Toddler Days

Today was a lovely day with my boy. We didn't really do anything special - in fact, it was mostly running errands - but it was the sort of day that makes me appreciate him completely in the moment.

The day started off, as usual, with breakfast and cartoons in bed. After a few rounds of Sarah & Duck and Charlie and Lola, we got dressed and headed out to Boots to pick up a prescription from my back-to-back appointments with my midwife and my GP yesterday. While we were in the retail park, we dropped into Mamas & Papas just to take a look at things. Well, I was taking a look at things, E was yelling with joy and running around one of the pillars.

E: Hiding! S'hiding! S'hiding!
Mama: Oh, are you hiding? I can still see you!
E: RACE! Raceraceraceracerace! RAACE! Saass! [That's 'fast' for those of you not in the know.]
Mama: Yes, I see: you're racing very fast.

Once that was all done, we came home at the Little Monster's request for a bathroom trip (#pottytrainingboss) and to get ready for his nap. We read a few of the past week's favourite selections, including - as usual - Cuckoo, and then he was down for the count while I opened the windows, put my apple cinnamon potpourri on the stove, and sat down in front of an episode of Gilmore Girls with some lunch.

After two hours (bliss!) I went into the nursery to wake him. I love that so often he's such a happy kid when he wakes up. And he's still got an affectionate personality and loves to have cuddles until he's fully awake and ready to run around again. Once E was up and fed, it was time to head out to the library for our weekly book exchange.

He ran around the children's section while I found some books that looked worth taking home. This week's haul included - thankfully - one volume of Rev. W. Awdry's Thomas the Tank Engine stories. I say 'thankfully', because to keep him from wandering all over the library, I promised E that we could find a book about trains to take home. Phew!

On the way back, we decided to walk along the main road and stop on the bridge over the railroad tracks. Little Monster got out of the buggy and was given a good 8 minutes to watch for some trains to go by. He spent the entire time gleefully shouting out the names of every railroad component he could name: the bridge, the tracks, the trains...the fact that the trains were fast. We got two trains in that time, so he was pretty content for the rest of the walk home.

We got back to the house, brought the books in, and started to wind down. I put on a few more cartoons to keep E occupied while I started cooking dinner. Of course, in what now seems to be standard operating procedure for this pregnancy, I realised halfway through the prep work that I'd forgotten to snag some broccoli and a bell pepper for my recipe. E happily came along to pop around the corner quickly so I could grab my last two ingredients.

Mama: Okay, Sweetie, we need to go get a pepper and some broccoli so Mama can make dinner.
E: Beppah!
Mama: Yes, pepper. Puh! Pepper.
E: Beppah! Bocky!
Mama: That's right: pepper and broccoli.

E continued to yell 'Beppah! Bocky!' for the rest of our trip, and happily took charge of their care on the trip back home. The entire 2-minute drive went something like this:

E: Beppah kiss! Aww! Beppah, Bocky: kiss!
Mama: Oh, are the pepper and the broccoli kissing? That's sweet.
E: Hugs. Aww! Bocky, hugs! Beppah, hugs!
Mama: They're hugging now? Those are very sweet vegetables.
E: Ethan kiss Beppah. Kiss! Ethan kiss! Beppah kiss!
Mama: Oh, now you're giving kisses to the pepper? I'm sure the pepper appreciates it.
E: Hold. Ethan hold.
Mama: You're holding the pepper and the broccoli? That's very helpful, thank you. You're a good helper.
E: Hold. Beppah! Bocky! Ethan hold!

I now have a bath running for E after eating dinner in front of 15 minutes of Cars 2. We're still waiting on the Husband to make it home at the end of a busy day, and I'm dreading the nasty lemony sugar drink I have sitting in the fridge for my Glucose Tolerance Test tomorrow. Three hours left to eat until midday tomorrow. #starvingandpregnant

At the end of a lovely day with my boy, I feel content. It's been a perfect, chilly, windy day. One with just enough walking outside, not too much TV time, no huge chores, and only one minimal potty training accident. Oh, and lots and lots of unbearably cute moments listening to my son commentate the world around him. I freaking love having a toddler!