Return of the Big Chair Kid

Ok, it’s been a while since I’ve taken a proper one of these (almost 2 years) and he’s grown a little since then. Check out the series here: Scenes from a Big Chair. Last night before his bath he weighed in at 30, no 29.9, no 30, no 29.9 lbs. It’s still tough to pin it down because even though I say don’t move he likes to wiggle. In fact he steps off the scale saying, “Zane turned like this and like this” to describe his exact wiggle technique.

He is really wanting to be in control these days. Not just of himself, but of everyone else. How we talk, sit, react… you name it. Lots of things turn into power struggles, everything from insisting that he doesn’t need underwear to not leaving the bathroom until daddy goes downstairs to get his sippy cup. On the other hand he wants to do everything: glue the chair, caulk pipes, take pictures with dad’s camera, move and load the pellet stove (I was working on it), vacuum, cook… you name it. Well, except for: pick up toys, eat his food, go to the potty, get dressed, get undressed, quit climbing all over his dad, take a nap, wake up from a nap, put shoes on, take shoes off. Well, you get the idea.

Last night after we read books and turned off the room light and snuggled I was getting ready to leave and he wanted some baby Zane stories. I’m sad to say that I used the opportunity to tell selective stories: times when baby Zane ate a whole bowl of oatmeal without being told, picked up his room, got dressed and played with his trains. I felt like some war time parent propaganda ministry.