Is This the Beginning...?

So I loosely thought I would make a New Year's Resolution to blog 2x a month. And here I am, on the last day of the month entering the first blog of the New Year.  Hmph. That's why it was a loose resolution. I never wrote it down or even mentioned it to anyone. Doing it that way means not following through with it is OK.

Anyways, this month Russell learned to shake his head to say, "No."

At first, it was actually pretty cute.  See below video.

And now...I'm going to be honest...it is one of my least favorite milestones to date. He uses that skill all the time! 

"Russell, do you want milk?"

Head shake no.

"Russell, should we play with some toys?"

Head shake no.

"Russell, let's go to the car!"

Head shake no.

The only thing he seems to not regularly exercise his right to head shake is to 1.) eat bananas 2.) go outside and 3.) get a blanket from his crib to play with (he loves blankets, it is pretty cute).

So lately, there's been a lot of head shaking going on...which means a lot of "No, I'm not going to do what you want." Which also means that Russell is fully aware of what is going on around him and has opinions. Although, I will say that he sometimes seems to shake his head just because he can, even though he might really want something. I have a feeling that is usually the case when I offer him milk or some cheerios, as evidenced by the fact that I will put those items in a place where he can access them and he usually does, once he realizes that I'm not about to force him to have a snack.

The thing that really worries me about this is the future...I didn't realize I was going to be navigating through "No!" starting at 15 mos...Hopefully I won't be too much of a give-inner.  If I am, don't tell me right away. I might take it personally as that tends to happen. You can maybe tell my mom or Brandon and they'll (try to) brake it to me gently so I don't feel too horrible. You can tell me if I ask (although you should still use your best judgement here). You can also tell me in an indirect way, like "When this happens at our house, I do xxxx."  

Anyways, we hope you are well. Come visit us!