If you don't know him very well, one of the things you will quickly learn about Sawyer after spending any amount of time with him is that he requires a lot of structure and order in his life. Whether it's stacking a certain type of block or lining up another one, sorting cars or linking rings, he likes things a certain way and does not hesitate to let you know otherwise.
Ask his brothers, both of whom have been on the short end of his wrath when they upset his ordered little world. Xander does so with a gleeful little look on his face, usually with an aim of distracting him one way to get something else (i.e. Xander wants a specific block, so he knocks over the tower Sawyer has been working on to upset him and then Xander steals the block while Sawyer's busy being upset about the toppled tower). You can also ask Connor, who's got not one or even two, but three different bite marks on his left arm this week. He seems to enjoy both tormenting Sawyer (usually bossing him around) and the sympathy that he gets when his brother has marked him.
Sawyer likes order and routine. Take bath time, for example. He loves to take a bath, but you must do it on his terms or it could get ugly. We usually give the little guys a bath together (to make our lives easier), so we get the water started and get them settled in playing while we take care of any upstairs business we need to do before bed time (treating clothes for stains, folding laundry and putting it away, getting out pajamas and lotion for the little guys, whatever). Connor, depending on whether he's been good or bad, is either downstairs still playing until his turn, or sitting rather pitifully on his spot in the hallway, where we can keep a close eye on him if he's been acting out.
So, once we get around to actually giving the little guys their bath, we have to make sure Sawyer is ready. You see, we have several bath toys in the tub that they play with while they're waiting on us to get our act together. The ones that he most enjoys are the foam bath letters and numbers. And (surprise, surprise), he likes to stack them all up in a tower in the corner of the tub. Not some of them, not half of them, all of them. And they must be stacked neatly, with each single letter or number being rinsed off and free of any soap bubbles and placed by his hand. He knows, absolutely knows, if you've tried to sneak a few in to speed the process along. And why would we try to speed the process up, you ask? Because it can be long and time-consuming, and more importantly, because if every last letter is not stacked he kicks and screams and fights like mad to keep you from giving him a bath or shampooing his hair. How would you like to try to give a bath to 37-plus pounds of angry toddler in a small tub with his brother? Let him finish his letters though, and he's the calmest, most content child in the world. He lays right down when you ask him to, and even smiles up at you while you're giving him his bath.
Like I said, order and routine. They make his life, and ours, much easier.
Ask his brothers, both of whom have been on the short end of his wrath when they upset his ordered little world. Xander does so with a gleeful little look on his face, usually with an aim of distracting him one way to get something else (i.e. Xander wants a specific block, so he knocks over the tower Sawyer has been working on to upset him and then Xander steals the block while Sawyer's busy being upset about the toppled tower). You can also ask Connor, who's got not one or even two, but three different bite marks on his left arm this week. He seems to enjoy both tormenting Sawyer (usually bossing him around) and the sympathy that he gets when his brother has marked him.
Sawyer likes order and routine. Take bath time, for example. He loves to take a bath, but you must do it on his terms or it could get ugly. We usually give the little guys a bath together (to make our lives easier), so we get the water started and get them settled in playing while we take care of any upstairs business we need to do before bed time (treating clothes for stains, folding laundry and putting it away, getting out pajamas and lotion for the little guys, whatever). Connor, depending on whether he's been good or bad, is either downstairs still playing until his turn, or sitting rather pitifully on his spot in the hallway, where we can keep a close eye on him if he's been acting out.
So, once we get around to actually giving the little guys their bath, we have to make sure Sawyer is ready. You see, we have several bath toys in the tub that they play with while they're waiting on us to get our act together. The ones that he most enjoys are the foam bath letters and numbers. And (surprise, surprise), he likes to stack them all up in a tower in the corner of the tub. Not some of them, not half of them, all of them. And they must be stacked neatly, with each single letter or number being rinsed off and free of any soap bubbles and placed by his hand. He knows, absolutely knows, if you've tried to sneak a few in to speed the process along. And why would we try to speed the process up, you ask? Because it can be long and time-consuming, and more importantly, because if every last letter is not stacked he kicks and screams and fights like mad to keep you from giving him a bath or shampooing his hair. How would you like to try to give a bath to 37-plus pounds of angry toddler in a small tub with his brother? Let him finish his letters though, and he's the calmest, most content child in the world. He lays right down when you ask him to, and even smiles up at you while you're giving him his bath.
Like I said, order and routine. They make his life, and ours, much easier.