So the past three weekends, we had been traveling, and in each of the spots we visited, they always had one of those little tykes/step 2 cars for kids. If my son saw it, it was like the were polar magnets, drawn to each other with some mysterious force. If another child was in it at the time, he didn't yank them out (for which I'm grateful), but would hover like a vulture waiting to pounce as soon as the other child ignorantly left the seat for even a split second.
I made a mental note that this would be a great Christmas present.
Apparently it must be Christmas in September.
When I returned home, I decided I would craigslist it to see how much they run used so that I could wait for a good deal, buy it and hold onto it until Christmas time. Well, I found one for $10 (actually $5, since it came with a ride-on motorcycle/four wheeler). It wasn't the newest model, but it was the classic (which I enjoy) with a little horn that honks (a little less obnoxious then all the bells and whistles that the new ones have- and my son has plenty of those toys). I figured this was too good of a deal to pass up, especially since it was only 5 miles away. I bought it, still with the hope that I could hold out until Christmas.
Naïveté
the state of being naive (deficient in worldly wisdom or informed judgment)
Problem #1- Never buy a car, unboxed for a one-year old, when he is with you.
Problem #2- If you decide to buy aforementioned car, make sure you have room to store it in the trunk of your vehicle so your one-year old doesn't see it. If you don't think it will fit, borrow your husband's SUV.
Problem #3- If he is tired, try to drive around until he is totally asleep, that way you can hide aforementioned car somewhere in the garage, before you get him out and possibly wake him up.
Unfortunately, a lack of mothering experience led me to fail on all three of the above. Instead, the trip unfolded with my son coming with me to pick up this car, since Joel wasn't home. Then, because it wouldn't fit in the trunk of the car, it ended up going into the back seat next to my elated son. The whole entire ride home, I listened to him serenade me, his little voice saying
"cah... vroom vroom... cah... vroom vroom..."
until it became more of a
"cah... ... ... vroom vroom... ... ... ... ... cah... ... ... ... ... ... ... vroom... ... vroom... ..."
before he finally fell asleep. But remember, I was only 5 miles away from home. Definitely not enough time for a little one to be completely, utterly, without even an inkling of a shadow of a doubt, fast asleep. And as soon as I opened up the door to get the car out, he startled awake and started his "cah vroom vroom" mantra again with much earnest.
Now it had started to sprinkle, and the skies were grey overhead. I was determined not to get caught trying to hose it down and clean it in case there was a downpour, neither did I trust my luck that a downpour would take place and if it did, clean it sufficiently to my approval, and I didn't want to hide it sufficiently until it was clean. So after I unloaded my wee one, it was a race to the backyard, me pushing the car around the side of the house as fast as I could, and him running as fast as he could after me, shouting the words "cah cah cah". I beat him (by just a bit), grabbed the hose, and had just turned it on when he got to the car. He proceeded to start getting in and out of it, even as I was de-cobwebbing it as quick as I could. Well the possible downpour took place. And I decided that it would get rid of the remaining cobwebs quite easily, and I ran for the house, calling Liam to follow me... which I figured he would, because as much as he likes water, he really doesn't like rain.
Once again, I underestimated the love of a boy for his car.
When I got into the house and turned around for the first time, he was still at his car. I called to him, and he smiled and waved to me. He played out in the rain with his car for over an hour. I stayed inside (except to go outside with an umbrella to take pictures). He probably would have stayed out there longer, but I was moving to another section of the house and wanted to keep him in my line of vision, and so moved him and the car to the patio. A little bit later, he slipped on the wet cement while trying to climb in and fell out. It more startled him then anything, but he whined a bit, and I took that opportunity to pretend he was truly injured, bring him inside for a bath, and put him down for a nap.
I decided my $10 was a worthy investment.
