10:24 pm

Me: Is that fireworks?
Ashley: (sigh) Yeah…
Me: (annoyed) Awesome.
Ashley: We’re such parents.

Nigh Nigh Time. Pacifier Please!

Chandler is a con man. Con…toddler. Chandler knows that the only time we give him a pacifier now is if he is sleeping. Throughout our trip to see my parents, anytime he has been in a stroller or a car seat, he has said, “Nigh nigh time. Pacifier please!”

Of course no night nighting ever happens. He just sits there with his pacifier chilling and enjoying the ride.

We’re trying to get completely off the pacifiers. That process really takes a lot of discipline. The discipline is less on Chandler’s end and more on our end. It is so easy to just stick something in your kid’s mouth and and instantly get some peace and quiet.

The same thing goes for iPhones, iPads, and TV. It is such a weight off our shoulders to be able to hand Chandler a device, or plop him on the couch and gain some precious downtime.

But I find myself resisting that at every turn. I myself am an Internet junkie, movie fanatic, and love pretty much anything digital. So I am by no means against the idea of my son using technology. But I really don’t like the idea of him being dependent on anything.

I don’t want him to need his Mommy, or a blankie, or a pacifier, or an ice cold can of Mt Dew to make him happy.

Obviously he is just a 2-year-old and he will need certain things in his life to make him feel safe. I’m not a monster. But I will always be nudging him out of his comfort zones and trying to teach him to find happiness and contentment within himself rather than from something tangible.

Maybe if I can successfully teach him that, it will rub off on me too.

I didn’t realize this, but apparently babies don’t start blinking for a few years. Chandler just started making up for lost time. At first I thought Chandler was a cyborg and he was taking photographs with his eyes and uploading the images to Skynet.

That awkward moment when you are dancing to entertain your son and you realize he hasn’t been watching for several minutes.

Gaming the system

Chandler: Cuddle Mommy and watch Bop?

Mommy: Well, when you put it that way.

Internet

Sitting on the couch using my iPad next to Chandler as he watched a video, he started to scoot towards me and said, “Internet! Internet!”

The Daddy Complex: Hug It Out

I don’t do a lot of reblogging here on Improvising Fatherhood, but this is so good I have to share it with you. David Vienna, author of The Daddy Complex, wrote about the power of hugs, and I know exactly how he feels.

thedaddycomplex:

If you’ll allow me to be completely honest, I wasn’t one of those people who thought a hug could make anyone feel better. I know it didn’t work for me. When I was in college, my bike got stolen and I was pretty upset. My girlfriend gave me a hug to cheer me up. But after the hug, my bike was still fucking gone. So, my mood didn’t change. (It’s a wonder we didn’t last.)

Apply that same equation to any and all times someone tried to cheer me up with a hug. I mean, sure, I like hugs. They feel good and stuff and are a fairly solid way to express affection, but I never really thought they had magical healing powers or anything… until I had kids.

Last night, I wasn’t feeling great and Wyatt was being a bit bossy. I didn’t have the energy to go toe-to-toe with him. When I told him it was time to put jammies on, he yelled, “No!” and danced away. I just sat there rubbing my temples. He returned and asked, “Are you sad, Papa?”

“Yes,” I said.

He asked, “Would a hug cheer you up?”

Again, I said, “Yes.”

He wrapped his arms around my neck and squeezed me tight, adding a kiss on the cheek. And I’ll be damned if it didn’t cheer me right the hell up.

Not even an hour later, Wyatt got upset about something. He said, “How can you make me happy, Papa?”

I knew what he was fishing for. I said, “A hug,” offering something I’d defined as relatively useless just three years prior. He opened his arms wide and I gave him a big hug. He hopped into bed smiling. As I tucked him in, I asked, “Are you happy?”

He said, “Yes.” And I knew it was true because it was true for me, too.

Dolla Bills Y’all!

Chandler picked up some dollar bills from my wallet.

Chandler: Washington George! Washington George!

Me: George Washington?

Chandler: YEAH!

Me: Who taught you that?

Chandler: Mama BB!

He then took the dollars and ran.