Dear Connor - 35 Months

Dear Connor,
Right now you are "spitting nails mad". This is because it's 7:45 pm and you have just been put to bed for the evening. I know if I go upstairs, you'll be standing in the middle of your room, face red and nose running, demanding that it's "morning time", tears as large as raindrops cascading down your face. We've moved your bedtime a couple hours earlier for one specific reason. You've stopped napping. You've learned something irreversible in your struggle for power and that is this. No one can force you to sleep. We might be able to put you into your room and even close the door, but no one can make you sleep. The thing is, you still NEED the nap. By the end of the day you are a raving lunatic so incredibly exhausted that you need to be put down early for your own safety if nothing else. However, by that time you are so over-tired and wound up, that you are certainly not “ready” for bed… and the bedtime battles have officially begun.
Eventually you fall asleep, but not before completely trashing your room, like you’re a rock star partying at the Hilton. We’ve moved all of the toys in your room into the closet, including your books, because you kept pulling the books into your bed with you. Now, the books wouldn’t be a problem if you didn’t manage to bring the stack of three cubbies on wheels where your books are kept into the bed with you. I’m not sure how you manage to fit into the bed with all of that stuff in there anyway but you do.

That’s not actually the reason that we moved everything into the closet however. The reason it’s been moved, is something we like to call, “The Poop Factor”. You see, it would be impossible to write this month’s entry to you without mentioning the fact that if you are left alone for even a few minutes, even if it’s for “quiet time” in your room, you take vengeance by pooping in your diaper, pulling it out and spreading it on everything you can get your hands on. This includes books, toys, the bed and the carpet. You haven’t hit the walls yet and for this I am most grateful. To try and save some of your books and toys we’ve moved everything into the closet to keep it from being lost to The Poor Factor and so far it’s working, although there are stains in the carpet that might never be removed. We are hoping that this is just a stage and soon your grow tired of it, or ideally just realize how absolutely disgusting it is.

You grow more articulate by the minute and listen to everything we say. Or even worse, everything anyone else says. Even if they are saying it softly to someone else when we are walking past in the grocery store. You vocabulary amazes us all and we are so proud when you announce that Dora the Explorer’s Mommy is an Archaeologist. It might not be that impressive if you didn’t also understand that means that she “digs up old things”.

You are so gentle with the cat. I was afraid that you’d never be able to restrain yourself, so tempting is it to grab the tail or squeal loudly and watch him run. But it seems that little by little you are starting to develop some impulse control. Sadly however, Pink has been Pavlov-ed into being terrified of children, so he’s not so willing to experiment with this new stage of development.
Your Dad has been staying home with you while I’m working a contract position. At first it was like a vacation for me, 11 whole hours, (with commute) of child-free time each day. Now that the novelty has worn off, I’ve nothing to do, but miss you and your brother. I’ve always worried about you having separation anxiety when I leave you but one thing that I’ve learned while working is that while sometimes you don’t like the separation I go through my day feeling like a part of me is missing. Because it is.
I love you so much.
Mommy