hello world: May 2012

May 21, 2012

May 15, 2012

When I Grow Up...

Owen,

I never really knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. Still don't really.

But people ask, so you come up with an answer.

Be prepared.

I think I used to say doctor or teacher

(makes complete sense...very similar careers).

When I got to high school, I thought business sounded good.

In college, I still couldn't decide.

I tried to leave myself as much optionality as possible...

all of my business electives were fulfilled with pre-health requirements.

I then settled on business, but waited until my junior year to choose accounting.

So indecisive. I hope I don't pass that trait to you.

Although my career choice was always up in the air,

I have always been absolutely certain that I wanted to be a mom.

And last year when you came into the world, you reaffirmed that being a mom is what I am meant to be.

You make me worry, you've made me cry, you make me smile. You make me get less sleep, have more patience, shop less, empathize more, watch less TV, and take so many more pictures. You make me so very happy, so grateful for everyday that we spend together. You definitely make me want to be a better person. To be a perfect role model for you. And though that probably won't happen, please know that I am trying.

You've learned to give hugs and kisses. Most the time, I have to ask to get one.

But on a few recent occasions when we've been playing, you've stopped and given me a hug or kiss.

Completely melts my heart.

I know how very blessed we are to have you in our lives.

Couldn't be more thankful.

So thank you for the lovely card. And tell your father thanks for the pretty shelf he made (and the shellac, of course). And even though I purchased a few plates as a Mother's Day gift to myself, know that being your momma is the best gift of all!

xoxo

Momma

PS - don't break the plates

May 13, 2012

Longest Day Ever

- 6:15 -

Banana time.

- 6:17 -

All done.

It seriously took two minutes. I timed.

- 11:30 -

Met Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Grandpa at the Union.

Grandma taught Owen to "boo" at the Jayhawk.

Always a useful skill.

Our trek around the union made me flash forward to Senior Day.

Maybe if I start preparing now, I will be excited and not sad to send my babe to college.

I just hope the next 17 years go by veerrrry slowly.

- 12:30 -

Slow as in how time passed while we were trying to contain our wild man at Rebecca's (Nate's cousin) and then Brian's (my brother) graduation luncheons.

Love seeing family, just wish every restaurant had a spare padded room

where you could let your crazy child run wild.

Or maybe even slower.

- 6:00 -

As in a college graduation ceremony.

I have little recollection of my own, and I don't remember it being

sooooo long.

It didn't take long to run out of goldfish and fruit snacks.

- 7:30 -

Finally official,

Brian got his diploma.

Congrats Grad!

And though the ceremony wasn't officially over, we had to go.

The size of Owen's belly may indicate that he could miss a meal,

but it sure wouldn't be pretty.

We left our camera behind so we wouldn't miss out on anything.

- 8:30 -

Owen cleaned his plate.

Loved him some pulled pork and potato salad!

- 9:00 -

No graduation celebration is complete without lots of cake and pictures.

- 10:30-ish -

We started to stick out like sore thumbs as the

graduation celebration turned more college party.

Several examples below.

a) random sister acting like she worked for Party Pic

b) random grandma playing with her grandkids

and I didn't notice this one until I uploaded pictures

c) amongst all the kids having a good time is a random guy getting milk from the fridge to fill a bottle

That random guy is such a good dad!

And I don't know why, but I even tried to get the little guy to sleep in Brian's room,

but by then the music was bumping.

It was time for our family to gather our diaper bag and exit Aggieville.

We really had a great day and couldn't be happier for the very special graduates.

Containing a wild animal all day long is never easy, but Owen did pretty well.

And though it's difficult to say for certain since he started out with such crazy hours in the beginning,

we do think this was his longest day ever.

Way to go, O!

May 12, 2012

"Friends"

I was SO excited to get this!

Owen's very first class picture.

It just makes me smile every time I look at it.

I have no idea how they all sat still long enough,

but you can tell a few of them aren't too happy about it.

May 10, 2012

Hunger Games

I haven't gotten into the Hunger Games craze.

Haven't read the books or even seen the movie.

But, I have seen the real life version.

It's going on at Owen's daycare.

It all started a few weeks back. I noticed the "aggressive" box was checked on his day sheet.

It was checked along with "silly", "talkative", "playful", etc. So, I didn't inquire.

But after a few days of seeing this, I asked what exactly they meant by "aggressive".

They told me O had received the mark because he pushed down a friend.

Then he received the mark for trying to bite a friend.

They mentioned his biting attempts a few different times. We started to notice it more at home too.

Most of the time we could catch him before it happened, but in the unlucky event that we didn't,

we quickly found out that those bites hurt. Real bad. But we still weren't overly concerned. That is, until the next week when I receieved a call mid-morning from daycare saying that Owen had bitten 4 friends that morning and if he bit one more, he would be sent home for the day.

Already getting kicked out of school at the age of 1!?!

Seemed a bit crazy. One afternoon at home isn't really going to cure a biting boy, but at the same time, I wouldn't want my child to be the poor victim of his sharp little chompers. I personally have been the victim, and it makes all 27 years of me want to cry. So, I didn't challenge their plan.

I called Nate and told him we were raising a juvenile delinquent.

Later in the day I received another call from daycare. I dreadfully answered the phone, but to my surprise, she called to say that he was doing much better.

Whew!

Now fairly concerned and realizing our current responses weren't effective, I sought advice.

The doctor said to ignore it, kids just do it for attention.

Others said to be very stern and convey to him that this was bad behavior. Another suggested time-out.

And a receptionist at my hair salon, who happens to be studying early childhood development, gave me a little under-the-table advice. Bite him back.

And yes, we've tried it all.

Later that week I got yet another call from daycare. After a huge sigh, I picked up the phone.

She informs me that this time Owen's friend bit him. She wanted me to be aware of what happened and that he may have a mark.

I was shocked, but also relieved that he wasn't the bully this time. The tables had turned.

I mentioned that he must be getting paybacks. She assured me that it's just very common at that age.

She said that, similar to when Owen was the biter, they made this biter give Owen a hug and then help hold the ice pack on the bite.

Maybe I'm a bad parent, but I actually thought the bite was good for him.

Clearly the toddlers bite a bit harder than I ever would.

I thought it might help him understand that it isn't just playing, it hurts.

Real bad.

Behind their cute little faces, we are finding out that toddlers are vicious.

I always find it funny that they refer to "his friend" that he pushed down, got scratched by, bit, etc.

I am definitely not making friends in that room.

Since his molars have popped through, the biting has subsided. So it turns out that his vicious behavior was somewhat related to teething. Last week, he only bit and got bit once.

This week, no biting at all!

We are hoping the Hunger Games are over for good, at least in the toddler room.

_______

***Editor's note: this was written last night and he bit someone today. Sigh.