Some Days Are Better Than Others

Now that Odd Toddler is a little older and much more fun than he was during the newborn-as-blob stage, and now that he is old enough to walk, thus saving my aching back, he goes everywhere with me. We always go to town early on Thursday mornings to pick up work, and then we go to the bank on the way home where he looks forward to his weekly lollipop. Today was especially fun and interesting for him because we actually went inside the bank where he could flirt individually with each of the bank tellers.

On the way home, instead of quietly sucking his lollipop like he usually does, he started to fuss quite agitatedly. I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw his lollipop stuck tight to his hair. He was trying to push it out and was only succeeding in twisting it in tighter. I managed to get the sucker out without cutting his hair, and then he proceeded to finish the lollipop after I wiped it clean.

Lately, Odd Toddler has been working on his doggy imitation. 'Dog' was one of his first words, and there are few things he likes better than hanging outside with Rosco, our most annoying dog. Odd Toddler has perfected panting with his tongue hanging out, and he is getting better at standing on all fours and laying down side-by-side with the dogs. A week or so ago, while I was feeding the dogs, I looked over and Odd Toddler was down on all fours with his face in the dog bowl, eating the dog food like he'd seen them do. When I shrieked and headed for him, he sat up and shoveled handfuls of the dog food into his mouth before I could get there. This has turned into a daily battle now, and rarely does a day go by without Odd Toddler having dog food breath.

I try to serve gourmet dinners, but it doesn't matter. Dog food is apparently where its at.