some of this is being 2 but some of it is my modeling of behavior.  He fell asleep within 2 minutes of me rocking him and I laid him on the bed and we slept together.  I felt 20 times better, though he obviously didn't.  Another meltdown when he didn't get his way almost immediately after waking;  this one lasted another 30 minutes as well.  At this point I was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with my child.  I mean this is ridiculous.  How can I intervene and stave off the tantrum if more than half the time I don't know what the problem is.  It just sucks.


He finally calmed down and we came on home.  I know my parents were glad to see us go!!


We had an uneventful night here, and I was in bed asleep by 9:45.  He was cheerfully awake at 5:34!  We headed off to church this morning for the first time in a very long time, and he had a blast singing songs!!

The clutching of Elmo is totally new!

We went off to the grocery store and the park for a bit.  He ate his lunch in the stroller on the way to and from the park.  Naptime was difficult again.  

After 20 minutes of this business I headed upstairs and told him if he didn't go to sleep he couldn't go ride the train at the zoo today.  He went to sleep in 2 minutes.  


Instead of the train we headed off to the Children's Museum!  He had a great time, though when we first arrived he clung to me like I was his lifeline.  My sister Kellie was actually there with her almost 5 year old and her husband so we saw them for about 5 minutes;  they had already been there for almost 3 hours and their kid was toast.  Tate finally let go of me and played.  He was still a bit overwhelmed by all the big kids (as was I...there were some really rambunctious boys playing roughly, and I just cringed.  I so don't want my little boy to behave that like.  Certainly not all boys behave so obnoxiously right?  They don't run around like banshees scaring the little girls who tried to play the game we were watching.  Sigh...I do not believe in the whole 'boys will be boys' mentality.  I think you can teach restraint, respect and boundaries to males and females.  I don't want my child to be a sissy, by any means, but I do not enjoy seeing many boys being allowed to behave with such a lack of I don't even know what word I'm searching for...boundaries? decorum?  I don't know.  Anyway, that's a whole other post or 2 or 6).  We headed up to the tot spot and Tate then had an absolute blast.

Had to bring the trains!

Learning how to grocery shop!

Ahhh...finally the Tot Spot! 

Gassing up!

 And now time for some tea....

Tea for 2!

So cars and tea parties...well rounded!!

Sharing chips!

Once we left the museum with only a small meltdown at the car, we met Aunt Lindsey at Chuy's for some yummy Mexican!!  Tate chowed down on chips and applesauce, I enjoyed my fajitas and Aunt Lindsey had a yummy margarita!!  Tate insisted on having his beloved Aunt Lindsey drive him home!!





































So, the weekend is over.  And Tate and I will spend another 4 days basically apart.  I absolutely live for our weekends...tantrums and all.  Screaming fits and meltdowns. Because I do know this...Tate's unabashed willingness to behave like that with me though frustrating, annoying, angering etc means that he 100% knows that I am his safe place.  And he does exhibit his love and devotion to me in a myriad of beautiful ways.  He will reach out his hand when we're in restaurants or places together for a quick rub of my arm or my hand and say 'Hi Mommy'...seems like his way of just connecting really quickly.  He will now walk up to me and purse his lips to give me a kiss on the lips unsolicited.  He burrows his head into my shoulder when I'm holding him to be closer.  He'll still put his hand down my shirt a bit for comfort (remnants of breastfeeding is what I believe).  There is nothing better than the love of my precious child.