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The Roles are Reversing
I’m not sure I thought I would (anytime soon) profess that Brogan was my easy child. But over the last couple of weeks, Brogan has begun to show maturity. He is controlling his emotions more and we can actually reason with him. There are less tantrums, there is less stress, less screaming and more enjoyable time together. I’m feeling a tiny sense of relief that the path I thought he was on 6 months ago may not be his destiny. Now, I’m not professing that he is an angel – not at all. But relative to his 3-year-old self and relative to his 2-year-old brother, he is now much, much more manageable.…
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Hi, My Name is Bob
We’ve been going through a little phase lately… our oldest has renamed himself Bob. You know, as in “the builder”. Upon introducing himself to anyone new, he insists that his name is Bob. Some people believe him. Until we interject – “his name is not Bob, it’s Brogan.” To which he pipes back, “No it’s not! My name is Bob!” Well okay then. This past weekend we were working a booth for our gym at a benefit festival, and he introduced himself to the MC as Bob as well. Which turned out to be funny when Brogan asked if he could sing a song using his microphone. It’s hard to…
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Things I never thought I’d say
Becoming a parent means you subject yourself to new experiences – new joys, new challenges. You often find yourself in situations you could have never, ever fathomed. And in these situations, there are things that come out of your mouth that are just crazy. Brogan has put me through the wringer over the past two weeks… which makes for some serious stress on the home-front, but hey, it gives me something to write about! (Although in all seriousness, these are not all things I’m happy to be writing about!) So here are the things my three-and-a-half year old has caused me to say as he’s been testing boundaries, pushing the…
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Words of Wit and Wisdom
So I’m not sure what I expected communicating with a 3-year-old would be like before mine could talk. But I am daily amused and amazed (and occasionally appalled) by his wit, his intellect and his sass. I think all parents go through this when their children start speaking like little adults. They’ve soaked up words and phrases from school and family members (and you) and TV, and then those little brains get to processing and they blurt out something way beyond their years. A couple funny ones from Brogan recently… the italicized words reflect real inflection in his voice. The funniest part to me may actually be the way he…
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The Email from School
The email from school… similar to the call from school – the heart drop that follows seeing the school’s name on the caller ID – it’s not what a parent wants to see in their inbox. So today’s email from Brogan’s preschool director went something like this… I told Brogan I was going to email you to let you know about his behavior today walking to and from the library. He was refusing to acknowledge whether or not he heard us talking to him, calling his name, etc. On the way back he was walking across an area closer to the road so I called his name to stop. He…
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Interview with a Three-year-old
It’s a pretty ridiculous idea, but as I was swinging the boys on their play set and I was asking Brogan questions about his day, I thought, what if I just started asking him random questions – like I was interviewing him? Wonder what sort of answers I’ll get… Me: Brogan, what is mommy’s favorite thing to do? Brogan: Cook. But you’re just a home cook. Daddy’s a chef. Me: What’s daddy’s favorite thing to do? Brogan: Put the boys to bed Me: What’s your favorite thing to do? Brogan: Play fire trucks woo woo woo [spot on sound effects] Me: Why do you like playing fire trucks? Brogan: Because…
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From the Mouth of My 3-year-old
It is true, kids say the darndest things. My 3-year-old continuously amazes me with his remarks. Especially when he says something which lets me know that he knows more than we give him credit for… or when he demonstrates a brazen act of talking back, but said with such innocence, that he has you questioning whether he was really just talking back. The answer to that question is almost always yes – he’s smart and he’s a charmer, so he’s already mastered the art of manipulation. So here are a couple of his one-liners from the last couple of days. I really need to keep a pen and paper more…
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Today was a Good Day
Today was an awesome day. The kind of day that makes you stop and think; to reflect on life and what’s really important. I can count on one hand the number of days I’ve had that have impacted me like today. Today my cousin and her husband brought home their two little boys, Nathaniel (6) and Elijah (3), from Uganda. Today these little boys left a life as orphans to come home to a family that loves them more than they will ever know. Today these boys came to a place where they won’t be hungry, or lonely, or forgotten. Today these little boys started their new life. As I…
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The Ladies Man
My three year old is a ladies man. I think I’m in trouble. I can’t pinpoint exactly where this came from – perhaps it’s a natural charisma, perhaps it’s too many country music videos. But wherever the origin, Brogan loves the ladies – and the ladies love him. The first signs of his blatant “ladies man” act came a couple of months ago when we were at the mall and he asked his dad if he could go meet some girls. We were a little caught off guard by his confident request, but we laughed and thought it was cute. But he was serious, he had his eyes peeled for…
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Brogan and the Drill
So the other day I hear Brogan tell me “I need to change the batteries,” referring to a toy car he was holding. It was obvious he was looking for something to aide him in the task as he wandered through the living room, and then went up stairs. His search was actually keeping him occupied, so I let him be. Fast forward five minutes and I hear him coming down the stairs, but at a slower pace than normal and there was something clanking with each step. I come out of my kitchen to find my child walking down the stairs with a 5-pound Hitachi corded drill with a…
