On the Field

We had a good but generally low-key weekend. Jacob and I stayed home Friday night while Craig worked. He had an iffy day at daycare (only two stickers, though he did supposedly get four, not one, on Thursday. Craig might have looked at the board wrong), but it wasn't a bad night. Saturday was much the same...close to home, good day. Jacob and I went out for dinner and then headed to the Knighthawks game. Dinner took a lot of convincing, but not only did Jacob sit in the booth with me, but he also ate his entire taco. I think he's finally starting to believe us that he needs to eat his food so he can grow up and be a big hockey guy/lacrosse guy. He still doesn't have the patience to do it well, but he's learning, I think. We headed off to the lacrosse game and he was extra excited because I told him that if he had a good day and slept well (both the night before and that day's nap), we could stay after the game for when they open up the field for autographs. He's wanted to go on the field all season, but it's always SO late. But I figured we'd sacrifice one Sunday for one great experience for him. He managed to stay awake the whole game and patiently waited for the field to open and the crowd to clear out a bit. And once he hit that field, he didn't stop. I tried to snap some pictures but so many of them were blurry! I did manage to get a decent group, though. I wanted to include one more faceoff picture, but for some reason Blogger kept rotating it wrong. Odd. Maybe another day and another computer. But here's what I got...

And even though you don't see his great scooping abilities here--the ball we brought was too light and it kept popping back out of his stick, so by this point he'd given up--you'll get an idea of what he was like. And he did this for at least 20 minutes, maybe longer, nearly non-stop.

We had to leave the field kicking and screaming, but it was well after 10:30 and bed was calling. He told me in the car that he "had a lot of fun" and he's been talking about it ever since. He didn't even fall asleep on the way home. Late night, but he was so happy that it was worth it.

Sunday was pretty much a lost cause. Church was difficult as usual. The one out-of-the-ordinary moment was when we went up to communion. Jacob's walked up with us plenty of times, but only this week did he get up there and want some. He held out his hand, which elicited snickers from the people around us. Of course, I'm sure the snickers stopped when he started saying that he wanted some and then started screaming a bit. I scooped him up quickly and explained that he couldn't have it until he was a big boy. I'm still stumped about church. Do we stick it out until he's old enough for Sunday school this summer (I think), and then just send him there while we're at church? Do we give up now and send him to the nursery to save our sanity and spiritual experience? I worry about him thinking church is just about playing, or getting out of the habit of being expected to sit quietly. Not that he does ever sit quietly, but he knows he's supposed to. I need him to sit quietly sometimes no matter what (my parents' church, holiday weeks without Sunday school, etc.), so it's scary to let him get out of that habit. It's so hard.

After an early nap and despite some not-great moments, Sunday did improve a bit. Bedtime was still tough and dinner out was on the edge, but he did enjoy eating a ridiculous number of peanuts at Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Thank God that kid isn't allergic--for so many reasons--but he seriously loves peanuts and peanut butter so much. The protein's good for him, so I'm letting him have PB&J quite a bit when dinner's sort of informal. Throw in some healthy sides and anything's workable.

He had a good day today (four stickers), a good evening (Craig's annual Tip-a-Knighthawk event was tonight--Jacob ate TWO pieces of pizza and enjoyed the Eagle again), and a pleasant night (successful potty time, fun bath, and easy bedtime). I still don't know the key to his behavior, but I still think sleep is important, keeping him busy is essential, and trying to praise him for good big-boy behavior never hurts. He can be so great sometimes, so when things go well, it's a nice validation that we're doing something right. Stupid terrible twos. But with that, I'm all wiped out. Night :)