Big brother is watching....

No matter how much I try; I cannot read a story, all the way through, to Mauldin. Well, I can read it all the way through, but the problem is he is asleep about half way through it. Now, I am not totally complaining because it gets him to sleep, but is he still soaking up the literary knowledge? I am not sure why, but it seems that his little mind cannot seem to take in all that valuable data. He cannot stay awake to the end to find out what happens! By the time I am done reading, say… “The Pokey Little Puppy,” “The Little Red Hen” or the story of “Peter Pan” he is sawing some logs right in my arms. We have a myriad of little golden books, board books and Mother Goose, nursery rhythms, that we keep in his nursery. I am not sure if I am boring the little man or if the sound of my voice is soothing to him. I would like to think it was soothing, but who knows…

When I start the story it is usually while he is screaming and aiming to break out of his swaddle. The little dude is a regular Houdini and can always find a way to get an arm out or a leg.

The other day I started trying to read Harry Potter to him, but, I have to let go of the book while trying to reposition him in my arms, so it didn’t pan out very well. He is a squirmy little guy when he is upset and the book folds back and I keep losing my place, so I am gonna have to wait until he can sit in my lap on his own without me having to restrain him.

Back to the reading…

I have decided to stick to a little bit smaller books so that I do not have to keep starting over. It really makes me laugh though because some of these books were such a big part of my childhood. In my youth my mom would always have these books around for us. I distinctly remember her reading to me about “Pokey” the little puppy and the like... as well as the aforementioned “Little Red Hen.” Now, when I was younger this book seemed to be a lot more entertaining, as did “The Pokey Little Puppy.” The more and more I read them, the more and more I figure out some of these morals, in the stories, are out of whack! I mean they are kind of comical actually! The little puppy, Pokey, was a selfish little bast…uhmmm guy… his little friends followed the rules… but they still got in trouble and he ended up getting dessert a lot more than they did, however, at the end he didn’t get to have dessert, but all the other little puppies did – but if you think about it Pokey got to eat dessert like 3x more than the others… and as his punishment.. he had to sleep alone. He did everything else by himself and now he gets to sleep alone.. I am sure this did not faze him one bit.

Now moving on to “The Little Red Hen.” There is a story about adversity and trying to overcome gender stereotypes and roles. I bet a whole lot of research and psychology books can be written just about this little story. The Hen wanted to plant a seed, grow some wheat so she could get some flour to bake some bread, but none of the other animals wanted to help her in her tasks. So, in essence, she was a work-a-holic with no friends and in the end she didn’t let any of her so-called barn-yard friends partake in the sweet bread she had baked… The other animals were probably like fine, bitch, I’ll go buy my own bread while I play my fiddle. What lesson did we learn here? Not sure. LOL!

I have found reading to him is one sure way to get him to go to bed or take a nap, most nights. Now, here is a tip, if some of you were unaware of this. Baby monitors are not very private, apparently. "Big Brother" is always watching... or should I say "Big Sister." The other night I found out that our house has a major invasion of our privacy… and by accident no less. My sister-in-law, Laura’s sister, Jennifer, lives down the street and her little girl, our niece, Annagrace, had their monitor, and turns out when switched the frequency and it gave them a window into Mauldin’s nursery. Now, granted, this is by accident, but who says they will not just do it just to appease Annagrace so she can see and hear her little cousin? I know Jenn reads this so this is basically a plea to say…”please don’t.” I also am saying this for my own well being because whenever I read to Mauldin or sing to him it is a sort of private affair, not to mention, I cannot sing all that well… especially cheesy little tunes like “do re mi” and “under the sea.” Don’t judge me. I do this though because it really helps in him falling to sleep… (don't revoke my man-card) when the reading doesn’t help. Moreover, when I read to him I tend to find myself doing “voices” of the characters and not in a cool “oh wow you should do this for a job way.” It is very amateur and embarrassing if heard by any others. So, if you have a baby monitor and you think what you say in your home is private… think again. Think again.