Happy New Year!

Well folks, here we are in 2011.  Safe to say, I cannot believe, that 10 years ago I was getting ready to graduate college (seriously, it has been 10 years which is crazy, because sometimes I can Jedi-mind trick myself into believing that when I look in the mirror I still look the same as I did in college...LOL, wrinkles and stretch marks don't lie though), without even the slightest idea of what was in store for me.  I used to say that I wanted a fast forward button just to make sure I was married and had babies, and well, here is the Tivo (seriously, even that blows my mind because we only had VCR's to tape things in college which was tricky and the ability to tape 2 shows at once is beyond comprehension to me) showing me that for sure I am married and have a baby.

There are so many things I could never have known as that 22 year old self, but I have learned them both from time and experience.  One thing I can say is that it does get better (not sure why I thought it was so bad, but it does get better and it can even be better than you imagine) and that you have to appreciate each person, lesson, point in time and place to reach that next level...almost like SuperMario, where you have to beat that level, get all the coins, etc to really succeed at the next one.

2010 brought me an entire year of lots of changes and firsts.  Teddy, it goes without saying, went from a non-mobile mute to a mutant ninja--he bites, hits, kicks, screams just like a mutant ninja but then he smiles and hugs and kisses you to make it all go away.  He is "all boy" and people say that like it should make me feel better but he is a wild little man and I love every minute of it.  His development this year has really been amazing and I cannot wait to see where we are a year from now again but I am scared it will pass quickly and it's byebye Momma and hello little hot mama.  (He seriously ditched me at the playroom the other day for this older 3 year old girl who he ran up to and insisted on holding her hand, meanwhile, I beg him to hold my hand and he smacks it away.  She complied but was definitely not a cougar yet.)  He LOVES the outdoors and will run to the door and beg to go outside.  He would rather play with dirt and sticks than his impressive loot of toys but I guess I cannot complain at this point.

We spent Christmas in Jonesville this year and it was amazing.  Teddy had more toys than I could ever imagine so we will need to build an entire room to hold them.  We spent time in the snow, which he loved more than anything.  Here are the photo highlights:

So instead of a countdown, I think we will just say that 2010 was one for the books and we look forward to all the countless memories that 2011 will bring us.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas Traditions

I LOVE the holidays, I love everything that comes with them--decorations, holiday music, pumpkin spiced drinks, Santa Claus and giving gifts, including the crowds (and why be so rude, that is what I don't understand, we are all miserable in the line) and the bills (I tend to hate even looking at my statements this time of year, its just depressing).  I have so many memories of things that center around the holidays.  Maybe because growing up in a small town things tend to be bigger in your mind but Christmas just always seemed to be something that stands out every year for me.  The holiday party at Nanny's is always one that I remember, with the pickin' and grinnin', endless amounts of food (oyster stew, prime rib, ham biscuits), Sara spiking the tea with Southern Comfort, the "yoddling" incident (don't ask, well ask Cara, she retells it well), garbage bag bicycles (my very first 10 speed) and the drum set (wow, our parents may have never forgiven Nanny for that one), and who could forget the endless table of cookies, that I am not joking, had probably 40 different types of cookies, fudge, and other treats that Nanny made.  (Crinkle cookies are still my favorite and the recipe was in my wedding favor booklet as my favorite recipe along with Red Velvet Cake, another good Christmas specialty.)  Cara, Sara and I used to always put on a show at this event for all who attended, specfically, we used our Michael Jackson microphone and liked to sing Whitney Houston (I think I am thankful for no video footage of that!).  I also randomly remember other things, like my cousin Dustin giving me a basketball when I was 5 and I loved it and kept it forever, until it basically cracked.  Uncle Steve gave all of us this really cool remote controlled 18-wheeler that I also loved.  Tanna used to always tell this story about me coming out to see everyone at Christmas (I must have been around 4?) and saying that I would have been out sooner but I was blowing out my hair and getting dressed while flipping my hair (my Mother used to put me in a VERY fancy dress for Christmas and I apparently loved that.  And well, if you know me, you know that I am obsessed with my hair, so I have no shame on this story.)  I also remember going to Jonesville UMC and going outside and lighting a candle and singing Silent Night.  I thought it was so fun to be outside in the street at night and everyone doing that.  There was also a gentleman who would call us on Christmas Eve and pretend to be Santa Claus and give us a prediction on his arrival time.  One of the best things I have ever witnessed was Lauren opening her gift and saying "that was just what me needed" as she took out a full set of plates, bowls and other kitchen items (I think she was 2 or 3 and totally adorable).   Roland and Nazrin were always a part of it too and Sandy always did neat things with us at Christmas.  All these wonderful memories that I need to share....

So, Adrian and I are starting some traditions of our own with Teddy.  We are doing a Santa breakfast at the Club with him, but honestly he HATED the picture part.  I mean it was pure torture.  He was cool with Santa until we tried to take his photo.  I guess we have to wait a little longer on that to come.  He LOVES this recordable book of the Night Before Christmas that has my Mother reading it to him.  He begs for it several times at night.  We also are going to take him to see the ICE show at Gaylord National Harbor, which is an incredible experience.  I have an annual cookie party to set the stage for holiday cheer that may grow into Santa making a visit, we shall see. 

Given that we alternate Christmas between my family and Adrian's, last night we went to play with the Azer cousins and had so much fun opening up toys and having matching outfits for all the cousins (I am sure at some point that they will hate us but I always buy the girls a dress and now I am buying all the boys a matching sweater, so they will just have to accept it a little while longer.  Blackmail photos in the making I think.)

Actually, what I love most about the holidays is not the gifts, even though I have definitely received some amazing gifts over the years.  What I love the most is spending time with family and making memories.  The gifts accentuate the memories from when I was younger but now that I am older I enjoy watching the young ones open things with anticipation, quickly throwing them aside for the next gift and then go crazy from the sugar and wrapping paper high of playing with this mountain of toys.  I always say that because we are so busy, time is our most precious gift, so when I can give the gift of time with loved ones, it is the least expensive but means the most coming from me. 

I look forward to many more traditions and creating new ones with our family and friends.  Now, the one peculiar stage we are in with Teddy is one where he is learning how to be selfish--as in, your toy is his toy and everything is his.  Yes, friends, we have officially entered the "MINE" stage.  I gave him an early gift on Saturday, which was a stick puppet of Gymbo the clown (from his Gymboree class).  When I was showing it to Adrian he ran up to Adrian and began shouting very loudly and very clearly "MINE, MINE, MINE" until Adrian relented and gave it to him.  I could not stop laughing so now Teddy thinks it funny, and along with calling everyone (seriously, everyone) Mama and constantly making the sign for "more" he just makes me laugh which encourages this bad behavior.  What can I say, he is his Momma's pride and joy (and his Daddy's but Daddy did say out loud the other day "Not on my cashmere" and ran away from Teddy's chocolate icing covered hands....). 

Happy Holidays to everyone from the Azer crew. 

Gratefulness begins where Entitlement ends

This title of this post was a quote that the pastor gave last Sunday at the church service Teddy and I attended.  The quote was in the context of a sermon about giving, why you should give (because you are blessed beyond measure), how you should feel about giving (obviously, it will make you feel good), etc.  Instantly, I went to thinking about Teddy and wanting to teach him about the gift of giving and how good that can make you feel.  Now, I realize that teaching a 15 month old how to share is difficult enough at this point and I may need to lower my expectations some, but it is a good point (I mean I am happy when he shares without hitting someone, so baby steps here.).  We (the Adams-Azer family) have many blessings and many things to be grateful for and acknowledging those gifts is a powerful potion for my soul (I someday dream about winning the lottery and giving most of it away; I really think that would be fun in a Mr. Deeds sort of way.). 

Here is a partial list of the things I am grateful for that I am not entitled to (because as the quote says, you are only grateful for things you don't feel entitled to, ergo, to feel grateful you must stop feeling entitled):

1.  Teddy Azer--the ultimate gift in our lives, he has taught us many things and continues to make every day brighter and better.  Most of all, he does make me want to be a better person, not just a better mother, but a better person and help make the world a little better while I am at it as well.

2.  Adrian Azer--the ultimate other gift in my life who also teaches me things (and puts me in my place, even if I would prefer to just stay on my highhorse a little longer).

3.  Family--wow, sometimes you just cannot underestimate what family can be for you.  Pick you up when you are down, unconditionally love you, support you and help you.  I can say without fear of contradiction that I would not be where I am today without my family.  

4.  Friends--as an only child, friends have always been very important in my life and have had to be in many ways my family.  I would not be the person I am without the love and support of my friends.
5.  Job--I am grateful to have a job.  I complain about it a lot but it does keep me centered and allows me to afford things for Teddy and others that I would not otherwise be able to.

6.  This blog--I am grateful to have a place to share my family, my thoughts and forever immortalize embarrassing moments with you all.  I get a boost with every post and love hearing from people that they like a post or a picture. 

7.  French fries--I love french fries (if they are on a menu, I almost always order them, as in almost everywhere I eat) and, many days, they are the only things that Teddy will eat, which gives them an added boost in my book. 

8.  Holidays--I love that we all have traditions to share, music to sing and gifts to give. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

9.  Photos--I am a picture taking freak and I love that I have them.  When we lost everything in the fire, I cried the most about losing my photos.  (I am a sentimental soul.)  Another nod to Sandy Roberson, a friend who is like family, for giving me this passion.

10. You--because if you are reading then blog, then you must care about us in some way.  Caring about others is really special, so if I know you, then here is a big ol' hug and if I don't, I hope to one day meet you and learn more about you.

Watching your child grow is a really special thing.  I know many who have lost someone and it is heartbreaking to hear them talk about what they miss.  I am grateful for every minute on this Earth that I can watch Teddy grow, play with his friends and mine, and create this life we are living.  I am just...grateful for everything right now. 

A big shout out to Teddy's PopPop for making him this amazing wooden toy chest.  Dr. Azer, is an orthopedic surgeon but has taken a shine to woodworking and made this by hand as a special heirloom for Teddy's 1st birthday.  We love it!

New Haircut, New School and Eating French Fries

So Teddy Roo went and got his first big boy haircut last weekend!  He did not cry, but boy did he squirm.  I almost cried because, well, my baby has been replaced by a little boy now.   The older gentleman who cut his hair asked if I could keep him still and I said, umm, No. So we did the best we could to get it cut.  

We also joined Gymboree to help Teddy burn off some pent up energy....he LOVES it.  He just ran around, climbed every obstacle, poked the bubbles, ran under the parachute, and even played with Gymbo the Clown (who is a little scary looking but whatever).

We also got some crazy news this week....Teddy will be starting a new pre-school in December.  No longer will he be just 6 floors down from my office but now he will be in a full fledged pre-school in our neighborhood.  I am excited for him to begin his learning journey but really sad to not be able to just run downstairs.  I am not sure who will have the bigger transition in this, me or Teddy.  Having him downstairs made work bearable to come back to and it was definitely my security blanket to know he was just right there.  I guess I will have to accept that he is growing up and getting bigger.  His teacher Miss Helena was very upset too but I told her that Teddy will be back in the Center on days when the school is closed and she can see him.  We love the Teddy Roo.

Teddy is also saying a lot of new words:  Thank you ("tankoo"), ball ("baaaal"), and everyone he sees is either Mama or Dada.  We are working on car and bus.  He sometimes will say "Choo Choo" but less often that just pointing.

Which brings me to food--Teddy is still a picky eater.  I have resorted to just feeding him whatever he will eat, which sometimes means French Fries for breakfast.  I know, I know but what can I say, I want him to eat something.  (Not sure where this comes from as you know me, I am an EATER, always have been, always will be.  Never saw a plate of food I did not like.  If I had not been pregnant in the summer of '09 I would seriously question if he was my child.)

Teddy the Tiger

Well October has certainly been lively in our house.  We went down to visit good ole' UVA and Teddy loved the Lawn!  But then he gave us quite the scare and were ended up in the ER with him severely dehydrated among other things (somehow Mommy also is the only one who gets the stomach virus from Teddy yet again...).  Once we got through those little issues, it was already almost time for (dun dun duh) HALLOWEEN or as we have renamed it Teddy-Ween.

This year Halloween came with the long awaited visit from GrandNan and Papaw and, the surprise guest star, NANNY!  who made a flight up to see us here in DC!  We were all very excited!


Teddy started the Halloween weekend off right by charming the mommy's in daycare with his outfit.  (Seriously, he has the women fooled.  He flirts with them and one mommy even told me he gives her a hug everyday...he also apparently tried to pat her leg one day...no clue.)  He gave his girlfriends lots of kisses and waved in the parade (around the DC city block) to everyone and thought they were all there for him.  (Such a show-off.)  He even began clapping for himself and throwing kisses...hilarious.

 We dressed up as a tiger this year and Teddy showed everyone why...he is rambunctious and will jump on you almost immediately.  He also likes to swat at everyone with his paws and bite you, so a tiger seems fitting.  (When I asked his daycare teacher if he should be Pooh or Tigger, she said, without hesitation, "he is not meek like Pooh, he is Tigger, jumping and bouncing everywhere".  Um, yeah, that about sums that up.)

  

 
Teddy gives meaning to the phrase "bull in a china shop."  He will destroy it or you (ask Adrian, who got a Harry Potter-esque scratch on the forehead from Teddy just in time for court hearings and meetings...yay!).

He had a Halloween play date with Jack, his due date twin, and they had fun, except Teddy was mean (of course) had to be spanked multiple times (yes, we spank, no choice) and made Jack cry a couple of times (well, I don't know what to say).  They were successful at giving each other a high-five!

 And I think Teddy's shirt speaks volumes about where we are developmentally.....

I swear he is a sweet boy...just not all the time...and, well, as they say, he is all boy.

Little Cassanova



Little Cassanova



I have not posted in some time because, hmm, well, how do you write a post about your son and his already pronounced "chasing" (literally) of women.  The past few weeks have been filled with many tales of me picking Teddy up and asking (demurely) "What did he do today?" only to be answered with "He stole the Boppy's from the babies, tackled a little girl to kiss her and rubbed another mother's leg when she came to pick up her son."  That has been our past 2-3 weeks in a nutshell. Seriously.  Stop laughing, it's not funny.  (Okay, it might be a little funny but it is really embarrassing.) 

The stories about the babies goes like this:  in the past month Teddy went from being the youngest to one of the oldest as many of the older toddlers transitioned out.  Now there are 5 babies and 3 toddlers in his room.  Given that he wants to always be the center of attention, when the teachers started holding the babies, playing with them, etc, Teddy decided he had enough and stole their Boppy's when the teachers were not looking.  He also taught the other 2 toddlers this fun trick so they were all stealing the Boppy's.  Yes, Teddy got time out--a lot.  We had many talks about sharing, being gentle, etc.  Apparently, now he is better with them and not stealing Boppy's but that was a stressful week.

Then he decided that he wanted to give another little girl lots of kisses.  So he tackled her and just sat on top of her as he planted lots of slobbery kisses (and I wonder how he is always sick...).  I have taught him to blow kisses but he apparently prefers the real thing with the little girls.  This all in all makes me scared.

So imagine my surprise when I went in to pick him up one Friday and they told me about him hitting on another Mommy!  She has a baby in the room, so she bent down to pick up the baby and Teddy came over to stroke her leg.  This was very disturbing.  They said the other mother laughed and Teddy just giggled at her.  Such a flirt.  This makes me doubly scared.



The "owl-neck" move



Then another day, we ran into two of my female co-workers.  Teddy blew them kisses and did all of his tricks.  They were showering him with praise.  But then a pretty lady walked behind them and Teddy moved my head so he could see her.  He began shouting at her to notice him and he literally did the owl-neck move to watch her walk by.  Already a ladies man. 



Flirtling with the ladies



Then we went to the sushi restaurant in our neighborhood.  Teddy LOVED the waitresses and they just spoiled him.  He stopped eating when they walked by and then decided he wanted to play with them instead of eat.  And let me tell you, he ate up all the attention. 

In development news, Teddy is babbling constantly.  Sort of saying words (well, I count the "sha" as "shoe" when he says it as we point at the shoe) and pointing at things all the time.  He will be a talker, which will not surprise anyone that knows either of his parents.  He is also wild.  Just running everywhere and asking to be noticed.  He gets very upset if you do not notice him.  (Right Cara?) 

 Every morning on our way to daycare we have a routine.  He gets off the elevator and must walk over to the female security guard and have her say hello to him.  If she is not there, he gets very flustered. Then he has to walk over to the building manager's window and make her say hello to him.  There is not a shy bone in his body.  He literally runs away from me now at daycare and just charges in and does not even blow me a kiss bye-bye anymore. 

Teddy also wants to do everything that Daddy does.  Everything.  If Daddy says a word, then he wants to say it.  If Daddy plays with a toy, then Teddy wants to play with that toy.  They are peas in a pod.  Literally, twins in every way.  Same facial expressions, mannerisms and everything. 

That Mom

I am working very hard on not being "that Mom" on the playground/in the office/at the activity.  We all know the stereotype: talks incessantly about all her child's accomplishments while degrading your child's (e.g. "Bugaboo is walking now." "Superhumanchild has been doing that forever, he is really almost running."  As if next week she is signing him up for the Olympic trials.) , lectures you about what you feed your child (e.g. "Are you feeding your child processed food?" Asked while you feed your kid applesauce that has high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors.), lectures you about your parenting style (e.g. "Spanking is not good for children-it's barbaric." Said while you are spanking your kid for throwing a tantrum after they pulled some little girls hair and she cried.) and in general makes you feel like you are behind in every way (e.g. "Have you got Bugaboo on the list yet for [insert name of incredibly expensive and snobby pre-school that feeds into the incredibly expensive and snobby private school]?  I put Superhumanchild on a year ago.  Did I mention that I got a promotion and the volunteer of the year award last week?"  Said to you when you have not slept in days, you have no makeup on and the shirt you are wearing has dried up food and spit up stains, while you check your blackberry and see an email from work needing something else after you left and forgot the papers at work.). A friend of mine sent me a really funny link to an animation about this Mommy-centered competition that we do.  (Maybe Dad's do it too, but Adrian likes to retort that Teddy is so advanced that he still needs a diaper and that his puppy was easier to potty train than Teddy.)   I am really trying not to be that Mom. 

Now don't get me wrong, I am incredibly proud of my darling son and, if you read this blog regularly, you probably know that already.  I love that he rolled over quickly (even if it was because he was born superhumanly large and was already in 3rd grade at 2 weeks old), crawled early and walked early.  I am very proud of all of these things, but they have absolutely nothing to do with me or with Adrian.  In fact, I am 100% sure they are attributable to being in daycare and watching his friends do them all day long and wanting to be like them.  I wish I could take credit for them but the simple truth is that much of his advancement has little to do with me and is all about his personality.  My amazing Godmother Ernestine wrote me about my last post and said that maybe they treated us like little adults but that we have to let kids be kids.  And frankly, kids are messy, develop at totally different paces, learn to walk, talk and eat regardless of what we do, and will misbehave no matter style of discipline we adopt.  So I am going to take this good advice and try to be less caught up in the pace of Teddy's development (but really, I long for the day that he will just tell me what is wrong instead of throwing a tantrum and will just do what I tell him to do instead of what he wants to do, is that really asking too much of a 1 year old?). 

I tell a single girl I work with here in the office that I have 2 pieces of advice about your single years:
1.  Spend all the money you want to on all the clothes, purses and shoes while you can.  In fact, stock up because when you marry someone like Adrian, that will quickly be put to a screeching halt. 
2.  Travel all you want and veg in front of the TV all you want.  Free time becomes a thing of the past.  All my "free time" now is devoted to Teddy and I LOVE LOVE LOVE every single minute.  (In fact, I actually cannot remember what I used to do at night and on the weekends before Teddy.  Apparently, I used to do things but I have no idea what they were and how I filled up that much time...oh wait, I watched a lot of TV, cooked meals, had dinner with friends, saw movies, got manicures and pedicures regularly, went to the gym and went on weekend getaways.  Yeah, I would not trade it all, not even for a minute.  I even find that the nursery rhymes get stick in my head and I sign them instead of whatever is on the radio...Allee Galoo Galoo.)

So if I have an episode of being "that Mom" please excuse me, I am a work in progress. But if you hear me tell you that I just heard a seal crying, then slap me, I have gone over the edge and way too far.