Rough Week | Awesome Week

They say a picture is worth a thousand words; this one is worth a million. It pretty much describes our week. He's making verbal and developmental leaps that astound me every day, but it all comes at a cost. I'd describe Miles as a bit of a thug lately. He tests and tests me until I reach a breaking point and then finds a new button or two to press just for good measure. His outfits are just a small (yet insignificant) example. He wants to do everything himself, which is great and awful. Great because he's learning independence and can do a lot now on his own. It's awful too, because there are still a lot of things he physically can't do, like put on his shoes and jacket. 

I try to give him as much leeway as I can, but there's only so much latitude I can afford without drawing out the process of leaving the house into an hour-long venture. Every. Single. Morning and Afternoon.

He's happiest when playing with his friend, Leon, or taking walks to the park. I imagine as the weather gets better and we're finally moved into our house, all of our moods will lighten. We're hoping that sleeping in his own room will too help the sleep woes we've all dealt with since the late fall. 

Until then, I'm trying to focus on the positives. He knows so many words now, can count from one to six with very little assistance, and loves being helpful. He's also incredibly sweet and loving (when he's not hitting or pushing me away). It's all a part of growing and changing, I know, but showing unconditional love is exhausting (especially when you're physically and mentally exhausted).  

Outfits

The only way we can get Little to put on clothes these days is to open the drawer and ask him to pick his outfit of choice. He likes this routine, pointing to the articles of clothing that he'd like to wear that day. With a rigid pointer finger directing our next moves he says, "this this this," and an outfit is born. A few beauties from the past week:

 

Moving Boxes

Miles loves having moving boxes around the house. He kept himself busy for hours moving them into new piles and then standing and jumping off those piles. Every time he would land, he would do a fake fall and say, "Woah! Slippery! Bump!"

Bedtime: Reading with Miles

Most nights before bed, Miles gets to read several books with one lucky parent (or grandparent). Such a nice, quiet bedtime activity.