We have been practicing Easter egg hunting. Thursday Tyler's daycare is doing a special parent & child event and Saturday we're going to a Stonelake community hunt. So he has a basket and about 15 colorful plastic eggs which he is very interested in. I hide them in obvious places, tell him to carry his basket and put the eggs in it. So far, he gets this concept but can't keep going after he finds the first egg. He wants to sit down to play with it and take it apart. It's a good thing we started practicing this Sunday so he'll be a pro by Saturday.


He loves outdoors and throws a tantrum if he doesn't get to go out there whenever he wants. Even if it's raining. Just like a typical boy, he doesn't care if it's freezing cold outside. 'Bubble' is the latest word and he's beginning to drive me crazy with it. Bubble bubble bubble. I'm seeing a few patterns here. First, almost all his words begin with B which is pretty normal I guess. But, he gets really hooked on a word and obsesses over it. A couple weeks ago it was Book. Then Balloon, which he never quite nailed. Bubble is a great word because it's two syllabuls and he says it really well. This morning at 6:20 am, it was the first thing I heard through the monitor. He really is obsessed. I need to remind myself he doesn't really care about the bubbles, he just likes saying the word. When I do pull out the bubbles and wand, he usually walks away and plays with the dog and his ball.


Another new thing he's doing is blowing my mind. I have been holding him to sleep for weekend naps and bedtime sleep since he was about 4 months old and stopped being able to put himself to sleep. I love doing this. We read a book, cuddle, rock and he goes to sleep. At daycare, he lays down on his own cot when they tell him it's nap time and he falls to sleep. I never believed it until this weekend. Saturday when nap time came, he threw a fit with me trying to hold him. I began the guessing game of wondering whether his stomach or his teeth were hurting. Could not get him to stop crying. Shawn came to the rescue and took Tyler for a long drive. I took a two hour nap and they were still gone. It was a very long drive but Tyler slept the whole time. Saturday night when bedtime came, we began our usual routine but he fought it tooth and nail. I held him, letting him cry and cry but couldn't get him to fall asleep. Finally I passed him off to Shawn and he went straight to sleep. I began wondering if it was me. Sunday naptime came and I tried the usual but he started crying and fighting me. Shawn suggested putting him in his crib. That thought would never have crossed my mind because I really enjoy holding him and watching his sweet little face as he falls asleep. I put him in his crib, told him to lay down and take a nap (guessing that's what daycare does) and he did. What?! That is how I've put him to bed the past two nights and it's worked like a charm. This was a very cold-turkey transition, I had no warning and no time to get used to the new bedtime routine. I'm going to miss the nighttime cuddling but am so amazed he did this himself. I guess this is the toddler independence shining through. Who's parenting who here anyway?