More and more, we are realizing that Kip is a rather anxious kid. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised considering my family history, but it is beginning to play itself out for Kip in a number of ways this year.
Primarily, Kip has a hard time with new experiences even when it is something completely fun and we know he will enjoy it. Going to the fire house with his class, the Halloween Party at school, Polar Express day, etc. All of these things were preceded by meltdowns and refusals to participate. Kip was scared because he didn't know what to expect. People were telling him it would be fun but the anticipation isn't fun for him.
Sometimes we do not even tell Kip about something we are planning on doing or something that is going to happen at school because the idea of it really throws him off. But sometimes we do tell him because we're excited about it and we think he should be too!
Before our trip to Kansas we told Kip that Uncle Willy wanted to have him drive the tractor with him. That sounds awesome, right? Totally cool! Totally fun! Totally exciting! Right up his ally. Initially, Kip was super excited about it but as we got closer and closer to the actual moment he completely shut down. He was terrified and was giving all kinds of reasons for not wanting to go to Aunt Judy and Aunt Kandi's. All of that went back to the idea of having to ride the tractor. Even when we told him he didn't have to. It took us awhile to clam him down and for him to trust that we wouldn't make him do it. It was a bummer though because we knew he'd love it.
But Aunt Judy came to the rescue and rode out on the small lawn mower. She didn't tell him to get on or force him, she let him decide and when he did - he loved it.
That really eased his worries about the tractor and the next day we went to Uncle Willy's to check it out. He was a little nervous but ultimately got on and had a blast.
Ivy got to sit on it too!
Now that we've ripped the band-aid off, so to speak, Kip will probably have no trouble hoping back on that tractor next time we visit.
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