Resolutions, what are those....

Well, I have definitely learned this about myself, even if I do make resolutions on paper (or computer) I really have no ambition to keep them... It actually took me looking at my friend's blog to come to the realization that I haven't been in blog-land for 5 very long months, which is sad because so much has happened and I am sure that I will not remember it all!

Fuss is getting so big and so sarcastic (I am really trying to figure out where he gets that from). My daily life with him now consists of actual conversations, kind of, that usually leave me laughing. There was the time I found him in my room with an empty package of E.L. Fudge cookies. He had one cookie in each hand and a face covered in chocolate from his nose to his chin. Knowing that D had just purchased the cookies last night, and realizing that he had not so wisely left them on his nightstand, I confronted my child...

Me: "Fussy, did you eat all of Daddy's cookies?" I stated sternly...
Him (quite seriously): "No."
Me: Glaring at him questioningly...
Him: (Matter-of-factly) "My mouth did."

It is really hard to get mad at your child when he speaks the truth so innocently, if only he really was innocent. I have also made comments that we needed to go shopping, to which he replied, "Yeah! I want a horse!" or that if he would take a nap I would take him to the dollar store to buy him a new car, to which he questioned, "...and some gas?" He is 2...and I am really afraid for his teenage years at this point.

We recently got rid of his binki, which he called his "meena." It has been a devastating 10 days for both of us. I had tried before, but to no avail. I had tried letting him have it only when he sleeps, but he always seemed to be able to find one somewhere during the day. So we went cold turkey....I took him to Toys R Us and let him choose a little teddy bear like the one we gave to my niece for her birthday. He had wanted it so badly and cried when I told him it wasn't for him. So I made him a deal, a bear for meena...which he excitedly handed over his meena for. I thought it would be so easy, but it wasn't. At the store I gathered the three different teddy bears, put them in the cart with him, and told him to choose one. He picked each one up, examined it carefully, then put it down and moved on to the next one. Once he had looked at all three of them through his thorough inspection, he handed me the dark brown one to put back on the shelf. He then reexamined the other two again before finally deciding that the stark white bear was to be his. He loved that bear all day long. It has a little bottle and he fed it and then brought me the bottle telling me that he needed more. So I pretended to refill the bottle, and gave it back to him. He fed the bear again. He even did airplane motions and noises as he brought the bottle to the bear's mouth. We had a little box, so I put a blanket inside of it, and he put the little bear down to bed telling me to be quiet "He sheeping, mommy!" It was so cute! We even named the bear meena so that when Fuss asked for his meena we gave him the bear. It was a good idea...in theory... he actually did okay for about the first week. Sure he cried for the first week, but seemed to get that he wasn't getting a binki, so he snuggled his bear and went to sleep. I learned much more about him, like he doesn't shut up for 5 seconds when there isn't something in his mouth. I also learned that this has been hard on me for two reasons, one he loved his meena so much that I felt like I was throwing out a part of him. His meena has been a part of his life since the day he was born, and to now deny him his greatest comfort is ripping my heart and soul! The other thing I learned is that I depended on his meena too, for some sanity! Now when he is upset or frustrated or just being two, I have to put up with it and deal with it and try to fix the situation instead of just handing him the binki...oh, how I miss the binki!

I do know that it is what is best for him on so many levels, but now he doesn't just whimper a little at bedtime he sobs. Now he gets angry and throws his bear off of his bed like he finally realizes the bear was a trick. Now I lie in bed and wish there was something I could do to comfort my son, but it is as though he realizes I was the one who took away his beloved meena and he doesn't really know why, even though I have diligently explained it to him several times, but he how do you explain orthodontia to a two-year-old...