He does things none of my other children have even dreamed of doing...or, if they did dream of doing them, they quite prudently decided not to push their luck. All of my children, for example, played in the toilet once. But only once, and then never again. Ditto with drawing on walls--they did it once, maybe twice, and then never again.
Not so with my fourth.
Hebs is interested in the bathroom--we've lost more full rolls of toilet paper to the sink or toilet than I can count. He is excessively fascinated with the toilet itself--or perhaps it is just water that is fascinating? I don't know--and yesterday, he spent a happy few minutes, until discovery, dipping a washcloth in and out of the toilet bowl.
Today's little adventure occurred when I was downstairs taking care of the baby. When I came upstairs less than 20 minutes after leaving, I found some creative artwork. On the formica countertops. In black, permanent Sharpie.
It's a darn good thing Hebs was downstairs at the moment of discovery, because there would have been yelling. And I'm trying to cut back on that.
Amazingly--and here's a pro tip for you, free of charge--five minutes of scrubbing with 409 and a Magic Eraser removed the scribbles without a trace. Keep in mind, the marker was less than twenty minutes old, but still. Astounding.
(Magic Erasers. Is there anything they can't do?)
However. Hebs is such a sunshiney little boy, with such love and enthusiasm, one can't help just adoring him and loving him to pieces. His hugs are breathtaking, his smiles are infectious, and his love knows no bounds. I'm grateful that he's in my home, even if that home is a little more ragged in his presence.
(For most of my friends, their exuberant, mischievous child is the third. Mine is the fourth, probably because my Gee is a cautious soul.)
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Survival of the Cutest is the motto my sister mutters under her breath as yogurt is lovingly being painted on the walls and such.
ReplyDeleteAs far as sharpies go do you remember the little trick we learned at the library? Dry erase marker over a sharpie on a smooth surface will bring it right up!.
how do you get your other kids to do things just once (toliet fascination, etc)?
ReplyDeleteWell, Amy, for a long time I thought it was just my superior parenting abilities. I just told them "NONONONONO! We don't play in the toilet! That's nasty!" and it worked. Clearly, I was super mom.
ReplyDeleteThen Hebs came along, and I realized that it had nothing to do with me. It just seems that the other kids were slightly more...tractable? hygienic? obedient? in those particular areas. Sigh.
And that night, he emptied a tube of toothpaste into the downstairs sink. Today it was syrup all over the (thankfully wooden) dining room floor.
And, Luann, I completely forgot that tip about the dry-erase markers! Thanks for reminding me, I will use it in the future!