Laugh and Cry

This has been a week full of laughs accompanied by a few moments that were not so fun. One thing I have learned about being a mom its to enjoy the funny moments, savor every minute of them and allow myself to laugh. My son provides me with many, many laughs....

I am always up for company when my husband travels so this week my sister came to spend the night one evening and out to dinner we went. Dining with Connor is a challenge at best. He does not eat like most toddlers (a whole other post would be necessary to explain) so he is easily bored and hasn't quite accepted the idea of sitting quietly at the table while others attempt to enjoy their meal. Sometimes I think that myself and those I dine with must like rushed, stressed meals because despite Connor's challenging behaviors at restaurants we continue to dine out.

On this particular night, Connor must have sensed that we needed to be entertained. So, after climbing up and down, underneath the table, throwing his crayons on the floor, and attempting to walk across the table....he decided to do a strip tease! My lil boo stood up on the bench and pulled his pants down to his knees. Ok, yes, it was inappropriate for us to laugh...but we just couldn't help it. There my lil guy stood, pants around his ankles and dancing like it's normal to take your pants down at the dinner table. Once I composed myself, I pulled his pants up and redirected his behavior only for him to do it again. What this says about my child I have no idea...but golly it was funny! Connor must have enjoyed making mommy and Aunt Kelli laugh because the laughs continued once we got in the car. Connor proceeded to tell us that he was sleepy. I thanked him for telling me and told him we'd be home soon. My lil buddy proceeded to play like he was asleep and began fake snoring in his car seat....I am gonna blame that one on Hagie....I would never snore :)

So despite the difficulty I had eating crab legs while my lil guy climbed on me, snuggled with me, danced and took his clothes off, and hid under the table, the evening was enjoyable! I love to watch him and even more so, I love the feeling when I can just look at him and think "that's my boy!"
*Note to self...don't order crab legs when dining with a toddler!

I am glad for the funny moments this week because taking Connor to get his flu shot was definitely NOT FUN. I have taken him the past two years and I don't remember it being as bad. Connor is getting old enough to know when "something is up" and definitely caught on to something when the nurse asked me to take his pants off. I just knew Connor was thinking "now I can take my pants off to dance, but I am not so sure about taking them off so you can stick me." As if I wasn't feeling bad enough, knowing that the nurse was about to hurt my baby, he started yelling "help me daddy, help me." This broke my heart. He wanted his daddy (who wasn't at the appt) to save him from what his "bad" mommy was about to have done to him. And then the shot came! I had to hold down his arms and legs to keep him from moving and thought to myself..how scary for my lil guy...I wouldn't want someone holding me down either! After holding my lil guy, reassuring him that it was going to be okay, and letting him pick out a sticker...all was calm. Just a few minutes of screaming. But I imagine, like most mothers, hearing your child cry because something or someone has hurt them is a horrible feeling. One that I know I will experience much more as he gets older but one that never gets any easier!