TMI Tuesday: Oh, Pickle Juice!

Over the last several months our son’s obsession with Mickey Mouse has slowly intensified. It has gotten to the point that we have to be careful when walking around stores so that items featuring the Disney icon are not in his direct line of sight. While he doesn’t always reach for the red and black rodent, there have been times when all of his intense attention is focused on this particular character. That being said, Pluto also elicits a similar response on the rare occasions when he sees something with that character on it.

In addition to the small collection of books that we have amassed over the past year (and we have read many of those small books over and over and over and over again), we have also adorned his bedroom with wall decals of all the Mickey Mouse clubhouse cast of characters and they were a bit of a distraction during the first few nights they were up, we have taught him that they go to sleep when we put him down. This usually results in our son waving to each of them as we carry him across the room first to get his nightly story ready to him and then to his bed to go to sleep. He has gotten used to seeing them and he no longer tries to engage them in conversation. But…

A few weeks ago we made the mistake of putting his Mickey Mouse stuffed animal in the crib with him when we put him down for the night. While it seemed like he was having a great time, the problem was that he didn’t go to sleep until hours after we put him down. He may have been happy at the time but he was absolutely miserable in the morning and grumpy the entire day… sounds like daddy when he doesn’t get enough quality sleep. Obviously, that was the first and last time that we let him bunk down with Mickey.

However, since then he has become quite chatty in the middle of the night no matter what fluffy friend he has sleeping with him. In fact, there have been countless occasions since then when we have heard him talking with Bear Frog in the middle of the night. Seems as though he may have had to talk through a dream he just had. And then there are the other times when the cuddly creatures seemed to have said something out of turn and end up being punched in the face and/or thrown across the crib.

Of course, sometimes this happens more out of frustration as lately the crib has become a lot smaller given his recent growth spurts. We can’t do much about it as this is just one of the phases that will come and go over time. Like the many different situation prior, this one is both amusing and frustrating depending on the night. In the end, it will definitely be interesting to see how his fascination with Mickey Mouse evolves over time and whether he will continue to hold court in the middle of the night. Like many things, only time will tell.

TMI Tuesday: More Presents!

Over the last couple of weeks my wife and I have been picking up supplies, coordinating food, and ordering a special cake (the product from the local Walmart was surprisingly good). It was all for a very special day and a memory that we wanted our son to carry with him in these early recollections of life. So, with the Mickey decorations strewn about the kitchen and lining the driveway, this past weekend we had a very small gathering at our home to celebrate our son’s birthday (even though we think the calendar is lying to us). It was a great, low key, get together which actually required less preparation and clean up than my wife and I were expecting.

While he is now playing shy around most people now, it was great seeing him play and watching his face light up when a present piqued his interest. After lunch and presents it was time for cake and while most kids would love to smash the heck out of the confection and get icing on their face, our son wanted nothing to do with this and was displeased when the blue icing founds its way to his face (with a little assistance… and no it wasn’t me). After that it was just about time to pass out for the afternoon and to recover from the mid-day activities.

In the few days since this gathering we did our best to continue making this a special time for our son. In addition to the plethora of presents that were brought or sent to the house, we have continued to celebrate his birth and giving him a little more leeway regarding play and television time… Mickey is just as entertaining the second, third, and forth times on the loop. However, with so much activity and simulation (plus some intense teething), his schedule is a little off and, when playing, he sometimes has trouble deciding what new toy to play with. While we originally put his other toys away before the party as a means of keeping things clean, it has actually served us well as there is now a whole new host of toys at his disposal.  

It has been a great couple of days celebrating our son’s birthday and I am glad that we spread the distraction over the entire weekend. Even though there have been moments of readjustment after so many days following an alternate routine, it has been well worth the effort and few hiccups along the way. I guess you could mark this down as another first experience of parenthood… the birthday party hangover.

One Day Makes A Difference

Even as I type these words and watch them appear on the screen I still can’t believe that it has already been a year since we met our son for the first time. Our lives changed in an instant and I can still remember the feeling of shock that originally hit me when my wife’s water broke. While I was able to pull myself together, collect most of our things, and drive us down the snow dusted highway to the hospital, that daze didn’t really lift until hours later when our son grabbed my finger for comfort as the nurse cleaned him off.

There are moments from that day, and from the week for that matter, that remain a little hazy having melded together in a jumbled memory but there are also moments, good and bad, that remain clear as if they only happened an hour or two ago. That is what makes this passage of time so unbelievable. And while there have been trying moments to be sure during this first year of parenthood, I wouldn’t never want to go back to the way things used to be. Being a father, sometimes even a good father, is what I enjoy most each and every day.

It has been an interesting year full of first experiences, difficult moments, and challenging situations. It has been a calendar full of change but one that has brought us to a great place in our lives. There have been the funny moments of dodging poo and casting wee rainbows, nurturing times when our son got sick or was overwhelmed during his growth spurts, and adorable moments when he would smile, laugh, or nuzzle in our arms. And the daily joy beaming from his face, some days it is more prevalent than others, is enough to make even the most difficult days disappear.

Of course, we also find ourselves in the unique position of celebrating and mourning at the same time. While our son’s birth and my mother-in-law’s passing technically happened on the same day, this is one of the times that I insist on going by the Hebrew calendar. By doing so our son's birthday, the 26th of Sh'vat, 5775, is separated from the date on which my mother-in-law passed away, 27th of Sh'vat, 5775. Having that single day of separation makes a huge difference at times. It is interesting how faith can be comfort in the most obscure ways in addition to the guidance that it provides during times of struggle.

However, while there are no trips to grandma’s house that our son will remember about growing up, he still knows his grandma and recognizes her in pictures. It hasn’t been easy but there is a bond between the two of them that we both wanted for our children long before our baby became a reality. We didn’t plan on it happening this way but the important thing is that they are connected, our son knows his grandma, and his laugh when he sees her picture eases just a little bit of the pain from that day.

And this is just one of the many ways that our son continues to change how we look at life and the world. At times he has been our sole reason for happiness but mostly he has provided us with the love that permeates every moment of life and makes us remember that the love is what we always need to remember. Whether someone is here or not, the love remains. As I have said before, I will forever be thankful for that gift which our son has given us.

It is a complicated day, couple of days actually, but one that comes down to the most simple of statements… Happy 1^st Birthday my adorable baby boy! Mommy and daddy love you!

TMI Tuesday: My Remote!

Our son already has a bad habit. While we keep the television time to a minimum, he still insists on reaching for the remote every time that he thinks that he can grab it. It got to eh point that we had to order a toy remote so that he would stop trying to play with the real thing. We even turned the sound off on the toy to make it more realistic (a.k.a. keep us from throwing it out the window and running it over with the car nine or ten times). It works most of the time but, every once in a while, he still reaches for the real thing… he probably knows that the toy is simply a BS ploy.

It is also interesting to see what shows he enjoys watching. There are a few children’s programs that he tolerates (Chuggington and Mickey Mouse Club) but, overall, he likes more of the adult programs especially those that daddy like to watch too. For our son there is nothing more entertaining than a new episode of Deadliest Catch or watching the occasional appearances of Norm Abram on This Old House. There are plenty of other shows but the main thing that they all have in common is that he like the reality programs more than anything. Not the useless reality shows mind you but the ones where you can tell that he is storing some random knowledge that he will use later in life.

We have tried other shows but there is nothing that really holds his attention. Thankfully, he agrees with daddy that Elmo is probably the most annoying thing to fill the screen. Well, it is at least pretty close to the women on The View. Those are the faces that when they show up on the television he either squirms and looks away or he outright screams at the horror that he is now witness to. He is definitely smart beyond his years.

The funny thing is that when there is something on that he doesn’t want to watch he puts aside his ploy of a toy and does his best to reach for the real remote. And you better either give it to him or change that channel really fast or the frustration becomes evident in his mood change. Just hope that there isn’t a Joy Behar rant going on or you will see him go from calm to crazy at ludicrous speed. And no one wants to see a baby go plaid.