Sometimes the stars align

There is some small sense of magic when you see the wheels turning in Biscuit's little head and you realize that he just learned something or that something we've been telling him just clicked.

This morning, Biscuit walked into the kitchen, pointed at the stove and said, "Ha. Ha. Ha." He wasn't laughing. He was trying to say, "Hot."

About two weeks ago, Biscuit snuck behind me while I had the oven door open. Usually, Jeff keeps him occupied in the living room while I'm cooking, but he crept up on me before I knew it. He reached out to touch the oven door, and I grabbed his hand just in time to keep him from getting burned.

"HOT!!!" I yelled. I scared him and he cried, but I told him that he scared me, too. I barely got to his little hand in time. So I picked him up, lowered my voice and said "hot" over and over again until he repeated it after me. I was holding my hand out toward the stove but not quite touching it.

The next day I walked over to the oven, held my hand out and said "hot." Then Biscuit copied me and did the same thing. But we haven't talked about it since then.

So this morning, when he walked in and recalled our "hot" lesson, I was surprised, impressed and proud.

Then this evening, I caught a whiff of a dirty diaper, so I said to Biscuit, "Let's go change your diaper." Usually, this means I have to chase him down, then carry him into the bedroom to change his diaper.

But tonight, I told him we needed to change his diaper, and he got up, walked into the bedroom and stood by the bed. He knew where he needed to be and what was going to happen.

It amazed me.

But then it all comes crashing down ... and he bites a kid at day care and gets written up ... and he pitches a hissy fit in Michael's while I'm trying to buy some cupcake cups ... and he wads up his kids' menu at Chili's and throws it in the floor.

The thing that helps me get through those moments is remembering all those other amazing moments. And so far, we've been lucky enough to have way more amazing moments than crashing-down moments. Let's hope it stays that way!