Some days in order to get him to put his shoes on it helps to call his shoes "W shoes." Anything BMW related, and he's in.
Jamaal has been driving a new-to-him Jetta. He bought it from his other work because he loves white old body style Jetta's, and he needed a car to drive while his Audi is in the shop. But we have had a BMW from his work (and therefore it is a "dealer" car) in our driveway for quite some time now. Riley is obsessed with it, of course. In order for him to be okay with us not driving it, I had to tell him it was broken. So everyday, he says, "Daddy fix-it W." Sometimes this is a question, ("Will daddy fix the BMW today?") and other times it is a command/request ("Please fix the BMW, Daddy!"). Jamaal has not been able to drive it, because he hasn't had a license plate to put on it. So it isn't exactly broken, but missing an important part. Well, on Thursday, Jamaal got a plate from his work. When he went to work, and Riley dragged me out on the porch to watch him leave, (as is our routine) daddy left in the W. Shock. Anger. And very likely some jealousy overwhelmed my poor boy. He was very hurt that his daddy would take his W, without him. He watched him leave, but once I set him back down in the house, he was throwing toys, kicking off his shoes. He was very, very upset. He started saying "'Mere Daddy, Volkswagen." (Meaning: "Come here Daddy, and take your Volkswagen") Then he started saying: "See it W." Followed by some fake, very pathetic tear-less crying. He wanted so badly to go for a ride in the W. It was unfair that his daddy got to ride in it and he did not. I felt badly for the kid, but it was pretty comical the way he reacted. I told Jamaal how upset he had made his son, and his response was that Riley could ride in it the following day. But, I explained, Riley didn't understand that. Besides, he didn't see it coming. (And I didn't either.) Sometimes a little preparation goes a long way for a toddler. :)
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He loves to help me bake. And honestly he is pretty good at helping me. So far he has helped me make banana bread, cookies, pancakes, frosting, and cinnamon rolls. He's helped with frosting a couple times. He likes that the most because he gets to taste more. He's had a couple bites of cookie dough (who can resist anyway?) but I only let him have a little bit. He is getting better and better at bringing a full cup of flour or sugar to the bowl and dumping without making a mess. He has had a couple problems, but it isn't too bad. I have spilled as much as he has before.
One night when we were making the cinnamon rolls, we had to stop to let the dough rise. That meant we would not be able to eat any finished product. (And it was getting late so I decided to finish the rolls the next day. Well Riley didn't understand this. So, we pulled out the cookie dough balls from the freezer and put some on a cookie sheet. He is a typical toddler and likes things in a certain order. He lined them up on the cookie sheet.
So mommy said, "Riley, we need to put them about 1-2 inches apart. Like this." And I showed him what I meant, by spreading them out. He immediately began helping me, forming a line of dough balls along the top of the sheet instead.
I was cracking up laughing. And had to capture a picture of it. He did it quite a few times, with me trying to show him what I meant, and him lining them up instead. Eventually I had to literally hold him back so that I could cook the cookies. He was upset, and crying out "No! No!" but once they were in the oven I had him look through the oven window and watch them bake. He eventually got over it. Oh the joys of toddler-hood. :)
And here is my minion helping with the frosting, as we waited for the cinnamon rolls to rise. He moves so much, I can never capture him. But you get the idea, frosting is yummy!
