Great Helper

I'm changing Laurel's diaper on the floor. She has it in her mind that this is not going to happen. Legs are kicking, arms are flailing. Her torso twists and turns as she tries to escape. I finally have her pinned so I can remove her pants and undo her diaper, but the moment they are off, she manages to squirm right out from under my grasp and crawl away. Quickly, I grab my little streaker and try to return her to a diaper changing position. Singing songs, making funny noises, and contorting my face doesn't interest her enough to calm down.

Desperate, I yell out, "Ian, I need your help. Please, get Laurel a toy."

I see his bobbing head behind the couch, as he runs over to the overflowing toy filled bookcase. He doesn't move for a few seconds, obviously considering his choices. His head bobs again to bring his finds.

"Here baby," Ian informs Laurel as he carefully hands her a floppy Winnie-the-Pooh (her absolute favorite toy) and a bumpy teether. Absolutely perfect choices in my mind, Laurel's too for that matter since she now calmly lies still.

To encourage such helpfulness in the future, I exclaim, "Ian, you're wonderful! Thank you for the toys."

Happily he goes bouncing off, and I return to cleaning and putting a new diaper on Laurel. Seconds later, Ian is back. He gingerly drops a book and a puppy near Laurel. She continues cuddling her Pooh, not even looking at the new items next to her. Feeling I need to recognize his thoughtfulness, I tell him, "Oh, Ian, thank you. That was very nice." Happily he runs off.

You guessed it, he returns shortly, this time with a Snoopy and a cow flashlight. I'm thinking hard of what to say so as to get him to stop, but not discourage his help in the future. "Ian, thank you, but Laurel already has toys. You can stop bringing her toys."

The toys are left next to Laurel and he runs off to get more, and more, and more. I eventually am done changing her, and have gone off to wash my hands and dispose of a smelly diaper. Laurel crawls off to another part of the house, and yet Ian continues in his quest. Finally, I distract him by playing with his beloved trucks, which you'll notice are missing from his generous offerings.



I like the assortment: books, stuffed animals, instruments, teether, flashlight, baseball, stacking rings and legos. He's got all the bases covered.