She Says… Damaged Goods

We made a potentially very bad parenting decision last night. And it nearly broke our hearts.

As I’ve mentioned before, Owen LOVES his lovey. Lovey stays in bed (my hard and fast rule to avoid dragging him around everywhere we go) and is only available at nap and bedtimes, but oh how he is loved. We have three identical Loveys that are rotated between laundry, home and school so that in the almost 3 years of his life, Owen has never had to sleep without one since they were introduced.

As I also may have mentioned, Owen has taken to sucking on Lovey’s foot (arm?) while putting himself to sleep. It’s kind of gross, as that particular foot (on all three Loveys) is brownish, despite a billion washings, and starts to stink a little after a few sleeps. Then it’s time for a bath. But hey, probably no worse than a pacifier or a thumb, and at least this one goes in the closet as soon as he wakes up. The sucking has been happening for a long time, but a more recent habit is hanging Lovey on his bottom teeth, dangling out of Owen’s mouth from his looped tag. I think this started when Owen’s little fingers got too big to fit inside the looped tag.

I HATE this habit. Even more than the sucking.

He tugs on Lovey while attached to his tooth just hard enough that I worry about his teeth growing in the wrong direction. Or one pulling all the way out. It’s probably unfounded, but for some reason this tag hanging thing just irks me. And frankly I just don’t like the way Lovey looks dangling out of Owen’s mouth.  I’ve asked him not to do it, but of course there’s no way to regulate since he does it in the privacy of his own room when he’s sleeping. So Benjamin and I had the brilliant horribly awful idea to snip the tag open so that he couldn’t hang it on his tooth anymore.

Last night we made the snip on the 1st Lovey. It took Owen about 1 second to find the atrocious offense before the tears began. I don’t WANT this Lovey. He’s broken! What happened to his tag? I can’t scratch it! I want to be able to scratch it. It doesn’t feel right. I want a different one. Granted, last night was a particularly tearful and easily-frustrated night for Owen, so maybe not the best timing. But is there really a right time to mutilate one’s best friend?

Benjamin and I tried to keep blank faces but we were both crying on the inside. What had we done? I very nearly jumped in to say that I would buy him new ones… but I restrained myself because I wanted to see how this played out.

We all read a book together and by the end Owen was sucking happily on his favorite Lovey foot, flicking the tag mindlessly just like he used to. Before I tucked him in I asked, “Are you ok?” “Yeah.” “Is Lovey ok?” “Yeah. I can just touch the tag like this. It’s good.”.

Phew. I think we’re all going to survive.

The moral of the story? I SO wish we had prepared him for the snip. Every time I try to “trick” Owen I end up feeling like it was the wrong decision. Maybe snipping it at all was the wrong decision, but it’s too late now. We’ve decided we’re going to snip the other 2 as they are introduced over the next few days (one is currently at school in his nap bag and I don’t want to “trick” him again and have him freak out at school), because I don’t think we can have one damaged and 2 intact. And I still don’t want him looping that tag around his tooth. And given that he got over the damaged goods pretty quickly, I think we’ll all move right past it.

Lovey seems to be my Achilles heel with Owen. I just can’t stand coming between them.

I’ll let him go to college with the darn thing if he wants. As long as he’s not pulling out his teeth with it.

She Says… I Have One More Question for You

Owen’s favorite phrase du jour is “I have one more question for you”. It definitely sounds like something I’d say, so I’m not surprised he picked it up, but I am surprised that he seems to use it appropriately (when he really does have only one more question). It sounds so adult coming out of his tiny little mouth.

We had our first “getting out of bed” experience the other night, 3 weeks after introducing the big boy bed (which also means that we won a bet with our friends, who said they’d take us all out for ice cream if Owen lasted 3 weeks without leaving his room — score!). I was wondering when that was going to happen! This was pretty much the best case scenario and I’m thrilled that Owen seems to have adjusted with very little changing in terms of our sleeping routine. So far, at least.

This was the conversation we had when he woke up yesterday morning.

Owen: Mommy, am I allowed to get out of bed?
Me: No, you should stay in bed until I come get you in the morning.
Owen: Is Lovey allowed to jump out of bed?
Me: Well, it’s better if he stays in bed, but… Why? did he fall out of bed last night?
Owen: Yes.
Me: That’s ok! What did you do?
Owen: Silence. I think he thought he was supposed to say he DIDN’T get out of bed, but doesn’t yet know how to lie.
Me: That’s ok if you got out just to get Lovey. Because I didn’t hear you cry for me. Did you cry for me?
Owen: No. I got out of bed (sheepish grin).
[Side note: Oh how I adore the "telling on myself constantly" phase!]
Me: That’s ok. As long as it was just to get Lovey. Did you get right back in bed?
Owen: I DID!
Me: That’s awesome, buddy. I’m so proud of you for getting Lovey yourself.
Owen: Mommy, I have one more question for you.
Me: Yes?
Owen: Am I allowed to fix my blankets myself?
Me: Yes. Definitely. Did you fix your blankets yourself when you got back in bed?
Owen: I DID!

So proud. As I’ve said before, we’ll see how long it lasts, but so far so good on the big boy bed front!

She Says… The April Fool’s Joke That Wasn’t

In general, I think most blog/website April Fool’s Day jokes are kind of lame. Once in a long time there’s one that makes me laugh out loud (this YouTube one was pretty funny), but usually they are so ridiculous that no one gets fooled, but instead are left rolling their eyes.

And, clearly, in my case, the classic “I’m pregnant!” farce is not funny… ’cause it’s true.

However, I giggled a little when Benjamin told me about an idea he had. You know how I’ve been shocked at how big I am already with this pregnancy as compared to how I was with Owen (which was still very big for a 1st baby bump)? He thought I could tell you all that we finally found out why: That I’m having twins!

Kinda funny, right?

…Bueller?

Ok, maybe not.

In other news, I have been quietly avoiding the topic of switching Owen into a big boy bed since introducing the idea back in February, but that is about to change. I’m resisting this transition for many reasons, but Owen not being ready for it is not one of them (they’re all MY issues, not his).

• I’m worried about losing the control that I have when he is in his crib
• I’m stressed about upsetting/changing our peaceful and happy routine that has been the same since he was about 4 months old
• And although I love the person he is growing into, I don’t want to admit that he’s not a baby anymore

Still, if we ARE going to make this transition before Baby #2 comes, I’ve heard from many sources that we should do so at least 3 months before the baby arrives so that Owen doesn’t feel pushed out or like the baby “stole” the crib from him. Given that he’s already totally jazzed about the big boy bed and has been asking for it for weeks (months?), I don’t think we’re going to have that problem. In any case, it seems like now is about the right time, a little over 3 months before baby brother arrives.

Benjamin is gently encouraging me to just bite the freaking bullet and move on.

So… the bed is ordered. It’s being delivered on April 18th. I have 2 weeks to get over my reservations so Owen doesn’t sense my doubt (the kid senses everything). On the bright side, that also means I have 2 weeks to pick out the fun stuff like sheets and comforters to turn his nursery into a real, live big boy room.

I’m 99.9% sure this is going to be a total non-issue, despite my incessant blogging about it.

Fingers are crossed.

She Says… Lights Out

THANK YOU all so much for your thoughtful comments on the big boy bed/new clock issue. It is so helpful to hear what worked for you and your families, as it helps drive home the point that everyone does this differently, and what works for one kid won’t necessarily work for another.

As with potty training (and breastfeeding, and so many other things…), I decided to put my own “best laid plans” in the backseat and let Owen drive the bus. I asked him, point blank, if he wanted me to take the clock out of his room, and he said, definitively, “Yes. Take it out.”. I’m still not totally sure what the issue was (excitement about something new in his room, anxiousness about when the light would turn green, stress that he was awake before he was supposed to be, whatever), but it doesn’t really matter. Since we took it out 2 nights ago, he went immediately back to sleeping later and staying quiet in his bed until I come in to get him. Phew. Crisis averted.

We’re going to keep the clock in our back pocket as a tool if getting out of bed becomes an issue, but there’s no way to tell now if it will be necessary.

Though I’m still on the “move to a big boy bed in the next month or two, or wait until several months after the baby comes” fence, I think we’re going to give it a shot sooner rather than later. Owen seems to know exactly what he’s ready for and what he wants, and he is verbal enough to tell me exactly what’s not working for him, so I’m going to trust that he can help lead me through this next transition. More to come on that!

Also, thank you to those sending me good vibes while waiting for my Fifth Disease test to come back. It took a really long time (3 days in the lab, when I’m used to results within a few hours), but finally came back showing that I am immune to Fifth, which means I’ve had the infection at some point in the past and it is no longer a risk for me or my baby. So, “lights out” on another thing I had been worried about. Hooray for being the weird rash-y kid (much like my son) who got All The Sicknesses as a little tyke. Though it was never diagnosed as such, I have had it before. My antibodies are strong now, and I can only hope for the same for Owen when he grows up.

Here’s to a happy, HEALTHY long weekend!

She Says… One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Owen has been hitting a lot of milestones recently that I really didn’t think we’d be facing until closer to age 3. Potty training is the big one, but also asking really mature “Why?” questions and understanding nuances that I really though would go over his head until he was older and wiser. Recently as we played at a friend’s house, Owen became enamored with his friend’s “big boy bed” and began begging for one of his own.

I’m aware this is super cliche. But, waaaaaah!

I know it’s just about time. Heck, some people switch to the big boy bed by 18 months, and here we are at 2 1/2 still in a crib. But I LOVE the crib. OWEN loves the crib. It’s safe and it’s contained and he knows the “rules” and he sleeps like a champ. I haven’t wanted to rock the boat up until now, and I still don’t. I didn’t realize that I’d feel so emotionally about Owen and his crib, but I do. While Owen may be almost ready for this big switch, I think I’m the one who is not.

Anyway, my own my-baby-is-growing-up issues aside, not to mention I’m-scared-he’s-going-to-get-out-of-bed-all-the-time-and-we’ll-never-sleep-again, we’re working on taking baby steps towards this goal.

Step 1: Get the OK to Wake clock.

I’ve seen several different versions of this clock around the internet, and I think they are genius. Essentially it’s a clock that changes color at a certain time to let your kid know he/she can get out of bed, or wake up from nap, or make noise. Since they can’t tell time yet. My thought process was to institute the clock and lay the ground rules first (since he’s still in a crib, for instance, we’re working on being quiet until the clock turns green, then he can say “Mommy!” and I’ll come in and get him in the morning). I told myself that once he knew the rules, he’d be more likely to follow them (“you have to stay in your bed until the light turns green in the morning”) when he got his big boy bed.

Smart, right?

Well, it hasn’t exactly worked out as I planned. For some reason, introducing this clock has caused nothing but problems.

1. The first night I told him the night light would stay on all night (because I thought it would), and the yellow light would turn to green when I would come get him in the morning. Except the night light part went out at some point during the night, and he woke up at 4am screaming because his room was too dark and the nightlight had disappeared. Sad.
2. The next night I left his regular night light on, and figured out that even without the night light on, the light would turn green in the morning when he could wake up. So Owen was up at 5:30am crying, “The light is not green, Mommy. ::Sniff, sob:: It’s NOT GREEN!”. Prior to this, he was staying quiet in his room until 6:40am almost every morning. Harumph.
3. We did a lot of talking during the daytime about what the clock would and would not do, and how I wasn’t going to come in his room until it turned green in the morning. The next night he was up at 5:00am again, this time wailing about his blanket falling off.
4. Recently he’s been getting really confused by night time sleep and daytime sleep (he’ll wake up at naptime begging for a vitamin and his milk, which he gets in the morning, and then gets really upset when I tell him it’s the afternoon). We have only been using the clock at night time, since I usually have to wake him up from naptime, but he seems really confused by the different routine for night/nap. The clock does have a nap timer, so first order of business is figuring out how it works.

Now, here’s the deal. I don’t know for a fact that these issues are related to the clock. Owen is dealing with some extra congestion and is definitely fighting some sort of bug, so I get that he’s not feeling well. We seem to have solved the blanket issue by giving him a bigger comforter (he was using a tiny infant blanket that he loved and didn’t want to give up, but it was getting really really small). But still, this morning, more crying right before the clock turned green.

I want to just take the stupid clock away and go back to our blissful sleeping patterns. But I honestly don’t know if this is illness/teething-related, or truly a result of adding the clock. And, in theory, this clock thing could be a really useful tool as we think about getting a big boy bed.

Anyone else use one of these clocks? Did it cause disruption to the routine when you introduced it? Am I missing something about how to explain how it works to Owen? Is this even a useful thing for his big boy bed transition, or should I just scrap the clock and see if getting out of the big boy bed is even an issue?

She Says… A Reason to Get Out of Bed in the Morning

Waking Owen up in the morning is one of my favorite parts of the day with him. Despite the fact that I usually wake up to his little voice tearfully whining “Mommy?“, he’s always laying down with his eyes closed (and nowhere near as emotionally distraught as his voice made him seem — little drama queen) when I come in his room. I turn the lights on just a little so it’s still dim, talk softly and turn off his sound machine. He smiles and rolls around in his bed and starts babbling immediately while his brain wakes up the rest of his body as I open the windows and let the sunshine in.

“It’s a ‘chool day. Mommy goin’ to work? Wanna watch tv. Look at lovey, all tucked in. I put lovey in my mouf at ‘chool (apparently his new classroom tries to tell him not to put his lovey in his mouth at naptime… not really sure why, but he’s been talking about it a lot). No change my diaper, Mommy. Where’s my doggie? I wanna pat him!” We talk about the weather and what we’re going to do and what clothes he will wear. We look out the window and talk about the cars and trucks and birds. We play peekaboo and toss his lovey in and out of the crib, which he finds hilarious. On the weekends, he would happily roll around in bed and talk for a good 20 minutes before actually getting up. On school days I have to think of different things to get him excited about to get him out of his crib without a fight.

As of about a week ago, he has a new favorite reason to get out of bed in the morning.

His vitamin.

Yes, you read that right. His vitamin. He has always asked me lots of questions about what I’m eating and drinking. I take a vitamin every day, and he watches me closely. Being the little actor that he is, he used to stand next to me and mimic my movements, pretending to take a sip of water, put the pill in his mouth, take another swig and tip his head back to swallow. I never realized my vitamin-taking routine until he copied it.

Until recently, I hadn’t given Owen a vitamin of his own. We tried Poly-Vi-Sol when he was a baby, but after the barfing/not pooping incident, I threw that vile stuff away and never looked back. When we were breastfeeding I gave him Vitamin D drops, but since he started eating a well-rounded diet I haven’t really seen the need for a supplement. Nothing really changed in my vitamin philosophy, except that I figure a little boost of vitamins can’t hurt (especially as we head into cold & flu season and a new school year), and now he’s old enough to chew one of the vitamins that taste like candy. And what kid wouldn’t like that?

So a few weeks ago I saw some at Target, read the label to make sure they were recommended for kids his age, and gave him one as a “special treat”. For a kid who doesn’t get candy and rarely eats anything sweeter than an animal cracker, it was like Christmas morning

Now he’s obsessed with taking it every morning “just like Mommy”. All it takes to get him jumping out of bed is, “What color do you think your vitamin will be?”.

Unfortunately I doubt this technique will still work when he’s 16 and doesn’t want to wake up.

She Says… Down on the Farm

Lest anyone think I died due to my stupid broken windshield wiper, I am here! Here, just… trying to keep my head above water at the moment. I am happy to report that instead of blogging last week I buckled down and knocked that To Do list out of the park. I got the wipers fixed and, as if the mechanic had heard my pleas to the universe to find time to get everything done last week, HE offered to take my car to get inspected so that I didn’t have to. Now THAT, my friends, is service. They just made a customer for life.

My friend who was supposed to stay for the weekend canceled, so my carefully laid out plans of “how to pass the time when Benjamin travels AGAIN for work” went awry. Still, Owen and I had a really nice time hanging out.

I think we’re entering another “sweet spot” with my little buddy. I hesitate to even mention it, but Owen is sleeping like a CHAMP these days. I think I deserve it, too, after the fall/early winter sleep regression that had us up at 4:30/5:00am every morning and the recent teething bout that had us up before the sun for a few weeks. But the last week or so Owen has been snoozing until 7:00am. Even 7:40am one day! When I looked at the clock that morning I flew out of bed so fast and threw open the door to his room, assuming, of course, that he had stopped breathing or someone had stolen him out of his crib. Crazy Mama alert! But no. He was just… sleeping. I actually think there was a major growth spurt in there too. He was eating like a teenage boy for a week or two, and now all he’s doing is sleeping. Solid 2 1/2 hour naps and 12 hours at night. And happy as can be. Whew, I can’t imagine what he’ll be like when he actually IS a teenager!

In other news, we passed the time on Sunday morning by enjoying some time on a nearby farm. With Daddy away again, Owen and I enjoyed a bonding day doing whatever he wanted! So freeing and fun to let him make (almost) all of the decisions for awhile.

We rode the choo choo…

…and even got to touch the wheels.

Someone is a little obsessed with anything with wheels.

We discovered the joy of blowing dandelion fluff…

…except he couldn’t really get the hang of the whole “blowing” part, so he ended up just tearing the tops off and throwing them up in the air. Whatever works, right?

Owen got to ride a palopillow (caterpillar) ride all by himself! No parents allowed.

The first time he went, I jogged alongside the ride (it did a loop around a big play area, out of sight) along with the other nervous Mamas. After he barely looked at me the whole time, I let him ride a few times by himself and he LOVED it. What a big boy!

There were seesaws…

…and hay bale mountains to climb.

Fun day.

She Says… Rain Drops on Dump Trucks

It just rained for 2 1/2 days straight here. We needed the rain, so when it finally came, I was all yay rain! But then it just kept coming. And we couldn’t go for walks with the dog, or to the playground. I didn’t even want to go out in the car because I hate driving in the rain AND my car has one broken windshield wiper.

Side note: That wiper (thankfully the one on the passenger side and not the driver’s side) has been broken for awhile. In fact, it happened when a big ice chunk slid down onto the wipers (which was clearly months ago, since it hasn’t snowed in a LONG time) and instead of scraping it off with a scraper, I just kept running the wipers, hoping they would push the ice away. I either burned out the motor or bent the wiper. Still don’t know which. All I know it is just won’t move. I just never think of it at the right time. I only think of it when I get in the car and it’s raining. And then I don’t have time to go get it fixed. You know? And then as soon as I get home from my errands I’m onto the next thing and don’tchaknowit I forget all about that darn wiper. The other day Benjamin used my car and noticed that it was overdue for an inspection (oops!). And it’s not going to pass inspection with only one working wiper, so now I have TWO errands to run this week, in addition to the usual work slash daycare rigamaroll.

So now you know that although I have many spheres of my life working in perfect harmony, taking care of my car is my Achilles heel. It’s always on the bottom of the list. I even run my car on fumes because I hate stopping to get gas so much. I much prefer to walk everywhere and pretend that I don’t even have a car. Ignorance is bliss for me in that arena, my friends.

As I was saying, the rain resulted in a long weekend. I always have “long” weekends since I don’t work Mondays, but this one felt longer than normal. Benjamin traveled for the bulk of last week, then he was home for two days, and he’s traveling several days this week as well (no, I won’t tell you which ones, in case you are a creepy person thinking of trying to break into my house while my big scary husband is out of town).

Props to the single parents who do this all the time, ’cause damn. Even when Owen is as perfect as a 2 year old can be, it’s still long. Not to mention the fact that since I am adamant about putting away my phone and computer when I’m with Owen and I try to work out during afternoon nap time, when I put him to bed at night I have to face hundreds of emails and some missed phone calls and a day of social media. While I do the dishes and eat something. Oh, and find 5 minutes to sit on the couch, put my feet up and watch some trashy tv so my brain can rest. That’s important too.

Yesterday since we couldn’t go to the playground and I didn’t want to push my luck by trying to get Owen to be still and sit in carts all day running errands, we used our good ol’ neighborhood Barnes & Noble as an indoor playground. Whaddaya know, it was a really awesome way to kill the afternoon while the rain poured down! We read every. single. book. about cars, trucks, buses, fire engines and dump trucks. A million times. Twice. He ran through the aisles and pointed out things he saw on book covers and sat in the window seat and watched cars in the parking lot.

Despite feeling a little worn out, we had a ton of fun together. The kid is a blast to hang out with.

This morning he woke up at 4:55am wailing for “meh-sin” (medicine). He’s been suffering through the 2 year molars for a few weeks now, so I’m hopeful that we’re nearing the end of the it. Then that’s the end of the teeth for awhile, right? RIGHT?!

Phew! The sun is shining now, we walked to daycare this morning and I’m at my desk ready to start my work week. Still buried in emails from the weekend, but hey, it was worth it. Long, but worth it.

She Says… Like Mother, Like Son

Remember when I admitted to doing all kinds of crazy things in my sleep? Night terrors. Nightmares. Dreams so vivid I can recount entire conversations. Sleep walking. Sleep singing. You name it, I’ve probably done it. Though most people outgrow things like night terrors by adolescence, I am one of the lucky few who still occasionally wake up in the middle of the night to find myself mid-scream or standing in the middle of the room for no reason. Lucky me!

This morning I woke up standing in the middle of my room, but for a different reason.

At first when I opened my eyes I was confused — was I dreaming? I looked around and it was dark. The clock said 4:30am. I listened and it was silent, except for the hum of the sound machine we use in our bedroom. Then I heard it. Owen screamed a scream so loud and pained that my stomach dropped to the floor and I sprinted into his room. Those who have been reading for awhile know that generally I leave Owen alone when he fusses at night. He doesn’t do it very often anymore, but I found early on that when I went in to soothe him or rock him, he would wake up fully and cry even harder. However, if I gave him the opportunity to self-soothe, he went back to sleep very quickly. But these days when he wakes and cries, something is actually wrong. That scream was not a normal fuss-yourself-back-to-sleep sound. I put my hand on his back and he stopped screaming immediately. Without looking at me, he closed his eyes and popped his lovey’s foot back in his mouth. I rubbed his back while his breathing slowed. I said, “It’s still night-night time” and left the room quietly.

It wasn’t until I woke up this morning that I realized that he might be following in his mother’s footsteps. I have read that some studies have found a genetic link to night terrors and other night craziness, so given my history, it’s likely that Owen will deal with some of these things at some point too. This morning’s early wakeup may have been a night terror. Or maybe just a bad dream. Or Owen is sick and I haven’t figured it out yet. Or a developmental milestone is looming. Or maybe something else entirely. Who knows.

Yesterday he woke crying very early in the morning also. Both mornings we have started our day early and he’s been playing hard at daycare, so he’s probably a little worn out. Prior to this, he has been sleeping soundly and waking late (6:45am is late for us!), so I do wonder if there is another issue at play here, like an ear infection I haven’t picked up on yet. Whenever we find an ear infection I often look back at the nights leading up to it and see the signs in hindsight. Only time will tell on that one.

In any case, I think Owen inherited my crazy sleep. Now I get to experience the joy of rushing to my child’s bedroom and listening to his blood-curdling screams only to find him totally asleep, just like my mother did for me!

In other Like Mother, Like Son news… I know everyone used to mention how much Owen looked like Benjamin as a newborn, but I have been realizing more and more that Owen looks JUST like his Mama.

She Says… Soaking It Up

Things have been a little uncharacteristically quiet here on the blogfront. Do you know why? It’s not because we’ve been overwhelmed or busy or rushing around. It’s not because something stressful is happening behind the scenes. It’s not because I have some big announcement that I’ve been hiding from you.

Just the opposite, in fact.

Things are… calm. And peaceful. And lovely.

Yes, I live with a toddler. And yes, I just said peaceful.

All of a sudden, a few weeks ago, the 4 month sleep regression that plagued the fall (in retrospect, probably a combination of a period of massive language development, illnesses, travel, molars, canines, holiday excitement, etc.) ended. It just… ended. Our mornings quickly went from crying at 4:30am/5:00am every morning to waking up at 6:45am or 7:00am to sweet babbling coming from Owen’s crib. Sleepy smiles and cuddling in pajamas and book reading replaced tantrums over having to change a diaper.

Owen’s vocabulary has grown so rapidly that we are now having actual conversations. And chatting together has become the center of our days. We talk. We laugh. He is HILARIOUS. I am pretty certain we have a budding class clown on our hands. We have dance parties and go for hikes and throw a ball for the dog and run errands and get coffees and make zucchini bread and play in the sheets while we fold laundry and Owen is, in a word, a joy.

To be honest I really don’t know if this is the result of a change in Owen’s behavior or just my attitude towards it. But either way, we’re in this magical, happy place. And again, I have that feeling of just wanting to stop time. Just like I said when Owen was 1 year, and 6 months, and 6 weeks… this is my favorite age.

Now let me pause here and say this: I am well aware that this golden period may not last very long. We are rapidly approaching the Terrible Two’s. Heck, things could be different when I pick him up from daycare today! I know that these sweet days may be numbered. “This too shall pass” goes for the good and the bad.

But in the meantime? In the meantime I’m just soaking them all up. I’m closing the computer and ignoring emails and basking in the glow of this little person who is growing up right before my eyes.

So tawlk amongst yourselves while I soak it all up.