33 Weeks

Justace understands the word "no" and "stop" He does not like these words but he understands them. The other day Josh and I were sitting on the bed watching Justace crawl and play on the floor. He headed straight for the power cord full of wires and reached out to grab one. Josh very sternly said, "No, stop!" He immediately stopped what he was doing and stared from the wires back to Dad and back to the wires like but but but I want to play with them and then instead of going for them he just sat there and melted into a big puddle of tears at not getting his way. I laughed and laughed and laughed and couldn't believe he understood what Josh was telling him. Now every time I say the word no to him he gets very angry or begins to cry.

I'm glad Justace is getting more time alone with Dad now. Josh is really good at making him laugh and playing games with him while I'm better at the nurturing and comforting him when he doesn't feel good or is crying or upset about something. Between the two of us I think we make a pretty good team for Justace.

I have story time every night before bed with Justace. He doesn't really pay much attention anymore though. Now I put him on our bed with me and I give him a small toy but he is more interested in crawling around or trying to grab the book from me and eat it then he is in what I'm reading to him. I still plan on doing it nightly anyway even if he isn't really listening just because it's a good habit to get into and because in a few months I'm betting he gets more interested in the books I'm reading than in trying to eat the books.

Since I started working Josh has been a huge help at home now. He gets up at least half the time if not almost all the time if Justace wakes up at night to feed him and get him back to sleep again. He keeps the house clean and he cooks dinner every night. I'm very grateful for this because on my long work days I am able to just come home and relax and go to bed without worrying about dishes or dinner or anything at all.