Politely Defiant

It is amazing to me that Ellis is 2 1/2 years old. It just seems to be going by so quick. Now don't get me wrong some days are slower and painful then others. Watchimg him develop into his very own little boy is one of the best parts about being a Mom. He seems to be doing something different everyday. It is either a new word or a new move. The latest is that I have labeled him Politely Defiant. Which quite frankly has worked in his favor sometimes. He can be quite the Charmer when he doesn't want to do something. For example, if you ask him to do something he will say "no thanks"..."sorry"! So, in adult terms that would be "I am sorry to tell you Mom but there is no way I am going to do that"!! I think that he picked that attribute up from his Uncle Luke. Uncle Luke ALWAYS threw on the charm from day 1 and never seemed to get in trouble. He would just look at our Mom, say something, make her laugh and then the next thing you know...instead of getting punished they are sitting around laughing at eating Lima beans.... Go Figure!! It runs in the family! Pete and I are learning to constantly re-direct him to make sure he doesn't think that he is getting away with anything. We had our first experience of having to remove him from a restaurant the other night. He obviously didn't want to be sitting down but rather running around. He cried and he got louder as the seconds went on. I removed him and sat outside and attempted to talk him out of his strong will. I told him he was being a "bad boy". He then looked up at me with his blue eyes and said " I'm not"! It went straight to my heart. Because he is right, he is not a "bad boy", he was just having a bad night. I learned my lesson on that one. We are truly blessed to have him. He teaches me so many things about life. He keeps life in perspective and reminds me daily what is truly important. He is the light of my life.

Some of his favorite things to do right now are;
Playing with bubbles, counting to 10 by himself, running around with the girls, picking dandelions and blowing on them (Grammie taught him this one) going for walks, throwing balls, and taking all the pillows off the couch and then throw himself off the couch. Oh and he loves to tell stories, however we don't quite understand all of his words yet. We just nod and pretend at this time. I have learned to not say "yes" to him when he does this. He was telling me something but now I know he was asking me a question. I said yes, he stood up, walked over to the front door, opened it and started to leave. So apparently he was asking me if he could go somewhere. I won't make that mistake again. So, we make it a rule not to say Yes to him unless we know exactly what he is asking.