I am not at all a fan of hot weather- despite my preference for tanned skin and that lovely after sun glow (slight burn) on the face after being out in the heat- so when a 20 minute cool front swept through the City today with the much needed, much appreciated thunderstorm, I opened my doors and said, "Bring it on divine higher power, whatever you may be!"
The rain was especially welcome because it bought me 20 minutes of something for Jude to do that didn't involve him running crazy through the house destroying everything in his path, tormenting my poor cats or pestering his baby sister who just wants to chill and sleep in her swing without his ever present busy body threatening to shake her in her seat until her bow falls off her head.
I feel for the little guy though. I have moments where I want to run crazy through my house and destroy things too, but he can get away with doing it, where I can not reasonably do so. This heat'll make you bananas.
This reign of terror is what he has resorted back to doing while we hole up in here, hiding from the Armageddon sun outside. There is only so much you can do inside to keep someone with such a short attention span entertained- pillow forts, finger painting, cooking, play dough, stickers, reading, flash cards, car races, car crashes, chasing the cats, chasing the dog, letting the dog chase you. I only allow him so much TV time a day, and save that time for when I really need him to completely zone out and not pay attention to me. At all. Literally at all. I don't know if all 2 year olds are like mine, but Jude gets eerily sucked into the TV when his show is on (Little Einsteins). It's both a relief and disturbing.
Unlike when it was just Jude and I, and I had the freedom to tote him around looking for fun activities to keep us entertained, having a toddler and a newborn baby is irritatingly limiting- particularly when it's 110 degrees outside and you're terrified that your babies are going to get heat stroke. After noonish these days, me and my little tribe hide out in the AC, often looking glumly at the pool in the backyard that is now as warm as bathwater after so many days of belligerent heat.
Rain makes for fantastic toddler energy releasing time! We've been letting him do this since he learned to walk and he LOVES it. Happiness is being 2 and running around your backyard in your underwear, screaming and dancing and spinning circles in a thunderstorm. I hope he always remembers me encouraging him to do this, even when he gets older... especially when he gets older.
He's braver than "big puppy," our German Shepard Gretchen whom he kept shouting to come "Wun in the wain!" She stayed back under the porch with the baby and looked at him like he was nuts.
Let it rain! Earth is THIRSTY around these parts!
Like in the dead of winter, we must get creative to keep Jude occupied in the house. Lately he has taken an interest in the breast pump. I guess because you can turn it on and it makes noise. I don't know. He's all over it when I'm trying to use it, just like he is all over me a lot of the time when I am trying to nurse the baby (nursing a baby with a toddler trying to crawl into your lap to push the baby away, whining, "No baby eat mommy's boobies!" makes for a fine time, let me tell you).
Normally I shoo him away from farting around with it, but I'm at my wits end by 5 o'clock most days now and if he isn't breaking anything or making a mess, I'm a little more lenient.
"Will you be quiet if I let you play with this? Ok- knock yourself out."
SO, here is Jude having free reign with the breast pump, which he gets a huge kick out of.
He laughs like a loon when he puts it on his tummy. And his head. And the dog's head.
These are going in my file of embarrassing pictures to show future girlfriends as punishment for future things that might get him grounded.
