Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Disney Tradition
Isn't it a dream that once you have a child, you would want your kid to like all the stuff that you like? Of course you would want to have them form their own opinion and have them discover something on their own, but there is that one thing that you would want to have to have passed down to your kid. And their kid, and their kid's kid.Then you can proudly say that if you child ends up liking She's so Heavy ( I want you) by The Beatles, you can say, yeah that was my influence.
It is a fact that Brian and I are Disney fans. Pixar? Yes please? Classic Disney movies. We are right there. One of the things that binds Brian and myself is that we both grew up on Mary Poppins, and we seem to laugh at all the right moments.
That trait is now passed down to Jack. He loves watching it and mimics all moves that the penguins do in the Penguin Dance scene. He has only seen little clips of it online, but we cannot wait til he sees the whole movie. Because if he wants to see it over and over again, I would not mind.
Another trait that has been passed down is the love for the Disney classics. Lady and the Tramp, Bambi, Aristocats, Dumbo are all movies that we have shown Jack and he loved right away. All movies that I loved watching as a little kid , and in all the parts where I would go " awwww, so cute" he will now say the same thing.
Up next - Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. The Disney version, not the Tim Burton one. No offense Tim, but Johnny Depp would scare my kid in that he will never sleep in his own bed again.
It is a fact that Brian and I are Disney fans. Pixar? Yes please? Classic Disney movies. We are right there. One of the things that binds Brian and myself is that we both grew up on Mary Poppins, and we seem to laugh at all the right moments.
That trait is now passed down to Jack. He loves watching it and mimics all moves that the penguins do in the Penguin Dance scene. He has only seen little clips of it online, but we cannot wait til he sees the whole movie. Because if he wants to see it over and over again, I would not mind.
Another trait that has been passed down is the love for the Disney classics. Lady and the Tramp, Bambi, Aristocats, Dumbo are all movies that we have shown Jack and he loved right away. All movies that I loved watching as a little kid , and in all the parts where I would go " awwww, so cute" he will now say the same thing.
Up next - Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. The Disney version, not the Tim Burton one. No offense Tim, but Johnny Depp would scare my kid in that he will never sleep in his own bed again.
The Little Einsteins
Thank you Julie Clark.
For any parent out there, you would know Julie Clark is the founder of the Baby Einstein madness. Such a simple concept - take a little Beethoven, show a clip of a plush dog jumping up and down and you will have a child enthralled for hours. That was what we used to show to Jack when he was a baby. You know, when you need those precious 20 minutes to just take a shower, and nothing else would calm Jack down, a Baby Einstein would usually do the trick.
He has since graduated to the Little Einsteins, which is the cutest show with some adorable little cartoons that have ever been animated. They still use the same concept, classical music and art, but now they actually talk rather than have just little toys bounce on the screen.
My dad is a big fan of this show, since he is the master of classical music. It makes him happy to see his grandson watch a show and listen to Mozart and the great composers.Somehow he may do well if we took him to the CSO.
As I write this, I was playing the Nutcracker Suite. Thinking that my son is Mr. Classical, I thought for sure he would want to listen to the whole symphony. His response was - No I want to listen to the Doggy Song."
What Beethoven # symphony is that from? I told him that it was Tchaikovsky, and he stopped a bit and said " From the Little Einsteins?" Yes Jack , from the Little Einsteins. After that followed Sleeping Beauty from said composer, and that was when once again Jack asked for the Doggy song.
Oh well, my thought is this - We can take Jack to the CSO, but only if their program for the night was the Baby Einstein spectacular.
He has since graduated to the Little Einsteins, which is the cutest show with some adorable little cartoons that have ever been animated. They still use the same concept, classical music and art, but now they actually talk rather than have just little toys bounce on the screen.
My dad is a big fan of this show, since he is the master of classical music. It makes him happy to see his grandson watch a show and listen to Mozart and the great composers.Somehow he may do well if we took him to the CSO.
As I write this, I was playing the Nutcracker Suite. Thinking that my son is Mr. Classical, I thought for sure he would want to listen to the whole symphony. His response was - No I want to listen to the Doggy Song."
What Beethoven # symphony is that from? I told him that it was Tchaikovsky, and he stopped a bit and said " From the Little Einsteins?" Yes Jack , from the Little Einsteins. After that followed Sleeping Beauty from said composer, and that was when once again Jack asked for the Doggy song.
Oh well, my thought is this - We can take Jack to the CSO, but only if their program for the night was the Baby Einstein spectacular.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Trio
For three years, there existed a trio named Brian, Jack and Dre. If there was a family party, a gathering, a dinner, the phrase "Will Brian , Jack and Dre be there?" always came out. It was easy to say, it easily slipped out of your tongue, it was never a tongue twister.
Our trio was a good one. No, it was a great one. The three amigos, the three buddies. When pictures were taken of us, the pose was always the same. Mama on one side, Papa on the other side and Jack in the middle.
And who can forget the pictures of Brian and myself kissing Jack on the cheeks for birthdays or just a family portrait. A perfect picture pose, one parent on the left, one parent on the right.
This trio is about to become a foursome. Brian and I are having a baby. The second kid. Something that I thought I would never say. I honestly thought that our trio was forever, and if a second child came along, that would be wonderful. But if not, we would have been very content just the three of us.
Our little Jack is so special. The first boy in the family. I always want that special attention that he has gotten to still be there. Never do I want for him to feel that he is second because there is a new baby in town. You will never be second Jack. You will always be number one for us. There will just be another little one that will share the number one spot with you.
So here are my first apprehensions of being a parent of two. The good news is that now there will be one child for every parent. Brian will read to Jack, and I will feed the baby. Brian will change the diapers, I will give Jack his snacks.
1440 minutes with two kids now - let's see where this takes us.
Our trio was a good one. No, it was a great one. The three amigos, the three buddies. When pictures were taken of us, the pose was always the same. Mama on one side, Papa on the other side and Jack in the middle.
And who can forget the pictures of Brian and myself kissing Jack on the cheeks for birthdays or just a family portrait. A perfect picture pose, one parent on the left, one parent on the right.
This trio is about to become a foursome. Brian and I are having a baby. The second kid. Something that I thought I would never say. I honestly thought that our trio was forever, and if a second child came along, that would be wonderful. But if not, we would have been very content just the three of us.
It boggles my mind that we are about to have another kid, and all that attention that we throw unto Jack, will now be split into two. How in the world do we do this? Can we do this? I would die if Jack wanted to do something and I say "Not now sweetie, I have to change the baby's diaper." And my little Jack has to wait, cause then the baby will cry, will be hungry, wants to be shushed, wants to be cuddled. All the while, our first born is still waiting to have his story read.
Our little Jack is so special. The first boy in the family. I always want that special attention that he has gotten to still be there. Never do I want for him to feel that he is second because there is a new baby in town. You will never be second Jack. You will always be number one for us. There will just be another little one that will share the number one spot with you.
So here are my first apprehensions of being a parent of two. The good news is that now there will be one child for every parent. Brian will read to Jack, and I will feed the baby. Brian will change the diapers, I will give Jack his snacks.
1440 minutes with two kids now - let's see where this takes us.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Mother's Day
The first thing that I heard this morning was a very sleepy Jack telling me " Happy Mother's Day."
He at least said it to me 4 more times throughout the day " Happy Mother's Day Mama!" and would give me a big hug.
It's moments like that that make it being a mom so worthwhile. Being a mom is tough, being a working mom is tougher in my book. But I never would trade any of those days for not being a mom. I am used to the craziness of it all. Even as Jack sleeps now, and he had a very early bedtime tonight, I sit here and wonder, what can I do? Watch TV? Maybe. Read a book? I just finished reading my book. Paint my nails? Please, have you met me?
Thanks Jack for being that beautiful kid that you are. You make me feel like I am doing an ok job with this mom business. Let's keep it up.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The Sofia Story
Last night, as Jack, myself, my sister and niece walked around the city, a young little girl named Sofia walked into Jack's life. They were boyfriend and girlfriend for about two city blocks.
Like a fairytale, she saw him and immediately took to him. Walked right up to him and started talking to him in a hushed tone. And Jack responded back. Wait, he is keeping secrets from me already?
Her mom came by and asked how old Jack was. Turned out that Sofia was the same age and as we both walked down the block together, Sofia would make little jumps. Jack would make little jumps. Jack would walk around a flower bed. So would Sofia. She was all eyes and smiles at him. He was responding back but in the shy Jack manner that he has.
The best part was when we were crossing the street. I held Jack's right hand, Sofia held his left hand, her mom held her left hand. The four of us crossed the street and I tried really hard to not the break the moment and not crack up. As soon as this starry-eyed relationship started, it had to end. Sofia and her mom had to turn the corner.
That was when we said goodbye to Sofia and Jack hugged her. Of course because that is how all kids at three say goodbye to each other. The best and most heartwarming moment was that Jack said "Goodbye Sofia, I'll miss you" and she responds back with a kiss to his cheek. He looks at me with a "Mom, please don't make a big deal about this" look. And I wanted to cry. So this is what it feels like when some other girl takes your boy's attention.
Once again, I love Jack at this age.
Like a fairytale, she saw him and immediately took to him. Walked right up to him and started talking to him in a hushed tone. And Jack responded back. Wait, he is keeping secrets from me already?
Her mom came by and asked how old Jack was. Turned out that Sofia was the same age and as we both walked down the block together, Sofia would make little jumps. Jack would make little jumps. Jack would walk around a flower bed. So would Sofia. She was all eyes and smiles at him. He was responding back but in the shy Jack manner that he has.
The best part was when we were crossing the street. I held Jack's right hand, Sofia held his left hand, her mom held her left hand. The four of us crossed the street and I tried really hard to not the break the moment and not crack up. As soon as this starry-eyed relationship started, it had to end. Sofia and her mom had to turn the corner.
That was when we said goodbye to Sofia and Jack hugged her. Of course because that is how all kids at three say goodbye to each other. The best and most heartwarming moment was that Jack said "Goodbye Sofia, I'll miss you" and she responds back with a kiss to his cheek. He looks at me with a "Mom, please don't make a big deal about this" look. And I wanted to cry. So this is what it feels like when some other girl takes your boy's attention.
Once again, I love Jack at this age.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)