Our Little Dude

There's no doubt Maddox has gotten short shrift in this blog. I pretty much chronicled Roan's every move as an infant and toddler. So many family members shared with me that it helped them feel connected to us and to her, and part of our lives. Maddox, by contrast, is probably pretty much a stranger to you. I'll do what I can to paint a picture of my little boy with words.

At almost 20 months, there are some aspects to Maddox's personality that I feel have been consistent since he was in utero. He is still bubbly and full of joy so much of the time. It's not unusual for him to start giggling to himself in the backseat about goodness knows what out the window. Recently he's learned the words "fun" and "funny," and they've quickly become two of his favorites. I'm struck with a sense of wonder that a child less than 2 has a concept of humor. Almost every day he points something out that is "funny."

The other personality trait that is true to his embryonic self is that he seems to never stop moving. He jumps and wiggles and squirms and runs all within the first 3 minutes of waking up in the morning. He loves to jump on the bed, especially with Roan. One of his favorite moves is to climb up on to the back of the couch and jump down. When it goes well he catches air and says "Dat fun!" When it goes wrong, he catapults himself onto the floor and bonks his head. Thankfully that's only happened once.

One surprise to me is that he's a total bookworm. Oh, don't roll your eyes at me! While yes, it's true, Roan was read to daily from infancy, I must confess I've been by comparison rather derelict in that duty with Maddox, at least early on. Yet somehow he has acquired - whether by inheritance, by observation, or by some other means - a deep appreciation for the written word. He begs to be read to. He grabs endless stacks of books, one at a time, from the shelves, and presents them insistently. Who knows. Perhaps he'll be a line backer and a poet.

Like Roan and Logan, Maddox starting walking early at nine months. Talking has come a bit more slowly. Maybe it's because he's a boy. Or maybe it's because he can hardly get a word in edgewise with his sister. But now he's built up a good starter vocabulary. He's got about 100 words, and he can strings some together in short sentences. "Want some." "Dat funny." "I got it." He can usually get his point across, although in his own style. He still prefers to call me "Nah-nah" although he's perfectly capable of saying "Mama." His word for "blankie" remains "ba-dit." He says "peace" instead of "please." He says "alligator" pretty well, but his word for elephant is something along the lines of "oh-ga-dee."

Another difference between Roan and Maddox: this boy loves cars, trucks, trains, airplanes and motorcycles ("go gos" he calls them). Really anything that moves. He will point out "big bus!" out the window on the way to school. Heaven forbid a backhoe rolls down the street while I'm trying to hurry him into daycare (as happened this morning). He will just stand there, pointing and grunting, unmoveable. Roan was completely oblivious to such things. He also loves to play with balls. (Get your mind out of the gutter!) He's quite good at kicking a soccer ball and playing catch.

He's a real sweetheart too. He loves to hug and snuggle. He's still working on learning how to kiss. The other day I asked him for a kiss and he gave me a big old lick up one side of my face. Completely took me by surprise! When he blows kisses it sort of looks like he's eating them. But hugs he has down. After he whacks his sister upside the head or rolls over her sore toe with the stroller he just snatched from her, he's quite willing to make amends with a big hug and a "Sah-wee Woan". But then he pretty much thinks the sun rises and sets on her.

Here's another thing that hasn't changed about him since birth: when he's sad, mad or disappointed you will know about it. He has an ear piercing scream-shriek that stuns and stupefies. He can go from giggling to thermonuclear in a split second. I'm not sure if he has a short temper, or if he's just gearing up for the terrible twos. But that is the one thing I feels is my top priority to help him work on. Learning patience. Learning to take a breath. To calm down. To say it with words instead of scream it. To say "Please" instead of "MINE!!!" Given the number of times a day I repeat the same phrases ("We don't say 'Mine.' What do we say?") one might think he's a hopeless case. Good thing rationality is not a requirement for motherhood.

Despite these foibles, he is a lovely human being. And I feel privileged to share this part of his journey with him. In some ways, childhood breezes by so quickly - too quickly. But in other ways, it feels like a very slow unfolding. It takes so long before a clear picture of who this small human really is begins to come into focus. With Roan I had so many thoughts and desires about what I hoped for in a daughter. And she has surpassed each one of those. For Maddox, he is unencumbered by expectation. I never expected to have a son; I had no conception of who I hoped he would be. He is free to be himself, a complete mystery to me.

Here are some more videos.

18 seconds

Recently I've been working on bringing balance to my life. It all started with this article that got me thinking about today's child-centric culture that seems to produce whiny kids with a sense of entitlement who never move out of their parents' basements. It's hard to fathom how we got here, when this country was built by generation upon generation of self-sufficient, pioneer spirits. People like Arwen's grandfather, who watched over his family's cattle for weeks at a time at the tender age of 10, cooking his supper over a camp fire with no one but his little brother to keep him company. I always marvel at the tales of Arwen's great grandmother, who raised 10 children, built a thriving ranch in the desert and fended off Indians with one hand tied behind her back. How did she manage to do all that, and I can't even weed the garden on a pretty Saturday with just two wee ones running around?

The answer, I've concluded, lies in my view of my children, myself, and our respective roles. Until now, I've viewed my children as essentially helpless beings that must be taught everything - from how to burp to how to poop to how to do calculus. I've viewed myself as Chief Entertainer, Butt Wiper, Taxi Driver and Brain Builder, with a focus on exposing them to a broad array of appropriate enrichment activities in order to stimulate optimal social and cognitive development. Problem is, not only is this take on parenting exhausting, I was starting to see it lead to a feeling of entitlement in my kids and an increasing lack of empathy for those of us running ourselves ragged giving them every advantage in life.

But what if they're not helpless beings? What if my endless drive to do for them is actually harming them? What if they are essentially capable beings, who simply must be taught the building blocks of self sufficiency one step at a time? What if it's possible to sit through a four-course meal with two preschoolers in peace and harmony, and actually enjoy ourselves? I started trying a few things out.

I began by taking an inventory of what was not "working" for me in our day-to-day lives. At the top of my list was our morning routine, which generally involved me running around half dressed, barking at Roan to get her dressed and groomed, while tugging Maddox's shoes on and making her lunch. So I began setting a timer on the kitchen clock, in clear sight of everyone. I let Roan know that since she's going to be a Kindergartener soon, she is now responsible for her things, her body and her lunch. It's her responsibility to have herself and her things ready by the time the timer beeps. Ready or not, we all get into the car on time each morning.

The hardest thing about this for me is keeping my mouth shut and letting her experience the natural consequences of her actions. But if I am operating from the assumption that she's essentially a capable being, giving her the space to make her own choices - and live with them - affords her a certain freedom and respect. Of course, it also demands a level of respect from her for the needs of the family: to leave on schedule so we can be at work and at school on time.

Rest assured, she has put me to the test. One morning she basically refused to make her lunch. True to my word, we piled into the car on schedule. I asked how she felt about not having a lunch for camp that day. She began to get upset. I asked if she'd like some ideas, and she said yes. She had just gotten her allowance the night before and was planning to go to the toy store with her dad that day. I suggested she could use some of her allowance money to buy herself a lunch. "It will make me late to take you to the store, but I'm willing to do that to help you this time." How heartless am I? Even Arwen felt I perhaps went too far. But I wanted her to experience a natural consequence as opposed to a punitive one, like taking away movie day or a favorite toy. She thought about it, and we talked it over. She really did not like the idea of missing out on buying a toy, but ultimately decided she liked the idea of missing lunch even less. I could see the wheels turning in her head. She was taking ownership of her decisions. She didn't whine. She didn't blame me. And I think that lesson stuck. She has taken responsibility for making her own lunch every day since, without complaint.

The next thing on my list of pet peeves was my kids' constant snacking. I could never leave the house without two sippy cups and a bag full of food. Afternoon pickups from school were always stressful because either I had to remember to pack snacks before leaving for work in the morning, or - heaven forbid - endure an hour of endless whining on the way home. Even if I did pack snacks, I often got complaints on the selections I'd made. And for anyone who has had the misfortune of riding in my car, there is the toll all that snacking takes on the backseat. Maddox inevitably would throw his milk each and every day. So I announced to Roan that soon we would have a "no snacking in the car" rule. The first couple of days I offered her a choice: she could either have a single graham cracker now OR if she waited until we got home, she could have that graham cracker plus a sweet treat. The first day she chose instant gratification. The second day she waited until we got home.

The third day I brought no snacks. She began to  cry. Then she began to scream. And then she became totally unhinged. It was so ridiculous that I suggested we have a screaming contest. "Is that as loud as you can scream? Come on!" That stratagem failed utterly. 10 minutes into the car ride and she was still screaming. I felt so powerless. I was yearning for some way to hold onto my sense of calm, composure, and control of the situation. So then I said calmly, "Roan, I'm going to turn on my timer. However many minutes you spend screaming in the car is how long you will have to go to your room when we get home." Guess how long it took her to calm down. Guess. Really. You'll never guess.

18 seconds.

18 seconds, and not only was she not screaming or crying. She was smiling. She let out a little laugh. "Guess what, Mommy! I was only fake crying!" Wow kid. You have been playing me. And I've been falling for it so hard.

I keep thinking about that 18 seconds. It's like a mantra I repeat to myself when I'm feeling particularly challenged by the kids. It reminds me that they're capable of much more than I think they are. If I raise the bar, they will rise to the challenge.

Fast forward a couple of weeks to now. We still have conversations from time to time about snacks. But no meltdowns. Even Maddox will say "Milk. Home. Milk. Home." from the backseat after I pick him up for daycare. And the change in Roan has been remarkable. She's decided she prefers packing her lunch the night before, so she has plenty of time to get ready in the morning. She asked me to wake her up a few minutes early so she has time to make her bed tomorrow (her idea completely). When I pick her up from camp in the afternoons, lo and behold she has pre-filled her water bottle for the ride home (water is allowed in the car). She sets napkins and silverware out at dinner time and clears her plate when she's done. She even pours her own milk sometimes (while I stand by holding my breath). Last weekend she baked her first cake - from measuring to pouring to decorating - with help only getting it into and out of the oven. And I swear, she's walking two inches taller, proud of herself, secure in the knowledge that she is capable of many things.

The change in me is good too. I'm relaxed more. I'm enjoying our time together more. It's creating space for me to take time for myself, and for me to pause and enjoy my wonderful husband. I've realized it's far more important to teach my children to be patient, to persevere, to take responsibility, to put their endless desires within bounds than it is to entertain them, or even to tend to their cognitive development. If they can learn to be calm, confident, and focused, then their internal landscape will allow the rest to follow.

A lot has happened around the Vaughan household since I last updated at Halloween. Thanksgiving, several family visits, a certain munchkin turned 1, Christmas and New Years. But before I touch on all that I thought I'd fill you in on how this week is going.

Today I'm home playing Dr. Mom to Maddox. The poor little guy has an ear infection, a bunch of new teeth coming in, and a 103* fever. He didn't get much sleep last night, and by extension neither did we. He gave us a little scare in fact. He was screaming and inconsolable last night for about an hour, wheezing with congestion while we scrambled around trying to figure out what was wrong. We knew we were in trouble when the kid wouldn't take a bottle. Since when does food not solve all his problems? After a 2 AM steam shower and some ibuprofen kicked in, he was breathing well enough to fall back asleep. Poor guy's had it tough the past couple of months. He's had a couple of back-to-back colds that turned into sinus infections. He had 3 whole healthy days after his last round of antibiotics before this latest fever showed up. I'm not one to go rushing for the antibiotics but I'm not sure what we'd do without them.

So before Maddox's episode last night, we had a little drama with Roan. Her school called yesterday around lunchtime to ask us to pick her up, saying she took a fall on the playground and needed stitches in her chin. I was home with a napping Maddox at the time. Arwen was about to step into an eye appointment. Her doctor's office was on their lunch hour. It was a comical game of phone tag trying to figure out what to do. Daddy to the rescue! He picked her up, wiped her tears and cheered her up with a pink donut with rainbow sprinkles. She was remarkably brave. (The doctor commented to that effect today when I returned with a sick Maddox.) They gave her some topical anesthetic and put in 7 stitches. Arwen said she sat their, stoic, with that needle and thread going in and out of her face. Amazing.

I should probably be napping right now to catch up on sleep after all of this excitement. And to prepare for what will likely be a wakeful night. But I've really been missing the blog. It's been so hard to carve out the time to myself.

I've been noticing something lately. You know that little voice in your head that talks to you all the time? Hopefully you do know what I'm talking about, otherwise I have bigger problems than I thought. Well I noticed that little voice is a whiner. It complains so much all the time, and I'm not sure how long it's been doing that. I remember about a year after Roan was born I noticed that little voice used to say extremely critical things making judgements about every little decision regarding being a mom. When I became aware of it, I made an ironclad pact with myself to completely ban any negative self talk. The job is hard enough without a constant stream of criticism, even if that criticism is coming from between your own two ears. And I've done a pretty great job of sticking to my guns. When the occasional criticism comes up I immediately answer it with statements like "Well I guess that will have to be good enough," or "I'm not going to worry about what other people think." It's really helped me get off the train to Crazy Town.

So now it's time to silence my inner whiner. Now that I've become aware of it I'm dismayed by its seemingly endless ability to find the negative in every situation. To complain about nearly everything under the sun. I've decided that every time I catch it whining about something - that I have to get out of bed and go to work, or go grocery shopping when I'd rather eat out, or put my kids to bed instead of crawling into bed myself - that I'm going to turn it around and find something to be grateful for. Like that I have a job I enjoy to go to, or that I can afford to buy all the things on my grocery list. I can't help but think that it could be a very powerful thing to view every adversity as something to be grateful for. It seemed to work for me last night. I was worried about Maddox, but I wasn't whining about being up in the night. Instead I was thinking how lucky we are that what's wrong with him is temporary and curable. There are lots of parents facing permanent disability or terminal illness in their children. When Josefa was here visiting at Christmas Arwen and I were droning on about the multitude of challenges being a parent. Then Josefa put a question to me that I've been thinking about ever since. "What if you had all of those challenges and also lived in a dangerous neighborhood? Or had violence in your home? Or had to leave the kids with drug addicts so you could go to work?" Those are the kinds of families she works with in her nonprofit ArtSeed.

And then I realized I have completely lost my mind. I have so totally lost perspective that I have become oblivious to how privileged we are. Just to have what The Whiner would consider the basics - good health, enough food to eat, clean water to drink, good schools for the kids, good friends, a safe neighborhood. There are a helluva lot of people in this world that are missing one or more of those things. And what's the point of being in fortunate circumstances if you don't stop to appreciate it? If you just always find one more thing to grumble about. Eventually a real challenge will present itself, and what kind of sorry state will you find yourself in then?

And maybe, just maybe, if I can silence my inner whiner, then I can help my toddlers move beyond whining as well.