The little things

Some days it seems bedtime will never come. The days drag by and I'm not sure I can handle being a mother for even one more minute. But then the weeks and months flash by and I'm caught off-guard when I realize Warner's a year old. Where did the time go?

I don't want to forget a moment. I want each one etched in my memory, forever in my heart. But my mind (and memory) isn't what it used to be. I can't tell you what I ate for dinner last night or what we did three days ago unless I write it down. So I hope this blog can be my memory in cyberspace.

I started putting Warner's socks up to my nose when I took them off, then in a funny voice said "pee-oooh! Those are stinky socks!". He thinks it's hillarious. So now he pulls his socks off multiple times a day and shoves them in my face. He waits expectantly with a smile on his face for me to sniff, make a face, and say "pee-oooh!". Then he laughs. He sometimes tries to put the socks back on his feet, laying them over his foot or toes. I can just see the wheels turning in his mind ... "I know these go on my feet, but how did she get them on there like that?"
We're working on the word "no". So far Warner's favorite "no-no's" are playing with the fireplace, unrolling toilet paper, splashing his hands around in the toilet, and throwing food on the floor from his highchair. It's hard to be consistent and I often get overly frustrated when I've said "no" one too many times. But I want to remember those moments, too.
He's figured out how many things work. We'll hold him up to a light switch and he'll flip it up, then quickly turn his head to the light to see that it's come on. He also points the remote at the TV to try to turn it on, and has figured out how to turn on the singing snowmen my mom got him (thanks Mom, it's not Halloween yet and I've heard the singing snowmen 100 times already).
Each night Warner takes a bath. We start by crawling up the stairs. This could take 20 seconds, or 10 minutes, depending on his mood. I generally put his milk on the top of the steps as the bait to get him going in the right direction. Once upstairs I chase Warner around his room, trying to pull off his clothes while he's busy pulling clothes out of the dresser or books off the bookshelf. Once the tub water starts running, it's only a few seconds before he shows up in the bathroom, ready to be set in the tub. Bathtime isn't over until Warner tries to throw each of his toys out of the bath and then look at me and laugh. It's so funny to watch me put each of them back into the tub.

What a happy boy. What a blessed Mom.