uber sass

Dennis didn't seem to want to do anything I wanted to do today. It's kind of depressing, actually, to have all my ideas shot down. I think he was just testing out his authority, though, because the things I suggested were usually things he enjoys. I asked him if he wanted to go to the playground and he said "no, we are staying here at the lake house. We are not going to the playground" and this was shocking to me. He loves the playground. Same thing for the library. I of course didn't take no for an answer and we indeed went to the playground and the library. I had to get him to the playground. It was sunny and nearly 60 degrees today and he's been climbing everything in the house to climb, myself included. It was nice to actually see him climb on a play structure for once. He's even taken to swinging from the assist handles on the ceilings of our vehicles, standing in the seat and grabbing hold and swinging out over the street out of the parked car. It's terrifying. And he's so proud of it! He told me "I not taking a nap today; I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich" and so I fixed one for him and he promptly ate it. But then I told him it was naptime and he said "yes, I'm tired like a baby, I take a nap now" and he went and got in bed peacefully and fell asleep almost immediately. He did the same thing at bedtime tonight. I gave him some choices to make today, hoping that would help him feel that he was getting some control over his day, like what to have for dinner and what to wear, and he picked out some new clothes tonight at Wal-Mart that Gran bought for him (he chose exactly what he wanted). He tells me "no" or "no, I can't" or "no we're not" a lot now and he looks at me with that belligerent look that his Daddy often gives me. My peaceful, easygoing little guy is changing into someone with his own opinions and his own power of assertion. I suppose it was time for it.