Okay, here are some more of my recent thoughts and feelings ... you have been sufficiently warned. ;)
1. Last night I went to my first Hip Hop Dance class. It was a whole lot of fun. It is so important to get out as a stay at home mom and do your own thing. There is something about taking a step out that makes you so happy to step back in. When I came back home Q was so happy to see me. I asked him if he wanted to help me bring the groceries in and he got so excited and happy and said with a sort of sweet desperation, "Yes, Please, Mama!" He is so sweet, so tenderhearted. The class also made me remember and think back to College and how fun it is to have a group instruction and to be able to learn with other people. I wouldn't go as far as to say I miss College, because I know how hard it is, but it sure was fun and I am glad I did it.
2. Last night I was putting Quincey to bed (way after his bed time), we were laying in the dark, and he asked me to read
Where's Spot (his current favorite) to him. So, I started repeating all that I remembered... is Spot in the Closet? no, that's a monkey! (etc., ) Anyways, I finished all the ones I could remember and was pretty confident that I got them all and Quince started saying, " Bear please? Bear please? " (Apparently, I had forgotten the Bear). I didn't think much of this until this morning. Man, kids are so smart!! It is so fun to see how Quincey is learning and growing. Soon, he will be constantly correcting me because I am so old and don't remember anything. So, I appreciate the polite 'Bear please'.
3. Yesterday, I was at the park with some friends from my MOMS club, and Quincey started wandering (and just so you know, this kid can go 0 to 60 in 'really fast time') towards the play sets, which were a bit of a distance from where we were at the picnic tables. He started making me nervous, getting a bit too close to the parking area, so I started to call and run after him, telling him to stay on the sidewalk... and of course, he doesn't even turn a head. (I did catch up with him and he is fine.) It just sometimes scares me how much this kid loves his independence. Telling him no is like setting fire on a desire to prove that he can.
My friend Lara recommended this book...
I ordered it, and it should be here soon. She says it focuses on rewarding good behavior instead of just punishing the bad. I am hoping that it will give me a better idea on how to do this, because sometimes I feel like I am just saying 'no' all day long and to be honest Q loves getting attention any way he can get it, and 'no' makes him want to do it even more. So, we will see. I don't normally read a lot of Parent Help Guides, because there are a lot of opinions out there, and most of the time, I think it is important just to stick with your gut... but, this seems to be what my gut is telling me! ;)
4. A friend of our family told me that he asked my mom if she sometimes sees her kids having to discipline her grandkids and thinks, "Ha, that serves them right!" And she said that sometimes she does feel that towards her kids that were a pain for her, but with her children who didn't give her as much of a hard time, she feels mostly empathy. I just thought that was cute. I think when Q grows up and has little 'Quincey's' I will probably think, "ha, serves you right!"
And when he was tired with the stroller, he came and played on the video games!
And Maiya was just dancin' and havin' a ball the whole time.
Here is our baby girl. She is getting so big! Turning 1 in 3 weeks! She finally learned to roll over last week. It's so funny that that is usually the first thing a baby does, and she decided to save it. Which I didn't mind at all because it sure makes diaper changes easier and bed time as well. Now she just wants to crawl around in her bed until 10 pm to make up for lost time, I suppose. She has also learned how to clap and smack her lips together. She is gaining so much confidence and it is fun to see her little personality coming out more and more.
