The Always-Happy Boy and his Mom...

 
...is just a fable. Pick and choose! One moment the little guy is happy and smiling, the next he is having a fit. (My moods correspond, of course.) Today at the large-Swedish-furniture store he had a melt-down when he tried to push the cart. They have some carts that you can hang a shopping bag from, and these had a metal pole with a flag - they looked very similar to the mini-carts for kids JT liked in Austria. But they aren't mini, and when he realized that he couldn't reach the handle, JT cried and screamed and looked at us as if to say, "Shrink the cart!" It was very sad. And I was frustrated because he didn't eat any Swedish meatballs and insisted on squeezing the juice box. At least he liked the Longenberry sauce (jelly). I am feeling tired again these days - luckily super-grandma is on the way and will be here before too long. JT is a great kid, but somedays I am just worn out and can't function. Especially when the diaper changes become a battle of wills, the toilet threatens to overflow even though the plumber was here for hours the other day, and things are misplaced because I run out of time to put them away properly. But then we do something fun - today we went to the zoo. And JT enojyed the sea lion show and waved bye-bye to all the animals and really liked looking at the giraffes (maybe it helps that he can say their name now) and mangabeys. And the fun thing helps. Until the next melt-down!