Photostory Friday - My Little Man Is 3

There are so many aspects in my life that seem to have zoomed past. All of a sudden, today is Aaron's 3rd Birthday. The funny thing is that the past 3 years with Aaron has moved at just the right pace. Yes, my days are often excruciatingly long but maybe that is a good thing. I have LOTS of (extra) time with him to cherish.

Being a mother, and the stay-at-home variety is definitely the job for me. I wouldn't want to miss any part of his life. He is such an amazing little guy and I am grateful for the bond that we have developed. I'm so proud of the little person that he has grown into - loving, caring, funny, cheeky and sensitive.

Here are some of my favourite photos of him:

This was his favourite sleeping position. Even if we put him on his back, he'd roll over and do this. He still sleeps this way now...


He was really easy to feed...


First contact with grass...


I think this is my absolute favourite. Just look at those innocent eyes...


He loves his pencil and paper...


And also his guitar...



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Happy Birthday Aaron!

Yay! He's Getting More Mischievious

Y'know that little pirate I talked about yesterday? Well, he's really been getting up to some mischief lately.

He's been trying to raid my drawers and cupboards for anything that might become a new toy. He just sieves through everything, looking for something or other of interest. One day, he got into my secret hiding place for all the Thomas activity books. He sure thought he stumbled upon treasure that day! (Don't worry, there is nothing dangerous that he can get into. Its just a pain having to put everything back.)

Another day, while I was busy blogging here, he was being extremely co-operative. He said he would "work on his scrap book". All the supplies and stuff were on the floor behind me and I could hear him humming away. When I was done, I turned around to find that instead of glueing his cutouts into his scrapbook, they were all stuck fast to the floor!

Then today, while Iwan, our driver, was in the house playing with Aaron a little while I found that all the pegs had been pulled apart. I thought they were sturdy little things but he somehow managed to pry them all into two.

Iwan just let out a big laugh at it. He seemed to pat Aaron on the back a little, sort of in a congratulatory way. Then he says to me "He's just going to get more and more naughty. Its great! Much better than if he just sat there being quiet."

He said it with so much enthusiasm and pride that initially, I looked at him and thought to myself "Sheesh. Only a guy would say this. Someone who doesn't have to spend the day with the children!". I know that its good for children to be curious about the world around them and of course, that was what Iwan was getting at anyway. He just put it in a way that I didn't expect.

Anyway, the attitudes of people here towards children have always made a very strong impression on me. I always marvel at how almost everybody you meet is a child friendly person. Everyone seems to have a way with kids. And, all of them appear to be incredibly tolerant of all sorts of behavior. I frequently hear them saying "Oh, he's just a child" or "Kids are kids" no matter what the child is doing. They just seem so understanding of all the development that children go through. (By the way, I doubt there is such a thing as controlled crying of any babies here. If they have trouble sleeping and cry, they're just immediately picked up and soothed.)

So, while Aaron gets more mischievous by the day, I'm trying to take a more light hearted approach to it and laugh at most (not all) of his antics. Its less stressful for everyone and he does see the reasoning most of the time. I don't want to be one of those mothers that throws a fit over every little thing. I'm still not Indonesian though so if its anything defiant or unreasonable, there will still be consequences. Ha! Ha!

He Thinks He's A Pirate!

Over the past week, Aaron has developed this new habit of running out whenever he hears other little kids outside. Sometimes, they are down the road and don't see him. He doesn't see it as a problem, he just stands there and knocks the padlock against the gate to get their attention.

The first time I asked him what he was doing, he said he was trying to warn the kids not to fall into the drains. It puzzled me but I left it at that. They were actually playing in the drains. So he kept yelling out in Indonesian "Awas! Awas!". Eventually, one of the kids came over to chat with him.

So each day, he hears kids, runs out, and bangs on the gate to get their attention.

A couple of days ago, there were two girls outside. He tries the same trick and eventually they come over. They know he speaks English so they said "Hello baby".

His answer completely take me by surprise. He says "Hello there me hearties!". My little almost three year old.....*LOL*

He then starts talking some sort of gibberish to them and they just giggle. Later on, he tries to put on some pirate accent and ask them what their names are only he doesn't understand their answers. I think he's getting this from watching Captain Feathersword on The Wiggles.



Perhaps I should start giving him pointers now on how to talk to girls. Otherwise, he'll start thinking that all this pirate talk must be the way to go since these two were highly entertained by him.

Time For Different Tactics

I think I've mentioned before that I found this incredibly effective way of encouraging Aaron to put away his own toys. Anything that he leaves behind, I put away for him, on top of the fridge and he doesn't get it back until tomorrow.

So far, it has worked great. But, like everything else in these toddler lives, I've got to find a new way of persuading.

Several weeks ago, when I went to put something on top of the fridge, he started saying "Hakuna Matata. It means no worries. I'll just play with it tomorrow".

I knew it was starting to lose its effectiveness. I tried to milk it for a few more weeks worth of toy cleanup (and other good behavior) by taking a favorite toy instead of the toys that were not picked up.

Finally, this week, there are two train sets, including the rails, on top of the fridge. And, nobody pestering me to bring them down. He even tried offering me things to put up there just so he didn't need to pick them up!

Some days I think he's on the cusp of willingly and happily picking up his toys, he does do that fairly often, but other days......

Its not only picking up toys, I was using that particular strategy for all sorts of misbehavior (tantrums, running around during meals, etc). I need something new.

I remember being chased around with a rattan cane when I was a kid. Those whacks from the thin (and frayed) cane stung like crazy but they seemed to work. All my mother needed to do was look at the cane and we'd behave. I'm not going to say "never" but I don't think I'll be using that with Aaron. We never retaliated but I think Aaron will probably prove to me that "violence breeds violence". He's hasn't acted that way yet but sometimes, I hear him say that he's going to snatch something from somebody else or smack them or something else similar.

Overall, he's still a lovable little boy - helpful, funny, curious and concerned. I know everyone needs to be naughty sometimes in order to grow up. Reasoning and preparation or expectation setting seem to work if I lay enough "groundwork". I'm just cracking my head over what to try next for those out-of-hand times.

Any ideas? What do you do? What did your parents do to you?

Aaron, The Palembang Boy

Aaron is definitely a Palembang boy. I think I can say that he sees this as home base and he misses it every time we leave it. We've been here since he was 7 months old so it looks like I have a little Indonesian son.

Prior to our return trip, he kept repeating "We're going back to Palembang on Friday." He told everyone! And each morning, he'd ask me if it was Friday yet.

As we approached Palembang, I told him I saw our house. I really did. He was bouncing up and down his seat, as far as his seatbelt would allow. And, he was yelling out LOUDLY "YAY! We're home. We're in Palembang." When the doors of the plane opened, he ran all the way to the immigration line.

For the first couple of days that we were back, Aaron wouldn't leave the house. He must have felt like he was in heaven and couldn't be torn away from all his toys. Actually, he still hasn't left the house, except to go to church on Sunday, and he's still as happy about it.

Yesterday, three of his little friends noticed he was back and came over to play already. They live across the street from us. A few minutes ago, I heard Aaron and the 3 year old girl, Vika, chatting from across the street to each other. It was all in Indonesian and so cute! I think this may be the start of Aaron's socializing, without me!

Vika : "Aaron!"

Aaron : "What?"

Vika : "Aaron"

Aaron : "What?"

Vika : "What are you doing?"

Aaron : "Nothing"

Vika : "What are you doing?"

Aaron : "Nothing"

Vika : "Come over"

Aaron : "I don't have the key. You come over"

Vika : "Come over"

Aaron : "I don't have the key. You come over"

Those aren't typos up there, they really repeated everything. I'm sure the both of them have perfect hearing but maybe they don't have perfect understanding of each other yet.

I didn't hear what went on after that but Aaron eventually came to ask me to open the gate so that Vika could come in. He must have misunderstood her because I saw that she was still safely locked behind her own gate and it looked like her mother was out because the car wasn't there.

Its amazing to watch how Aaron is growing. In a few short months, I can just imagine him arranging his own play dates and walking himself over there. He's growing up! I need to get used to that.

We Can Get More Money From The ATM

I have been very careful not to purchase any books or toys for Aaron when he is around. I just didn't want him to get into any sort of tantrum habit of demanding us to buy him stuff. He has definitely asked me to get him things and he knows that things need to be bought with money but so far, my response is that we'll need to save our money first. The money in my purse is for buying important stuff, like food. He seems to accept it.

He also understands the simplistic concept that people, like his father, need to go to work in order to earn money.

Recently, I also taught him that if we sell things, we can also get some money. We sold an old pile of newspapers for RM 1.80. He's got that money in his money box at the moment.

We were playing with the RM 1.80 worth of coins today. Buying and selling his trains and trucks. As he was running low on coins, and couldn't "buy" anything else, he said something like 'Oh No, I'm wasting my money. There is none left'. I rejoiced for a moment, thinking he had started to understand the value of money. The moment was fleeting as his next move was to try to bargain with me to lower the price.

I tried to show him that if we spend all our money without thinking, we will have none left for when we really need it. And what do you think he says?

"I KNOW! We can just go to the ATM. They have money in there."

*sigh* I tried to explain to him that it wasn't so simple. He ran to get one of his Thomas & Friends collectible cards and he told me that he had a card to put into the ATM. I don't think he gets it yet.

Life sure is simple when you're Aaron's age.

I still haven't figured out a long term approach for how we'll teach Aaron the value of money and the responsibilities that will come with (or without) it. So far, all I know is that I don't think I want to teach him to earn through chores. I want him to know that chores in a house need to get done because thats how a household works and not because it will earn him some money.

So, we're back to finding other ways of growing his RM 1.80. I think I'll show him the tall stack of old newspapers at his great-grandmother's and see if any lightbulbs go off in his head.

Knocked Out!

Aaron was such a terrible sleeper as a baby that until today, I am still amazed to watch him sleep. This is especially the case if he falls asleep outside his bed.

We took him to a huge indoor playground at a mall recently. That place was any child's heaven! There were ramps, tunnels, multiple ball pools and best of all, the slides looked like they were 3 floors tall.

Aaron was non-stop in there for nearly three hours. He really wasn't faking it when he told me that he couldn't walk out to the car. We no longer use a stroller with him and he's too heavy to be carried so the best I could offer was a shopping trolley.

Literally 2 minutes after I put him in there, this is what I see...



Oh, the pink striped socks? The playground insisted that all kids and parents wore socks so, they were the cheapest pair I could find in the nearby shops. He didn't seem to mind.


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An 87 Year Age Gap

Aaron is one lucky little boy to be able to enjoy time with his great grandparents. Here he is with his great grandfather.





There may be an 87 year age gap between them but they still manage to have evening walks together. One of them is getting hard of hearing and the other still has problems pronouncing some of his words but that doesn't stop the chats they have.

It is the hope for moments like these that I often end up extending my stay in Ipoh for.


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A Candid Conversation With Aaron

We've all heard of 'fat days'. I had one of those yesterday but instead of going to bed feeling guilty, I went to bed laughing.

As Aaron and I were getting ready for bed, I sighed and said "I'm really getting too fat". Aaron was very quick to respond with "You just need to exercise. Why don't you take me to the park tomorrow?"

I was stunned. He's not even three yet. He must have been over hearing too many of my conversations recently where I have said that I need to get an exercise routine going here in Ipoh.

I answered him with what I thought would be the last statement to the conversation:

"Yes, I'd better do something about all this fat or I won't fit into my pants anymore"

He says, "Thats ok. You can wear your dress. You're not that fat."

I think he was genuinely trying to help me find a solution to a situation he could see I wasn't happy about. And, it was cute that he was trying to re-assure me.

On the other hand, I had the fleeting thought that I might be imparting some unhealthy body image ideas to my young son. Thankfully, he's not a girl. Yet, it has made me more conscious of having conversations about healthy lifestyles and eating habits instead of just exercising to stop becoming fat.

These days, he's always trying to be part of any and every conversation that goes on around him. We don't buy into the "children should be seen but not heard" school of thought so when we remember, we do keep the conversation to topics that he can be included in. Other times, we just have to be quick to change the topic before this tape recorder records everything for playback at a later, and more embarrassing, date.

Reminders Of The Early Days

I saw a one month old baby yesterday. He was still tiny, pinkish and pretty much helpless. As I looked at him, I couldn't help realizing that I don't have any real memories of Aaron from that age. All I have is a general hazy idea of that period but no solid images of any particular moments in my mind. I felt a little sad for not burning things into my brain at the time. Instead, what I recall is nursing him about 20 times a day and then spending the remainder of that time trying to put him to sleep. Thank goodness I have hundreds of photos of those early, sleep deprived days.

The long ago time when he didn't move much.


We also met up with some friends who had a 13 month old. He's on the verge of taking those first few steps. I was carrying him for a little while and he pretty much leaned his body in every direction to get me to go wherever his little legs weren't taking him yet. I remember that age well and have many more vivid memories of Aaron. Thank goodness we were getting more sleep by then even though lots more hard work was around the corner.

First contact with grass.



And when I went to bed last night, I saw my own 32 month old who is no longer a baby. We are so far from that 1 month and even the 13 month old stage. Just like every other night, I like to go snuggle with Aaron for awhile. After all the early months, struggling to make him sleep (and keep him sleeping), I often find myself hoping that he will wake up. Some times I feel as if I wouldn't mind at all if he woke up at 11pm and wanted to go make a bridge with his legos. (Moms of those littler ones must think I'm crazy.) On nights that he does wake up, I'm happy to cuddle him to sleep again. During the day, I do look forward to his nap time but once I've had a bit of a break, I want him to be busy around the house again. By 11pm, we've usually been clear of him for about 4 hours and I guess I start to miss that noisy little boy.

I was chatting with John on Facebook a couple of days ago and he mentioned that going to the Prom (or its future equivalent for Aaron) will happen sooner than I think. I've got about 13 years left before that happens but I am sure he is right. He also has a very apt post today on the simple pleasures in life. I don't know why but recently, I keep wanting to have simple days with Aaron.

He can now help me weed.

I'm Only Going To Say Things Once

I have a terrible sore throat. Had it since Friday and I think, it was somehow triggered by car fumes. We were stuck in a 20 min traffic jam getting out of the church car park and even though I had all the vents on 'close', I kept smelling that awful smell. And shortly after we got out of the church grounds, my throat started to feel strange. Anyway, it could be that, or it could just be a co-incidence.

The bottom line is that it hurts to swallow and it hurts to talk. I've been overdosing myself with garlic and ginger drinks and it has helped but not gotten rid of it yet.

Now this all sounds terrible but there is an upside to it all.

I've been home alone with Aaron the whole day. You all know he's two and a half. He's a chatterbox. And he usually doesn't act until you've repeated yourself about 50 times.

For most of today, I've stuck to saying things once. Although, I had to tell him a couple of times that I was only going to say things once. And guess what? I learnt something new. If I waited, and watched, he eventually did whatever it was I asked of him without needed to repeat myself. I do remember reading somewhere that young children aren't able to react immediately because of how their brains were wired - although they will eventually come around to processing that command. I can't remember where I read it so I can't even go back and check but maybe its true.

The hard part was not being able to have any conversations with Aaron. He really has so much to say and definitely needs some sort of response but I just kept nodding, frowning, smiling or pointing. Oh and another thing, my index finger alone was enough to direct the tidying of all his toys today. Powerful isn't it?!

He's a cheeky boy but he's a good boy too. And today, he has really proved that. He was understanding and tried his best to make my day easier.

Pleasant Surprises

Everybody knows that you really should keep your eyes on a young child at all times. But, we also all know that it would be impossible to do that. So, we make their play areas as safe as possible and check on them every so often if we have to be away from the area.

Recently, when I had my back turned, I've turned back around to find him eating my lipstick. I've also turned around from grabbing some canned tuna from the shelves in a supermarket to find him biting down into a pack of raw beef!

Sometimes though, the surprise is a pleasant one. Today, I walked past to see that Aaron managed to reach a stack of sticky notes from my desk and was busy scribbling all over them. I was about to tell him he did something wrong but then he showed me that he was writing down words and labeling Thomas.

We ended up making a game of it. I gave him the spelling and he wrote and stuck the labels on.



This is something I do with different items in the house each day and he was just imitating. Can't get mad with that!

Will they like me?

This year is turning out to be a bumper year for making new friends. Its great and all but I've noticed that my self confidence has plummeted since becoming a stay-at-home-(literally)-mom. I'm always second guessing myself and wondering if people will like me. In the past, I just assumed that I was the most likable person around!

After each meeting with another family I'm always wondering if they liked us enough. Did I talk to much? Was I too pushy? Will they want to meet with us again? Did they think we were too lenient with Aaron? Or did they think we were too harsh?

I know its just me and these wonderful people probably, hopefully, didn't think anything like that. I really need to forget about worrying what other people think. If they're really not that into us, so be it. There's no sense in pretending to be people we're not anyway.

Another thing that constantly has me worrying is Aaron's behavior. I swear, he behaves decently when we are home alone. I can even say he's well behaved. However, when there are other people around, he decides to test all his limits. People are going to think that I don't teach my son....

Today was an exception. I met up with some people and there were 6 kids in total. And Aaron was normal! You can't imagine how it felt to just sit back and watch him play peacefully with the others. I didn't feel any of the usual anxiety and didn't need to sit on the edge of my chair.

Anyway, I think I need to stop taking things so seriously. And, stop wondering about what people think of me, my family and my parenting skills. Having new friends is meant to be fun!

News and Young Children

So far, Aaron doesn't watch any normal TV at home. I play Wiggles, Thomas & Friends or other DVDs for him but thats it. And, whenever he's awake, we don't watch TV (except his DVDs). I'm not sure why I started off doing things this way but I am glad that he doesn't really know that there is so much more to the TV.

Recently, while waiting for me in the foyer area of the gym, he watched the news. And as you all know, this world is full of violence or disasters. The images were either of the dam that burst in Jakarta (killing 98), a bloody man in some war torn country or some other similarly disturbing image.

I'm glad I finished my workout when I did and he didn't watch all that much. Aaron is at the stage of processing images, stories and any conversation around him. I could see him trying to make sense of all the news clips but not quite understanding it. Its hard enough for him to watch any 'scary' scenes in Thomas let alone these real life ones.

I definitely don't want to coddle him or bubble wrap him. But, I'm not about to explain the news to him at this age either. We have our whole lives to be disturbed by the horrific crimes and unexplained sadness that the news often reports on.

Now all I need to do is figure out when and how to tell him about the big bad world. I'm sure there will be many instances where he 'accidentally' watches something and reality will slowly seep into his perfect world. I wonder how other parents deal with this.

Its all about happy endings at the moment. How much more time do I have to push this aside?

The Things He Says!

Aaron is a chatterbox. He goes on about all sort of things, all day long. Recently, his perspective of life and his sense of humour has been coming through the things he says.

When asked why he won't let Richard put him to bed, he told me:
"Papa is a giant! He'll squash me."

Out of the blue, Aaron started a conversation about work.
"Next time, I'm going to go to work at Agrim. I will buy myself a blue room and a blue bicycle." Agrim is where Richard works. When asked what sort of work he will do, Aaron confidently informed me that he will be TYPING. And guess what he is typing? His BLOG!

He must have merged all he knows about work. Richard goes to work. I tell him I'm working on my blog. He sees me typing when I blog - light bulb goes on in his little head! If only life were that simple.

And here's his developing sense of humor.
"Mama, come fart at me!"

I have NO IDEA where he got that from. I had no response for him on that one.

Taking A "Disciplining" Break

Some time ago, John left me a comment that described "discipline" as "teaching". I like that definition much better than "punishment".

Still, the "disciplining" that I refer to in the title is "punishment". But, I'm going to take a break from it.

Sometimes after reading a new parenting book, I find myself trying out all the strategies I just read. And very often, I feel trapped by them. Y'know, once you carry it out once, you'll have to carry it out again otherwise the child might think you're not serious about it blah blah blah blah. And worse, sometimes, out of frustration, I know I misuse things like the time-out.

I've noticed that Aaron seems to act out even more on days that I have used one of those strategies. They are all starting to backfire on me ALREADY.

On a couple of days this week, I tried keeping things positive and "reasoned" with him with a smile each time. NOT EASY. He of course cried less and was a lot happier. More importantly, he behaved (marginally) better!

I know it won't last and I'll have to change this strategy again soon. Afterall, he's changing all the time and catching on to my ways of teaching him boundaries. Why didn't God (or whoever made us) just send a little manual along with the child? (Maybe fathers can be the ones who deliver the manual.) Y'know, with specific instructions for that particular human being.

Photostory Friday - When Dad Is In Charge

I'm always grateful when its Richard's turn to watch Aaron. I get a chance to do things uninterrupted. Its great!

Saying "Richard's turn" makes it sound like watching Aaron is a chore. Its definitely hard work but its not a chore. Anyway, Richard sees so little of Aaron during the week that he is more than willing to spend the whole Saturday afternoon and Sunday playing the hands on dad.

But look what happens when I don't pay attention to what the two of them get up to. I hope that paint is what it claims to be - NON toxic.




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Aaron & Me

I recently started reading "Marley & Me" by John Grogan. If you haven't read it, and haven't watched the movie, its about a young couple who get themselves a puppy.

I'm only halfway through the book and so far it has described a young creature that has a never ending supply of energy, creates a mess inside and outside the house, asks you to play with it all day long, needs toilet training, is very sensitive, can show great empathy when required and loves you unconditionally no matter what disciplinary actions you take against it.

The book so far has been about AARON!

Aaron was born in the year of the Dog and I have been calling him my little puppy from the start. Initially it was because he chewed on everything he got his hands on but after reading this book, I see plenty of other reasons!

Even going out for a walk is like walking a dog. Instead of "Heel!" I'm trying to say "Hold my hand" in a commanding tone while chasing after him. At least Marley (the dog in the book) finally learns to obey that command.

The ups and downs we have in each and every day are incredible. One minute we're having a good time laughing at ants and the next we're locked in a battle of wills over the fact that its not time to watch a Thomas episode yet.

I know he's just exploring his world, his boundaries and my limits but it is stretching me! Everything these days seems to be about how vigilant I am at anticipating potential conflict so that I can avoid it. The constant battles are tiring! And, the fear that I will not teach him correctly in these early years is forever looming over me. (A recurring nightmare: I'm going to have an uncontrollable brat that even the Supernanny can't fix! EEK!)

The funny thing is that after Aaron is asleep each night, I often find myself wishing he was awake so that I can watch his funny antics or cuddle him. I completely forget about how infuriated I got when trying to get him to brush his teeth. He too seems to quickly forget how hurt he was when I wouldn't agree with him that he was a good boy and sent him for a time out instead.

Its been a bit of a battle day, hence this post but let me end it by saying that he is getting sweeter by the same amount as he is getting cheekier. There really are moments when he looks and behaves like a little angel.

Photostory Friday - The Painter

We're grudgingly signing the contract to rent this house for another two years tonight. There is nothing else in the area worth moving to and the lease has run out so we'll just have to stay put. The weird thing about Palembang is that you pay your rent for the full two years UP FRONT!

I like the space that this house gives us but like all the other houses in the area, it is old and in need of lots of repairs. The landlord wouldn't do any and even tried to increase the rent! Anyway, I have my own handyman now. He's starting work on painting the gate, windows and even the trees!








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Love and Logic Experiments

I recently read the book "Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood. Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years" by Jim Fay and Charles Fay. Just like any other parenting book, there are concepts and ideas in there that I agree with and those I don't.

So far, I've tried two of the experiments.

Experiment #1:
Aaron sometimes gets so demanding and is testing all limits the limits around here. To deal with the whining, which often escalates to loud crying for whatever it is he wants, I put him in his room and latched the door. Its a screen door so we can see each other. I sat at the computer and read the news while he worked it out. It didn't take long for him to figure out that he needed to be quiet and ask in a "big boy" voice to be let out of the room. I've done this twice and there has been a significant reduction in these power struggles. So, there has been some success here (for now).

Experiment #2:
The second thing I tried was taking the toys that he doesn't pick up and keeping them for a day. In the past, he has been good with picking up his toys but lately, his response time has been incredibly slow. So, as the book suggested, I picked the toys up and kept them away. You can't imagine the noise that followed. I kept wondering if I should put Experiment #1 into action but didn't because that would a 2 for 1 punishment which didn't seem fair. I returned the toys, the following day, just like the book instructed.

I thought Experiment #2 was a fabulous success because for several days afterwards, all I needed to do was reach out my hand towards a toy and he'd come flying in to pick it up. He didn't even want my help!! Fantastic, right?

Nope.

Today, he was back to ignoring my requests to tidy up. So, I picked them up. And there was a lot today. Almost half the toys he regularly plays with are now on top of the fridge and in the tool cupboard. But guess what? No noise. No tantrums. He just says to me "Mama, you can have them 'till tomorrow". Sheesh!

Its now "You can have them back after a few days of picking your own toys up".

This job sure requires frequent upgrades to the protocols! It's hardly been a week and a new version is already needed. And he's still only two.