My laundry from yesterday is still on the couch, snoozing tonight instead of laughing. I'm gonna poke it with a stick in a few minutes to wake it up.
Tonight we made ratatouille for dinner. Yes, I expect my four year old to eat this for dinner, and he does. I managed to get a kid that will pick an orange over a cookie and regularly asks for salad. Last week he picked a smoothie as his after-doctor treat. Anyway, I agreed to something I never have before. I agreed to let him help chop vegetables for dinner. I heard the words coming out of my mouth and couldn't believe I was saying it. But help he did. He cut zucchini (with quite a bit of help) and bell pepper (with very little help) and we didn't have to go to the ER. It was no big deal. Actually, it was a very big deal and I explained to him how big a deal it was. He was really careful and did a great job.
My favorite part of tonight was after dinner. Cole started doing dishes last week. He really likes to help around the house and has asked many times to help with dishes. He loves it. And he does a great job! I rinse the dishes so I can check that they really are clean. After dinner tonight it was a little late and he still needed a bath, so I told him that he could go get in the shower and I would do the dishes. Cole insisted that he do the dishes. He said that he is in charge of doing the dishes and that is what he gets to do. So, I let him stay up an extra 20 minutes and do the dishes.
Some days, when he is being whiny and keeps saying that he can't do this or that, when he is telling me for the umpteenth time that he can't take off his shirt or buckle his car seat, I forget how independent my four year old really is, not to mention sweet and helpful. Tomorrow when he's getting dressed and he tells me yet again that he can't get his shirt off, instead of getting frustrated I'm going to smile and remember that tonight he insisted on chopping the bell pepper by himself and washing the dishes to help mama.
He'll learn to take his shirt of one day. Right?
Never once did I hear him whine...oh wait there was once he started but you stopped him quickly but gently. I can't stand whiney kids who always get what they whine for.
ReplyDelete