Toddler Fun: I'm a Big Boy Now and No, I Want the Old One

T. may not talk much, certainly, he isn't verbal enough to say either of the items in the heading. But that doesn't mean he isn't thinking and feeling them. Two cases in point:

He's been resisting going for rides in the white van, infinitely preferring the blue car. In the van, he sits in his Britax Boulevard. In the car, he's been upgraded to the Big Boy Compass booster. Today, R. really wanted to take the van (packed full of garbage and recycling goodness) to the transfer station. He ultimately removed the Boulevard, put in the booster and voila, T. was willing to play along. A little edgily, but still.

I'm a Big Boy Now, with a Big Boy Seat. An earlier example of this behavior led to me putting the Kinderzeat in the basement, since he insisted in sitting in a regular chair at the dining table.

Next case: No, I want the Old One. T., like all toddlers/young children, is obsessed with the dishwasher. T. being T., and me being me, he actually knows the right buttons to push, he knows about loading dirty stuff and removing clean stuff (that's the boring part) and putting soap in the dispenser. Our job is to keep him from getting the detergent on him, and to ensure he turns the dishwasher off if he opens the door, and similar safety things.

Well, inevitably, the box of dishwasher detergent ran out, and Someone Put It Visibly in the Kitchen Trash, as opposed to all the way out hidden where he couldn't find it. There was a new box of detergent which, furthermore, was a different brand. Tragedy! He kept trying to get the old box out, until I had someone remove the entire bin, then we had to practice the whole soap routine (maybe 5-6 times) so he could get used to this Huge Tragic Change.

No, I Want the Old One, in other words.

Nice to know that emotional development and cognitive stuff is happening exactly the way it should be. Of course, it _does_ mean that any adults who have temporarily lost track of basic 2-4 year old nature are going to be confused as hell, because T. isn't going to be explaining any of it verbally to anyone.

about that stimulus package

For the record, I _hate_ what's happening right now. I think we should chuck the whole thing and rewrite it with no bipartisanship involved. Screw the tax-cutters and spend spend spend. Okay? Now, on to the point of this post.

Given the probable timing of the close, and the current composition of the stimulus package, we will very likely be eligible for the entire $15K tax credit for buying a home. We pay enough in taxes, no amount of income makes it go away, the house costs more than enough, blah, blah, bleeping blah.

Hey, I love me some $15K off on my taxes. No, I really do. But will this have _any_ effect on how much money I spend? No. None. Zippo. Nada.

That's some bad, bad, bad legislation.

Toddler Fun: a trampoline is in our future

I'm opposed to trampolines. People suggest them, when they watch T. jumping on a couch he has carefully removed the cushions from. Especially after the first 20 minutes or so, when he's really hitting his stride and they're really regretting giving him permission to do that.

But my sister is a nurse, and when someone says trampolines, she says neck injury. But you know, there is no way in hell that a short exercise trampoline for one person is any worse than a bed or a couch. The bad accidents happen on the big outdoor jobs with more than one kid on them.

So I ordered a Needak, because you know me: if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing. Also, all the cheap ones have 200 pounds weight limits and I'd kinda like to have fun on this thing, too.

I also ordered T. a boombox because I'd like to redirect him away from the stereo. It has an iPod dock in case we want to get him one of those, it has a CD slot loader, and its own remote control.