Perrin has been doing surprisingly well with potty training lately. He wore underwear all day long yesterday (even to church in the morning) with no accidents. Yippie! We taught him how to pull down his pants and underwear for himself so he doesn't need help every step of the way. He likes that part. Good news: he can go potty on his own without even telling me he needs to go. Bad news: He can get his clothes off, but he can't get them back on. And he happens to love running around naked.
The other day, his cousin Brandon was over playing at our house. The boys disappeared for a few minutes, and when they came back, Perrin had taken off all his clothes and was dragging his potty chair into the living room floor. With Brandon watching, Perrin sat down, pottied, and clapped for himself. I took him to the bathroom and reminded him that we need to keep our clothes ON in front of other people. But I also praised him for going in the potty. Maybe the mix of praise and correction was confusing for him. Whatever the case, he still seems to think it's perfectly acceptable to take off his clothes whenever and wherever he feels like it.
We've had a couple more "incidences" since then. Yesterday at my parents house, Perrin climbed into the bed of my dad's truck and for some reason decided to take off his pants and underwear. I ran over and got him dressed, but by then he'd already given the neighborhood a show.
Today I needed to get some dishes done, so I let Perrin go out into the backyard to play. He likes playing out there by himself (I guess it makes him feel grown up) and I can easily keep an eye on him from the kitchen window. I noticed him playing in the sand box, and then groaned when I remembered that it was filled with rain water. I knew Perrin would be filthy. I watched him for a few minutes and thought, "Hmm. It kind of looks like he took his shirt off." I squinted, trying to see if he really had taken his shirt off or if it was just difficult for me to see a light yellow shirt from that distance. Sure enough, I decided he had definitely taken his shirt off. Then he stood up. He was 100% naked, and dripping with sand and dirty water.
I rushed outside, carried his squirmy body into the house and deposited him in the bath tub, despite his protests to the tune of "Perrin swim in sand box!! Perrin swim in sand box!!"
Whew. I'm not sure what to do with this kid. I can just see him stripping the next time we're grocery shopping. Anyone know how to instill a sense of modesty in a two-year-old exhibitionist?
Monday, August 20, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
poop+mud+mess=sanctification
It's barely after noon, and so far today Perrin has pooped in his underwear, dumped dish detergent all over the kitchen floor, broken a lamp, and walked across the couch with muddy shoes. I can't finish cleaning up one mess before he gets into something else. I'm exhausted and frustrated. And I have to be honest--the broken lamp was the last straw for me, and I did NOT react well. After yelling at Perrin (something I swore I would never do as a parent), I locked him in his room so I could clean up the shards of porcelain. He seemed pretty oblivious to my anger--I could hear him playing with his toys, completely unaware that his mother was entertaining visions of packing him off to live with the grandparents for the next five years.
As I swept and threw away my beautiful lamp (which happened to be a wedding present), I had to remind myself that stuff is just stuff and that the way I raise Perrin will last forever. Since he was playing happily in his bedroom, I took a few minutes to stretch out on the couch and read a few passages from Psalms. Then I went to check on Perrin (good thing, too, because he was about to smear play-dough all over his face). I gave him a hug and apologized for yelling at him. I know he wasn't trying to be bad today. He's just a normal two-year-old.
I love what Psalm 127:3-4 says about kids: "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth."
I know Perrin is a gift. He's a gift in the sense that he brings me so much joy and fills me with love. But he's a gift in a less obvious way, too--he forces me to become a less selfish, more humble, more patient and loving version of myself. And that's not always fun, to be honest. And like today, I don't always pass the test. Instead I get a glimpse into my human nature that reminds me how desperately I need God to help me live up to the incredible privilege of being a mom.
When I feel like a failure, I have to remind myself that God not only uses times like these to show me my weaknesses and my need for His grace in my life, but He can also use them for good in Perrin's life. Perrin will learn a lot more from a mother who messes up but admits to those faults and seeks forgiveness than from a mother who acts perfectly all the time.
Even so, it's tough. Raising kids is tough. Sanctification is tough. Typing out this blog and admitting to myself how far short I fall is tough. But it's worth it.
As I swept and threw away my beautiful lamp (which happened to be a wedding present), I had to remind myself that stuff is just stuff and that the way I raise Perrin will last forever. Since he was playing happily in his bedroom, I took a few minutes to stretch out on the couch and read a few passages from Psalms. Then I went to check on Perrin (good thing, too, because he was about to smear play-dough all over his face). I gave him a hug and apologized for yelling at him. I know he wasn't trying to be bad today. He's just a normal two-year-old.
I love what Psalm 127:3-4 says about kids: "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth."
I know Perrin is a gift. He's a gift in the sense that he brings me so much joy and fills me with love. But he's a gift in a less obvious way, too--he forces me to become a less selfish, more humble, more patient and loving version of myself. And that's not always fun, to be honest. And like today, I don't always pass the test. Instead I get a glimpse into my human nature that reminds me how desperately I need God to help me live up to the incredible privilege of being a mom.
When I feel like a failure, I have to remind myself that God not only uses times like these to show me my weaknesses and my need for His grace in my life, but He can also use them for good in Perrin's life. Perrin will learn a lot more from a mother who messes up but admits to those faults and seeks forgiveness than from a mother who acts perfectly all the time.
Even so, it's tough. Raising kids is tough. Sanctification is tough. Typing out this blog and admitting to myself how far short I fall is tough. But it's worth it.
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