Neat Freak

Could my son get any more like his father? I really don't think so.

Over the last few months it's become obvious that Joseph has yet another one of Richard's personality traits. He's a neat freak. He doesn't like to get dirty. His clothes have to be just so.

Richard can't stand to get a spot on a shirt or a smudge on the couch fabric. He'll obsess over it to the point of exhaustion (as in I am so tired of hearing about it, that I am about to scream). Richard's clothes have to be just perfect before he leaves the house. He re-ties his tie countless times in the mornings, his collars have to be folded perfectly and he uses insane amounts of spray starch to get his clothes the precise crispness he requires.

It's clear that in his little toddler way, Joseph is already exhibiting these habits. The other day he was drawing with a pen and somehow that pen meandered from the paper to his little foot. All of the sudden he starts shrieking and screaming "uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh". He comes running to me terrified and points to the ink marks on his foot. I reassured him it was ok, but his screaming only increased until I finally took him to the bathroom and scrubbed the ink off. Of course, the lightest of marks stained his foot and that was just not tolerable. He kept pointing at it, yelling "No!" until I finally put some socks on him to help him forget about it.

Play-doh and finger painting is of little interest around here. He touches play-doh and makes a disgusted face before throwing it down and walking away. Foods that a normal toddler would eat with his hands, have to be eaten with a fork. Banana slices and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches freak him out if they get on his hands. When eating any of these foods, I have to sit next to him with a washcloth ready to wipes his hands constantly throughout the meal.

Last weekend we had a quick bout of spring weather. It was so nice we actually were able to play in the backyard. Joseph had a great time re-acquainting with his slides and balls after a long winter away. The only problem is that it was still a little wet and muddy. This caused major problems after tumbling down the slide.

Some pictures before sliding down the slide:

Post-slide, as he realizes there is dirt on his hands.

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And his attempt to wipe his hands clean on me (which is also an awesome habit - he won't wipe dirty hands on himself, only on us):

So my advice to everyone reading this would be to buy some stock in spray starch companies in the next few years. We're going to be using even more of it around here before long...

A rare sight...

Joseph actually sitting and reading a book. Even stranger, Joseph sitting and reading a book for long enough to let me get the camera and grab a few shots.

Trust me people...this is rare...really, really rare. However, lately he's been really into this Train book he has. He's mostly into it because it has a lot of lift and look flaps and he likes to point out things like clocks, puppies and babies. He's been handing us the book and pointing to his chair and insisting we sit and read it together.

Of course, as much as he likes the book, we still only get about 5 minutes of reading time in before he gets fidgety.

Starting to get a little rambunctious opening the flaps of the book....

Off Daddy's lap and demanding to take his paci with him...

And we've officially lost interest in the book and moved on to shaking the floor lamp...

5 minutes of reading a day....that's better than we were doing!

Happy!!!!

Any parent knows that as many hopes and dreams that you have for child, the one thing you really care about is just that they are happy. Somewhere around 2-3 months old, they start smiling and cooing and eventually giggling to let you know that they are happy. As they get older, they find more ways to express their happiness.

Recently, Joseph has learned a very direct way of letting us know he is happy. He simply starts yelling "Happy!" The first time he did it, it took me by surprise because I didn't even know the word "happy" was in his vocabulary. We pulled into the parking lot of his music class, which he LOVES, and he just threw his hands up in the air, kicked his legs and screamed "Happy! Happy! Happy!" over and over again. Since then he has been saying it for all sorts of things...like seeing a puppy at the pet store, realizing our trip to the mall is going to include a stop at the bookstore play area, Daddy walking through the door at the end of the long day (this makes me yell "Happy!" too). There is nothing like the pure, unfiltered joy that only a child can express.

Joseph is also clearly starting to understand that others people have emotions too. I had been sick for 2 weeks (part of the reason for the horrible lack of recent blogging) and finally last Wednesday had just had enough. I was tired, I felt horrible, I hadn't smelled anything or tasted food for over a week, I was over being pregnant. As I sat and watched Joseph play it all seemed overwhelming and I just started crying....well sobbing, really. He came over to me and said "sad", gave me a hug and then smiled at me and said "happy!". It was one of the sweetest things he's ever done and also the first time he'd ever used the word "sad". I am constantly amazed by the things he comes up with sometimes.

Now we are working on him saying "mad" and "frustrated" instead of throwing his toys, hitting me or throwing himself on the floor while kicking and screaming. It might be awhile....

And now...a picture of Joseph when he's "Happy!" I'll spare you pictures of angry Joseph.