Sunday, November 16, 2008

Love

Well we are definitely in the throws of toddler tantrumdom. Personally I think I'm handling it pretty well. I thought I'd be a little more worried about what people think about me when my child throws himself face down on the ground in the middle of Northpark mall...or the Cheesecake factory...or my place of employment (gasp!), but I know the people with kids completely understand and the ones without are going to judge me anyway, so there's no point in wasting my energy caring what they think.


Although I don't obsess (okay maybe I obsess a little) about what onlookers think, I'm not above trying to deter the tantrum throwing through bribes. READ: Heck yeah I'll give my kid his very own smoothie from Thirsty's if it means I get to walk five steps without screaming or body flailing. (And believe me when I tell you that Hunter left that smoothie cup in his cup holder and leaned forward to suck from the sraw for like 5 minutes WITHOUT COMING UP FOR AIR. I think this got more judgement than the actual tantrum throwing.)


Even with the hourly tantrums, Hunter has so many more fun, cute things he's doing right now. Here's a list of some of the things I love to watch him do...


1. play with his friends - it's so cute to watch them play and laugh and chase and copy each other

2. flirt with girls/women

3. make the shy face - there are no words to express the cuteness of this

4. try (although at times unsuccessfully) to communicate with me more everyday

5. RUN toward me with the biggest smile ever when I pick him up from school/church

6. laugh hysterically...for no reason at all

7. help me with the chores - he loves to throw things in the trash (unfortunately sometimes non-trash items get thrown in while I'm looking away...we've lost several pieces of the fridge farm to the trash can)

8. LEARN! Hunter's so into intently observing his environment that I can just see his little brain learning so many new things every day.


But my favorite thing by far is seeing the joy in living that God has already given my son. I love his happiness and innocence and love for his family and friends...and even favorite toys. It really can't be captured in words. This is as close to expressing it as I can get...

If that doesn't give you the warm, fuzzy feeling, what will?

2 comments:

Katie said...

It is pretty funny how he just throws his whole body on the floor and stretches out to throw his tantrum. He is too cute!

Brandie said...

I must express my sincere admiration of you and your ever constant positive attitude. As a mom, it's sometimes hard to stay positive and happy when our kids are hitting, screaming, swinging or crying and yet you seem to always do just that. You're such a great mom and Hunter will know this and appreciate it one day.