raising a daddy

My house is a disaster, it looks like I have five little boys instead of one. My dishes are piling up, I have half painted book cases taking up space in my dining nook, my laundry is all over the floor in my room, and the garbage is over flowing. Sounds pretty gross right? Thats what happens when Ryan and I dont get to play for a few days- he went to his Mimi and Papa's house for 4 days this last weekend and we have been having a party ever since he came home. I promise to clean up this evening as soon as I click publish!


Ryan had his first appointment of many with the developmental delay screener and it was GREAT. He wow-ed her with his fine motor skills, comprehension, and problem solving skills! It was quite funny when she asked him- "Ryan can you say elephant?" He would nod YES, go figure. "Ryan can you show me what the elephant says? NO.... oooh dear. At least he knows exactly what I am saying!!! The best was she had a baby bear and asked Ryan to feed it and rock it. He is going to be such a good brother someday and an incredible daddy when he is much older. He is amazing me every day with how fast the baby is disappearing and how quickly everything "big kid" related is coming out. 


Today we played "house" for the first time. Ryan was the daddy and I was... who knows. He had a baby monkey to take care of! We pulled out the bumbo and all sorts of baby stuff to use- pacies, bottles, bibs, blankies. Ryan made and fed the baby lunch then rocked it to sleep and tucked it in with a bottle. He followed with patting his head and waving bye. He insisted we be very quiet while his baby monkey was sleeping. Just goes to show he really does listen more than I think he does. He is such a sweet boy. 

btw, those flipping sweet Woody slippers are from Famous Footwear!

 nighty night time

I was reading a really great article this morning from parents.com about labeling our children and their personalities. My son is not the rough and tumble, grunting, aggressive, mans man that everyone expects him to be and I am okay with that. The article talked about how dangerous it is to label our children because it follows them their whole life, creating negative self esteem- something I completely agree with! So out with the old in with the new.

A Better Way to Label

The labels we give our children may stick with them forever, says Dr. Harvey Karp. So make sure that you're accentuating the positive! These simple substitutes can go a long way toward making your child feel he's great.

Old Label: Shy
New Label: Careful
Why It Works: A shy child hides from the world, but a careful one just takes smarter steps when he goes out into it.

Old Label: Wild
New Label: Energetic
Why It Works: Wild implies out-of-control, while energetic describes a child who's enthusiastic about life.

Old Label: Fussy
New Label: Selective
Why It Works: Fussy connotes crabbiness and pickiness, while selective means he won't settle for anything less than the best.

Old Label: Stubborn
New Label: Tenacious
Why It Works: A stubborn child refuses to give in without knowing why, while a tenacious one is a fighter who won't quit.

Old Label: Slowpoke
New Label: Thoughtful
Why It Works: Slowpoke sends the signal that a child is lazy, while thoughtful indicates he's taking the time to consider his options.

Old Label: Defiant
New Label: Courageous
Why It Works: A defiant child refuses to do anything that's asked of him, while a courageous one sticks up for what he believes in.

Copyright 2007. Reprinted with permission from the August 2007 issue of Parents magazine.

I want to shout it from the roof tops.  I love my careful, selective, and tenacious kid!

I'd love to hear what kind of child you have :)

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