Housekeeping, Blocks and Library

but not Science.   If any of you are Sandra Boynton fans, then the first line of this post is familiar, except it is "But not the Rhinoceros" and one of Teddy's favorite books.  Since switching to Creative Play School, Teddy's reports give us a snapshot of his day and activities.  Consistently, his daily independent activities have said "housekeeping, blocks and library" and, well folks, that just about sums up Teddy's interests in 3 short words.  If you give him a book, then you might as well be ready to sit down and read him the 10 favorites he has until he spies his blocks, which he must build and throw, build and throw, then he finds the spoons, cups and plates irresistible and must play with those.  So the lack of "science" on his sheets did not surprise me; his parents are both attorneys--about as far away from science as you could get.  We did ask his teacher about it the other day and she said he goes there some, but likes to stay near his friends Leo and Sarah....ahh, yes, now I understand the housekeeping part.  Sarah is a gorgeous little girl that Teddy also had swim class with a year ago and now I think he is in love.  And Leo is his best bud, they get very excited when they see each other and always run and give each other a hug hello (unless Teddy is being moody and decides to push Leo down instead of giving him a hug).  (Apparently, if Teddy wakes up from nap and Leo is not up, then he goes over and wakes him up, because, you know, he has to have someone to play with him if he is up.) In music class, a young lady wanted a hug...well, she got one all right, along with a headlock.....(see evidence above).

This bring me to Teddy's newest favorite activity in addition to those named above-CLIMBING.  Yes, folks, it has happened.  If you turn around for anything more than 3 seconds, you will turn back around to a toddler standing on top of the kitchen table thinking about jumping or a toddler who is on the swivel stool trying to climb even higher.  The little monkey has learned from Gymboree how to climb and is in full investigative effect.  You cannot persuade him that sitting in your lap is nearly as good as him climbing on top of the table to get whatever he wants. 

Which brings me to the newest bane of my existence and one of the many mistakes I have (and will) make as a parent--the HIGHLIGHTER.  Being attorneys, we use lots of highlighters (and flags, but I digress) so they are around our house.  One day, I let Teddy play with one because the yellow highlighters tend not to make marks on furniture that are visible and, well, he was screaming about the crayons I had just taken away because he was eating them all.  MISTAKE.  Now he wants every highlighter he sees to draw on the papers (a brief that Daddy was editing or mark on Mommy's SPA's ) because that is fun, not to mention drawing on the carpet, the walls and the blinds (our brand new fancy white blinds).  WHAT WAS I THINKING?  Every time we go into the home-office, he screams and demands the highlighter.  And all his clothes bear that unmistakable yellow hue that only a highlighter can achieve.  

Teddy is learning to play well with others and we recently had a super fun playdate with Mason.  Mason's daddy and Adrian were friends from 3rd grade on and I can now see what this must have been like because both boys are just like their Daddy's:  Teddy would not stop talking and running after Mason and Mason thought Teddy was probably just a little too loud.  It's so fun how age differences begin to erase at a certain point--they are about 6 months apart and what once seemed an impossible gulf is now just a fine line.  

GrandNan also came for a visit--ask her how tired she was after all that weekend.  Actually go ahead and ask Adrian too because I was on a too long stretch of too much work and not enough Teddy.  After her first full day of babysitting Teddy, ol' GrandNan hit the bed right after he did.  When they tell us his mood is Active, I don't even have to think too hard to imagine what is behind that description.   

Teddy is also babbling--constantly.  He gets it honest and he is picking up words right and left and sometimes out of no where (I am pausing because so far, no curse words and those of you who took the over/under on Adrian's proposal might want to take this bet as well).  He is also using his sign language more, which makes me wish I knew more, and we are trying to reinforce it all with him. 

Until next time, housekeeping, blocks and library, but not science!

Dancing Fool

Teddy really loves music and we have no idea where it comes from (really, neither Adrian nor I have a musical bone in our bodies).  Teddy will dance on cue to his favorite tunes (country/bluegrass is his current favorite) and he has started this babble that my Mother and I think is him trying to sing.  I am serious, no other explanation for this babble makes sense except that he is singing his favorite tunes (he starts clapping and bobbing the head just like Hitch would tell him to do).

Over the holidays, my Mother got this cute singing reindeer (playing "Grandma got run over by a Reindeer") that Teddy just LOVED and would dance on cue and play it on repeat all day.  Here is a little taste of Teddy with his Uncle Bobby (his godfather and supreme spoiler rottener):


I am going to go ahead and encourage this because if Teddy is not going to be in the NFL, maybe he can be the next Justin Bieber.......I am okay with either one.

Funny story today, we went to the indoor soft playroom and they have this ball pit with a small slide that Teddy loves.  He waited his turn and slid down but this older little girl did not let him move before she tried to bound over him to go back up the slide and he accidentally raised up and hit her in the nose.  She began to cry and her mother ran over...note that her mother had to RUN over.  She then asked me what happened and I told her that Teddy accidentally hit her in the nose as she was climbing up the slide.  She then gave me "THE LOOK" and I know you know this look if you are a parent of a child like Teddy.  "THE LOOK" means (roughly) "your child is a menace and you should control him better and make sure he does not do anything that even remotely bothers my child."  Hmm, well that is all well and good, except you see, I was actually there supervising my child, not over with my girlfriend gossiping about how the mall in Chevy Chase is soooo much better than Tysons.  Here was my look back to her as I said "sorry, I think they bumped into each other on accident".."Lady, you better not shoot me that look because as wild as my child is your child ran over top of him and you better just be lucky he did not draw blood.  Stop bitching and moaning about your life of terrible malls and supervise your child in a room with 25 other children running wild. Thanks!"  Ahh yes, I said it, can't take it back.  She sat in the corner with her friend while their children ran wild in a room with 25 toddlers and parents, so excuse me if my child bumped your daughter, PAY ATTENTION TO HER and maybe she would have waited her turn.  My other issue is that kids hit Teddy, etc in the course of them playing and I just kind of let it go but this lady was seriously pissed about this as if Teddy had some vendetta against her daughter.  Dunno...he is my angel but he is a wild one.  (Another Mom did say she thought he was wild and pitied me running after him and she has 2 boys so she knows.)  LOVE LOVE LOVE Him, super crazy and wild as he is!  (Side note, he pulled this small chest on top of him right before we went and I gave him a popsicle to calm him down...can you say SUGAR HIGH???)

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.