Eirik at 2 years 8 m.

It’s been a long time since I wrote an update about my boys.

I have a bunch of notes here to share of funny things Eirik has said in the past few months.

The biggest news is that Eirik is potty trained. He did it basically by himself without much premeditation on my part. I just said, “let’s try it today and we did.” The first day he had 4 accidents and didn’t make it to the toilet once. The second day he had three accidents and more successful potty trips and the third day he didn’t have any accidents and didn’t want to wear a diaper to bed. (That’s where we are right now.) I guess I’m premature to say he is potty trained, but I think he’s pretty confident now and won’t go back to diapers now. That’s exciting! Yeah!

Eirik was playing legos and singing the transformers song as he worked. Suddenly he said to me, “Mom, have you ever heard of eating eyes?” He was singing to himself, “more than EATS the eye.” He was so confused.

“Ha ha, I forgot the pixie dust!”

Eirik got to spend a day with his friend Preston last week and when he got home he pretended that I was Janese and he was Preston all day long. He loves to play pretend and I am always some character in these complicated role playing games he creates. Well, he didn’t forget all day long. If I called him Eirik he said, “no mom, I’m Preston.”

Then he asked me to put my hair in a ponytail like Janese and when I said that my hair was too short he cried and said, “I don’t like short hair!”

The next day he told me that my face looked old. Hmmm…

Then he asked me what that nipple thing on my face was. Hmmm, that must be a zit. Nice.

The Rose Gardens in Oregon

Holding his whip threateningly, “It’s not fair and it’s not funny” “What’s not fair Eirik?”

“My cows are not funny Wendy!” (not out of context.) You figure it out.

One day he told me that his penis’s name was Maid Marrian. Another day it was Wendy.

He’s on a new super hero kick. I guess this happens to all boys. I was again, naïve mother, caught off guard about how boyish boys are. He said one day, “I become a superhero and rescue people.” And from then on it has been the new life theme. Actually it’s just a continuation of the “sir knight” theme except that now he can fly and shoot lasers from his eyes.

One day we went to the park. The slides were wet and Eirik said, “I have an idea. I will say here by myself while you go home to get a rag to dry off the slide. I stay here and relax and pretend about daddy, you go.”

“Maid Mariane (me) I just picked a flower for you, but it just died.”

“I have to go to work at the hostibal.”

“Don’t worry mom, Daddy is a good sheriff now and he will take care of you when I am gone and show you pictures of me.”

I offered Eirik a Carmel Ghiradelli brownie. (the very best kind) and he said, “no thanks mom. I don’t like that kind. I think it has snails in it.”

Eirik and I painted a prayer rock for him to put on his pillow in the morning and at the side of his bed at night. One day he came running in to my room in the morning and said, “I just woke up and bumped my toe on my prayer rock and said, “ha ha, I forgot to say my prayers.” So I said a prayer mommy!” I love it.

At the end of one of Eirik’s time out one day, he had just stopped crying when I came in to get him out and he said to me, “mommy I just said a prayer and said to Heavenly Father, “I’m so sorry for making such a big mistake. Will you forgive me?” He learned that in nursery. What good leaders he has.

When I was painting in Missouri I took Eirik to see what I had painted in the under the sea room and when he walked in he said, “Oh mom, It’s beautiful!” It totally made it all worth it. I love that he, as a 2 year old can appreciate my art. How fulfilling! At the end of our long trip I said, “Eirik, what was your favorite part of the trip?” He said, “the sea turtle and the whale from your paintings!” Wow. That’s too sweet!

After our long vacation we saw Benjamin for the first time. He came over to play and had been here for about ½ hour. Eirik suddenly said, “Benjamin I need a big hug.” Ben was a little tentative but then gave in and they had a big hug. Eirik ran to me and said, “I told Benjamin that I needed a big hug and he gave me one!” Good friends.

Eirik loves his brother and is so good about being quiet when he is sleeping and leaving him alone when he is nursing. He is so nice to him. One day he wanted to sleep next to Joren so I let him sleep in the crib. It was so cute to see them next to each other snuggling. I moved him after a few hours so they wouldn’t suffocate each other, but I loved to see their sweet sleeping faces next to each other.

I’ve told Eirik that we don’t say “Oh my gosh” because it just doesn’t sound right coming out of a 2 year old mouth to me. He still says it a lot and one day he said, “can I say Oh my gosh, because I think it’s a fun word.” Then of course he said it over and over and over again laughing. He also started saying hate.

He’s also been extra SPIRITED lately. That means that he doesn’t want that sandwich because it has a different shaped top piece of bread or that that sucker is green not blue, or I wanted to do it myself, or he will only use his favorite blue fork or only a certain kind of sippy cup. If you move something and he can’t find it or he can’t reach something or he can’t get something out or get’s even a little bit frustrated he has a total meltdown. So sensitive! Meltdowns all day long. I know it’s just 2 year old behavior and I have been blessed lately to be aware of how fleeting this time is. What a privilege it is to get woken up every morning at 5:30 AM and be demanded all day long to do things by a little squirt like this. Oh how I love him.