Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A Night in "Future Daddy" Training

I'm sure all of you parents out there have been where I was last week. Alaena had strep, and she was on several different medicines. And in a word she was ORNERY. She didn't want to be held. She didn't want to be put down. She didn't want her cup. She didn't want her food. She pretty much just didn't want anything. So finally I laid her in her bed because I knew what she really needed was rest.
I must mention that my boyfriend Shawn was at my house while this cry fest was going on. He says he wants children. And he got some training let me tell you. Because he is used to happy Alaena. The Alaena who rarely ever cries. The Alaena who goes to sleep almost the very second you lay her in the bed. But he got introduced to sick Alaena. And sick Alaena isn't the happy-go-lucky baby I normally have.
So as I said above, I laid Alaena in her bed. As most of you can probably guess, the real screaming commenced. And she put up the battle to end all battles in fighting sleep. She would scream, then she would whimper, then she would hold her breath, then she would stand up and yell "MAAAAAAAAA!"
And although it was breaking my heart, I knew that I had to hold to my resolve because I know my child, and rarely does she EVER fall asleep outside of her bed. And she was crying even when I was holding her. So it pretty much was just a wait and see how long it takes her to cry it out.
And through it all, Shawn was saying, "I can't stand it. Pick her up. Let her play."
And I would say, "She needs her rest. She was screaming before I put her in the bed, and it's not playtime, it's sleep time."
To which he would say, "I know you're right."
This conversation went on at least every five minutes for two hours. That's right I said two hours. When she finally fell asleep Shawn said, "I know that's what's best for her, but I sure am glad I'll never be a MAMA because I sure couldn't do it!"
And I just laughed thinking he sounded pretty much like a typical dad!!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Being Me, Being Free

Last night I went to my niece and nephews end of the year program, and if you've never been to a program where 60 to 70 three and four year olds sing and say parts, well let me just say, you haven't been living life!
Anyway, it was all really cute and sweet about how each of us have a promise from God that He has a plan for our lives. They had little lines about what they wanted to be when they grew up, and my nephew said he just wanted to be bigger. This drew a lot of laughs from the audience because he is quite obviously the shortest child in the class.
But the best moment of the program came during a song called "Being Me." Apparently my nephew really took the words of the song to heart because he broke out of his shell during that song. He was the loudest one of them all. Literally, and it was quite obvious because he held the notes at the end of each and every line at the top of his lungs.
So it went something like this:

BEING MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
BEING FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
BEING ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL I CAN BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The entire crowd was almost in tears with laughter. Bad part about it? The battery on the video camera died. Hope we can find a copy of it somewhere!! Because it was so adorable.
And of course Alaena danced during the whole thing and clapped her hands. Which I think probably nudged Trace on a bit more. Ahhh, to be three and carefree again!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Once Upon a Time in Raegan's World

Since moving in with my sister a few months back, I have been driving Raegan and Trace to school each morning. This has led to many interesting moments...some good, some bad. Some mornings the begging not to go to school lasts the entire ride to school. Other mornings the two are totally happy little campers who joke and tell stories. And on mornings like that, I hear Raegan's once upon a time stories. Here are a few snippets I have overheard from the backseat in the last few months:

"Once upon a time there was a princess who had to kiss frogs, but it was gross."

"Once upon a time Goldilocks went to see her grandmother, but the wolf ate her and said my what big teeth you have."

"Once upon a time there was a little baby named Alaena and she had a sister named Raegan." (Raegan is fully convinced that Alaena is now her sister because they live in the same house.)

"Once upon a time there was a little girl who had a tooth growing in from behind that went to the dentist." (Some of her stories are based on real life. Her permanent tooth is growing in behind her baby tooth. In her mind this was apparently good story making material.)

"Once upon a time Raegan and Trace went into the forest and saw deers, and they dropped the hammer on the four wheeler." (This story was a bit disturbing to my mom since she's told my dad in no uncertain terms that "dropping the hammer" on the four wheeler is strictly forbidden)

The best thing about these stories is the tone of voice she takes when telling them. She could definitely have a career at Disney one day because a story teller she is. I'm just glad I get the chance to smile at these little stories now!