ose events only encompass 10% of your day, their effect on the parental psyche usually outweighs any good effects from the other 90% of the day. Although I feel I make a concerted effort to thank God daily for the wonderful son He has given me, I am guilty of letting the bad overshadow the good.Most of you know that I've been struggling with Eli's recent upgrade in tantrums; I have been trying to determine if I'm expecting too much or too little of him. There have been several days in the last month that have left me frazzled beyond words. In those moments I definitely lost sight of the big picture which is, in my opinion, Eli is a great kid!
If you choose to continue reading, be forewarned: I'm about to get a bit bragadocious. After all, it is my right as a parent. (One of the great things about having kids is the liberty I now have to brag about Eli at the drop of a hat.)
Grandma and Grandpa visited this last week, and while they witnessed a few (relatively small) tantrums, they were not shy about commenting on his good behavior. With the exception of the last night they were here, he let one or both of them put him down for naps and bedtime without any protest. He also freely gave kisses, hugs, and smiles all week long. All in all he was very pleasant during their visit. Last night (after a week of company
and 'performing', mind you) we went out to a later dinner with a few out-of-town friends. Eli is not as familiar with them as he has not seen them in months, yet he sat through the entire dinner (which was lengthy due to the busy restaurant) without complaining. We overheard several patrons (and a few people at our table) noticing how good Eli was through the meal. (The score is now Eli: 2.) Finally, as we were walking out of church this morning I was approached by a woman who often works in the nursery for both Sunday service and MOPS. She made a point to stop and tell me how happy she was to have Eli in her class today. She gushed about how fun and good he is, and how she often 'steals' him from his MOPS class to cuddle because he is so snuggly. Nothing warms my heart more than to hear that Eli freely gives affection to people other than immediate family. As much as it saddens me that he is growing up and not a baby anymore, I love to hear how he is growing into his own person with relationships that have nothing to do with Lehr or me. Alright...bragging finished. I just had to share how overwhelmed with perspective I've been this last week.(Of course, when Lehr brought Eli home from church, he ate his lunch and then threw a 20-minute long tantrum over touching the stereo.)
On a side note, one of Eli's girlfriends (Gracie) came to our church today. As we were saying our good-byes, Eli leaned over and gave Gracie a kiss (open-mouthed, of course. He still hasn't learned the social norm of dry kisses.) totally unprompted. Since Gracie is usually the one chasing after Eli with her affection, she seemed quite happy about this.
2 comments:
I read this and also the other tantrum post. I can totally relate. I also had a tendency to dwell on the tantrums and difficult parts of the day.
I do believe that it is a total phase. I think for A it's because she is so close to being able to talk and that once she does we can have 'discussions' about why she can't do something. I'm anticipating that this will be far less frustrating for both of us. I hope.
I consider my friend's daughter to be an angel and my friend tells me she did exactly the same stuff at this age. I was relieved. I think I was worried that these tantrums would never stop!
Miss A is a great kid also. Happy, funny, and generally lovely. I also find myself having to remember these things when I'm frustrated.
Their little open kisses crack me up! My Eli still kisses that way, too. My MIL gets uptight about it and likes to tell me it's because I kiss his Daddy too much in front of him... glad to see it's actually a normal thing for him to do!
Thanks for stopping by my everything eli blog :)
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