Thursday, February 24, 2011

Highs and lows...life with a preschooler

Let's face it...life with a preschooler is both extremely fun and extremely frustrating! And, sometimes all in the same moment. On one hand, I LOVE this age! Pea is so full of energy, imagination, curiousity, and he is hilarious! On the other hand, he can also drive me CRAZY!

The fun side:

  • Pea talks NONSTOP (okay, this could arguably be on the not-so-fun side, too!). He loves to tell stories and they are full of all kinds of adventures involving baracudas, sharks, whales, anglerfish, snakes, monsters, and the occasional fire truck and police car.
  • Pea also tells stories involving his imaginary friends. You may remember he had an imaginary friend he referred to as his brother. Well, since carrot came home, his imaginary friend is now his sister. Hmmm...most recently another friend has joined his club: Me-me. I have no idea where Me-me came from, but Me-me sometimes sits at our table and sleeps with pea, but Me-me does not live with us. Like Pea's sister, Me-me seems to be a world traveler! Somedays he lives down the street from us, somedays he lives on a boat, and some days he even lives on another planet as an alien! Me-me and sister seem to find a way into almost every story. It really is fun listening to the tales pea weaves and hearing where his imagination takes him.
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    Pea decided to dump all the laundry and jump into it.
    
  • As you may have guessed, pea is just a little obsessed with sea creatures...specifically barracudas, sharks, anglerfish, and whales. He would much rather watch National Geographical and NGWild than any other TV show. And, he would much rather look at "real" books about sea life than storybooks. At the library, he immediately runs to the science section to find books about various animals. He can name and identify several different whales, sharks, fish, and more. And, he requested a barracuda cake for his birthday. Yikes. I swear this kid is WAY smarter than me. It is a little scary!
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  • I love that pea can create fun in almost any situation. This week, our living room became the beach and he was running around in his bathing suit, all while it snowed like crazy outside! Hangers become swords, laser beams, and guns (ugh).




But, alas, there are also times that his little preschooler ways drive me NUTS!
  • Pea can flip his attitude like a switch and he is so mouthy! He is definitely testing the boundaries right now. He says the craziest things when he is mad. "I want to kick all the people out of this house." "I don't want to look at you, mommy." "You are making me ANGRY, mommy." "You can't come to my (or his sister's or Me-me's) birthday party." Admittedly, sometimes it is hard not to laugh.
  • Pea is a very HIGH energy little boy (which I love), but he also gets into EVERYTHING. He always has. It drives me crazy when I have to tell him 5 times to put something down, don't touch that, etc, etc.

  • Pea talks NONSTOP. And he is LOUD. Even his whispering is loud. I swear he doesn't take a breath when he is talking. Forget trying to talk on the phone or watch a TV show with him around.

Well, I am sure you noticed that the fun list is definitely bigger than the not-so-fun list! In spite of all of the things that turn me into crazy mama, pea is such a fun, loving, smart, and easy going little boy and I love everything about him!! Every stage is definitely a new adventure.

3 comments:

  1. I love the imaginary friends and family!! I had one. My mom shut her in the door, stepped on her, she was downright abusive:) But, she did eat with us alot!! My Mom used to make her a plate.
    I am so glad I am not the only one whose son talks all.the.time!!!!!! And, who gets angry and says things. Sorry you won't be making their parties though.

    These ages are tough some days. I try to get through them with, "I'll miss this one day!!!"

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  2. OMG! I've seen and heard the non-stop talking phase as well as the seas creatures stage. Very challenging! All good in that he's curious and interested.

    Theo does not quite talk yet but he babbles a lot and I see the possibility of non-stop chatiness as a distinct possibility!

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  3. Hi Stephanie - I quietly stop by every once in awhile. It has been awhile, so congrats on 'Carrot' - he seems wonderful! But - I had to comment on this post. Our Guatemalan Prince (aka - Nick) will be 4 in April. Everything you said about the pros and cons seem to echo my thoughts exactly. Our guy also says the funniest things when he gets mad. He has the highest energy level of all the boys in both of our families and all our friends kids. He runs through the house and just grabs our stuff off the counters and keeps going. It's like -- what are you doing? I'm always thinking -- how can you love someone so much and also say that he drives you crazy. So, I love your post. It makes me feel that someone else understands!! Thanks! (Also, we see that exact same 'mad face'. I think they could pass as brothers!)

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