Skip to main content

a study in contrasts

this pic is actually from when we woke
up before the rest of the house at my friend's
house in maryland last week. sweet baby
 boy checking out the big back yard.

i made mention that yesterday morning was not such a good morning for john and i. i thought maybe i'd elaborate just a bit. yesterday = demon. today = angel.

waking up
  • demon child: screaming, crying, yelling, throwing stuffed animals out of the bed, with no solace from mama when she walks in the room.
  • angel child: playing sweetly in his crib, giggling and jumping in bed when mama walks into the room
diaper change
  • demon child: wriggling, jumping, screaming "no!", kicking the diapers off the counter and insisting "no diaper!!!"
  • angel child: giggling, wiggling, and laughing as he says, "diaper on! diaper on! good job mommy!"
mommy getting ready
  • demon child: clinging to mommy's ankle, yelling "up! up! outside! outside please!" and crying hysterically when mommy insists she has to get ready for work
  • angel child: drinking milk happily and saying, "mommy pretty" as mommy puts her makeup on. saying, "up please!" to give mommy a kiss before running into the other room to play.
daddy
  • demon child: screaming for daddy despite being repeatedly told that daddy's at the gym. yelling "NO!" when mommy informs him that daddy will be home in a little while.
  • angel child: giggling gleefully as he runs into the bedroom to "find" daddy, sweetly crying "daddddyyyyy!" on his way in
food
  • demon child: screaming for cheese. throwing cheese across the room yelling "no" when mommy gives him cheese. screaming for milk. yelling "no, juice!" when mommy hands him milk. yelling, "no, milk!" when mommy hands him juice.
  • angel child: giggling gleefully as he runs into the bedroom to "find" daddy, sweetly crying "daddddyyyyy!" on his way in.
getting in the car
  • demon child: jumping out of mommy's arms and running back to the door of the house. insisting, "inside!" when we are outside, and "outside!" when we are inside. flopping to the floor of the garage to protest getting into his car seat.
  • angel child: climbing agile-ly into his car seat all by himself, all the while explaining, "mommy's truck! john school in mommy truck."
arriving at school
  • demon child: climbing up mommy's legs, clinging to mommy's shoulder, crying, "no" and refusing to sit down at the table, turning his head away from his teacher when she tries to greet him.
  • angel child: clinging to mommy and not wanting her to leave, but then sitting at the table to eat his breakfast and play with the other kids.
oh, oh, what a difference a day makes. what a difference a day makes.

*   *   *

here are the last few pics from our memorial day travels. these were taken on the observation deck at bwi airport, where they have a plane "fuselage" for the kids to play in (and drive) and some baggage trucks for them to climb and drive as well. anytime john gets his hands on a steering wheel, he's "driving a tractor!"

there were some other kids around playing with us as well, and john had a fantastic time killing several hours before our flight.





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

pull up your big boy undies

"what time is it? mommy? what oclock?" john's teacher told me something amazing today. "you should bring me some big boy undies," she said, "i haven't changed john in weeks." it seems that at school, since they check in with him periodically to see if he has to potty, and since his very smart teacher has noticed his (very regular) bowel movement schedule, john is potty trained. at 9am at 2pm, she plops him on the toilet. he might sit for 20 minutes, reading a book. when she checks on him, he says, "i just poo-pooin', miss meka." and when he's done, he's good and done. we're not quite that far along at home, but tonight we go shopping for big boy undies. and i'm sure we'll have a few accidents, but that's just a part of the process ... and soon my little boo will be in big boy undies full time. and ... it's a great time for him to be out of diapers. because good lord willing and the creek ...

this is 38

this is 38. grocery store sushi and cake, 8pm, alone. and for a minute, i let it feel every bit that sad and blue. because honestly, sometimes things feel sad and blue. and one thing i am learning is that i can't deny that sad and blue. i gotta sit with it, feel it, cry a tear or three in my mediocre cake, and just be. this is 38. i am not 100% sure what i expected, but i had high hopes of a lovely birthday evening with my fellas, and instead i picked up the three crankiest angriest bullyingest boys in the universe when i went to the daycare. they were mean to each other and didn't want anything to do with anything i had to say. and instead of enjoying hanging out, we argued and fought and they went to bed unhappy and i sat down for my un-exciting birthday dinner, alone. but another thing i am learning is that routine is my friend. so i started my evening routine, finding my rhythm. a few minutes of sweeping and cleaning. a few minutes of prep for tomorrow, lunch...

on lullabies

i am not a singer. if you've sat behind me in church, you know this to be true. (and i'm sorry.) a musician, yes. a singer no. and yet i find myself singing to john almost nonstop. and the beauty is, he seems to actually like it! (there's no accounting for taste. he also thinks i'm the most beautiful woman in the world. i'm no ogre, but i'm certainly not winning any beauty contests outside of my son's brain!) and actually, i've written some lullabies for john that are pretty nice. and it made me think: did your parents sing to you? do you remember what they sang, and better yet, if you have kids, do you sing the same songs to them? reply in the comments!