Oh NO!

Adam has learned a new word this last week. It's the dreaded word that every parent hates to hear. "No!" Clear as a bell, the kid knows exactly what he is saying. It completely caught me off guard when he whipped it out on Saturday. Then, as if correct usage in response to, "do you want to go to time out?" wasn't enough, he occasionally practices it while he's playing quietly and happily. He'll sort of say it to himself. I was getting ready for church when he came into the bathroom muttering, "No, no, no, no, no" over and over, apparently working on intonation and inflection. Believe me, the message is clear!

The Calm Before the Storm?
So - I realized last Friday night after putting Adam to bed that I've got it pretty good. And then I wondered if it wasn't the calm before the storm? Since about the 2nd week of January (after we detoxed from the holidays), Adam and I have a pretty good bedtime routine. At 8:45, we say prayers with daddy before kissing, hugging, and sending him out the door to his night job. From 9-9:30, Adam and I watch "Style by Jury" while getting ready for bed on the commercials. Then, at 9:30 sharp, I excitedly yell, "Who's ready for night-night?," and make up a night-night song while chasing him up the stairs and race him to his room. Sometimes I win, sometimes he wins. But, the point is, he ALWAYS goes!

Once we're in his room, he runs to his crib and then anxiously reaches for me to pick him up. I ask him what we do when we go night-night and half of the time he remembers and immediately folds him arms or hands to say a prayer. Occasionally he gets our routine out of order and when I ask him what we do before we go night-night, he leans in and gives me a kiss. Either way, we say our prayers (I say "amen" and he says an emphatic "ga-ga!"), then he gives me a hug, a kiss, and then leans toward the crib prompting me to put him in where he gets all snuggly into his blankets. And that's it! I walk out, turn out the hall light and don't hear a peep out of him for the next 10-11 hours! What bliss!

Strange Bedfellows...
I get parenting tips and development updates from babycenter.com each week letting me know what's normal and what's not for kids. I've been watching for Adam to pick a favorite toy or item that he MUST take everywhere, such as a blanket or stuffed animal, but he never really latched on to anything other than "big bear" (a 2-foot tall purple carebear) - but even then he didn't NEED it like the air he breathes.

Until this week...

A couple of nights ago, he broke with routine (see above) and didn't go to bed without a peep. He was very anxious after I had put him in his crib and inconsolable. I went back into his room to investigate and thinking he wanted me, I asked if he wanted another hug and reached for him. He shook his head and yelled "no!" - so I followed his gaze to try and figure out what he wanted.

And then I saw it - the stupid boot that he carries with him everywhere! And since then, he and the boot have been inseparable. He had frequently carried and played with it up to this point, but now he apparently can't function properly without it. So, I gave it to him, he grabbed it and then snuggled down into his blankets. That was it. He just wanted his boot. When I went to check on him an hour later, there he was snuggled in tight with the boot under his chest.

Why couldn't he just need a blanket to carry around like normal kids? At least Rachel's sheet was a little more snuggly than an outgrown workboot! : )