There is so much to say about Carmine these days, I hardly know where to start.
He's just a few months away from turning 2, but the terrible twos are upon us already.
He screams, he has tantrums, he throws things, he pushes his brothers around - he's a regular little terror when things aren't going his way.
This is especially true at meal times. His already limited palate has become so limited that I can count on one hand the foods he'll eat - Cheerios, toast with butter, applesauce, yogurt, and raisins. Oh, and mac & cheese and pizza - and there may be two or three other things he'll eat, so I guess I'd need both hands for counting. But honestly, no more than that.
He used to at least eat tons of fruit - strawberries, blueberries, grapes, apples - he loved them all. Now, nothing. And veggies? Ha! Eggs? Nope. Meat? Not a chance.
I'm not worried about him physically - he's still growing and thriving, and seems perfectly healthy. But his antics at the dinner table are a real pain in the butt. He's not throwing food anymore, but he will push his plate away and yell, and just generally make a huge racket while the rest of us are trying to eat.
So why don't we just get him down from the table and let him go play? I wish we could - I'd be all for that - but when we get him down from his seat, he comes over and tries to climb up on either me or Scott's lap, whining and crying the whole time.
So for now, we're just giving him his dinner, he eats what he eats, and we try to put up with his noise while we finish our dinners. It's not a perfect plan, but it's the only one I have right now.
His relationship with Gabe and Dante is a sight to behold. He loves them to pieces, and wants to do every single thing that they do, and will spend hours just chasing after them and attempting to copy their every move. This is both endearing, and frightening, since they often do things that I'd rather he wasn't even witnessing, never mind attempting to do himself.
But for as much as he worships them, if they decide to sit too close to him on the couch, he yells NO! and pushes them away. He does not like it when people invade his personal space!
Except Mickey. Mickey is his constant companion, and is already looking a little bedraggled, as a result. But it's so funny to see him sitting in the shopping cart with Mickey by his side, and taking Mickey's hand and 'waving' by to someone as we leave the store.
He's talking a ton, and tries to repeat everything. Sometimes he gets it right, and other times he just makes something up. He absolutely cannot say cracker, cookie, or donut, though, and anytime he wants one of those things, he just says "deht-dooh." Luckily we're usually able to figure out which thing it is he's talking about - like when we drive by a Dunkin' Donuts, and he starts screaming "deht-dooh, deht-dooh, deht-dooh!!!!!"
Besides his Mickey Mouse obsession (he'll sometimes walk in the house, climb up on the couch, hold the remote out to me, and say 'Mihmey!"), he's also completely obsessed with trucks and cars of all kinds. He loves to see them out on the road, he loves to play with the toy ones we have in the house, and he loves to read books about them. He still can't say truck, though - still sticking with "ah-see" for truck - said with great emphasis on the "see" part.
Unlike both Gabe and Dante, Carmine is not super snuggly. Both of them were very cuddly as babies, and still to this day love to sit right next to us on the couch and get all cozy. Carmine is much happier just sitting near someone, and has even been known to push me and Scott away if he doesn't want us sitting right next to him. He'll snuggle occasionally, but not nearly as much as I'd like, especially considering he's my last baby, and the other boys are getting so much older, their moments of cuddling are going to begin waning, too.
One time when Carmine will gladly cuddle up is when we're reading, and I love when we read books at bedtime. He gets so excited, and loves to point to the pictures in the book and tell you what everything is. He LOVES books, which makes me so happy!
And after we've read books, we have a little routine where I carry him over to the light switch and he turns it off (or sometimes he takes Mickey's hand and Mickey turns it off), then we go to each of the windows in his room and say good night to the trees, the clouds, the stars, the moon, and anything else we happen to see or think of. And then I ask him to say good night to Mommy, and he says "Mommy," and rests his head on my shoulder.
One of the best moments of every day, for sure.
great post....and you made me mushy inside AGAIN !
Posted by: Mom and Dad | October 25, 2011 at 06:06 PM