Alex L Johnson: Oh My Alley Bear!

Alex is changing every day. He is definitely in his terrible 3’s… lots of struggles with bed time and not listening. Eating is becoming a chore. There is no “always” with Alex. Sometimes he is just a peach and listens like a good little boy, and others he gets defiant. One good thing about this is his growing independence. Sometimes he will let me put his shoes on, and sometimes he yells, “No MY can do it!” And sure enough, he can. He is asserting himself. He wants to button his own pajamas, zip his coat, put toothpaste on his brush. Some of this is just a learning curve for Brent and I. we are so accustomed to doing all of these small tasks for him. We are quicker. But ultimately, our little boy is growing up and wants to do these things himself.

He is also singing more. Do you know that song “Call me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen? He loves it and wanders around singing the chorus randomly. Another favorite is the Itsy Bitsy Spider. He does so well and projects his voice so well. As a singer myself, I really love that he enjoys singing and encourage him often. I have found recently when he gets in a mood, I can start singing and he either joins in and the mood is gone – or he yells, “No Mommie, not YOU!” Then I stop singing… and he starts. Priceless.

Here is a short video of Alex dancing along to the Hot Dog Dance...

I asked Alex the other day if he wanted to go to the Barnyard Boogie in a few days. I explained they were going to have dancing, singing, and a petting zoo. He got really excited and said, “Yeah Mom! I want to see the pandas!” Brent and I burst into laughter. Brent tried to explain that pandas are not a barnyard animal and would not be in a community gymnasium… but he insisted.

Bedtime has been interesting the past few months. He repeatedly gets out of bed, sometimes immediately after we leave the room. We always brush teeth, put on pajamas, read stories, snuggle for “2 minutes,” and then leave the room. The routine does not alter, Brent and I do the same steps. I have started to tell him that he will get a spanking if he gets out of bed unless he has to potty. This only worked for about a week! My smart boy is now saying that he has to poop. He grins and sits on the toilet seat, starts chatting, and then the phantom poop arrives. Nothing. You never want to tell a kid to not leave the bed, just in case they really do have to go potty, but good grief! What a challenge.

We are also noticing that Alex is getting so hard on himself. He is a budding perfectionist. If he doesn’t complete a task to his high standards, he gets frustrated. Our daycare provider said he just bursts into tears during school work if he’s tired. We have both noticed this trait so we are approaching it the same way by explaining, “Alex, you are just a little guy. You have to learn how to do this…” That is seeming to work because he is slowly but surely cutting himself some slack.

He is now cracking us up by randomly blurting out "Poop!" He says it so sweetly we just burst into laughter every time.

Another injury for Alex occurred on September 19^th. The kids were jumping off the jungle gym at daycare and Alex landed wrong and couldn’t walk for a week and limped a week after that. Brent took him to the doctor and an Xray didn’t determine if it were broken or sprained since toddlers have little calcium in their feet and they didn’t have a clear look. Brent was smart and told Alex to crawl around so he was only immobile for a day. He is only in real pain for the first few days, and boy did he get spoiled! He seems to be doing better now, but we are still trying to get him to take it easy.

Last thing – Alex can finally peddle his bike! Brent followed behind Alex on the sidewalk with Anna in a stroller yesterday evening. Alex did great but then said to Brent suddenly that he was tired. Brent ended up attaching the bike to the stroller so Alex could just walk home! I would’ve loved to see that. Good thing he decided to leave the dog at home!

Noerenberg Memorial County Park