Not Your Presents

This past weekend we celebrated our nephew, Carter’s 3rd birthday. We prepped Nicholas ahead of time on some of the issues we were sure would arise. Nicholas impressed us in many areas. First, he barely ate any pizza or cake. He decided that he would rather play than eat. I know a lot of parents sit and make sure their kids eat something. We are more likely to do that at home. When we are at a party, we would rather him not eat a lot. Usually there is a spread of food that may not be as healthy. For Nicholas to not eat that much pizza or cake is a huge improvement. A year ago he would not have gotten up until every bit of food was gone.


Nicholas also did well during the time that Carter blew out his birthday cake. He watched, but didn’t feel the need to “help”. Although, I do think he managed to get a finger in the icing.

The hardest time for him came with the present opening. At home, we told him that Carter would be getting a lot of new presents. He was to let Carter open the presents by himself. Carter may or may not want to share. Nicholas was to ask first.

Things started out well, but our smart little guy had a plan. He wanted to be involved in some way, so he decided to be on trash duty. He made sure to pick up the wrapping paper or tissue paper and put it into the trash bag. Then he started to help while it was still attached to the present. A few warnings from us, and he backed away – a little.

Nicholas helping Carter open his gift.

Then, one of the presents was taken out of the box for Carter to play with and this is where the problem arose. Nicholas wanted to play too. He wanted to play with the drill and let Carter, or anyone else, play with the hammer in the tool kit. He shared a little, but ultimately, a meltdown ensued. My son has a great high-pitched scream when he wants everyone to know he isn’t happy. After a quick visit to the bathroom for a nice discussion (and a bathroom break) he was a little more ready to share and take turns.

I know it had to be incredibly hard for him to not be able to play with all those toys. I think he did pretty well for a 3 ½ year old. He really is a well-behaved kid. However, I am happy that the next time presents are involved, it will be Christmas, and both he and Carter will be opening them!