babysitter

okay, so we've had some experience leaving lil mo with friends and family and church nurseries.  but this weekend was our first time hiring a babysitter to watch him for 7 hours while we went to a wedding (1.5 hours away!).  she got him up from his nap, fed him a snack and then dinner, played with him, bathed him, and put him to bed in the evening!  and he apparently loved it and even snuggled with her a bit after his nap!  he went to sleep at night with no problem, and just had an overall pleasant time with this new person.

we were only a tiny bit sad that he wasn't devastated that we weren't there with him.  mostly, we felt proud and happy that Momo is a well-adjusted, delightful little toddler.  i guess all the work and time in random church nurseries has paid off.  also, if i get a full-time job sometime soon (fingers crossed), we know that Mo will be fine in daycare or with a nanny.

another new thing that happened this week is that he obeyed when i told him he shouldn't be in the kitchen.  for the past 4 months or so, i've been trying to teach him that he can't play in our [small] kitchen (which is apparently a heart-crushing lesson, by the way he reacts).  i figure it's super dangerous if he's under my feet when there are hot and sharp items that can fall on him, and there really isn't a good enough reason to crawl into the fridge or the dishwasher anyway.  so i wanted to teach him early that the kitchen isn't a place to play.  i remove him from the area every time, tell him no, and put him down away from the kitchen without affection or reward or real reaction really.  over and over.  and over.  and over.  and over!  it's always during dinner prep time, when he's most clingy and most hungry, and coincidentally, when i'm most occupied.  but yesterday, i removed him from the area twice.  when he came by the third time, i told him no, he can't play in here, and [without my physical intervention] he made a face, but crawled back into the living room and started playing on his own!  what?? a miracle!  it may never happen again for years, but i am really excited that it even happened this one time.

lovelove,
me