Warming up

We went to the park today and it was deserted. And for good reason. It was freezing. Ruby and I lasted through about 20 minutes of shivering but Ethan dragged his feet when I told him we had to go home. He loves going to the park.

He did not always feel this way, however. For about the first year we went to the park, Ethan would never just run to the playground equipment and climb up/slide down/dig in like the other kids. When we arrived, he would stop and his eyes would slowly creep over every person in the area. He would survey the stairs, the slides, the connecting tunnels. He would observe the kids screaming and moms and dads visiting. He would study. He would assess. Then he would take a seat beside me on the bench.

It usually took him him about a half hour to an hour before he started to play. Eventually, he would be all in, running and jumping and laughing like the other kids. But it always took some serious warming up.

He is also not an instant friend (or a cheap date, as my aunt Susan says). He is not usually the first to say hi and often shies behind me or Ryan when people acknowledge him. But if you are aound him long enough he eventually becomes the little joker that Ryan and I know and love.

He is like this in most aspects of his life. And so I knew potty training could be more than frustrating. It has taken several months of begging and crying (on both sides) to even get him to just look at that controversial mini toilet and try on those cool Mr. Incredible underpants but slowly Ethan worked up the courage to do it. I think the promise of Girl Scout Cookies finally helped him along and once he realized he knew how to use that potty, it just clicked. We are not completely through the process but it is finally working.

It just took a lot of warming up.