Help Wanted, Needed?

So now he loves wearing his costume and roaring at us, go figure

Things are never static in our house; between two busy attorneys (one of whom, Adrian, will be starting a new job as Counsel!), one wild 2 year old and living in DC (and all that brings), things are usually always in motion.  Recently, with Teddy's budding interest in animals and movies, we have tried to seek out opportunities to do things like the zoo, the aquarium, museums, etc so that he can see those things he loves in person.  (At the Museum of Natural History, he liked the dinosaurs but LOVED the stuffed gorillas.  He is semi-obsessed with gorillas for no apparent reason other than he just likes them.  We had to buy him a toy gorilla instead of the super cool lion. Go figure.)  Usually this means that an entire weekend day is planned around such activity, which is great, but it also means that we have to fit in the routine things somehow (you know like grocery shopping, clothes washing) on top of seeing our family and friends. I think being over-scheduled as a two year old is probably a bit much but I have to say he loves it. We visited the Naval Academy and he loved seeing all the boats and planes there on display.  I love seeing things the way he does and then hearing him explain them, it makes all the effort worth it.

I am also noticing that I am losing my title of Chief Helper to Teddy and I am not sure I like it one bit.  I spent weeks that turned into months wishing that he would get to the next stage, you know the one that would let him do more for himself.  I wanted him to learn to feed himself so that I could have a minute to eat, learn to walk so he could get where he wants to be and all these other skills.  Now that he has most of them, I am sad to say I am seeing him need me less and less.  Between hearing him say "No Mamma, Teddy do it" or now more often, "No Mamma, Daddy" I am not sure what breaks my heart more.  It is a tribute to Adrian though and I would not take that away from him.  He is as hands on as I can imagine and Teddy loves spending time with him.  I think I am just having a hard time sharing in all the things I used to "have" to do for him to now sharing or watching him do them himself.  My baby is growing up (but he got mad today when we called him our baby, he took that as a slight).  So though I want him to grow up, I am now keenly aware that it is passing faster than I thought possible, which is never the case with things I wish would go faster.

Playing at the Naval Academy 

So Teddy, my darling boy, just like our favorite bedtime book, please remember, I love you forever, I like you for always, as long as you live, my baby you will be.  No matter what it is, when it is or where it is, I will always be here to help you, even if you don't want, don't think you need it or don't like it, it's just part of the deal.

I am not Alone

This is Teddy's "No" face and get ready,
more is coming when you see this face!

I had a revelation this week and many of you will say"duh" but it was a light bulb moment for me, seriously.  I realized that I am not the only one with a child that STILL refuses to sleep through the night, I am not the only one whose child is not a great eater (he is still underweight which just baffles me that he can be my son and be UNDERweight) and I am apparently not even the only one whose child likes to hit, scream and throw tantrums (and other objects) at will.  I have no idea why this was revolutionary to me, but it really was.  I think sometimes we all focus on not showing the outside world the "real picture" (I mean we all want the outside world to see us as a "normal" family and every time something bad happens, people always say, "you know they were such a normal family no one would have expected their son to be an axe murderer, bless their heart" or whatever the particular item of gossip is).

I have decided that we are all less "normal" than we pretend to be, which begs the question, what is normal?  Because I know that there are a lot of toddlers out there who are way less wild than my child, sleep better and eat normally.  I am finding though that if you chip away enough, even those awesome Stepford moms will admit to something not being perfect with their darling dearest.  And here is the more revolutionary thing, I feel more isolated when I pretend that Teddy is not the wild child he is than when I admit his latest thing and that mom then opens up with a story of their own.  I know a lot of us probably embellish (because I am not going to believe that your child speaks 5 languages at 2 no matter what you claim) in order to make it some sort of reflection on our skills as parents, because I know I do place a higher value on my skills as a parent than others, but its just not fair to Teddy.  It forces him to be an adult far faster than he should be, and let's face it, being a child is a lot more fun than being an adult most of the time.  I want to let him be wild, carefree and a general menace to society because that is how he will learn.  I need to take each one to teach him a lesson on life and spend a lot less time trying to make him the next Einstein, because there is plenty of time for that, but right now, he just needs to be a BOY, a TWO year old boy who screams, throws things, does not sleep, cries for his Momma and Daddy, runs rampant in the mall terrorizing the Cartier and Saks stores (this happened, but other places just gave him stickers and he loved those places and did not throw all their clothes on the floor, take that Cartier) and has time to grow, develop and learn.  And I, as his parent, need to stop trying to force anything else on him (I mean I will try to control him obviously, but there is a limit to what you can ask of a 2 year old) and enjoy this time because I know it is fleeting.

I am also going to know that other parents do what I do when I see their kid running wild, throwing food, clothes or whatever else before Teddy, which breathe a sigh of relief and say a silent amen that someone else is going through this too, that I am not alone and just apologize to the others and LAUGH.

New Year, New Look

Showing us how Santa came down the chimney!

Watching the Polar Express on Christmas Morning 

As you can see, I have introduced a new look for the blog.  I figured it was time to be serious about this blogging! (Ha, this is for family and friends and mostly a baby book for Teddy so its really just a fun thing and if others enjoy it, then that is a bonus!)

We had another amazing holiday season where Teddy was spoiled beyond belief by EVERYONE!  We decided that we would do as the Magi did and only get Teddy 3 gifts, but trust me everyone else made up for it for him.  (I think that the new toy gun and the Bouncy Castle were the winners this year!) Teddy loves the idea of Santa and even memorized most of the "Night Before Christmas"  (I swear I am not making it up, I discovered it one night when I paused and he knew all the next words, amazing!  It became our holiday party trick.) He would point out Santa and Christmas lights everywhere.  But when it came time to actually meet Santa, he was not having it.  He tensed up and would not even go close to him.  Ergo, we have no photos of Teddy with Santa, not even a crying one because his Daddy took pity and did not want to force it on him.

Caviar dreams

I have also discovered that my son has a taste for the finer things in life; North Face, Air Jordans, Caviar, French cuisine and almost anything else that is expensive.  His Daddy bought him some Air Jordans and he is so proud of them and wants to wear them all the time.  Then Daddy introduced him to caviar and Teddy loved that too.  I am not sure what will be next and I will need to keep my job to afford it for sure!

Playing with Nana in the bouncy castle!

Holidays are always a reflective time and make me think back to all of the holidays past.  We always enjoyed lots of parties, church traditions and cookies.  I have tried to start some new ones for Teddy to make sure he has things that resemble that but many things are just organic and come naturally.  Going to see the Holiday ICE show at the Gaylord, Breakfast with Santa at BHCC, Christmas breakfast, family Christmas PJ's, cookies for Santa and, of course, lots of reading the "Night Before Christmas."  I still find that it is the most simple things that we all enjoy the most!

I hope for this New Year, that Teddy continues his learning and that I am able to become a better mother, wife and friend.  Thank you to everyone and I wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year!

Not seeing Santa

Riding with Alexander

Cousins on Christmas

Look at those smiles

Trains with Nana

Checking to see what Santa wrote

Letter to Santa and From Santa

How many Azers to build a toy?

Drawing with Nana

Winner of the 2011 Best Toy Prize: Nana and Pawpaw