The Toilet Drummer and the Goat

July 23, 2013 was a magnificent day in our lives.  CFA results day.  After taking his test June 1st and waiting an agonizing 7 weeks for the results we found out that Curtis passed Level 2 of the CFA!!! This is huge!! For those of you who don't know what the CFA is, it is like a CPA-type professional designation for Finance people.  There are 3 levels, and supposedly level 2 is the hardest.   Last year Curtis started studying in December and studied 6-8 hours a day to pass level 1. This year, because of school and his internship search he didn't start studying until March and had to do 10-12 hours a day to be done and ready by June 1st.  It was a horribly un-fun 2 months for our whole family so thankfully he passed.  It is really a miracle though.  I feel like Heavenly Father has really blessed Curtis because he didn't even finish reading all the material.  I honestly feel like his dedication to not studying on Sunday in order to keep the Sabbath holy was what helped him make up the difference.  Anyway, I am very proud of him and many prayers of gratitude were said at our house last week.

(This is a terrible picture photo-quality-wise so please pardon the lack of awesomeness.  The door banner says, "Congrats Curtis! July 23, 2013 You killed Level 2" with a picture of the words CFA level 2 on a headstone.  We can thank my years of first grade teaching for this juvenile display I created...")

Just for clarification the title of my blog has nothing to do with Curtis.  He is sadly neither a toilet drummer, nor a goat.  Sorry to disappoint you.  That would be referring to the other male in this household, Kaden.  I'm sure a picture says a thousand words.  Yes, it's true, I may not ever win mother of the year award because my son likes to drum on the toilet seat and (gasp) I let him.  I do always wash his hands afterwards, lest you germ freaks think less of me.

To be quite honest, this kid has a complete obsession with the bathroom right now.  Anytime I turn my back on him for a second he bolts for the bathroom and he is fast, let me tell you.   I try to remember to keep the bathroom doors closed all the time but anytime it's not shut all the way he gets in and gets into what he likes.  I'm pretty sure he's determined to make sure that the cabinet is always open, my baskets of things are all over the floor and nothing in the basket has remained "unsampled" if you will.

Kaden has a fetish for eating things he shouldn't.  In the last week I have had to take away many non-food items from him that he has started to make some serious headway on, had I let him keep eating: Dove soap (he snatched it while he was in the tub and took a big chunk out of it before Curtis or I could get it from him), he ate the label off of a bottle of Midol (which I yanked out of his mouth), he always eats my contact lens case if I forget to put it up high instead of in the bathroom basket at his level, and cardboard of any sort, including board books from the library. (Sorry Charlotte Mecklenburg taxpayers for destruction of many library board books this summer.  Death by slobber.)

I swear he is turning into a goat and would eat metal cans if I'd offer them to him.  The irony of all the weird stuff he's tried to eat this week is that I have to trick him into eating "real" food.  He has utterly refused almost all food in the last week so I've had to get creative.  Yes, that is part of his breakfast spread around the coffee table.  I've noticed if I put out finger foods for him to eat while he is playing, he'll eat them but if I offer him the same handful of Chex in his high chair he will gag and scream and refuse to eat them, so I've taken the liberty to make our lives more peaceful and figure as long as he just eats I don't care where he eats it (as long as it's not the bathroom.)

And yes, last but certainly not least... Guess who is walking all by himself?  Kaden took his first steps last Saturday when Curtis and I both happened to be home and playing with him. It was probably the highlight of the summer to see how excited he was to do it all by himself.  He was giggling and smiling the entire 3 steps and then clapped for himself for a good minute afterwards.  It's amazing how much better he's gotten in just a week.  We are proud of our little monkey.  He is growing up so quickly.