Mom Remembers

SOREN: C is for ca-ca-ca-Carl. BABYSITTER: Wow, that's right! SOREN: D is for da-da-da-Daddy. BABYSITTER: And what is this F for? SOREN: F is for fear!

1. I love that he is a gentle and attentive parent to his "Rabbit". 2. I love how excited he (still) is about the alphabet. 3. I love the way he sings while he plays or walks. 4. I love it when he wants to copy what Carl is doing. 5. I love how quickly he is learning new words 6. and how he puts them together in new and silly combinations. 7. I love it when he says "thanks", which is spontaneous and genuine (as opposed to "thank you", which is always prompted). 8. I love his enthusiasm for the scriptures and how reverent he can be when we talk about Jesus. 9. I love the way he memorises everything. 10. I love how enthusiastic he can be about helping me do housework. 11. I love it when he talks about Chinese characters with Scott. 12. I love that he enjoys being read to 13. and reading to himself. 14. I love how excited he is about going to the dinosaur museum with Daddy. 15. I love that fish, tofu, and nuts are his preferred proteins. 16. I

1. I love the way he squeals when I get him up in the morning. 2. I love how he can crawl across the floor using only his arm strength (no legs). 3. I love how he adores his sling 4. and fits on my hip 5. and snuggles against me in it when he's tired. 6. I love the way he says "mama" when he's hungry and "dada" to tease me. 7. I love that he has a favorite book ( That's Not My Dinosaur ) and that he doesn't actually want to read it, just look at the cover. 8. I love that he already wants to and is capable of mimicking our simple motions. 9. I love how ticklish he is. 10. I love the way he plays with my face, especially my lips. 11. I love the way he nurses so intently first thing in the morning 12. and the way he smacks his lips when he's done. 13. I love his laugh when I bounce him around. 14. I love that he enjoys being rocked. 15. I love how interested he is in everything his big brother is doing. 16. I love the way I can someti

Before Soren was born, Scott and I attended a breastfeeding class at our local hospital.  It was very informative.  When I left, I felt confident and determined.  Those were feelings I would definitely need in the coming weeks and months as I struggled to establish good feeding patterns with my newborn son.  I would remember very little of what the lactation consultant taught but her optimism and earnestness would remain with me.  I trusted her and I do not regret it for she gave the gift of nursing, something I had never before felt drawn to. The consultant stressed in her presentation the importance of feeding your baby whenever he is hungry, a very sensible suggestion.  She taught us to look for hunger cues and warned the class that crying was a late sign of hunger.  I felt so confident that I would watch for those cues and my baby would never cry.  Why would he?  Crying was a late sign of hunger (read: starvation) and of course I would never miss my precious one's early signs

Soren's strong will has been re-asserting itself this past week. He has become my little rebel: he says "no!" to everything, breaks our rules behind my back, refuses to make eye contact, lies about the contents of his diaper, and ignores friendly people. He reminds me of a surly teenager and I never know how to respond.  On my good days, I say, "You don't get to say 'no' to Mommy." Other times, I am left with my mouth hanging open, the situation spiraling out of control, leaving me with no constructive ideas. And sometimes I just can't help but laugh. Two incidents come to mind. The first happened about a week ago when Soren heard someone take the Lord's name in vain on the radio. He thought it sounded very funny. Much to my chagrin, he repeated it in a loud, enthusiastic voice. I tried to give him a tamer, alternative exclamation to use but he was quite insistent on the original. When he shouted it again (with gusto), I told him very firml

Yesterday, I was doing the lunch dishes and Soren was playing in the living room.  Carl was napping and the house was calm and peaceful. I peaked into the living room to see what Soren was doing.  The floor was littered with blocks but he wasn't building anything.  He had out our family Book of Mormon and sat on the floor with it open in his lap.  He was mumbling something I couldn't hear, although I don't doubt that it was some jumbled up rendition of an oft-repeated scriptural phrase. When he saw me, he put the book down said, "We're having a prayer."  Then he folded his arms.  I quickly dried my hands and came to kneel with him on the floor. I love listening to Soren pray.  It's something he has only recently started doing and it is definitely my favorite of his new skills.  I especially love listening to him thank God for his blessings.  He is grateful for the best things.  His enjoyment of life is obvious when he prays because he remembers with

SOREN: I want another nut! SCOTT: No, it's time for bed. SOREN: I want a bath! SCOTT: We're done with the bath, it's time for bed. SOREN: I want blue pajamas! SCOTT: We're wearing the green ones tonight. SOREN: No! I want another nutt! SCOTT: I know, I know. You want everything. SOREN: I want dangerous alphabet! SCOTT: How about a whipping? Would you like that? SOREN: I want a purple whippin'!

Some of you may know that I have been trying to potty train Soren. I spent all last week working on it and it was the very worst week of our lives. My efforts have ended in big, fat failure. It's not because Soren isn't "ready". I've heard a lot about "readiness" and most people who have heard about our failure are suggesting that Soren is developmentally incapable of using the toilet. Poppycock. He's ready. I just screwed it up. When we have a successful potty training story to tell, I think that I will understand this experience better. But for now, the following list covers pretty well what didn't work for us: 1. Bribes . I only got one piece of advice (from many sources) before I made the attempt to ditch diapers: bribe 'em. Everyone told me to use a rewards system to incentivise potty use. That did not work for us. Soren went crazy trying to get the rewards but his natural desire to sit on the toilet like Mommy and Daddy completely

Slow but steady the baby comes, pulling himself across the floor one beefy arm over another. He's got his eye on something shiny and he just keeps creeping closer. Look out tower/cell phone/remote/marker/ball! Carl is finally moving! *** Carl has discovered his first mode of transport: the army crawl. I am delighted that he has finally figured it out and dismayed at how much trouble he can get into. I love to watch him single-mindedly haul himself towards a goal across the room. That's a good thing, because I'm always surprised by what he accomplishes when I don't watch him. I'll find him five minutes later eating markers, headed for the stairs, sucking on electronics, or wrestling toys from his dismayed older brother. It's amazing how fast things can change. Yesterday my baby was predictable, stationary, and utterly content. Today he's on the move and will never be predictable, stationary, or content again. It really happens that fast. It's a grea

SOREN:  Hooray for church!