The view from my parasitic head.

Toddler Child arrived screamin' and clingin' almost three years ago - and he hasn't stopped.  He's cute but fiery, and no matter what I do, I can't shake him.  He either hangs on me or I'm restraining him, but we're rarely apart.  If I putter around the house, he follows me and says, "Wat-cha dooo-in?"  If I sit on the couch with the newspaper he wants to sit as close as possible.  He says, "Can I touch you skin?"

Like all toddlers he loves expensive gadgets, only if they're not his, and Chris, I, or his brothers would prefer he not play with them.  On occasion he finds one of the small digital cameras and leaves us some surprises. 

He's a determined boy and makes loud noises when he's not happy.  We're old and tired, so he wins.  Don't send "Miracle Nanny" or whoever - we're comfortable with our caving strategy.  Sometimes just to make the screaming stop, we give him the camera.  So I can pack a picnic lunch, so Chris can drive in peace, so I can cut his hair, or so we can medicate while coping with the reality of the love nest on our Colorado trip. [Photos courtesy of Toddler Child]

Eventually we have to take the camera away from him because... well... I don't know why we take it away, because we always give it back to him when this happens.

If we don't give him the camera, it's my skin, which means Toddler Child and I are together...again.

Comments

[Robin]

Take it from me, nothing is more trying than a 3 year old, unless it is a four year girl. And BTW, toddler child takes a mean photo. Wait until he learns the ins and outs of the TiVo remote.

[Melanie Beanpaste]

Oh, man, the accidental shots of his little face are precious. It almost makes me want to hand my digital camera over to my own toddler. ALMOST.

[Corbie]

Those photos he took are definitely better than the ones I have been taking with my new camera...see if he gives lessons :)

[vodkamom]

Camera + toddler = peace and quiet. (and some cute pics!!!)

[Da Goddess]

invest in small, inexpensive digital camera. Claim it is your new toy. Protest his wanting it. Magically find you other camera when he's totally enchanted by the other one. If he decides he's no long interested in it, take it back, exclaiming, "Oh my goodness! My camera! I'm so happy to have it back!" Use lots of exclamation points/marks/whatever.

Feed lots of Cheerios.

Also, create a Flickr account just for the photos he takes so we can see them all.

[Csquaredplus3]

Da Goddess - great ideas. I don't know if I'd share all the photos he takes - lots of my butt, neck (not so pretty), and furrowed brow expressions.

[Loralee]

Dude.

The kid takes better photos than I do.

[ALF]

That is one sad, cameraless child.

[Jennifer]

Ah, kids and their toys. Some how they always manage to love what isn't theirs the most. Great pics.

[Da Goddess]

My son used to take my camera and shoot my boobs and my butt, then it was when I was in the restroom at the zoo or WAP or somewhere in public and try to take pictures under the door. I told him, "NO! Now go take pictures of yourself in the mirror." It worked. We had, over the course of a year, hundreds of photos of him in the mirror. Or just those funny "I turned the camera on myself" self portraits. Or tiles. Or lights. I didn't much care as long as the focus was off me.

You give him the inspiration and let him run with it. Just because he takes photos of certain things doesn't mean they have to be posted in public. ;)

[Sherri]

Everyday, I come back and read through more of your posts. [I SWEAR I am not a stalker. I feel the need to keep saying that which, in hindsight, seems pretty stalkerish.]

Anyway, this post was adorable. I love the pictures he took. And the picture of him having a meltdown is priceless. I think it will come in handy in later years.. like, when he brings his first girlfriend home. JACKPOT!