Woodjie's World

Woodjie can go potty! But he doesn't ask to go. You have to remember to take him. He doesn't bother trying to stay dry betweentimes, either. This morning I caught the kid grunting and we were able to save a pull-up!! Yayyy, mee! He got some leftover Easter Pez for that one. And a phone call to Dad. And... I took a picture. Each kid has a picture, somewhere, of "the first poop on the potty." Really. Even the girl will get one eventually. Suitable for framing, right? So I've drawn the conclusion that he knows what the potty is for, and he'll do whatever if someone asks, but he's really not a go-getter on this one.

Woodjie can ask for strange and interesting things that he wants! But he has to have a PEC to choose from, or the actual choices in front of him. You can't just expect him to walk over to you and say, "Mom, I've been thinking that perhaps the linking rings would be a good choice for me to play with this morning. I also want to watch Blue's Clues, but I wish you would not fastforward through the 'Rugrats' on the previews. I don't know what your problem is with them, but I want to see them." Nope. He doesn't do that. He can choose from Kermit-froggie and Blue's Clues because I'll hold the tapes in front of him. And yes, I simplify title names in the hopes of catching a simple word or two. "Oo- goo!" just won today. It almost sounded like a word. I pretended I heard "Blue's Clues" and the kid looked extraordinarily happy. So maybe I heard it. It's hard to know how much is wishful thinking and how much is really there.

Maybe he will learn to speak... and remember the words he is learning?? He had at one point several words that I haven't heard again like ball or cup. I miss the "love you"s and the "more"s and the "yesterday at sunset, I ate two apple"-s. (OK, the last one was made up. But every other three year old can make a sentence like that and I am jealous! It isn't fair. I want to have a conversation with Woodjie, and he wants to talk to me! I know he does!)

But blessedly, I'm finding if I'm right nearby and making eye contact, I can figure out all kinds of things that Woodjie wants to tell me. I just can't always be nearby. This afternoon as we were getting ready for him to go on the school bus, his little sister had her usual "shoooooooooes!" temper fit. She wants to go, too. Woodjie let me put his shoes on, but then he reached into the shoe bins and found his sister's shoe. "Ah ee aa?" Nope. Just you, little guy. He understood. He has a lot of things to say that you can figure out by using context.

He points a lot. I am teaching him "show me" when he points sometimes and let him lead me to the item. It is very sad that I can't reward him often for the things he shows me. No, you cannot have your brother's games and Pokemon collection. No, no third glass of Hawaiian Punch. Sorry. But he is growing up a little in that he doesn't have quite so many head-banging temper fits about this stuff. Maybe I am jinxing my kid by typing that; but it seems that he is starting to know that well, sometimes he gets something and at least someone understood and THEN said no. Before, Mom would just run around and go, "This? This? Um... How about this?" and he'd almost never get anything.

He sure is an active and energetic little guy. I am trying to teach him to lead slowly and gently. My arm hurts being torqued about by him. I am slowing him down a little. I can't imagine in a few years, having an 80-pound kid lead me around the way he does now. He has *got* to calm down a little. He's cute, but I need help conveying "calm" and "gentle." He will jump right into you with a big smile on his face because he wants to play. And he just can't do that once the old hormones hit and he is six-foot two like his bigger brothers. And the Elf needs to learn not to let Woodjie bully him by pulling him around and "telling" him what they will be playing or doing. Cute that Woodjie can communicate like this, but game's over.

One thing Woodjie loves now is the spring weather. He wants to be out in the front yard. He found the first fly of spring, which of course flew away. "Uh-oh. Ee- ee go?" he asks, looking around. "Eeeh ee iih!" Yup. There he is. Good job, Woodjie! You found him!