Our Baby Story: I'm the Mom of a Toddler. October 7, 2012

We're at the 15 month mark, and I'm sitting here writing a blog while Dominic eats his breakfast of frozen grapes, cheerios and a Special K granola bar with pretzels and chocolate. If he's still hungry, we get him cinnamon swirl raisin bread which he loves to eat with a dollop of cream cheese. And if he's still hungry after that, he loves french toast, pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, and myriad other delicious morsels. I used to think that we struggled with Dominic and his eating habits. I'd get concerned that I wasn't varying his intake enough or that he wasn't eating enough or drinking enough. Daddy started requesting that we portion out what we give him so we could see he was eating enough because he, too, was worried about Dominic and his eating habits. I started to realize, though, after many people marveled at 'what a good eater' Dominic is that we were probably doing something right. So I've stopped worrying so much and have just started feeding and experimenting. Dominic likes everything from spicy to sweet and back, including a batch of spaghetti sauce that was even a little too spicy for Daddy and me. I think I put too much pepper in it- but hey, at least not a jalepeno. =) Sometimes after two or three bites, Dominic will throw his hands up and scream in anger as if he's done. That is our cue that he would like to feed himself, and so we put some food on the fork, set it in front of him, and then he picks it up and feeds himself. When he's ready for more, he passes the fork back over and either signs more, or says, "Yummy yummy!" The other day, Daddy taught the big boy how to blow on his food if it's hot!

It's true that mommy's likely give their kids far too many kisses, whether it's in the span of 2 minutes or two hours. We simply kiss our kids more than they'd like to have their face space invaded. Such has started to rear its ugly head in my son. I am a kisser; I'll admit it. I am THAT mom. Everything gets a kiss no matter what it is- happy, sad, mad, fun, boring, clean, dirty. When I drop Dominic off at daycare in the mornings, I always ask him for a kiss, and he would always give me one. These days, though, he is rejecting his mom and I am quite offended! He doesn't simply ignore me anymore; he turns his head away from me and declares, "NO!" Unfortunately this isn't something that miraculously changes- he's going to deny me kisses from this day forward. We're on his terms now, I guess. "What are his terms?" you ask. Well, it's really quite simple. His terms are kissing feet. It's my fault that he does this and I feel like I should start breaking him of it, but it's so cute! If he wants to show you affection or make you scream or laugh, he comes up to your feet and either gets a toe or the bottom of your foot. I've loved his tiny bitty feet every since he was a baby, and I, too, have likely been THAT mom giving his little tootsies far too many kisses. (I just let him down from breakfast and he's dancing along with the 'fancy dance' on Mickey Mouse Club House.)

Cleaning the house has become less of a chore now that Dominic is mobile. He loves to get the rag I throw on the floor when I'm done using it to dry dishes and he goes around and cleans his customary items: The fridge, the front of the plasticware cabinet, the dishwasher, the floor (where milk has been spilled), the kitchen window sill, the playroom window sill, and the tops of the leather seats of the kitchen chairs. All this when he sees me start to vacuum or wash the dishes. He takes his cues from me, though I never did show him how to wipe things down- which means he's like his mommy was when I was a kid- Observer in Chief. (It's really hard to write a blog when you're singing along with the Hot Dog Dance in your head as it plays on TV.)

Big Boy really is learning, though. From helping me put his shirts on to sticking his feet out when it's time to put on shoes and socks; from climbing up the stairs and then climbing back down; from climbing in his big kid chair and sitting forward to climbing on top of a table; from picking up the letter O and putting it over his face and saying, "Ohhhhh!" and to saying GO! and walking over to the gate when we ask if he's ready to leave, and saying Ni Ni when we ask if he's ready to go to bed, I can really see that he's starting to turn into a little person. He's such a clown and does things just to make people laugh. For instance, he loves climbing into and on things. As I was typing he's a clown, he was trying to sit on top of his high chair tray (as if it were a box) and ended up launching all of the cheerios on it across the living room. Now, he's trying to surf on it very carefully. I figure I'm going to have to go over and comfort him once he wipes out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqLlgV8pTog&feature=youtu.be

I'm really looking forward to teaching him to swim so we can play dolphin together in the pool. I'm trying to get him comfortable in the water, not just sitting and splashing, but being closer to the water. For months and months and months now, I've tipped him onto his back and held him on top of the water as if he's floating on his back. He loves it so much now that sometimes when we're doing bath time, he looks up at me and smiles as he slowly begins tipping himself backwards. That's my cue that he wants to 'swim!' He loves it so much that when the tub is draining, he lays down on his back when it's shallow enough that it won't cover his face! I'm very excited though, because bedtime is easier than ever with him. Instead of having to bathe him and get everything done and put him down before I can shower, we can now shower together! He loves putting his face under the water and making car noises with his lips. Bbbbrrrrrmmmmmmm brrrrrmmmmm. Shower time usually consists of us making car noises the entire time.

Of everything he does, I think my most favorite is when he picks up his 'babies' (stuffed animals) and hugs them tight, pats them on the back and goes "shhh shhh shhh." Once they're comforted, he tosses them across the room. HAHA! Little does he know they're crying again.

Being a mom has been the best thing I've ever had the privilege of doing. I keep thinking of all of the fun things we'll do when he gets older, and wonder if it's going to be as fun as watching him get there! I guess since he's getting there so fast, I'll have to get another baby to fill in the void he is sure to leave now that he's not so baby anymore.