The Art of Manipulation

I know I have a two year old because the artist of manipulation is now my son. Gone are my days as the Picasso of manipulation. Hello Rembrandt.

For the past three nights, Reece has told me that he's hungry before bed. So, we have a snack about an hour before bed and I top off his milk with a little extra. Well, low and behold, the sleep terrorist who HATES being left to cry it out in his bed at night, has now crafted a plan by which he is getting enough milk that he falls asleep before finishing it while being held by me. Hmmmm...... I see a future of him breathing into the glass of water and having to pee A LOT before finally climbing into bed. Lucky me.

And when it comes to naps, Reece is keen to use the lines that I use when putting him to sleep. Several times now, he has gotten up from his bed while I'm still in his room putting him down, and walked to the door, turned back to me and said "Night night, Mommy. Be right back." and he's left the room and closed the door behind him. If only I could climb into bed for a few hours while he played quietly somewhere.

And while these things are in part both surprising to me and sweet, what's less sweet is that when it comes to something he wants, he's as motivated to get it as an alcoholic whose glass is empty is motivated to get a drink. Yes, it's that bad. He basically would risk his life to achieve his goals.

For example. To reach keys hanging on a hook in our house, Reece stacks the laptop on top of a small table so he has an extra inch and is able to reach the keys. Obsessed with putting keys in doors, he then hides said keys so we can't take them away. Nor, can we lock our doors.

Reece now refers to his highchair as a ladder, for since it's on wheels, he can move the chair to wherever he "needs" it to be, climb into it and while standing reach objects that are high enough to just be within my reach. Well done.

Reece is also a fan of feeling dizzy. A big to do in our house is spinning around until he falls. He always starts off by saying "be careful," but clearly those are empty words to a child who reminds me of the kid in the movie "Parenthood" who walks around with a bucket on his head.

Ah, the stages of development. Can't wait to see what's next.