Turning Two . . . and Three

How is it that the last two month of pregnancy seem to drag on forever, but the first two years after they are born seem to fly by?  I will never understand that, but I know I am always left wishing that I had taken more pictures, more videos, written down more details, blogged more.  Oh well, I guess we don't enjoy life any less, but taking that time to reflect on the details of day-to-day life somehow just seems to let you savor it a little more.

As the youngest of five, Eliana has grown up really fast.  She is very independent, and don't ever try to tell the youngest from a large family they can't do something.  You will get a lot of lip and a lot of attitude.  She has plenty of that.  James and I always comment how she and Darwin are so similar in their personalities.  I don't think it's an accident because when you are the youngest in a large family, you have to fight for every bit of your independence.  In many ways, that's a great thing, but in some ways, it's not so great..

Whenever we are at a restaurant, we are never quite sure how far away we are from our next screaming protest.  That's how Eliana tells us she does or doesn't want something.  We continue to insist that she not scream for things she wants, but her brothers and sisters keep reinforcing the opposite at home.  At home, she learns that the louder and faster she screams, the sooner she gets what she wants.  We haven't been very successful at unlearning lessons learned at home. 

We are still working on the anger management with Darwin.  He still thinks if he wants to get his way with his brothers or sisters, the best way to do that is to just hit somebody.  Again, they keep reinforcing that because as soon as they realize he is going to hit them, they get out of his way.  He's a pretty scary little guy when he's angry.  I'm sure it's frustrating when your whole life you've had not 1 or 2 people trying to tell you what to do, rather 5 or 6 people doing that.  I guess I kind of understand their frustration, but it doesn't make it any easier to work through this issue as a parent.

Bedtime also continues to be a bit of a struggle.  Eliana has been less than willing to wean, but she has just recently started coming around about sleeping in her bed all night.  I know a lot of parents would just put the kid in the crib and be done with it, but I'm okay with co-sleeping.  We've done that with all of our kids, and they are able to go to bed on their own without any major issues.  At this point, I try to just cherish it.

Portion above was originally drafted in July 2013 but I'm publishing it now with some 2015 updates.

It's been now more than a year and a half since I started drafting this post, and it really just reinforces my original point that time passes so quickly when you have little kids.  We've not only celebrated Eli's 2nd birthday but her 3rd birthday also.  If you can't tell, her dad takes WAY better pictures than I do thankfully.

This year my "little one", as she likes to call herself, is turning four.  She is sassy and loud as ever, and it's still hard to believe she's "the baby".  We affectionately like to call her our "frat brother" because she's crass and uninhibited.  For a while, she was punctuating her sentences with fart noises and shouting fake expletives at others for no reason.  In short, we're having a great time raising our little lady.  She's coming up on four, and I can only imagine what our future holds.  We are lucky to have you, Eli!

Bedtime is Mom Time

I have a very demanding work schedule, so I often find myself up at 2 or 3 in the morning finishing up work that I should have finished that day or that needs to be ready that morning.  Late nights mean I don't always get up in time to see the kids off on the bus.  Thankfully, I can count on our kids and James to get everything together in the morning so everyone gets on the bus.

They go to school. I go to work. James and Eliana spend some "just us" time together and after rushing everyone around to after school activities, feeding everyone dinner, showering and brushing teeth, it's finally time settle down for the night.  This is probably my favorite time of day because I get to do the one thing I don't get to do during the day - spend time with my kids.

Like most kids, our kids LOVE bedtime books.  The best part is that I LOVE reading them.  I love to have their full attention while they are learning something new.  I love to watch their faces light up when something unexpected happens.  I love to hear them giggle when we find a book that's really funny.  I see it as an adventure we take together because I don't always read the book before I share it with them.  Sometimes it's poorly written or boring (small risk I'm willing to take), but we usually get something out of every book we read.

It's not unusual for us to spend a half-hour reading bedtime books, and some nights we spend up to an hour.  Tonight, we had one of those nights.  I made a spur of the moment decision that we should start doing math and reading flashcards for just a few minutes each night to see how they improve over the next few weeks (more on that in a few weeks perhaps), and we were having so much fun that bedtime books were more of an afterthought.  We did finally start reading and we only had time for 2 books tonight.  We picked these two:

We enjoyed both books, but Oscar and the Frog did seem to pique their interest more.  They all love science, and it's all about how living things grow.  The book ends with the question 'Oscar thinks growing is great!  Do you think so, too?'.  Right away, Jameson chimed in with "No!".  Truman was my most surprising response with, "I don't want to leave Mom and Dad!".  Thank goodness you're young because Mom and Dad aren't ready for that either, buddy.  In the mean time, I'm trying to soak it all in, and Mom will keep doing bedtime books as long as they'll let me.

The Freaks Come Out At Night

I used to be a sound sleeper . . . used to be. That all ended once we had children. I thought it was bad enough that our kids wake us up several times each night for whatever dumb reason - nightmares, water requests, "I want daddy!", etc.

Well, I was wrong. Now, somehow we need to be able to "watch" the children when we're sleeping.

Last night, I woke up (as I do every night right now) to run to the bathroom, then I went downstairs for something to drink. When I came back upstairs and sat down in bed, I noticed 2 of Darwin's bedtime companions at the foot of the bed. I thought it was odd because I was certain they were not there when we went to bed. I spend pretty much all day holed up in my bed right now, so I would have noticed if they were sitting there before bedtime or if he brought them earlier.

I recalled an incident from earlier in the night. First thing in the morning, I am used to waking up to Darwin closing his bedroom door as he gets himself out of his crib and heads to our room. The sound of the door always wakes me up. Last night, I was asleep, and I recall hearing a door close, but I was so tired I wasn't sure if it was a dream or if it had really happened. I asked James to check, but I fell asleep before I made sure he followed up. When I woke up and found Darwin's things in our bed, I was afraid that he slipped out of his bed, brought us his babies, and ended up somewhere other than his bed.

When I told James what I was worried about, he went to check on him. Luckily, he was in bed, but I couldn't help but worry and wonder if he had, in fact, gotten out of bed in the middle of the night. If so, how do I keep the kid out of trouble while I'm sleeping?

Tonight, I was doing some work in bed, and I decided to go downstairs to get something to drink. We generally leave the hallway and stairwell lights off at night. I approached the top of the stairs with a dirty cup in my hand, and I reached for the handrail. [This minor detail made all the difference in what happened next]. I started to step on the first step and felt like I was setting my foot on a small, warm dog. I froze and yelled for James as I save myself from falling down the stairs with the handrail I luckily decided to use.

With the crisis averted, I realize that the "dog" on the stairs was actually Amelia. She wakes up multiple times each night, and tonight she decided to lay down on the 1st stair at the top of the stairs, dangerously out of view from her very pregnant mom in a dark hallway. (Note to self: Always check stairs for sleeping children before walking, especially when pregnant). As her dad takes her back to bed, I think 'I could have just killed Amelia, Baby Tiny, and me if I had not been holding the handrail'. I shake my head that I have actually just had that thought.

As they all lie in bed sleeping (for now), I wonder what our next waking incident is going to be. Hopefully, this is all just a phase because James and I might lose it if we have to put up with the nighttime crazies for too much longer.

Originally drafted in Fall of 2011 . . . finally published on post date

So What If It's Not Father's Day

After a long blogging hiatus, I needed something like Father's Day to pull me out of my rut. Sadly, I missed the actual date, but I am still compelled to write my "Father's Day" post. After all, there's no reason we can't celebrate Father's Day any day of the year.

In this household, I am the one that fails to plan for birthdays, anniversaries, or any other special occasion. James is far better in this department, and the kids know it. Apparently, Father's Day deserves more hype than I planned. Jameson told me on Saturday (our chosen day to celebrate) that 'Dad gets to sleep late and eat breakfast in bed'. I told him that we were making cards, and he told me, "We have to make more plans than that". Like I said, I usually fall short in special event planning. Jameson was right. Our family owes James more than that, but James was happy to sleep in until 10:30 and eat a cold bacon, egg, & cheese biscuit in bed. The beauty of men is that they are simple creatures.

Well, I might have missed the actual day, but that does not make James's role in our family any less special any other day. Every day I come home to happy, healthy children (and maybe a cooked dinner) is another day I am thankful for everything he does for us. I know the children concur.

They each have their special bond with their dad, and it's always cute, sometimes even funny, to see it in action. For instance, one of Amelia's favorite rituals is to ask to hold his finger whenever we're in the car. Yes, it sounds ridiculous, and it is, but it's still kind of cute. I am not sure how this strange request ever came up, but I am sure one day she will laugh when I tell her that story.

Jameson's favorite pastime with Dad is definitely video games, specifically Mario Galaxy (or the more recently released Mario Galaxy 2). Strangely, Jameson doesn't even care to play so much as he does to WATCH James play. I'm not sure why or how it works, but Jameson loves to have some video game time with dad.

Truman's favorite time with Dad is just about any one-on-one time he can get. Truman is so good at independent play and is so low-maintenance (usually) that it's easy to just let him do his thing. He's happy to play on his own, but he loves it when James roughhouses with him. He will squeal in delight and his legs buckle when he's laughing hard, startled, or excited. Truman loves to curl up on the couch with Dad, his cup of milk, and a good cartoon.

Darwin is the latest addition to this rowdy bunch. He's no longer happy to sit back and watch all the fun, so he is demanding to get down and do what the other kids are doing. Like all those before him, Darwin is a big fan of Dad. I know James was happy to finally have one of our kids say "da da" before "ma ma".

Okay, so I'm a bit late with my "Father's Day" post, but is there ever really a bad time to say thanks, James, for being without question the best dad and husband possible? I don't think so.

My Kids Are Funny

We're never at a loss for a good laugh around here with all the crazy things our kids do. I should be doing work, but I wanted to get a few of these written down, so one day they can laugh at themselves too.

Jameson
My brother came over to visit last week with his daughter. He and JJ have a playfully antagonistic relationship, so I was surprised when after an evening of their usual shenanigans Jameson asked Betito (as JJ calls him) if he could give him a kiss before he left. Betito, of course said yes, and as he bends over for a kiss, Jameson kicked him in the shins. I was just as shocked as my brother, but we could not help but laugh.


Truman
I heard Amelia crying in the twins room tonight, so I went in to check on her and see if she needed her blanket or something. I went in, put her back on her pillow and covered her again with her blanket. When she settled and went back to sleep, I look over at Truman to make sure he is okay. I laugh as I catch sight of a belly-side down, bare-butt-against-the-crib-rails naked Truman asleep and, apparently, very comfortable. He has nicely scrunched up his pj's and diaper against the crib rails. What's funnier. . . this is the 2nd night in a row that we have to re-dress him in the middle of the night.

Amelia
What amazes me about Amelia is her ability to learn and repeat new words and phrases shortly after first being introduced to them. Not long after Darwin's birth, one of her new favorite phrases was 'chocolate milk', which really sounded more like "yacolat mook". She, in particular, seemed to take interest in what I was doing when I would nurse Darwin. I don't recall exactly how I tried explaining it to them, but I had to laugh when one day as I'm nursing Darwin, Amelia comes over to see what I'm doing and knowingly declares it "yacolat mook".

I can never wait to find out what they'll do or say next to make us laugh!

Jameson Turns Four

On the day you were born, I had no idea how much you would change my life.

When you become a parent, you give up a lot of things but you gain far more. As I think back now about how it feels to become a parent, I would say it's as if you have suddenly gained a part of yourself that you never knew you were missing. From that day forward, you cannot imagine living without that piece of you, and sometimes you hardly remember your life without it.

We had a doula attend Darwin's birth, and during a conversation with her, we talked about having children. She was telling me about her five girls and how they ended up with five. She told me that after they had their 3rd, her husband was ready to stop, but she really felt that she wanted another. I asked her how she convinced him to have another, and she told me how she described to him how she had already envisioned her next daughter. She told him what she was going to be like, and about how much she would miss her if she was never born.

What struck me about this conversation was how she said she would miss her yet unborn daughter. Strangely enough, I knew exactly what she meant. People ask how we have the time or energy to have/make more children, and I struggle more with 'how could I refuse them?'. Today, Jameson, you turn four, and I can say with certainty, that my life would not be complete without you.

In the years since you were born, we have watched you learn and discover so many things about life, about your Mom and Dad, your family, and about yourself. You have become a big brother 3 times over, and I know this is your proudest accomplishment. This year, you gained a "sitting buddy" and proved you were absolutely right when you told us 'Baby Bob the Boy' was in Mom's belly.

This year you started "working on your patience", and I am so proud that you're learning to eat your vegetables. You told us that you were ready for school, so you Dad started your "lessons" at home. He's doing a wonderful job, and I love seeing some of your experiments (He's been working on his photography.).

You surprise me nearly every day with everything that you know and say. Some days you are so mature and grown-up that it's hard to believe you're only 3 (four now). Other days, we have to remind ourselves since we expect so much of you.

You are so much fun that conversations with you are truly an adventure. Some days I wonder and laugh about how you must come up with your stories and explanations about how or why things happen. One of Mom and Dad's favorite is your explanation of falling in love and getting married.

There is no question you are afraid to ask, and sometimes Mom and Dad have to be careful and creative about how we answer. We believe in always telling you the truth, so when you asked how Baby Bob was going to get out of my belly, I had to pause for a moment to figure out how to answer you. Lucky for me, you were satisfied with my honest, but not too graphic answer.

In the years since you came into our crazy family, you have taught me a lot about myself. Through you and in you, I have seen my greatest strengths and weaknesses. As you grow into a boy and someday into a man, my hope is that you remain that caring, thoughtful, sensitive, beautiful person that you are. You are a wonderful son and an amazing brother. I pray for many more happy, healthy years for you and our family, and I cherish all the years we have already shared. Truman, Amelia, and Baby Bob (Darwin) are so lucky that you are their role model, and they are already learning so much from you.

We all love you, and I hope you have a happy 4th birthday!

Racing to September

It's official: James will no longer have a paid job after tomorrow.

I would say he will not be working after tomorrow, but I know that is not true. In fact, I am afraid he will be working even more. He just won't get a paycheck for it. Many months ago, when we found out we were expecting #4, we knew we had to do something. We had a lot to consider when we were working through the details of 'what are we going to do?', but ultimately, the decision was simple - James needed to stay home with the kids.

We made this decision back in February, and we really have not looked back. I give him a lot of credit because I know a lot of men would not be willing or capable of successfully staying home with their kids full-time. Despite my confidence in his abilities, I am a little nervous about how we will all handle the change. We are keeping an open mind, so we will see how it goes for us.

As James's workload (professional workload, that is) is ramping down, mine is ramping WAY up. For the past 2 years or so, we have been evaluating financial and project management software with a plan to transition as soon as we found a solution that could meet our demands. Well, we found one, and guess who gets to implement it? That's right. I have known about this for a long time, but I guess I never thought I would be expecting a baby when it came time to do the implementation.

If you've worked in a business environment and been through a major software change, then you might know how involved the process can be. Most implementations of the type we are doing average 6 to 9 months from purchase to 'go live', and we must do it in four (including the one month that's already passed). The good news is that I'm pretty good with data manipulation, conversion, and managing change. The bad news is that I have no flexibility on our target implementation date. So far, I am on target, but I will be counting on James BIG TIME to help me meet deadlines.

I know he'll pull through for me. He always has. He is the reliable one in this marriage, so I am glad our kids will have him full-time. Wish us luck though, 'cause I think we're going to need it.

Blogcation

Okay, so it's been a while since I last posted. It was all too much, but I finally feel ready to write again. It's been an eventful month with the kids: Amelia walks, Truman is starting, we've all been sick, we had a great Christmas . . .

I was over committed on my Christmas projects, so something had to go. I'd apologize to my readers if I had any left, but I guess I really owe my apology to my kids since this is the closest I will ever come to a journal. Oddly, I think I discovered tonight why I don't keep a journal and have never felt compelled to keep one.

When I think about keeping a journal or a diary, I think of it as a place to record thoughts that I might not share with others. On our way home from a short night out tonight, James and I were talking about some of the conversations we had with other people and a thought occurred to me - I'm an open book. There's not much I won't tell people (if they want to know) about myself - even people I've just met. I never really gave it much thought until my brother made a comment once about my blog and the idea of revealing personal stories and thoughts for anyone to see. The idea of sharing his personal thoughts and life events with just anyone was a strange idea to him.

I guess the way I see it is that I've got nothing to hide. Read if you care. Don't read if you don't care or if you're bored. We're all human and experience many of the same things to some degree. Why would I keep everything to myself when it's so much more fun to share those experiences with others when I can? Why keep a diary when I can share my thoughts with others?

Happy New Year!

Three Lovely Years

In the last three years since God blessed us with your birth, you have changed our lives in ways I never imagined. As you grow another year closer to becoming a man, I want to tell you about the happiness you have brought to our lives.

When I first found out I was pregnant with you, I was completely shocked. We knew you were coming, but we never expected you so soon. I remember being thankful that I would get to be a mother. In the months that followed, my body changed, as did the amount of sleep I got. Nonetheless, as most parents will tell you, pregnancy does not prepare you in any way for parenthood, with the possible exception of all that sleep deprivation. I had no idea how much you were missing in our lives.

As the weeks passed, and the realization that you would be born soon became more palpable as you grew, I already knew that I loved you more than I had ever loved myself. I dreaded going to my appointments and having that bit of doubt enter my mind that I might not hear your heart beat. I remember breathing a little easier every time that I did. I will never forget the first time I saw you on the ultrasound. I couldn't believe I was seeing the baby I would be holding in about 7 months. Here you are at about 10 weeks - just a little bean with heartbeat.



I struggled through your pregnancy a bit at the end, and you kept surprising me right up until the end. You were due on October 9, 2005 (our 1st wedding anniversary), so when September rolled around, I thought I had a few weeks to pack. Much to my surprise, you showed up 3 weeks early on September 21st.


When we brought you home, I was so overwhelmed with the idea of being completely responsible for you, but thankfully, Dad came to the rescue and reassured me that we would be fine. I remember we were completely unprepared, so your dad had to make a run to Target for some baby essentials. After a few weeks, I settled into motherhood, and I began to feel comfortable that I knew what I was doing.

In these early months, I watched you sleep all the time, and I thanked God for blessing us with you. I wanted to hold you all the time, and despite others' warnings, I let you sleep in mom & dad's bed so I could have you close to me all night. Although we had a hard time getting you to sleep on your own, I will never regret (and I often miss) putting you in our bed. I am thoroughly convinced that co-sleeping is one of the great joys of life. I am happy to have shared that time with you.

As the months passed and you began to crawl and walk and talk, I only became more enamored of you. With each day that passed, I was more certain that there is no greater purpose in life than to have a family and love it. I still struggle with my patience, but my love for you is unwavering.

From day one, you were a very social baby. You were anxious to start talking so your voice could be heard. 'Mom' was your first word, and oddly, 'backpack' (Dora the Explorer) followed not far behind. Once you learned your first couple words, there was no stopping you. Early on, you would get frustrated when I couldn't understand EXACTLY what you were trying to tell me. Now you've learned how to rephrase or explain what you're trying to tell me when I don't understand. My conversations with you are always an adventure because you can always make me laugh.

You started off as a great eater, but at about 18 months we hit a road block. Suddenly, you wanted to exercise your independence, so mealtime became a real challenge. Unfortunately, you have your dad's appetite, so I always think you should be eating more, and he always thinks you're fine. He may be right, but if I didn't worry about what you eat, who would?


Consider yourself a well-traveled baby. In your three years, you traveled to Mexico City, Lake Tahoe (NV), Orlando (FL), New York City, and Scottsdale (AZ). Soon, you can add Las Vegas to the list. You're a great traveler, and we look forward to many more family trips with you and the twins. Here you are showing off one of your souvenirs.


I make a point to tell you 'I love you' every day, and these words never lose their meaning. You like to tell me you "love me too, too much", and these moments I especially cherish. I love how much you love your love your babies and how you always tell me how "that Maya is a funny girl". I love to watch them squeal with delight when they see you and how you can always make them laugh. I love that you want to read them bedtime stories, and you always want to help me cover them. You are such a good big brother, and I am so happy that mom and dad were able to give you the gift of family.



So here I am with this day upon us. You're turning three, and I couldn't help getting choked up while looking at pictures of your first three years of life. In many ways, you're still a baby, but I
know today marks another year gone, alive now only in our memories. Though I cannot help but mourn its passing (just a tiny bit), I'm overjoyed to have lived it with you.

But today is no different in that I will pray that God keeps you and your babies happy and healthy. For every day I get to share with you, I consider myself blessed. I hope that when you are old enough to reflect on your own life that you will remember being loved and happy. I wish happiness and freedom above all other things for you. I want you to find your own way but know that you can always lean on mom and dad.


You are loud, opinionated, stubborn, warm, kind, affectionate, intelligent, sensitive, impulsive, hyperactive, verbose, and a thousand other things. I love every bit of you.

Happy Birthday, Jameson! Thank you for three wonderful years.

The Long and Winding Post

When I write, I generally like to have an idea where I'm going to begin and end.  This time, I just don't know; however, it's all about the kids.  James has been making comments about how inconsistently I post, so I thought I better get another one in so I can take off another couple of weeks.

My babies are all growing up so fast.  Jameson is turning 3 in just a few months, and he is just funny.  I never know what the next crazy thing is that will come out of his mouth.  Take today, for example, he had just come home from the store with my mom and dad.  He noticed one of a couple of neighbor kids in our yard and he tells my mom, "I'm really mad. Who's in my grass? I better go find out what they want.".  My mom, of course, told him it was okay, and he couldn't just go around picking fights.  She used to tell me the same thing.  Apparently, it doesn't work.

James has also been on my case recently for "playing ha-ya" with JJ.  He came home the first time he went to see Kung Fu Panda all geared up to show off his moves.  I played along, at first, and now all he wants to do is "play ha-ya", which really just means he wants to run at you like he's going to karate chop you and have you catch him.  As with most things, JJ has carried it too far and started kicking and punching harder and harder, so now we're trying to break him of this "game".  Amanda's got a good action shot of this game on her blog.

He's been going to "school" now for about 3 months, and HE LOVES IT!  James and I love it too, except for the fact that he brings home every virus circulating.  James likes to tell me that I should just move in to the doctor's office.  We recently got over strep throat then croup - tons of fun.  Strangely, I'm getting used to having sick kids, so it's not stressing me out quite as much.  The doctor also likes to reassure me that it's good for them since it helps build their immune system.  Although I'll assure you that it's not doing much good for my sleeping.

Illnesses excepted, school has far surpassed my expectations.  Originally, I wasn't really sure if I was comfortable with the whole idea of group care, but seeing him have so much fun has helped convince me that we made the right choice.  He's going 3 days per week, and he can't get out the door fast enough on school days.  He talks about his "friends", especially Gabrielle, who is, according to his teacher, his "best bud".  She says sometimes they walk around playing games and holding hands - which I think is so cute.  His class is always doing some type of craft or project that they later send home, so it's nice to collect these little mementos.  I am a memento hoarder after all (I still have corsages from my high school dances).

Here's a picture of my maniac "getting his horns" and giving you his mean face.

Speaking of maniacs, I have two of them on my hands.  Amelia is the other.  This girl's smile just melts me, but she is just as high maintenance as JJ is and was.  A few nights ago, she was tired, and I had just gotten home after karate.  She was crying when I got home, and she was so excited to see me.  I picked her up, and started getting things ready for her shower.  I asked James for a hand.  As soon as I hand her back to him, she throws her arms down, lets out an angry scream, and starts crying.  We both just cracked up because it's very typical of her hot-n-cold personality.

She has taken to saying "da-da", and has been saying "mom" when she's desperate for me to pick her up or feed her.  She mostly like to scream and screech, and her specialty is pulling hair.  She is very close to crawling, but her waddle scoot seems to work pretty well for her.  Here she is as she wakes up most mornings - in a good mood.  Usually, within the hour, she's unhappy and crying about something.

Here is my happy baby.  I can genuinely say that Truman is an easy baby, and some days it's the only thing that saves us a lot of headaches.  He's always so happy, and he gives the biggest smiles.  Here's one of them.

James has finally accepted that Truman says "mama".  After weeks of denial, he finally cracked after he had to suffer through trying to feed him baby food while I was out as Truman cried, "mama".  He is beginning to say "dada", but his favorite is really just "blah, blah, blah" - no, not just any gibberish but "blah, blah, blah".

Truman may be easier during the day, but, oddly, he's the tougher baby in the middle of the night.  This is the one time when there is no substitute for momma.  I'm afraid I may be creating another bedtime beast like JJ, but I can't help myself.  When they cry, I crack.

Here's a couple of of twin pictures, so you can see this pair in action.  I get to see the twin connection every day, but it's much harder to share it through pictures.  We're having a great time just watching them grow together, and I love that they always have a playmate.  The twin connection goes farther than that though.  I'm not even sure I understand it, but I can see it when they are together.  It's very sweet.

Here's one last JJ picture.  I think it's all I have time for tonight.  I'm taking a risk that a baby wakes up, and I haven't even showered yet.  

Here's Jameson's newest favorite - the computer.  He knows all about Nick Jr.'s website since I've taken him to it since he was little.  Well, for the longest time, he would tell me how he wanted to watch cartoons on my computer anytime he saw me working on it.  Sometimes I would agree, but usually I would tell him that my computer is for work not play.  He never liked this answer.  Well, James took care of that for me by teaching him to use the computer himself.  This weekend he was playing games and watching videos on Nick Jr.

Don't leave me waiting here, lead me to your blog . . . (I know, bad joke, but couldn't help myself)

Parents are Funny

I was thinking about our kids tonight and how proud I am of them, and I started thinking about how most parents have this thing in common. I stress MOST because I know not everyone is fortunate in the parents department. Anyway, I was thinking how parents are often proud of the dumbest things their children do. Usually, you're the only one that is amused. I know because I've seen it and done it.

One really good example of this is potty training. Think about it. If you're a parent whose been through this, you're so proud of your kid when he/she finally decides to go on the potty. If you step back and think for a second, it's kind of silly, isn't it? Sweet . . . my kid doesn't poop his pants anymore! or whatever you may celebrate to yourself. It's silly, but I will still be stoked once Jameson decides he is going to stop being stubborn and just go already.

As a teenager, I remember playing club and high school soccer, and thinking how annoying parents can be. Parents can get especially obnoxious when it comes to sports. Everyone wants their kid to be good at something, and dads usually want that something to be a sport. I knew a lot of kids who played soccer mostly because their parents wanted it for them. If you've ever watched ANY high school football or soccer game, you can watch parents fulfilling or hoping to fulfill their sports aspirations through their children. I pray to God that I don't become one of those parents. Of course, I won't deny that I will be ecstatic if any of them chooses a sport I know anything about, namely soccer.

Intelligence - here's another common source of parental pride. I know we all swear up and down that we have the smartest kids in the world. Resisting the urge to compare our children's intelligence to other kids' is a difficult thing to do. I don't know if we want validation or if maybe we think that our kids are smart because we're smart. I can't figure out why so many of us care if our kids are any smarter than the next kid. Maybe we just really don't want to be ordinary. Yes, I think maybe that's it. We don't want to be just like everyone else. We want to be special, so we also want our children to be special. Who knows.

One thing is for sure. We all have our hang-ups. Mine involves all things health and safety - my kids health and safety, that is. Yeah, I would be okay with having a few dummies if it meant they would be healthy dummies. James thinks I obsess about our kids' safety, but I can't help myself.

For example, tonight we had a St. Patrick's Day party at James's aunt's house. At some point in the night, while I am busy with a baby upstairs, Jameson decides he is going to take a fake leprechaun beard and chase a couple of his cousins around the house. I hear the commotion (which had been going for about 5 minutes) and come downstairs to spoil the fun. Did I say that the fake leprechaun beard is attached to a long sturdy plastic handle? Yeah, well, I had images in my head of Jameson tripping and stabbing himself in the face or stomach with this plastic hazard. Okay, he wasn't exactly running with scissors, but not too horribly far from it. I'm pretty sure I felt like a leper at that point because I think everyone else in the room thought I was crazy for spoiling their fun . . . everyone, including James. Go on and admit it the rest of you . . .Amanda? Hannah? Emily?

Anyway, the point is, we all have our neurotic ideas and habits as parents. If you're not a parent yet but plan to be, don't worry. You'll discover yours when you have your children. Don't judge me for mine.