Open Letter to Sean

Dear Sean,
Hello, it's Mommy. I just wanted to take this time to asked you to please stop growing so fast.
I am very proud of you for for learning how to unzip and take off your footie jammies and then take them to your gate and through them out for the laundry; that helps Mommy out a little by letting her rest an extra five minutes so her back will feel well enough to get up. But I miss those little fuzzy sleepy sacks that your noodle legs would kick in and we would snuggle.
You amazed us the other day at lunch, when Granddad leaned across the table at Chicago Speekeasy and asked how old you were. You looked down at your little hand, heaqld up two fingers and exclamed "dwo!" All I can ask is "When did you learn how to talk, let alone figure out how old you are?" Wasn't it yesterday you just found you hands?
You and Daddy have played "So Big" forever, but when did you start saying "Soooo big!" with Daddy?
So I guess what I'm saying is; while I'm very happy and proud of you for learning how to count to five, sing, dance, color, get un-dresses, put your shirt on partway by yourself, and God only knows all the other things that I don't have the time to post here in your two years of life, would you please slow down? I don't think that I can keep up with you and I am missing my baby boy. However, I am having such a good time being your Mommy right now, as this very moment.
Please keep all of these points in mind as you continue to grow.

Love and kisses,
Mommy

Instruction Manual on Second Birthdays

What can a mother do when she sits down, reflects, and suddenly realizes that in ten days her little boy will be two? Nothing, that's what.

What should she do? Well, I'm glad you asked!

First, her hands should go cold and sweaty when it finally hits her that her baby's a little boy. Next, start hyperventilating, realizing that two means that potty training is coming faster than a Tobey Dog running for a treat. And potty training scares her.
When it finally sinks in that there are only ten days, her heart should start to race from the lack of 'party' planing she has done, and then be crushed with tremendous guilt that she has to work three weeks strait (and I mean strait, with no days off) - her sons birthday being too close to that stretch. To add to this guilt, she suddenly realizes that his birthday falls on his second day of daycare ever (At least he only is going once a week).
After her son bites her and she loosed her temper a bit, she will morn the baby days where there were snuggles and coos galore. And when that little boy comes running up to her when she gets home and plants a big kiss on her, she'll wish that this stage will never end.
After she has time to digest all of this emotional intake, she should finally takes a deep breath, decides to just roll with the punches and deal with the changes when one day at a time, blog about it, then go to bed.
She should repeat daily until one day after her sons birthday.

Oh, Dear GOD!

I almost lost Sean today.
We were at story time at the library (temporarily located in the mall) and Sean was just having fun digging through the balls they brought out for all the kidlets to play with. I could see him and kept one eye on him while I asked a first time mom about the necklace she was waring.
Five seconds. FIVE! That's how long I must have talked to here before I looked over and saw Sean wasn't at the ball bucket... He wasn't in the room either. I was standing by the frickin' entryway! How could he get out?
I fun to the corridor to see if he's there, as a tight panic gripped my chest. He's not there either. I look back quick to make suer he wasn't hiding in a corner, which he wasn't, and ran into the main library, screaming his name with two other moms following suite. All the while, the panic grips tighter.
As I got close to the front desk, I could see one of the libarieans at the entrance, blocking the exit of a little boy dressed in brown, walking away from her. Sean just looked up at me and smiled as if to say "Hi Mommy! Look how far I walked!" At that point I was too relieved to be mad.
I did tell him how naughty that was and how scared he made Mommy and "just wait 'till your father hears about this!"

The day got better after that. My friend, Danni (a.k.a. Danni the Nanny) and Sean's triplet friends, Audry, Katherine, and Maison, went to lunch at the Old Chicago. Thanks again Danni!
It was so nice to be able to talk to someone your own age and knows the ins-and-outs of kids (she doesn't have any that belong to her, but she's always around them!) - to just shoot the breeze and not have to worry about what they will think if Sean starts smearing applesauce in his hair (he didn't, thank God).
I really do like Danni; she's a good egg and when she has the three kids, I know that she appreciates it when I got her back to chase a baby or two. I know she's got mine and Sean's. Besides, sometimes the nanny needs a nanny! :) Love 'ya, Danni!

So now here at my folks. Sean was put in his crib around one and just now is starting to quiet down -not asleep, but not as talkative- and not talking to his 'pet tiger', Ty. I didn't go get him out of the crib, he's resting at least. And I'd rather him take rest then nothing.
We converted his crib at home to the toddler bed (just getting too tall!) and he hasn't been sleeping as well. So rest is rest at the moment.

All of you, take care and give all the people you love a hug!

I'm really not sure what to call this....

Because I really don't know what to write about. Sean is happily playing in his play yard and I'm going to try to clean the living room.
Sean just loves to figure things out for himself, so I can set him in his play yard and not feel too horrible about it. He's real good at playing by himself and if there is any mother out there who says that I'm a bad mother because I let my baby boy play by himself and am not there to stimulate him every moment, she can kiss the planet that's on my back side!


Just look at him, he just loves playing that 'piano' so much! He works on it all the time, so much to the point that I've been tempted to take the batteries out and not put them back in until he's 10! But, I guess that some day, when I'm old and gray, I'll miss hearing the sound of "Skip to my Lou" starting over and over and over and then it plays all the way through.
I honestly think that it's a real good thing that he knows how to entertain himself. He can play nice for over an hour-and-a-half sometimes, and I can get some work (or blogging) done. If he gets too use to having to be entertained, how will he do when he has to play by himself when he's older? Why do parents think that to be a good parent that you have to fill you child's day with none-stop games and play-dates and every moment, you have to stimulate them? What will they do in "down-time?" They'll have no idea what to do!!
Sean is stimulating his mind just fine with "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Pop Goes the Weasel" in near succession and the keys lighting up (I tried to a photo of him playing with his feet, but he sat up when he say me stand. Such is life). He's just fine. He actually likes playing by himself!

That's my stand on things. I mean, just look at that smile and tell me that he's not the happiest baby you've ever seen.