When the toddler is quiet

It is common knowledge among parents, when the child goes quiet start to worry and check on them, because you never know what kind of trouble they are getting into. So today after talking with Kevin about how cute it was that Davy was saying star last night, Kevin pulled the glow in the dark star kits that we bought for Davy quite awhile ago out of Davy's closet. Before I knew what he was doing he had the thing open and was trying to find the adhesive among the pile of stars. Problem was that there were stars falling out of the package as well. The stars in the package range in size from about the size of my palm to a little smaller than a dime, and everywhere in between. So I got a plastic zip-lock baggie and put all the stars into it. Or so I thought. So tonight I am checking out things online and hear Davy happily chattering away as he plays with his play house toy, and then he goes silent, and I know he has found something I probably don't want him playing with. I go back to where he is and find him putting something he can easily hide in his pinched thumb and forefinger through the window of his play house. Thankfully he drops whatever it is on the other side and I am able to find them before he picks them up again. Two little stars, both the size of coins. They must have spilled out when Kevin opened the package and I must not have seen them. Both stars went into the baggie with the others. I think when we put the stars up on the ceiling we will be using stars that are not swallowable. At least until Davy and any other children we have are old enough not to swallow things.

On another star note, I affixed one of the biggest stars to Davy's ceiling today and during a diaper change he noticed it. He started the changing session by squirming onto his belly and pointing out the vowels in the warning label that is on his changing table, first time he did that for me. Then I wrestled him onto his back, which he resisted as he usually does. But then something awesome happened, he noticed the star I had put on the ceiling and pointed to it saying, "Star, star!" It was great! He went from squirrely to focused in quick succession, and I was able to change his diaper with little fuss and a constant chant of "Star, star, star!" Now I want to put the big dipper above his changing table if only to keep him busy during changings.