Tyler, Tyler, Tyler

What a difference getting a few months older really does for this child. He is actually mostly happy now and I hear much less screaming. I often hear him following me/looking for me in order to ask for help or tell me he got hurt. I can fix those with just a little acknowledgement. It's fabulous! Tyler constantly surprises me. He has loved doing these puzzles for months now, but because they are so easy he hasn't touched them for months as well. I really didn't know what to do next - Trenton wasn't interested in puzzles for awhile and went from the little baby ones to the 25 piecers right away. Fortunately, soon after we got to this point Tyler was given three puzzles just his "size" from his friends and they were used over and over day after day. He was so good and could entertain himself putting these together for hours - literally. About a week ago he stopped putting together these puzzles........Because he discovered these: Oh my! So much fun! I found Tyler started on several puzzles this morning when I got up - and Tyler had only been up maybe 10 minutes before me! We have collected several 25, 60, and 100 piece puzzles. Our first two or three 25-piecers were soon labeled with letters on the backs when Trenton was just starting in hopes of keeping them easily separated. If you know Trenton then you know I never had to use the letter system and I never thought about labeling any of the other puzzles that came our way. Until now!
Last night was hilarious! I was downstairs sorting through boys clothes and chucking tons of stuff/labeling the rest (I know, some serious cleaning/nesting problems already!) while Ben was upstairs on the computer finishing taxes. Trenton was entertaining himself - probably playing his new-found football game in which he runs around the whole house. When I finished my project and came upstairs to start on something else the house looked like a bomb went off...a puzzle bomb! Tyler had a line of piles of puzzles from the office to the kitchen and was in the kitchen surrounded by several half-started puzzles. He was working on two or three at a time and moving back and forth between them all. It was so funny. I really should've taken a picture. I will sometime though because this is the second puzzle bomb to go off in the last week! If I'm upstairs he is really good about getting out only one or two at a time, but otherwise he would rather have them all surrounding him at once! Fortunately on Monday was the first puzzle bomb of the week and I immediately stopped what I was doing and went from pile to pile and started labeling the backs of puzzles again. We got to L. Last night was much worse than Monday and I was so grateful I had labeled when I did! Much easier sorting and clean up!
I think the funniest part in all this is that he will sit and try to put together a 100-piece puzzle just as long as a 25-piece. He sits and tries and tries. Sometimes he comes and asks me for help, but usually only if I'm in the same room as him or walking by. This kid loves puzzles. It's the first thing he runs and grabs in the morning and the last thing he is doing before we force him to clean up and start the bedtime stuff. Such satisfaction! I love this little guy! And yes, I'm wondering what electronics and such he will be taking apart in grade school!