Level Unlocked: Gamer At Age 2

One of my favorite stories about one of my "nephews" is the one where his parents had to take away his handheld gaming device.

Why?

Well, after the little guy (who is now taller than me) was having problems with staying awake in school, even with an earlier bedtime, they walked into his room to find him playing video games.  He'd hidden it away so that after everyone had gone to bed he could fire up his game and play until he couldn't any longer.

I remember doing that as a teenager.  He wasn't that old, so he gets points for starting young.

The husband and I talk about that and have often commented on how we'd have to be careful once James was older.  Make sure that we had accounted for all gaming systems, flashlights, and set a firm bed time.

I mean, our son is 2.  We have a few years.

Right?

Ha. HA I tell you!

At the beginning of this month we picked up Diablo III for the 360 and have been playing at night once James is in bed.  It's our time to talk and unwind, and we get about 2 hours a night together this way.

Yesterday, James spent time with his great grandparents, and so by 9 was dragging himself along.  We tucked him in, shut off the light, and closed the door.

At about 10:30, our game was paused because someone thought he'd heard a noise from his room.  We listened, but there was nothing, and I told my husband he was nuts.

20 minutes later we both heard something.  Something that sounded like an episode of Super Why.

From past experience, going in to disturb James in his sleep does not end well for anyone.  So we finished our level and logged out. 

The time was now 11:05pm.  Two full hours since we'd said good night.

I opened the door to his room and there he was, in bed, with the blankets still tucked around him, eyes half open, and barely focusing on me.

With his Leap Pad in front of him.

He'd apparently been watching Super Why and after it ended was playing with his digital pet, giving it a bath and treats.

Yes, he has figured out the apps on that thing.  And apparently he functions well in the dark.

Damn his night vision.

So, that great plan for the future?  It starts tonight.

Oh, and someone had better take a nap this afternoon.  His body may have wanted more sleep, but his stomach still had him out of bed because he was ready for breakfast.  It's either a nap or one nasty evening with a 2 year old.....

The One Where He Makes A Confession

"I think I kinda hate kids."

"Excuse me?"

"At first I thought it was little British kids with those accents in movies that made me cringe.  But after watching these kids on this cooking thing I realize that it's all of them.  They just seem too full of themselves at such an early age."

"......"

"I'm sure it will be different with James."

"Well, he'll be more like us, so I hope so."

"Yeah, we should be fine."


Mental note: I need to teach James a fake British accent.  Just for kicks.

The One Where James Talks

After 3+ years here, we've made friends.

Non-family, real, actual, friends.

Which meant going out to a casual diner and enjoying dinner and drinks on a Friday night.

With James.

Now, we are the only ones with children that are human and not of the four legged variety.  At first we wondered how this would work, and after much discussion about how this was fine, we enjoyed a night out.

James was the perfect child, coloring and playing and munching on his snacks.  We ordered him a chocolate milk, and that was the greatest thing in the world apparently.

Seriously.  Over 2 hours of talking and laughing and him playing at the table.

Wow.

So, time to say goodbyes came.  We were outside the restaurant, and took James to do the rounds and give hugs and kisses.  He was a ham and snuggled up to everyone, smiling at them all.

They'd parked at one end of the restaurant, and we were headed the opposite way.  As we started walking we did the yelling of "bye" across the parking lot.

And that is when he did it.

He let go of daddy, turned back, lifted one hand, waved, and yelled, "BYE!"

They all laughed and said it back while he smiled.

It's been 3 days and we can't get him to do it again for us.  But can we say overjoyed by one simple word?

Cause, yeah.  We kinda are.

The One Where I Think We're Doing It Wrong

The next big step for James will be potty training.

While I am going to be happy to be rid of diapers, I am wary because there are a couple of crucial things I think he needs to be able to do in order to have success:

Pulling down his pants.

Telling us he needs to go.

Currently, if I say I have to pee, he runs ahead of me to the bathroom.  He lifts the lid off the toilet and then waits.

If I sit too long, he will either motion at the roll of toilet paper or just help himself to some.  I have to be quick in either scenario because if I don't get it myself he will attempt to clean my tummy for me and then try to get the toilet paper into the toilet I am still sitting on.

As soon as I no longer have contact with the seat he is flushing, checking to see it all went down, and then closing the lid and waiting for the appropriate exclamation about what a great helper he is.

See, he has the steps down.  I don't think he know what I am actually doing at all, but he know what needs to happen after.

He still is not talking.

And I'm afraid to show him how to undress because that could lead to more messes.

Why does he have to grow up?