This past week has been quite a week for Cookie Monster. Now, before I go on, you must realize that Cookie Monster is not a fan of rides. Three years ago, he went on a kiddie ride at a local festival and screamed his brains out for the whole time. Ever since then, the only rides he would concede to go on (even at Disneyland) were trains, sometimes, cars, and occasionally, a boat. If they were remotely fast, he would freak out. He was quite content to watch his friends from the sidelines and tell me that the rides were too fast.
It didn’t really concern me. Of course, every time, I wasted all this money on ride tickets because I kept hoping that he would take to the rides eventually, but every year, I threw my money down the drain.
However, last week, Cookie Monster consented to go on a few rides at our county fair. And not only did he go on rides, he enjoyed them and was excited to go on more. He even went on a pony. Don’t get me wrong. He didn’t completely change and turn into a boy who went on a ton of rides – but he went on a decent number. I was so pleased and so proud of him.
On top of that, this past weekend, Cookie Monster actually went swimming. This is a pretty big deal. To put this in perspective, his first (and last) swimming lesson was when he was 18 months old and I was pregnant with Gamera. He basically screamed in my ear, weeping his brains out for about thirty minutes before I gave up and took him out. True fact: he was so traumatized that he refused to take a bath for a few weeks after. It wasn’t until we visited some friends for a week and he saw their boys having a fun time in the bath that he resumed a trouble free bathing experience.
Gamera, Hawaii June 2012
Cookie Monster, Hawaii June 2012
Since the lesson was on tape, Cookie Monster has watched it over and over again for the last few years (he found it very interesting). He’s watched it so much that I think he brainwashed himself into hating the water even more.
Not only did he hate swimming pools, both Cookie Monster and Gamera hated the beach when we visited Hawaii two years ago. He explained that the water was too big.
However, I’ve suspected for awhile that Gamera would likely love swimming (she loves taking baths and pretending to swim), but I was hesitant because I knew Cookie Monster would hate it. Well, a few weeks ago, we were at a friend’s house and they had a pool. I didn’t bother bringing swimming suits because why would my children need them? I was pleasantly surprised that Gamera spent about two hours in the pool and even Cookie Monster went in for a bit. He was upset because he didn’t want to get his clothes wet.
Well, this past weekend, we were going back to these same friends’ house and this time, I bought and brought swimming suits. My children were in the pool all afternoon. Initially, we had to trick Cookie Monster in the pool (we lured him with water guns), but after that, he refused to get out. He had such an awesome time.
I know these things aren’t that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, but I am super proud of my little boy. He’s growing up, trying new things, and finding out that when he tries new things, he might even like them. That’s a good lesson for anyone to learn.
