No Smooches for Josh

(august 2010)

I don’t know when exactly it happened, maybe January or so, but Josh Oliver started hating kisses.

I would try to get a smooch from him and he would always move so I could only ever get the top of his head. If I did manage to sneak one on his face he would quickly wipe it off and tell me how much he hated kisses.

It was kind of funny.

I egged it on.

I would love all over that boy just to hear the disgust in his voice—especially when he was in a sassy mood already.

I wasn’t offended.

He didn’t like kisses from anyone.

One day when I was laughing about it, Ben told me he had no idea what I was talking about. Josh Oliver gave him smooches all the time.

I didn’t believe him.

Ben had no problems proving me wrong. That kid would always stop whatever he was doing and come running to Ben anytime he asked for a smooch. It was still kind of funny to me.

He still liked me. He just didn’t want my kisses—or anyone else’s besides Ben. Plus it probably served me right for stealing so many kisses from him!

It all changed one day.

Ben and I dropped the boys off at Gran’s house for a couple of hours. As we were leaving, Josh came frantically tearing out of the house saying, “Daddy, Daddy, I didn’t get a kiss and a hug from you!” So then I asked for a kiss and a hug, too. He stopped dead in his tracks and said, “I DON”T LIKE KISSES.”

After that I became determined to get my kisses back.

It’s taken a lot of restraint on my part—how can I not try to smooch on that freckle-faced kid—but he’s slowly coming around. Now he’ll occasionally give me a smooch when I ask for it or at least let me give him one.

Gretchen’s found the real key to getting smooches from him, though. You have to act like you really, really don’t want any. (That’s the oldest trick in the book. I have no idea why I didn’t think of that!)

I have to admit that Josh Oliver being such an extreme Daddy’s Boy is kind of nice—especially at church because he always, always has to sit with Ben!

Lost Items

Losing stuff behind the washer and dryer is infuriating.

Fortunately, Ben has found a solution.

It's unclear, though, how long it will be before Josh refuses to be lowered into the dark, dirty crevice.

Too Much Pride

I started painting our living room this weekend.  

Well, actually it's entire upstairs minus the bedrooms and the bathrooms.  It's a lot of walls.

We're having Luke's 1st Communion party here two weeks from today, and, I don't know, it just seemed like a good idea.

Ben told me fairly early into the process that he didn't really like the yellow I picked out.  

What the heck does he know?  Nothing!

We were two coats in when we called it a night.  I was still mad at him for his comment, but I was slowly starting to doubt my pick as well.

The next morning it was incredibly obvious that it was NOT the right color.

I admitted defeat and made a massive apology.

We've spent the day going over everything that we have already painted--this time in a Ben approved color.

It's painful.  Very painful.

A Random Conversation with Josh Oliver

J--"I'm not 3 anymore."

C--"I know now you're 4! You sure were a good 3 year old."

J--"Yeah, but sometimes I picked my nose when I was 3. Only a little bit."

C--"That's pretty gross. Don't do that now that you are 4."

J--"Okay."

J--"I didn't eat my boogers, but sometimes I would eat my booger juice."

C--"That's disgusting."

J--"No, it's delicious!"

C--"Really? That's gross."

J--"It's so good! Sometimes I would put it in the trash or wipe it on my shirt."

C--"Why would you put it in the trash if you like it so much?"

J--"I don't know. I just did."

C--"Well, don't pick your nose or eat your booger juice anymore now that you are 4. Okay?"

J--"Okay."

The Quickest Way to be a Favorite

Letting them eat outside at Sonic....always a treat!!