Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Toddler Adventure Continues...

This week, our little Snookerdoodles had her second Birthday. “Where did the time go”; it’s a cliché for a reason. When we first brought her home, I remember reading and commenting on Blogs with her sleeping in the crook of my left arm. Major life change, to be sure, but in hind sight, it was so easy then. Except for her winding-up and crying for 4-5 hours, starting at about 8:30 PM.

Now, she has words. She can actually converse, and it can be mind-blowing, after nearly two years of interpreting the pitch of her wails. The rude awakening came when we were driving somewhere, and speaking with Andrea, I referred to another driver as a ‘douche.’ From the back seat, I heard “Doos.”

We had her party last Saturday, with a ton of family and friends over. It went off without a hitch, after a week of cleaning and other preparation. Beforehand, however, we tried to put her down for a nap (a futile effort that day), and we were eating subs, discussing who would shower first, and we were interrupted with a THUMP! We got upstairs so fast, it was like we had been raptured there, and we found her out of her crib, on her hands and knees, and not too dazed to greet us: “Hi…”

She hasn’t escaped again since, but we’ll have her in a toddler bed really soon, believe you me. We also need to make up the other bedroom for her. And the projects march on.

A few days later, I had a pretty rude awakening. I her effort to master her environment, Chickerdoodles was climbing on the couch, and fell off. The bump on the head and the startling had her in tears, and I was doing the standard Daddy thing; cuddling, with the “Aw, Sweety…” I got the brainstorm to call the dog onto the couch, in the hope of making her feel better. I gotta admit, it kinda hurt my feelings when she preferred cuddling up to the dog in her grief.

This made me think; I’ve gotten into the habit of letting the TV occupy her while I get things done. This can be pretty handy, but I’ve got to put in the time with her too. So on my last day off, We played together more than we have been. We had a great day, and when it was time to put her to bed, she cuddled into me instead of just sitting on my lap for her bottle.

I’ve always known in theory that it’s the time invested that makes a good parent, but I forgot that in my daily routine. I’m sure I will again. But this week, I read the signs, and corrected myself, and hopefully, I can continue being aware of things like that in my home.

8 comments:

  1. You have a full time job my friend, and one that won't let up for a very long time.

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  2. You're doing a great job. Parenting is a practice not a perfect. They will fall, you will have band-aids and possible broken bones, but we can't be their safety net all the time however we can be there to pick them up, dust them off and offer lots of love and kisses. It's easy to be hard on oneself as a parent (I know all to well) but remember that you love her, she loves you and you are just living life. In life, shit happens.

    Also, the douche thing cracked me up. My son let it rip in the back seat real good after I had a tirade (he was around 2 as well). Instead of one word.....he ripped off every curseword in the books. I literally sat shocked. He has never done it again and as you know I am Queen Potty Mouth, but I just teach him that those words are adult words, just like mommy's wine is an adult beverage. He is excited to turn 18 so he can give the finger.

    I'm not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed, but I think you know which one I am.

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  3. Hang on to these moments Will, they're precious.
    Most enjoyable to read.

    Yvonne.

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  4. What a fun blog. Looking forward to exploring it more. Your doodles will keep you busy, but is it so true that this time will go by so fast, so hold on to all of it :)

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  5. Hi, Will! I've popped over from Creepy Query Girl's bloffee.

    Yes, when they suddenly become mobile and verbal -- watch out!

    My second daughter was prone to climbing out of her crib, so we bought (don't laugh) one of those tent things that goes over the top. TENT, not cage. You have to be careful how you name these things.

    She LOVED it. When we put her in bed at night, she'd holler: "Cwose it! Cwose it!" It's like she was telling us, "You'd better zip me in. I can't be trusted."

    Good luck with your Snickerdoodle!

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  6. Kodak memories to hang on to!

    I'm dropping in from Alex's blog hop. Nice to meet you! *waves* I'm your newest follower.

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  7. Hey here,
    I have just popped over to say "hi" while I have a RARE spare moment to myself. Thank you for what you said on my blog...very true...I do try and find time between work and study time to go on other people's blogs as much as I can, but sometimes life gets in the way, you know how it is!!
    And you are right all bloggers rock!!!
    Great blog btw.
    Eve, xoxo

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  8. You're a great dad, Will! Don't sweat the t.v. thing or not playing with her enough. We all have those moments from time-to-time, but you know what, she knows you're there and she can count on you. That's most awesome!

    The douche thing and the greeting y'all when she fell out of the crib cracked me up!

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