Mommy's Boy

I use to teach kindergarten and one thing that I noticed was that moms are suckers for their little boys. What I mean to say is that sometimes (I don't want to over generalize) mom's let there boys get away with a lot. For example I rarely saw a mom put a coat on her 5 year old daughter, wipe her nose or even her bottom, but I saw many moms do this for their sons. One teacher I worked with explained to a very overly "helpful" mom that one day her son would be a husband and would need to know how to put on his own jacket, plus help his wife on with hers out of courtesy. I thought that was a good point. I also had a boy in my class that went to go to the bathroom one day. As I kept on teaching I heard in the distance "MISSSSS MILLLLLLER! COME WIPE MEEEEEEE!" I honestly couldn't believe my ears. I sure didn't sign up for wiping dirty bums. So I walked him through the process for the first time. :)
What is even funnier is that I was telling a fellow mom this story and she actually got mad at me and said, "You mean you let him walk around with a dirty bottom all day?! I would be furious if little "Johnny's" teacher did that!" It was then I realized that moms seem to want to keep their sons little boys for some reason. Because this principle rarely applies to girls. First of all most girls learn to wipe from the get go, and furthermore I think most moms want their girls to be prepared for what life dishes out. Why isn't this true of mothering boys?
To bring me to my point, I just realized today why mom's tend to shy away from teaching their sons these "important" life skills. I was reflecting on how I mothered Addie in comparison to Elias. Elias has had a few sleep interupted nights recently (not the norm around here). It has been so hard for me to let him "figure it out on his own" a motto that I often used with Addie. I want to go rock him, nurse him and "fix it for him." I got to thinking that I feel like he is only my baby for so long, he will soon grow and be a toddler and want to connect with his daddy. With Addie I know that their are a multitude of girly activities, rights of passage and heart to hearts in our future, but what does it mean to mother a boy and a young man as he grows? I wish I could just stunt is growth for a bit more and savor this time.
So, I have learned why mom's try to keep their son's little boys (for much longer than boyhood.) Now I need to learn the truly important thing, how to connect with my boy and train him up to be a mature man. Ugh....

Over Scheduled?

We thought summer was busy, but as it seems this fall may keep us a bit too active as well. Now I know we have a choice in this, but it also is hard to distinguish between doing too much and not taking every opportunity to learn, grow, and serve. Just where does that line of moderation exist? Almost everything we are doing is church related (Bible study, small groups, MOPS, teaching a Sunday school class, a youth study at camp, camp events.) When we got down to looking at what our weeks look like we are have something every day or evening except for friday and saturday!!! Yikes! I really don't like that! But I really don't know what to cut out, or even if we should cut something. Am I over reacting or is this just too much? I am still in thought about this...

Rest...

Camp is over and resting is now our business. We have enjoyed a one night camping trip, getting things done on the "honey do list" and just taking it easy! On the camping trip Addie enjoyed her first s'more and wading in Lake Villacito! It was a blast. The children even slept well (but mommy didn't). My friends threw Elias and I a baby shower. It was fun as they got to pass him around and enjoy his smiles. We received many nice presents, including 3 boxes of hand-me-downs and 2 huge boxes of diapers!!! My friend Riki even made him the cutest cake! Despite all this, the camp just seems too quiet... Here's to another great Off Season!

The Joys of Motherhood

Tonight I sat in my living room hearing the playful titter of my 2 year old daughter and husband snuggling before bed. Her little voice was saying, "Oink, oink" and her daddy honked her nose. I love those moments of motherhood, family life and marriage that just reaffirm the wonder and joy of it all. It isn't that it is not that joyful normally, just that you feel the depth of that joy and wonder with beautiful moments like that. A bit later, Tim and I heard her sweet voice again calling, "Daddy!" He went in and got her (as this isn't a normal event). She came out in his arms and snuggled a minute more, tightly keeping her eyes shut because of the bright lights.) Motherhood is all sweetness....

Our Sweet BOY!

Here are some photos of our new sweet boy! He is 3 and a half months old! He is a VERY bright 3 month old, reading and everything. :) And he loves that thumb!