A Very Long Post About One (Miserable) Little Tooth

It was five years ago when I stood Bentley on the bathroom counter of our apartment to brush his teeth.  He was almost two, and I was proud of myself for successfully giving him his bath, a task I had given up while pregnant with Kendra.  But Craig was over at our newly purchased house, frantically trying to get it livable before we moved in.  So bath time was up to me again.  And it had gone just fine.  Until Bentley took a step backwards off that counter and knocked his mouth against it on his way down.  I held him, still wrapped up in a towel, over the tub to catch the blood, but soon realized that this was upsetting him as much as the fall, so we moved to the changing table so I could get him dressed and resume calming him down.

And that's when I noticed that one of his front teeth was missing.

And that's when I called Craig and begged him to come home and help me out with the mess I'd created.  We drove off to Urgent Care in Falls Church in the middle of the night while my in-laws (who'd been at the house helping Craig) stayed with Kendra.  We got lost.  We wondered, as Bentley oohed and aahed over a passing train if the trip was even necessary.  We were all up way too late.  And the gist of it all was, "Yup, he knocked out his tooth."

This was taken the very next day.  This is gross, but I'm pretty sure that's blood all around his mouth (I didn't want to hurt him more by washing it off)

And that was that.

Halloween just a couple months later, sporting a gap-toothed grin

Or so I thought.  Until a few weeks later, when I was spooning oatmeal into his mouth and saw-- to my horror-- that there was something there on his gums!  And within a few weeks, that tooth had come right back again, although now very crooked.  Natalie's father-in-law, a pediatric dentist, had warned me that this happens frequently.  When you can't find the tooth, it often means that it's simply been slammed back up inside the gums, he explained.  {Cringe}  I'd tried to get x-rays to see if this was the case, but could never succeed in getting Bentley to hold still enough to get a clear picture.  But now we had irrefutable evidence that this had been the case.

And he's been sporting that crooked tooth, evidence of my incompetence, ever since.  I can't even count the number of times that well-meaning people have asked if he's lost a tooth there, as they eye that gap, and I get to explain all over again what happened.  It's been a lot of fun.

But it all ends now.

Because yesterday that darn tooth finally fell out.  My little baby is finally losing teeth.  The normal way.

But that tooth is still keeping us on our toes.  Because Bentley woke up yesterday to find that it wasn't there.  I was afraid he'd swallowed it in his sleep, but then he managed to find it.  I told him to put it in a bowl so we wouldn't lose it.  And then I promptly forgot and tossed it down the sink when I was doing dishes.  But apparently that tooth is even tougher than our garbage disposal, because Craig was forced to fish it back out of the drain.

That tooth is like a bad penny.

I dutifully put it on Bentley's dresser as promised (he was so worried when I couldn't find it, but was really good about going to bed anyway and trusting that I would find it), and then an hour later removed it and replaced it with money, a la Tooth Fairy.  And my plan now is to just throw the thing away, because holding on to an old, dead tooth is gross.  But somehow I ended up slipping it into my dresser drawer.  Just for now.  Because at this point I'm not sure it won't find its way back to us anyway.  But also because it's hard even for me to believe that after all these years, I can finally be rid of this awful little reminder of the dumb things I can do as a parent.  And it's even harder to see how quickly my little boy is turning into a not-so-little boy...

My still sleepy-- but very excited-- Bentley

Little Stick Figures Explain Me So Well

My cousin put this on facebook.  That second stick figure should be me.






This is also how I feel about shrimp and crawfish.  Because, as Dave Barry pointed out, they're all basically giant cockroaches that happen to live underwater.  Nothing about them makes them okay to eat.  I still get creeped out when I remember the time I was eating scrambled eggs on a cruise and realized there were tiny shrimps in there.  They had little black beady eyes

{Shudder.}



Image taken from http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/alternate_universe.png

Nothing New Here

My Mom has been telling me that newborns are nothing more than baby sharks for years now.  She may have even been saying this to me when my youngest sister Rachael was born twenty-some-odd years ago.  So it's not like Colton's ability to put everything into his mouth is strange or unusual or shocking.  If you have ever, once in your life, been around a baby, you've witnessed this phenomenon.

But still. 

When I set Colton down on the bed next to a toy car, and the car gently rolls towards him and he turns his head to see it with his mouth wide open and tongue sticking out, ready to taste this new adventure, I can't help but laugh.  Same thing when I'm trying to snap together this one outfit where the onesie has snaps on the shoulder, and I realize that while I'm busy fiddling with snaps, Colton is eagerly craning his head around, trying to lick my knuckle.

What a nut.  My baby really is just a little shark!

Make that, "A baby shark who is REALLY good at sitting up these days"!

And who is also big enough to ride in the five-point harness shopping carts, rather than sitting in his baby carrier!

Happy Friday

My parents were here visiting off and on this last week, which-- as always-- was a delight.  And, true to form, we took hardly any pictures of it at all.  So you'll just have to take my word for it that they were here, ha!

But during all the craziness and the hanging out and the eating of amazing food, my Mom did manage to snap this picture which I love.  I absolutely love it, even though it's dark and slightly out of focus.  It's become my favorite picture for now:

Pure joy.  Right there.

My Craig is such a wonderful Daddy.

I'm so lucky to have him.

Conversations Through the Door

I finally have Bentley and Kendra willing to sleep at night, so now it's Ryder's turn to fight Mr. Sandman.  He still needs naps, but he doesn't want to take them until around three or so in the afternoon.  Which doesn't work at all, because we have to leave at 3:10 to pick up older kids up from school.  So Ryder's sleeping has been all off.  Sometimes he doesn't nap.  Sometimes he does and I have to wake him up early.  Last week, I put him down for a nap around 3:45, and he slept until midnight.  Oops.  (That time, we gave him a warm bottle of milk which he downed and then continued sleeping until 5:30am!)  You just never know what he's going to do.

And when he's in his room not napping, you also don't know what he might get into (such as, oh, I don't know...  baby powder?).  So life is a bit of an adventure with Ryder these days.

So here are two conversations Craig had with him when he was supposed to be sleeping.

They both began with Ryder knocking on the door and Craig asking him what he wanted.

Ryder: Me want milk.
Craig: No, you can't have milk until morning.  You have to go to sleep right now.
Ryder: Me want tell knock-knock jokes.
Craig: No, it's time to sleep.
Ryder: KNOCK-KNOCK, DADDY!  KNOCK-KNOCK!

Gotta love the insistent joke teller.

And then the other day, as Craig was getting Colton out of his crib and Ryder was supposed to be napping in the next room over:

Ryder (in a rather sing-songy voice): Daddyyyyy?  Daddy, I naked!
{pause for effect, and then the realization hits}
Ryder: Daddy, I cold...

Johnny Depp was so right when he said that toddlers were simply miniature drunks...

Days of Momness

It was Friday afternoon and I was hoping to take a nap.  (I hope to take a nap most days, actually, but Fridays are particularly brutal since Craig typically gets home around 11pm on Thursdays, meaning we don't usually go to bed until after midnight.)  I'd been very productive all morning, putting away clothes that kids had outgrown, and washing and organizing the boxed-up hand-me-downs for my two younger sons.  And now I was ready for a nap.

Unfortunately, Ryder was not cooperating.  I'd put him down and hopped in the shower only to hear him banging on his door the entire time.  As soon as I was reasonably towelled off, I tried tucking him back into bed and hoped for the best.  No dice: he continued to thump around in his room.  But he was fairly happy in there, so I got all cozy in bed, opened my book and figured I could at least enjoy some quiet time, even if it didn't mean sleeping. 

It was while I was reading that I gradually realized that I was smelling baby powder-- one of those realizations where the full implication of it took a moment or two to sink in.  But as soon as it did, I was out of bed in a flash.  Even as I walked the ten feet (maybe?) from my side of the bed to the kids' room, I was filled with dread, and my worst fear was confirmed even before I opened the door: little whisps of baby powder were coming out from under Ryder's door.  Opening the door revealed an entire cloud, and a room absolutely COVERED in baby powder.

This was taken after I'd yanked Ryder out of the room and bathed him.  I didn't want him to see me snapping pictures in case he got the idea that he'd done something good.  You can see his footprints are half him walking and half me dragging him out of the room!

Note that you can hardly see the colored polka dots on the upper left-hand corner of the rug because there was so much powder on it.  There's even piles of it on the rungs of the bunk bed ladder!

So that was my Friday afternoon.  I spent it bathing Ryder and then vacuuming.  And vacuuming some more.  And then mopping.  And then still finding random places speckled with powder that I'd missed.

And their room still smells like baby powder.  But as my brother-in-law Ian pointed out, at least baby powder smells good!  Whatever would I have done if he'd found something stinky to spread all over?

PhotoDynamic Time!

It turns out I have a ton of pictures that haven't made it onto the blog yet. So I'm remedying that now.

Like, right now:

Ryder built a pillow fort and insisted that I put Colton in it with him.

Good times!

Colton napping in my arms at church.  Yes, I took a picture during church.  I am bad to the bone.

Happy Colton, happy Mommy

Apparently this was the first time our kids had seen popcorn being popped somewhere other than inside a microwave.  It was thrilling.

Not a great picture, but there are three deer here, all with pretty impressive antlers.  All in our backyard!

My children hanging out with a penguin.  And I'm not even sure why Bentley is wearing his swimsuit, but you know, why not?  Also, I like that Colton looks very alarmed by this whole set up...

Sleeping Colton, miraculously not waking up as my camera flash goes off.  He still likes to be swaddled, but I always leave that arm out for thumb-sucking purposes.

Except he'll usually work his other arm out of the swaddler, too.  And, in this case, he worked that arm all the way out of his clothes!

The look on his face cracks me up-- he is so smug the way he's sucking on his bottom lip.

This was during Bentley's soccer practice, Kendra & Ryder wandered off to play.  They look like they're lost in the wild or something...

Later, they decided to have fun with the coach's cones...

Nothing like a little toes snack during church...

Bentley got a scooter for his birthday, which he was very excited to ride to school.  (Unfortunately, this meant Mommy had to carry it home from school-,in addition to carrying Colton and pushing Ryder in the stroller.  So scooter riding to school will have to be reserved for special occasions.  But I was glad that Bentley was having fun!)

Ryder and his friend Oscar at the park

It was just an orange kind of day...

Ryder, waiting for Daddy to come home...

Colton is all ready to go shopping!

And I love this: here is Craig dressed up for his school's homecoming week.  The theme that day was "Decades" so Craig is supposed to look like he's come from the 1940s.  I think my man looks good!  And apparently, with the glasses, none of his students recognized him.  Proving once again that Craig is basically the same as Clark Kent.

I wasn't kidding when I said I had a lot of pictures!  But check back in soon-- I've got a good story for you next time!

A New Stage in My Life

I'm officially a soccer mom.  I drive around with my mini-van packed full of children, camping chairs, a stroller, a diaper bag, and a few balls rolling precariously around underfoot.  I try to bring snacks wherever I go (and I pay for it dearly when I forget).  And I feel like I'm always on the go.  It's busy, and it's a pain. 

Before we began, I asked my friend Lenee, who manages to have most of her kids in various sports all the time how she does it.  I liked her answer: You just get through it.  With that in mind, we agreed to take the plunge.  And Bentley loves it.  And Kendra is already talking about how she wants to play soccer next year.  (Actually, upon meeting Bentley's coach and seeing how nice she was, Kendra burst into tears because she wanted to play, too.) 

I have a feeling we'll be doing this for many years to come...

Bentley sporting his new cleats and shin guards before his first practice

Action shot

Bentley throws in a ball while his coach (who we adore) tries to tell him who to throw it to

Happy Colton

And Ryder continues to be weird!

Anyway, we've sure been enjoying perfect weather for it this fall.  And all the kids seem to enjoy tagging along.  I might be able to get on board with this whole soccer thing after all...

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm...

The last three songs Craig purchased on iTunes were "Demons," "Kill Your Heroes," and "Madness."  And in the last few months, the titles of some of his other purchases are, "One More Night," "Gone, Gone, Gone," "Take a Walk," "50 Ways to Say Goodbye," "It's Time," "Just Give Me a Reason," and "Not Your Fault."

I think Craig is planning to leave me.

Or possibly kill me...