Spring is in the Air

The first 2011 Cherry Blossoms

I would be lying if I did not say that Spring is one of my favorite times of the year, especially here in DC (actually, Charlottesville probably beats out DC in my mind (and memory) but the Cherry Blossoms definitely gives DC a boost).  Besides it being my birthday season (and I LOVE my birthday, your birthday, any birthday, because let's face it, I ain't a girl who turns down cake), it's a season of color, blooming flowers, fresh smells, warm weather--I mean it has it all in my book.  As I have written about before, Teddy loves being outdoors, and I am not exaggerating.  He will put his coat on (and his snow hat oddly enough) and beg you to take him outside, going as far as grabbing the keys and trying to unlock the door for us to get outside.  (I am not kidding--he apparently does it all day at school as well and they go out 2x a day, so he is just dying to get outside and look for puppies.  Seriously, he is obsessed with puppies and, no, we are not getting one any time soon.  He knows which neighbors have dogs and will go looking for them and their puppies.  Our neighbor Pam and has this beautiful Brittany Spaniel that he will walk over and knock on her door to beg her to bring that puppy out.  I swear, people are just so nice to him and it's spoiling him!)

Teddy taking his big boy steps at the Jefferson Memorial

We are also blessed to live in a city and area that believes in playgrounds and there are a ton of them all around.  We tend to frequent those close to us and Teddy LOVES the swings.  He cried today because we had to leave and he had to stop swinging.  (We would buy one for our house but no good trees; GrandNan already thought of that one.)  He is also into climbing.  Now I am not sure I can blame Gymboree for this, given that I signed him up for it and I encourage the behavior there, but he is trying to climb EVERYWHERE.  I came to pre-school to pick him up the other day and heard the Miss Shirley telling him to go to time-out (which, even funnier now, is that I can ask him if he needs and time out and he will respond "yes" because he knows he has been bad).  When I asked her what he did, she told me he tried to climb up the radiator to get on the window ledge.  I mean really?  Is this what I have created with Gymboree?  I had no idea that signing him up for Gymboree would lead to his future as a the Time-Out King, but I think everyone has a talent.....(if you turn your head for a moment, he is climbing and now trying to jump--he jumped off of our bed the other day, thankfully onto a pillow on the floor, but he has No Fear and a twinkle in his eye when he does it....SCARY).  I would be remiss if I did not report his biggest milestone, which is taking "big boy" steps all by himself.

Teddy and his cousin Faith

Those of you who have spent any amount of time with Teddy know that we will warn you about his Exorcist qualities.  He is known to just puke out of no-where and then go on about his business.  Well, Mommy finally reached her breaking point with The Exorcist (especially when he was losing weight and not eating, I mean, you all know me, I am not a girl who orders a salad on a date, so having a child that does not eat just baffles me, especially when he weighed 10lbs at birth) and I took matters into my own hands.  Yes folks, I called a specialist without a referral (I know, so bold and brazen).  I just decided to follow my mother's intuition and call a Peds Gastroenterologist after talking with an adult Gastroenterologist who is a friend (actually it was his wife, but I also count her as a GI specialist).  Anyway, long story short is that Teddy does have a more serious issue (not too serious, but not a "he will eventually grow out of it just wait it out" type of thing).  It turns out The Exorcist may be allergic to DAIRY, which again, also baffles me.  This is a kid who LOVES Cheese (brie, in fact) and loves his milk, so having to switch him to the amino acid $50 a can formula was painful, but so far, we are seeing a huge difference (as in actually eating a lot of food, multiple times a day).  Still some Exorcist episodes but those appear to be reflux associated, which we also need to get under control.  Bottom line is that my boy had gained some weight at his 18 month checkup, which was great news.  (24lbs (and change), 31" to be exact).  Now get this, his head is huge at 19", which apparently puts him in a very high percentile for head circumference.  Too funny that we have a little pumpkin head!

Not to be outdone by the ladies, Teddy is also talking up a storm.  Words like "butter" and "mustard" randomly come out but we love it.  He sings a lot too which is also funny.  And you better clap for him when he sings and dances because my boy thinks that this world revolves around his actions (no jokes here please).

Teddy and "The Tourist"

Aunt Linda also visited us and Teddy had a great time visiting with her, pulling her all around the restaurant to ask every other diner if he could sit with them.  (Today at the Jefferson Memorial he randomly walked up to a tourist and asked for him to pick him up.  (Dude was speaking another language before switching to broken English which is why I am calling him a tourist.)  The gentleman obliged and loved it.  So funny to have such a social little man and not totally unsurprising.  Then this other woman wanted him to blow her a kiss and he was not into her.  He just waved and said "bye bye".)  We were at Alexander Mahmood's first birthday party and Teddy was the oldest little man there, loving every second of his younger sycophants.  He is obsessed with baby's and wanted to hug Baby Lyla constantly, which both scared her mother and me.  He then gave little Miss Sophia her first kiss, which gave her Father his first heart attack.

The joys of parenthood are just an embarrassment of riches.  I revel in it everyday and love the whole process.  Adrian and I are truly blessed.

The Importance of Being Earnest(ine)

I have written before about the many wonderful people who helped raise me growing up in Lee County and how grateful I am to them for where I sit today.  I think now that I am older (and wiser?), I can appreciate more how fortunate I really was to be embraced and raised by an entire community--and trust me, Jonesville is one of those places where everybody knows everybody and everybody is in your business.  I can remember running across the street when I was a young child and by the time I got back to my Dad's office, someone had already called my Mother to report me running out without looking (and if you know me today, you know that I still do this, purposefully, unless Teddy is with me, because I just believe people will stop and let me cross).  One person that has been instrumental in that role for me is my Godmother, Ernestine Wright.  It's hard to describe all the things that Ernestine is but here is a brief summary--initially, she was my Mother's student at Flatwoods, became my Mother's best friend, then my Godmother.  She imparted her love of life, her jubilant laughter and her abhorrence for bad table manners and loud chewing to me.  (Along with growing up with Monica, playing with Miranda like she was our doll and babying Warren was also just part of the fun!)  Her strength and determination to fight breast cancer has inspired me and countless others.  I have learned so much by being part of her life and I am so grateful for all the gifts she has given me over the years. 

I can only hope to give Teddy the same kind of circle of people to raise him.  It's so true that it take a village to raise a child and I am still trying to piece together that village.  I am so grateful to my village--they truly made me, for better or worse, the person I am today.  Ernestine was instrumental in all of and I truly appreciate her, both as my Godmother, second mother and, now, friend. Uncle Bobby, Ernestine, and countless others in Jonesville, Alexandria, Dallas and New York City are part of that fabric. 

With love and gratitude to all.....

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!