Forgive Him, He's 2

This two year old is a picky eater. Somedays the request is blueberry muffins, other days it’s oatmeal and raisins. Yesterday is completely different from today. Bribe him with a bowl of Lucky Charms and you’ll find that he’ll eat every marshmallow out of it and not a single piece of grain cereal.

His day is full of fun. Beginning with waking up and watching cartoons – specifically Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Handy Manny – while he does a breathing treatment. Then he has breakfast, his pick, of course. Then we battle to decide what play clothes to put on and to get teeth brushed. The battle is mostly over the clothes, Cooper would prefer to wear jammies all day. And sometimes, he does.

Now, depending on the weather, Cooper has his pick of toddler activities. Let’s see what will it be today…

1. An excited, squealing tour of the museum of nature and science. Cooper is enthusiastic about space ships and dinosaurs.
2. A leisurely walk through the zoo. Cooper is interested in the zoo animals, but generally can’t quite tell where or what he should be looking at. Sometimes he just peers over the rope and stares at the grass exclaiming, “oooooo!”
3. Studious, but strong choice – the library. We always have about 20 books to return and Cooper runs to the planes, trains, and automobile section first.
4. Park play and a picnic. The draw is obvious.
5. Yard work-- my personal favorite. Last week we learned what happens when you sprinkle salt on slugs.


If nothing from the A list appeals to Cooper, then we opt for the B list.

1. Arts and crafts in the basement. Usually includes drawing on the white board with markers, sticking 1200 stickers in sticker book, and making handprints with indelible blue ink. Note: the indelible part kinda pissed off mom last week.
2. Grocery shopping at Target. This is a nonsense grocery visit that includes popcorn and soda in the cart for munching.
3. Helping mom with chores! Oh wow, you’d be surprised how much Cooper likes cleaning toilets.


Anyway, a few good hours of an activity and it’s all Cooper can do to keep his eyes open. All 2-year-olds need a good nap. But before he falls asleep he gets to pick out his lunch. Really, it’s chef surprise and Cooper doesn’t eat it anyway. After the joke of a lunch, Cooper takes his naps seriously and we usually find ourselves trying to wake him up so that he doesn’t sleep too long.

The rest of the night is filled in one of two ways (dependant on if Steve is in town, or not). Fixing dinner for dad or fixing dinner and then calling dad. Cooper’s interest in the kitchen implements started at about 1 and he’s still going strong on the obsession. To him, everything in the drawer is some type of scoop that can act as an impromptu excavator. While I make dinner, he usually tools around the kitchen scooping Mason’s toys and making Mason squeal with tractor noises.

You already know how bedtime goes. But I am glad to report that there is one thing that Cooper hates more than bedtime – TIME OUT. Thanks to a friend, we started this rule. We instructed him that if he got out of bed he would have to go to time out. Worked like a charm. He hasn’t gotten out of bed since. We still stuggle with wiggles a little on account of the pulmicort, but we’ve been in bed and asleep before 9:30 or 9 for an entire week!