This may be a little personal here, but since we're all friends, I'll tell you that I just came out of the bathroom. I was taking care of business when I saw a hole in the top layer of the toilet paper. Earlier in the day, I needed to "take care of business" and doing so while Zachary is awake is rather tricky. He crawls at rapid speeds now and has also developed a new fascination with toilet paper. He loves to pull on it so it unrolls all over the floor, and he loves to pick pieces off and . . . eat them. I know, it's so gross, but this kid puts everything in his mouth and most of the time he is too fast for me, which means that I have to go "fishing" in his mouth. I have found all sorts of non-eatable things; dirt clumps, small wood chips, grass, paper, dried up cheese from his last meal which he threw on the ground and somehow Bruce missed, etc.
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| Discovering the kitchen cabinets |
This kid is definitely all boy. His new favorite game is climbing up on his chair in his room and then flinging himself off so that I will catch him. He doesn't really understand that I need to be aware that we are playing this game. I have - thankfully - caught him each time, but sometimes it is with more fragile body parts . . . like my nose. Ouch! I may or may not have cried after his big head nailed me in the schnoz . . . okay, I did cry and do you know how hard it is to cry and still sympathetically tell your son that Mommy is okay? He didn't know what to think!
It is amazing how quickly these little babies grow in their first year. A few months ago, Zachary was content just sitting up and a few months before that he was just rolling over and a few months before that he didn't move at all! (I should have reveled in "taking care of business" without an audience then.) I have loved each stage of Zachary's development because it is revealing more of his personality. I love watching him internalize everything because he gets that from Troy and I love watching him adjust objects with precision because he gets that from me.
That being said, this afternoon, when I saw that hole in the toilet paper, in my head I could hear mothers who have gone before me say "Just wait until he starts moving, he will get into EVERYTHING!" Are they right, well yes, but honestly, I don't hear that voice with cheerfulness. These are the mothers who are trying to devalue the difficultly of the developmental stage of your child. Clearly, they have a more strenuous stage, ergo they are the better mother. What bologna! (By the way, did you just read that the way it is spelled? I always do!) Even if you're not a mom, you have heard these people too. Your voice may sound like, "Just wait until you get married...." or "Just wait until you buy a house..." or "Just wait until you get in the 'real world'..." These are people who see you enjoying your life and want to rain on your parade. These people are . . . butt-heads. Yes, I just said "butt-heads" mostly because it is true and also I dare you to read that word without smiling.
As I was looking at that hole in the toilet paper, I decided to hush up that gross, condescending, voice and focus instead on the cute, chubby little fingers that tore that hole and those fantastic cheeks that accompanies the smile of the face that sees the door to the bathroom is open so that he can wreck havoc on the roll of toilet paper. I don't care what those moms say. I can wait until the next stage because I am so much enjoying the current stage. When Zachary moves onto the next stage, I will love that too. So essentially, I guess I am taking their advice. I will "just wait."
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