Attached

Daniel is in a phase where he becomes very attached to things very quickly many times a day. Unfortunately, many of these items are not acceptable for him to play with. Let me think about what I've had to take away today - deoderant, makeup compacts, foundation, multiple telephones, wipes, a cup, the neighbor's Crocs, and the neighbor's glasses - just going off the top of my head. Usually we take the item away, he cries as if his life is over, and we all move on in under a minute or so.

We have given in to his whims when it comes to my toothpaste. He really likes carrying it around, and it's almost gone so the risk of danger is lower. The only problem is locating it afterwards. Every day it's in a new spot. The other thing he really likes is his toothbrush. We usually let him "brush his teeth" for the 30 minutes or so that it takes us to get ready in the morning, but I'm not really comfortable with him going on free roam around the house with it so we put it away before heading downstairs for breakfast. Every day Daniel cries a lot about giving up the toothbrush. I just feel like it would end up in the toilet or garbage or some other special place like that if I let him hang onto it.

I'm considering taking pictures of some of these treasures, but I think you all know what Crest looks like. I guess if I let him carry them around all day, he might start taking them to bed with him. Wouldn't that be the life? Snuggling up with a toothbrush, toothpaste, some makeup, and a cup. Sounds cozy?

Supposedly we have to establish our authority as parents, so at the end of the day we'll keep coaching Daniel and deal with the tears. Luckily they are short lived. Now if we could only figure out a way to childproof the drawers in the master bathroom, we could eliminate many of the hazards.