Wunch at da Pahk and Other News

Today I asked Buster what he wanted to do. He promptly responded, "Wunch at da pahk!" I thought for a second and decided it sounded like fun. Naturally, he wanted to leave right then, but I explained that in order to eat lunch at the park, I had to make lunch.

We live half a block from a small park. We are not too far from Jordan Park. I thought I understood that he wanted to go to Jordan Park. So assuming, I started to load Abel into the car. (It was close enough to naptime that we didn't have time to walk.) Apparently, he really wanted to walk to the park, so I got Abel and the stroller out. We walked to the small park, and he said, "No! Dat pahk!" He was pointing toward Jordan Park. It was getting even closer to naptime to change at that point, so I managed to get him to eat at the small park.

We sat down and got out the lunch. He drank his juice, but he ate only 3 or 4 bites of sandwich before going to play.

When it was time for Abel's nap, I bundled him into the stroller and started to head home. He had been under the impression that we would go to Jordan Park immediately after the small park instead of another time. He cried the whole way home, continuing with the refrain: "No! Dat pahk!"

We got home, and when he finally stopped crying, I tried to give him his pacifier and lovey on my bed so I could put Abel down. He insisted on his bed. I decided to give the same-time nap in the same room another try. Well, they were certainly happy enough. I heard lots of laughter! I went in to tell them they had 10 minutes to go to sleep, and Buster decided to get out of bed. I gave him the choice between napping on my bed or finishing his lunch.

He's eating his squished sandwich at the dining room table.

And all this at a time that I decided the reason Abel is waking up at night is because there is too much flexibility in his routine. Abel cried for a while after he left.

5 minutes later: The sandwich is almost gone, and Abel is quiet after I tucked him in again.

Sometimes getting out of the routine works, like when we went to the zoo last week. Today I wasn't so lucky. Well, I need to enjoy it while I can. Our Green Beast didn't pass inspection, and the quote to fix it was $1,500. Ben thinks he can do some of the work himself for a little cheaper, so we brought it back home. With his campaign and his calling, I doubt he'll have time until November. We also need a new furnace. Ours is a fire hazard and is releasing small amounts of carbon monoxide through the vents. That trumps the car.