And So It Begins

When we put Aiden to bed last night I was well-aware of the fact that Aiden might have nightmares after seeing giant aliens & monsters on a 40 foot screen. I was right, he didn't make it past 10pm before he called out for me in a small, frightened voice. I went into his room and he immediatly informed me "see window, monsters!" Monsters outside his window; I knew this was coming.

Luckily for me (and unfortunately for Aiden) I happen to be educated in just how short of a short-term memory toddlers have. Here's a trick if you ever need it: toddlers will lie in bed and think about the most recent novel things they have experienced. If they're thinking about scary monster movies, introduce something else totally new and interesting and the previous images will be replaced with these new things to think about. I was practically smirking to myself when I dug out the soothing Baby Einstein DVD's Aiden hasn't seen since he was 10 months old (see: too young to create long-term memories) and popped in Baby Galileo since that is his favorite Baby Einstein book. Aiden cuddled up with me and was soon engrossed with all the moon, star & planet images. Long story short, and three Baby Einstein videos later, we have him in bed and he sleeps in until 8 this morning. Sweet! I'm fairly pleased with myself until Aiden asks for "star blanket moon mowie" this morning. Fine, Baby Galileo goes in again. At least it's educational.

Okay, TWO repeat plays later and I am sick of that overly-sugary voice and annoying merry-go-round music so I put on my ipod to give my ears a break. I'm humming to myself when Aiden comes up, pokes my leg and patiently waites for me to hit pause and meet his eyes before his eyebrows drop and he very sternly says "Noooooo, mommy." HA! MY humming was interrupting his ridiculously repetitive Baby Galileo 'mowie'? If only he knew how frequently his tantrums interrupted my grocery shopping....

And so begins the mutual scolding war. I just PRAY that I can keep a straight face the next time he juts one hip to the side, slightly cocks his head as he thrusts his chin forward (OMGosh, I think I do that!), rearranges his features to make the exact 'serious' face I always give him and drops his voice to mimic mine as he tells me I have done something he doesn't like! ROFL!

Another Quick Aiden Story: As I was sitting here quickly typing the above story, Aiden brought me the red plastic clip that came with his birthday balloons. Uh, thanks kid... Then he brought me a clear plastic outlet cover. I had no idea where that came from and was looking at it to see if it had visible signs of him prying it out from the wall when he returned and handed me a large button-cell battery I'd never seen before. I shouted "Aiden, what the heck?!! Where are you getting all this?!!" He instantly gives me a sad puppy look and says "Mommy no screaming". I smile and say okay, biting my tongue as I exit the office and pass a half dozen other random oddities scattered on the floor and see that he's been exploring the darkest back corners of the kitchen junk drawer after completely ransacking two rooms in a matter of minutes. HOW?!!! This kid obviously has talent. He's Dash from the Incredibles, I'm telling you. I will probably be jumpy, slightly hysterical and have circles under my eyes until he leaves to go to college!

And then I'll miss all of this and wish I had taken more pictures and made more 'mowies'. :)