Isaiah's Obsessions

Isaiah is obsessed with toilet paper. He does whatever he can think to do with it. He rolls it down the hallway, shoves wads of it in the garbage can, pulls it out while still attached to the holder and puts it in the toilet, then flushes to watch it rapidly descend down into the black hole. Sometimes he takes one square at a time, wipes his nose, and puts it in the toilet until it is full, then flushes.

He is also obsessed with shoes. He ALWAYS has some on in the house. Usually they are mine and almost always mismatched. If I took a picture of him every time he had a different pair of shoes on, I'd be taking pictures at least three times a day, every day. Of course he doesn't put things back where they belong, so I am constantly picking them up!

His other obsession is doing the opposite of anything and everything I want him to do. If I want to brush his hair, he wants his hair knotted. If I want him to go to bed, he wants to stay awake. If I want him to get dressed, he does not want clothes on. If I want to change his diaper, he wants his poopy diaper to stay on. If we are going somewhere and I want to put him in his car seat, he wants to stay home. If it's time to leave wherever we are, he wants to stay. Get the picture? Thoughts of the teen years make me very nervous!

Update on the getting out of bed situation: I've discovered that if I stay in the room until he falls asleep in his crib, he will not wake up. I can't rock him to sleep because even if he is sound asleep, the second his body hits the mattress, he wakes up crying. I've decided to bring a book with me and sit on the rocking chair in his room and read "Parenting Isn't For Cowards" by James Dobson while he falls asleep. Next I'm going to read "The Strong-Willed Child" also by Dr. Dobson. I'm reading them to get a game plan. I'll let you know what I discover.