William Gets Jumped for a Balloon

Today I witnessed my first experience with a kid getting physical with my kid. I think this is a major milestone for a new mom, seeing some other kid do something that may possibly hurt your baby. We were in the kids shoes area of Nordstrom. A little boy (maybe 2 or 3) was running around without anyone watching over him. He came over a couple of times to hand William shoes and then would run away. Awww, sweet, I thought.

As I was paying, William was about six feet away from me checking out the line of Converse when the little boy approached. He took the blue helium balloon that William received for being such a good boy when his feet were measured and then smacked William in the face with it. My little guy went down fast.

My feet were moving before my brain was actually working and I was sternly saying, "No, no, no. No hitting!" I pealed William off the ground and looked the little boy in the eye and again told him that hitting is not OK. Then I frantically looked around for his mom/nanny/grandma. I have no idea where his caretaker was, but William started to cry and the boy bolted with his balloon. I returned to finish paying and the sales associate offered William a new balloon. I took a yellow one for him and went back to the stroller. He wasn't happy and continued to whine for the blue balloon.

A moment later the little boy was back, holding out the blue balloon to William. I thanked him and told him what a nice boy he was and then looked up to see if there was anyone watching, hoping to lock eyes with someone looking after this boy. And there was no one. That's when I realized exactly who his mother was... She had been yelling at the sales people when I first arrived while texting on her blackberry and impatiently rocking the stroller that held a little baby. I think she was Russian and had limited English when I heard her yelling earlier, so while I wanted to take this little guy's hand and walk him back over to her and possibly mention that he had jumped my kid for a balloon, I didn't. I would get no where and I knew it, so I used restraint. Can you believe it? I still can't, but I know it was the better thing to do.

I was so pissed when I first saw him go after William, but I realized it wasn't because he was a nasty kid. It wasn't his fault, it was his caretaker's. And I'm still pissed at that person, whoever she may be. My heart hurts for this little boy, who will knock over another kid sometime soon and see the same anger in another mother's eyes. He's too young to just know better and too young to understand why other mommies are yelling at him. If I could do anything different, I still wouldn't have yelled at his mom, I would have given him a hug.

(Seriously! Look what having a kid is doing to me!!!! I'm getting all soft.)

Have We Taken Stink Face Too Far?

As most people know William's signature move is the Stink Face. It started innocently, he made the face, we named it, and then he figured out how to do it on command. This usually resulted in some laughter, which has only encouraged him to do it more and more and more. Now the stink face is given to friends and strangers alike.

Not everyone appreciates it. When he gives it to people that don't know him, perhaps little old ladies fawning over his eyes or cheeks, we usually hear an "Oh my!" or "Oh no!" There have been some moments of embarrassment as we tell him to stop stink facing and encourage "Happy Face!"

We think it's a riot, but as he does it more and more to people we don't know I'm starting to wonder if we're the only people who are going to find this funny much longer... And it probably doesn't help that we take pictures of it.

Trying to be a somewhat responsible parents, I think we need to consider whether we should cut the stink face (so he isn't still doing it when he's six) or continue to encourage the behavior. I'm all for encouragement, but I'm all about a good laugh. Man, being a parent is so hard! Sometimes you have to think more long term rather than what makes you laugh right now. Boo! That being said, I think Stink Face still has a place in the this world, for now.

Bear Down!

Lesson of the Day: Don't ditch the kid when you think it will make life easier. (Well, do that sometimes... But, give 'em a chance every now and then.)

Today W went to his first Bears game. Britt invited us a while ago and we went back and forth about whether we should bring him. We finally decided we weren't going to since he's mobile and we thought that it would be a pain. There I said it. We just thought he would be a pain. We wanted to have fun and not chase him around, were worried that he would be annoying for other people, and thought that it would mess too much with his nap schedule.

But, this morning Auntie Britt called and said we should reconsider as she needed some cuddle time with her little Buddha. We were thinking the same thing. So, we packed him up and brought him with us.

He loved it! The Bears were beyond disappointing, but W provided plenty of entertainment. So, while sometimes leaving the kid at home is a good idea when you just want to have fun and do your thing. But, when you think twice about it, give your kiddo the chance. And in the end, two missed naps and snacks for lunch didn't even matter.

The Hannemaniac Halloween

This felt like our first real family Halloween, so we were really excited to hit the streets for some trick-or-treating with neighbors. It only took two blocks before our little dragon fell asleep.

We figured we wouldn't wake a sleeping dragon, so we wheeled him into the living room and watched him sleep while we enjoyed some spiked apple cider and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Happy Belated Halloween!