Guess What?

It's been a rough couple of days, as every vacation re-entry is with a nearly three year old, not to mention the nasty cough and cold mama seems to have picked up along the way. So it took all my energy today to tear him away from Dora "the Splorah" and dressed this morning so we could make the trek to a local baby supply store for some potty training supplies.

(Yes, we've decided this is the weekend. Maybe I'm delirious from all the mucus in my head and chest or it really is a good idea since the hubby will be home for three straight days meaning reinforcements. Either way, we're going cold turkey Friday and aim to have a potty trained peanut by this time next week.)

So of course this was the day for the very public tantrum about riding in the cart. Oh, the screaming and the pleading from peanut and the trying to be patient mommy repeating over and over despite the stares from passersby: "Please sit down in the cart. Please sit down in the cart. Please sit down in the cart." After finally winning that battle, he spent the rest of the trip in the store crying that he wanted to go home.

Long story short, it was a rough morning. To ease my cold symptoms, I fixed up some tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch. Peanut was having a grand old time imitating how I was dipping my sandwich or blowing the soup cool. It was a pleasant and lovely lunch and gave me hope for the rest of the day. So I leaned in close and said, "Guess what?"

This is a little game peanut and I play. For a long time, I'd say "Guess what? I love you." And peanut would repeat "I wuv you." As he's pushing his independence lately, he'll often run away or tell me not to say it if I start with "guess what?" Today though, he quickly responded before I could finish my game with:

"I love you."

Then he kept whispering to me, "Guess what? I love you. Guess what? I love you. Guess what? I love you."

It's the bright moments like that in a cloudy mothering day that make it all worthwhile, isn't it?