Tips, tricks and adventures in parenting two kids.
Hayden had a little (very little!!) bit of trouble getting down for his afternoon nap today, so I took him to bounce on my bed. He was tired enough that playing quickly devolved into snuggling. It’s nice to take a break from worrying about responsibilities or time and just enjoy my baby as he cuddles up to me and drifts off. A little vacation from the cares of the world:
Sigh.
And then he kicked me in the stomach.
Hayden had his first solid foods on August 4. By that Sunday, we has pretty excited to be eating pears!
Okay, okay, those weren’t his first bites. He seemed to like it a lot more at the beginning:
Today he tried oatmeal for the first time: definitely more like the first video.
So yesterday was “Book Thursday.” I read the entirety of Freakonomics: a Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. It was freakin’ awesome.
My favorite chapter was the one on parenting. To all you obsessive parents out there: stop. You don’t make ANY DIFFERENCE! Just be yourself. Everything has already been determined for your baby based on your socioeconomic status, intelligence, education, etc., etc., etc.
Okay, it’s not that bleak. You just have to read it. One factoid that interested me: there is a positive correlation (read: NOT CAUSATION!) between the number of books in a child’s home and his test scores (possibly because people with lots of books generally value reading/learning/education and this is reflected in their children) (ref: p. 172-3).
So I counted how many books we had in our shelves (and a few other places, but I’m sure I missed a couple). Do you think 286 books bodes well for Hayden’s future test scores? Gosh, the more I think of it, the more it sounds like a lot. It’s not entirely bragging: a lot of them are textbooks that we never sold back.
Also, today, I ensured that I overcame the bleak statistic that Dr. Kerry Soper (I think) cited a year ago at my graduation: most college graduates do not read a single book in the five years following graduation. Don’t know if I believe that one, but at least I didn’t live it out.
(I’ve read other books in the last year, too. . . . Just mostly parenting ones!)
Sigh. There’s tiny baby Hayden asleep in my arms (about 3 weeks old). Sooo cute.
Last night I almost cried because his teeth are coming in. His whole life I’ve been wanting him to grow up faster, to go from an unresponsive lump of baby to the giggly, smiley cuteness he is now. I love him the way he is now (of course I loved him before, too)—but he’s not stopping here. He’s going to keep growing.
It’s a mixed blessing. He’ll grow out of waking up during the night. (Yes, he still does that. Sigh.) But he’ll grow out of his sweet, toothless grin. He’ll be able to tell me, “I love you, Mama” in words. But he won’t laugh or arch his back and screech in delight when I come in the room.
And as he gets older, it means I’ll have to get serious about this whole parenting thing. I’ll need to teach him more than his name and the colors of the rainbow and the alphabet and counting. He’ll need more than that to become the person which I hope he’ll be. I worry about his college and serving a mission when he’s 19 and getting his Eagle Scout (if he chooses). How can we ever save enough and teach him enough and pray for him enough?
But I can’t worry about the future and mourn the passage of time all the time. I know that I have to appreciate and enjoy the present. When Hayden’s upset, it’s easier to wish he were older and could tell me what’s wrong and I could comfort him better. But when Hayden’s happy, enjoying time with him is the easiest thing in the world to do.
I guess they’re right. They always grow up too fast.
But today, he only has one tooth.
As my sisters sang at my wedding (and we’ll sing at Jaime’s in a few months):
A million tomorrows shall all pass away
Ere I forget all the joy that is mine today.
There’s been one more coming in recent weeks:
On Sunday, Hayden got his first tooth! I was waiting until I had a picture to share, but Hayden doesn’t want to show off his tooth, and there’s isn’t a whole lot to see yet.
He doesn’t really seem bothered by it at all—happy as a clam. He has taken to biting his wrist, which I’m sure hurts him. His tooth also sometimes hits the spoon as he’s eating his solid foods, but I think that’s cute. He’s very enthusiastic about eating from a spoon. Whenever he sees it, he opens his mouth wide. When I give him a bite, he leans forward to chomp down on the spoon (sometimes resulting in lots of strained carrots on his upper lip and nose!).
At the doctor on Monday, he was in the 8th percentile for weight (up until now, he’s always been in the 25th percentile for weight). The doctor said that was pretty common as he becomes more mobile (and boy, is he ever!), but to make sure to feed him frequently.
And he also was hardly bothered by his shots—he cried for a minute, then calmed down once I picked him up! Brave little boy!
It has been a month of comings and goings in the MamaBlogga household.
Coming. My sister-in-law Stacy, her husband Todd and daughter Skye arrive for a vacation July 28th.
Going. The nearly-30-year-old water heater gives up the ghost on July 29th, the one year anniversary of closing on our house. No hot showers for Sunday! Will the home warranty cover this? We find our policy, dated August 9, but with the wrong real estate agent and address listed. Were we faxed the wrong policy?
Coming. The plumber comes, says the water heater’s not worth saving, and wheels in new arrival #1: a new water heater. The warranty covers all but a small service fee. Hot water all around! Thrilling photo to the right.
Coming. My cousin Alexa comes to stay with us on August 1. Since the guest bedroom is occupied, Lexi gets an air mattress in the dining room. She is a huge help with Hayden.
Going. Stacy, Todd and Skye leave to go stay with his brother on August 2. They are extremely helpful in readying the house for my next guests.
Coming. My mom and sister Jasmine arrive late at night on August 2.
Going . . . going . . . gone! The refrigerator, which I think is about 20 years old, loses its heroic battle against old age. The battle began at the beginning of July, but the fridge finally succumbed in the first week of August. The home warranty does not cover this because it does not include the refrigerator.
Going. Mom, Jasmine and Alexa head to Alexa’s home (mom’s sister’s) in southern Utah on August 7. The house is empty, but not very quiet as Hayden tries to fill the silence with enthusiastic grunts.
Coming. My dad arrives late on August 9. Hayden is awake to greet him when we arrive home from the airport, having harried Ryan for almost 2 hours. Dad’s happy to see the little guy, me less so (he should be sleeping!!!).
Coming. Mom and Jasmine return from my aunt’s house on August 10.
Coming. New arrival #2, the new refrigerator arrives on August 12. Love the fridge (although it’s a little bit smaller than our old one—the freezer’s already stuffed!), not so enthused about the service (more on that another time).
Coming. My in-laws arrive on August 16. They stayed in a hotel, however.
Going. My parents and Jasmine fly out early in the morning on August 19. Sad.
Coming. My in-laws come to stay with us on August 20.
Going. My in-laws head home this morning. More sad.
As you can imagine, all this commotion has wrought havoc on Hayden’s sleeping patterns, both day and night. I hope that everything will get back to “normal” soon for him.