Over the past few weeks I have come to know many different levels to the little boy we know as Alec Patrick Hawley. For classification purposes (and your entertainment) I have separated some of the actions taken by our precious Alec in the past few weeks into three categories: The good, The bad, and The Ugly....
The Good
Here we find our sweet Alec sitting in Aaron's bouncy chair. Alec has taken quite a liking to lots of Aaron's toys and loves to pretend he is a baby. He also likes to pretend to be a dog and play fetch with Adam. When he is being good Alec enjoys playing with his Thomas trains, watching videos, playing outside, talking on the phone to his friends and family, etc. While in 'The Good' Alec says some pretty funny things. Examples...Aunt Allie decided to become a red head again (it looks great by the way) and Alec saw her for the first time with red hair at church. Alec went up to her and said, "Allie? What happened to your hair?" He then pulls her head down to examine it closer and exclaims, "It isn't good!!!". We all laughed hysterically of course!
Another sweet Alec-ism...during the same church service as the hair comment, Alec gives Allie a kiss on her eye and then leans back, gasps and covers his mouth exclaiming, "Oh! I got beautiful on me!"...and everyone's heart melts.
Alec has also become quite the dog trainer. One of his favorite things to do each day is to get a doggie bone for Obi and then call Obi over to him. When Obi comes, Alec holds the bone behind his back and says in the sweetest voice you have ever heard, "Obi, sit!" Obi, not responding as much to Alec's command but to the bone being held behind his back, obediently sits. Alec with a look of incredible joy on his face then says, "Obi, shake!" and Obi puts up his paw for Alec to shake. Alec then awards Obi with the treat and Alec laughs hysterically.
The Bad
The bad Alec comes out usually at least once a day but always in different forms. Don't get me wrong, I certainly understand that a 2 1/2 year old little boy can't always fall into 'The Good' category, but there seem to be more and more times spent in 'The Bad' lately.
Example: This picture shows Alec last week in our back yard. Alec was wound up from being cooped up inside so Adam let Alec into the back yard to go play for a while since the wind had died down a little. After about 15 minutes I realized that it was awfully quiet back there which is never a good sign. I walked out into the yard to find Alec jumping with great joy in and out of a mud puddle he found. (see picture above) I quickly called Adam out to see what Alec was up to and we both stood there laughing at him. Adam got the camera and took pictures and video of him. We then stripped him down and brought him inside for a bath.
The one nice thing about The Bad category is that as quickly the action frustrates you, the memory of it usually leaves your mind and is replaced by a memory from 'The Good'.
The Ugly
I have have not felt compelled to take any pictures of Alec while he is exhibiting a demonstration of the behavior that falls into this category. Actually, this category has just developed within the past week or so due to the start of tantrums. Yes, that's right, I said the word tantrums. Knock down, head spinning, screaming at the top of his lungs, tantrums.
Last week Alec, Aaron, and I were heading to the bank and then to Sams Club to do some shopping. The bank went fine and Alec was very helpful using the change machine. When we got into the car I told Alec that if he was a good boy in Sams Club then we would get Chicken Stars on the way home for lunch. We parked at Sams club and I went to get the boys out of the car. As I was getting Aaron out I heard Alec say, "I don't want to go in the store, I want to stay in the car!" I did not think much of it (he loves being in the car) and pulled him out to put him in the cart. Once in the cart he started crying and yelling, "NO!!! STAY IN THE CAR!!!!!". Sigh. I then try to reason with him and explain that we will only be in the store for a short while and if he is good then we will get chicken stars and go home. He still crys and insists that he wants to be in the car.
After a few minutes of trying to reason with him and calm him down, I decide that I don't want to deal with Alec acting this way inside of the store so I lift him out of the cart to put him inside the car to go home. At this point he starts yelling, screaming, and crying, "NNNOOOOO!!! I WANT TO GO IN THE STORE!!!!" Sigh. Not letting myself be played by a 2 year old, I continue putting him (ok, forcing him) into the car seat. The tantrum only gets worse as we pull out of the parking lot and continue home. Alec is screaming at the top of his lungs and is crying so hard that he can't even say one word. The top off was when he yelled at me while sobbing, "MA, MA, MA, MOM, SHUT, UUUUUUP!!!!" That did not go over big at all! I took him immediately home and put him into bed where he freaked out some more and then finally fell asleep. He slept for 4 hours and then was a much better boy after his nap.
After a repeat of last weeks performance this morning, I have come to the conclusion that we have now officially entered into the "terrible twos". Silly me thought I might have escaped this terrible behavior since it had not happened up until this point, but no such luck. The one good thing is that I have incredible friends (Pauline and Cheryl) who have boys the same age as Alec and are going through the same things right now. I don't know what I would do without their support.
Now the next time you see Alec you can decide which category he is falling into at that moment, The Good, The Bad, or The Ugly.
Birthday boy Jason and Kelly.
Phil and Natalie
Chris and Janet
You know these guys I hope...
