Sometimes you just have to wait

A 14 month old toddler can mean many things but one remains universal: mess! Alex loves to play and have fun and you know perfectly well when he has been in a room because it looks as if a tornado just passed by leaving everything on the floor in pure randomness - especially now that he's pretty much running!

I have come to accept this, and clean up after he gets some quiet time on his play pen. Like I said, I usually don't have a problem with this. However, he's developed a certain fascination/habit with taking all of the books down and throwing them on the floor - yes literally throwing them on the floor I think he likes the noise it makes. You know how I feel about books, and these are my books, so I'm especially protective of them and after one got almost torn I said to myself that I was going to endure the endless task of teaching him to not touch the books. Yesterday, I was particularly tired after a not so great night of sleep, so my usual determined self was only partially present. After telling him no several times and having some meltdowns I gave up and said fine! Play with the books. After an acceptance of defeat, I started noticing something that absolutely melted my heart. He had taken most of the books down and done his usual routine when I noticed he was picking them one by one and trying to organize them back on the bookshelf. I almost started crying over this tender moment, and noticed that had I continued on my determined mission I would have never seen this. It dawned on me that the many many times I have sang to him the "clean-up" song while trying to teach him to put stuff away was actually something he remembered and was trying to emulate. I just grabbed him and gave him a strong hug while kissing him on the cheek just grateful for him, and who he is. Obviously he wasn't able to put the books the way they were but this is the result of his attempt:

 

I realized one simple truth: sometimes you just have to wait. Good things in life take time much like a planted garden. I have decided that I will wait on him more, and try push things on my own time table less, much less - which is ironic because he just decided to change his nap time and I'm dreading every minute of it! He's learning, he observes, he changes and just when I was having a more difficult day he comes around and teaches me, yes once more, because sometimes you just have to wait.

Some extra pics from last Easter Sunday, he hates the grass but for some egg hunting he made an exception hehe I couldn't get over how cute he looked on his new outfit and big boy shoes!