Just say mommy!

Just say mommy…

Yesterday morning, upon waking up around 7:00 am (post DST), I strolled into my son’s dimly lit bedroom and saw him standing in his crib, his hair disheveled from burying his head in his bumper.

“Good mornin’ little man, did you sleep well?” I asked, as if I were expecting to receive an honest answer… I pause as I look at my little boy.

“Dada?” he says as he points at the pictures of us on his photo-memory board.

“Yes, there’s da-da…” I say. “And, there’s momma, and there’s Mauldin!”

He smiles a gummy-grin with a hint of two tiny teeth poking out of his bottom gum. "You wanna go see mommy?"

He points out the door, “Da!”

I look down and step over numerous books and colored blocks littering his bedroom floor… with Mauldin wrapped snuggly around my neck I head out the door.

As I round the corner to our room I see a light has been turned on and I hear water running…
I hear a voice and two large white doors open outward… it’s my wife!

“Good morning!” says Laura. She is wrapped in only a towel obviously ready for her morning shower.

“Did my little boy have a good night sleep?”

“Dadadadada,” replies Mauldin.

“Yes, he seems to be in good spirits despite..” I say, I reach over and grab a tissue from the box of Kleenex on our dresser.

“Here,” I say as I reach out to Laura.

“Despite his runny nose?” Laura said finishing my sentence.

“Yes, mommy, we have a runny nose.” I followed as I watched her wipe the nasty concoction of goo from our child’s nostrils.

Mauldin expressed his dislike by his face turning red and his sad pout.

We always try to occupy Mauldin with the art of distraction whenever he is upset…
“Mauldin, say mama!”

He looked at me with his sad eyes, filled with tears… one slowly moved down his cheek and he quickly responded with a coy little smile…

“Dad-de!”

One day at a time...

A mess is what my son does best!

The time has come… well it seems like it arrived via a terminal at Hartsfield International Airport. I never believed it when people used the cliché that “time flies,” but it is such a true statement.

In about 30 days my son will officially be considered a toddler. On March 21st our little boy will be 12 months old aka one-year old. How did this happen? I apparently haven’t been paying attention, but the months whizzed by without as much as a word, except for “da-da.” (“Mama is soon to follow).

Try to picture this: I sit around in our den, our once beautifully decorated den, and the floor is covered in a wide arrangement of toys and books. The hardwood floors are hidden by the soft and cushiony floor mats we bought from Target to soften the blow when our little boy plops his butt down on the floor from cruising around our furniture. I look at my wife as she is cooking us dinner in the kitchen.

“Remember what our house used to look like babe?”

“Yep, but at the same time I have almost forgot,” said Laura.

The coffee table coasters and side tables all have been stripped of the pictures that used to sit so effortlessly upon them showcasing our many travels and endeavors. We have to push back all the remotes, pictures and books we do leave out because MJ is tall enough now to reach. (He really enjoys changing the channels). The knobs on the drawers and cabinets are starting to disappear, but reappear in his lap while he sits on the hardwood and bangs with a sweet smile vying for our attention of “look what I did mom and dad! I can remove cabinet hardware!” All in all we have a long way to go when it comes to total baby proofing… ummm excuse me, toddler proofing.

We were working on my daughter's new room and Mauldin decided he needed to assist with unpacking the clothes we have for her... It was a mess and it took everything within me to just let him do it to explore, play and be a little boy. I think I did a pretty good job... I sit back a lot and just let him do what he wants, that is if what he is doing is safe!

There are a hefty amount of toys in our home as well… although, we do clean up as soon as he is put to bed, but like clockwork all the toys are back in full view by the time I set foot in the door. Not all the toys mind you because our son is a very blessed child and if all the toys were out then we wouldn’t have anywhere to walk! I can’t even start to imagine what our home will look like as soon as our sweet little girl arrives on the scene.

I have tried to accept the clutter of the toys and slowly I am, but it is hard to forget how great our home once looked before our little boy came into our lives. I will say though, the clutter sure is a small price to pay when I see our handsome little boy playing in the floor acting as if he is talking on his plastic, make believe, Buzz Lightyear cell phone. He holds the phone to his ear, upside down, and looks at you with those piercing blue eyes and utters “da-da” … and my heart just melts. I can’t help but reach down to the floor and place myself next to him and begin to play too.

Sometimes the smallest moments can change your mind about everything.