The Decision

Today I decided to be a mother. With a second child on the way, I know it sounds odd to think I had to make such a conscience choice. When we became pregnant with Danny, I decided to be a mother. . . of a baby. Today I decided to be the mother of a toddler.

To those of you unfamiliar with motherhood, let me assure you that a mother of a toddler is very different from the mother of an infant.

The mother of a baby has a very predictable pattern to her day. She feeds the baby, changes the diaper, puts the baby to sleep. These three things repeat over and over, with the addition of cuddling, cooing, and awe as the baby grows. Also, the joys of naptime, when Mom can do her own thing without interruption.

The mother of a toddler doesn't have predictable days. She has to make sure that the toddler gets food (honestly, this can be a challenge!) She has to keep him out of cupboards, keep him from climbing stools, play with him (especially if he is an only child,) read to him, and resist the eternal temptation to simply plant the child in front of the television to distract him. Being the Mother of a toddler means that she has to discipline. She has to teach him appropriate behavior (You WILL Share your toys!) and she has to watch her own tongue because they now repeat what you say. Words suddenly become dangerous, especially words that trigger a rare excitement and expectation in the toddler. GO, COOKIE, CAKE, PLAY, etc. All these trigger words are often used in casual conversation, but a toddler tunes into them instantly and expects certain consequences to happen. Being the Mother of a toddler means saying NO. . . a lot, and it also means that you have to stick to your guns. Even being creative with your negatives takes effort.

In my particular case, with my in-laws living with us, being the Mother of a toddler means that I have to be firm. Scott is an excellent parent, and Danny responds well to his discipline, and loves to play with him. I have always been more relaxed, and so Danny responds to me differently. Lately, I have noticed that with two Grandparents in the house, and my laid back personality, Scott seems to be the only one making sure Danny suffers consequences for breaking the rules. This really is not a good thing. I noticed this when Danny wanted something, and went from Scott, to me, to Grandpa, and finally got Grandma to give him what he wanted. Two years old, and he already knows how to play the adults!

I believe strongly in the roles of the Grandparents, and I don't want to ask my in-laws to change their roles, simply because they live with us. So instead, I have to change my role. Really, it's a change that has needed to happen for awhile. Daniel is no longer an infant, and reacting to him as if he was isn't healthy for him. I am his mother, and so I have to be his mother in the stage he is in. It means a change in what I do, because I have to teach him and be active in his life. I have to be firm, and I have to talk to him and help him understand. It is different, but I am sure that I will survive. I had better get used to being the Mother of a toddler fast, because in two months I will advance to being the Mother of a toddler AND a baby!

I am learning! Slowly. . .

I have been trying to put a little video, so all of you could see Danny blow out his candles. It says it is processing, so it might be awhile. Also, I have tried to do the cool link thing, where you somehow tie a link into a word, so people don't have to see a long and involved link in the middle of your blog, so if anyone could tell me how to do it. I feel clueless, but I haven't been able to teach myself how to do it yet.



Another thing I have tried, is to get a picture to appear in the title of my blog in such a way that it looks nice. But it always seems to turn out funny looking.



I can post pictures, so here are a few from Monday night!

Daniel's 2nd Birthday!

Our little one is now 2 years old! He is growing up so much!

More boy than baby, he is talking up a storm, and proving how intelligent he is by mimicking everything we do. This is a picture of him the other day, when he fell asleep on Scott's lap. He is learning how to share, which aside from bedtime is our biggest struggle right now, so we are trying to bring him around more kids. This has really been helping him relax. Lately his little cousin, Faith, has been crawling and pulling herself up to a stand. She has gone from being a cute baby that lays around to a threat. He just cannot handle that she wants to play too. It has been alot of fun seeing him adjust. The other day he actually gave her a toy! It was wonderful. I will be posting pictures of his cake and ice cream. . .probably tomorrow.

Scott's 28th Birthday

Scott's Birthday was on Thursday, the 5th of June. It was quite an interesting day, as he had to work, and then right after work he had scheduled Home Teaching for that day too. However, it was also my Mother-In-Law's day off, and so she asked Scott to pick any meal he wanted.
He asked for a Tamale Pie, and for an Ice Cream Cake. So, after eating a super fast dinner of yummy Tamale Pie, Scott and I (his companion couldn't make it) took off 15 minutes late for Home Teaching.

After we got back, we did some real celebrating by singing Happy Birthday and blowing out some candles on a yummy Ice Cream Cake. Scott is on the phone with his brother, Sid, and wanted him in the picture. Daniel loved the cake - well, just the frosting.

His hands and face were stained blue, and it was the only part we could get him to eat!

My Bad

Dad is nearly 55, not 56.

My Dad, his age is finally catching up!

My father is currently a 70 in our church. Not one of the General Authority Seventies. When I was young there was a quorum of Seventies in each ward, they met separate from the Elder's Quorum. When this group was disbanded, the ordained Seventies were either made into High Priests, or sent to the Elders Quorum. My father has always thought that the High Priests were a bunch of old guys, and has done everything he can to stay in the Elders Quorum.

10 years ago, the Stake President called him in to make him a High Priest. My Dad, always willing to follow the Lord, asked if it was just because he was older, or if it was revelation. He pointed out to the Stake President that he had a brand new baby. The Stake President said "We aren't going to FORCE you to be a High Priest!" And so my father stayed comfortably in the Elders Quorum.

Now, my dad is probably one of only a handful seventies left, and is obviously the oldest person in his Elder's Quorum. Two sundays ago, his Elder's Quorum President (who is my age) cornered my dad, and asked him why he was a seventy. My dad told him to be quiet about it, that he was flying under the radar, and didn't want to be moved to the High Priest Quorum with the old guys. (Let's not forget that all his friends are High Priests, and that my dad is pushing 56.) Just as the Elder' Quorum president left, the Stake President saw my dad. "Neil! I need to talk to you!"

Apparently there are only 2 seventies in our whole stake. The Stake President informed Dad that he would be ordained to a High Priest on the 15th of this month. He told Dad he couldn't get out of it. He also told him that they had had a General Authority down to ordain someone to a High Priest, and he had asked why the person's dad wasn't doing it. It turned out that the person's dad was only a seventy, so the dad was ordained a High Priest, and then he ordained his son. I guess they want family to be involved in all the ordinations if at all possible.

So, in 12 days, my Dad will say farewell to his youth and join the "Old Guys" in the High Priest Quorum. My uncle Rusty is coming up to do the ordination (We are SOOO Excited to see you!!!) and we are going to have a party. I think it will probably be along the lines of Rest In Peace. . .