Biscotti

Today we spent most of the afternoon at my mom's house. The morning was quiet and uneventful because we didn't have any therapies today. Lunchtime rolled around and usually after lunch I take the kids into the basement to run around so they get tired for their afternoon nap. Timing was of the essence today because when we go to my mom's house I try to leave by 2:00pm. This is so that Ronin can take a nap in the car. Audrey's nap coincides with this time as well, so that's a two-fer. It's always a challenge to go get the Pilot when all the kids are in the kitchen; I usually have to take one kid and leave the other. This time, however, I wanted to try taking both boys outside to run toward the garage and wait for me to open it and load them in. I opened the door and let Nikko out first. As I was carrying Ronin over the threshold, his Croc came off. I bent down to put it on his foot and then Nikko started to run down the driveway. I shouted at him to stop; he turned to look at me, laughed, and then proceeded to run down the driveway. I had to quickly put Ronin inside (he protested loudly) and then I ran after Nikko. He was running at full speed and I finally caught up to him in front of the twins' house. He laughed and thought it was a game. I scooped him up and trekked back home, and luckily he didn't put up a fight. Then I dumped him into his carseat and put on the train DVD. I thought Nikko was over his temptation to run haphazard down the driveway, but I think his recent forays at the school playground has given him more courage. Very dangerous for me because now I can't trust that if I set him down outside that he will stay in the vicinity of the driveway or the garage. Unless someone else is with me, I don't think I can put both boys in the driveway. Ronin hasn't learned his boundaries yet, either. He doesn't know that he's not supposed to run into the street. Boy, am I in trouble.

The rest of the afternoon was ok. Nikko watched Thomas and Hi-5 of course, but also took some time to wander around mom's house. Before we left, I saw him standing in front of Rory watching her eat a chocolate biscotti. Rory looked at me apprehensively and I said not to worry because the biscotti were wrapped in plastic. A minute later I called Nikko over to put on his Crocs and coat, and he came up to me nibbling on the center of a chocolate biscotti, the plastic ripped in half. He had figured out a way to get to it, of course. I could have taken it entirely away from him, but I didn't want to start a fight. I broke off 1/4 of it and gave it to him to gnaw on, which he held and nibbled on the entire way home. We had a late dinner because Nikko didn't really have an appetite, and then it was American Idol before their bathtime. Nikko has been picking up the book Green Eggs and Ham and flipping through the pages. I haven't seen him pause on any particular page, although Ronin has come over and fawned over the cars in the book. I tried to read GE&H to Nikko but he didn't sit still for it. He also hasn't tried to tear the pages in the book, which are normal pages vs. a board book. I wonder how long that will last.