herschel runner(a pun for those in the know)

blame it on my advanced maternal age or his placement in our child lineup, but i have met my match in herschel. which is really saying something since i am also the mother of reagan and blythe. scarlett was a handful in her own way but as she grew older i realized it was her gift of wit that took me aback and she tended to out analyze her peer group. she was observant and had opinions. still true today. reagan had his own set of toddler tantrums and blythe is a piece of work but i still felt young enough to have some parental resilience. the coffers are empty for herschel. his anarchist-i-don't-care-about-anything-you're-trying-to-implement-attitude has done me in. i've even perfected a carry on the shoulder with his arm pinned against my head to reduce punching my face child removal maneuver.

places i don't like taking herschel:

target. we visit this paw patrol sea patroller each time we wander too close to toys. i got a great pre-black friday price on it so that is his big gift this year.

costco:

because herschel doesn't believe that he has to ride in a cart anymore and there is a certain level of force you cannot use on toddlers in public. we visit this race car. someone had left it on the floor of the store and hersch climbed right in. as soon as i coaxed him out(physically removed) a costco employee lifted the car back onto the display. herschel is not getting this car for christmas.

sleeping struggles:

hersch won't take naps in his bed anymore. he' still in his crib until a worthy replacement can be procured. if i'm lucky, he will fall asleep in the car and i can move him to the couch in the living room. the couch is an acceptable nap spot for him. 

 if i'm really lucky, i can make his picnic lunch and turn on cars and he will be asleep within 30 minutes. but i'm not headed to vegas any time soon. 

herschel highlights:

he loves school buses.

he loves dirt.

he was really good during his last haircut.

he likes our dentist office. not necessarily the dental work portion, but he can happily wait for everyone else's appointments to be accomplished.

he likes reading books. he really hates the public library story time. we show up each with with medium high hopes and always leave within 10 minutes. we once stayed the entire time but he was glued to my lap and i think he was sick. but he really enjoys reading at home.

his behavior is pretty ridiculous during sacrament meeting. thomas always wears a pre-stained white shirt on sundays so that he's not ruining his nice work shirts. herschel does pretty great in nursery, but likes to following a tight "downloading" schedule, as the ward clerk likes to say, and i am summonsed from sunday school for a gnarly diaper change. no potty training on the horizon for hersch, 

this is from the day i caved and convinced him to take a tiny tub of ice cream as his store good behavior prize instead of a giant box of donuts. after a few bites, he proceeded to dump water in the tub and then dump the watery ice cream in the water cup. pouring is his favorite fine motor skill. it's very frustrating and messy. 

that's all. plenty of people offer advice. my advice? keep it to yourself unless asked for.