The pictures are here! The pictures are here!

I have become such a Mom. The professional pictures I had done have arrived and they are just as cute as I expected them to be. Just wait to you see my favorite below. OMG how did I get so lucky? What a good looking kid (I wish I could take credit but it�s his Dad that contributed the cute genes.) With some more luck he got a few smart genes from both of us. My Darling tells me that he is sitting up on his own (sort of). Sigh, this means the end of the days when you could set him down somewhere and he would stay where you put him. Of course there is always the ground option. If you put him on the ground he has nowhere to fall but his own height and then not until he can stand, a skill still several months away. Of course he is growing so fast (a clich� but so very true). I was looking at pictures from his birth and he was so tiny. I never got hand prints and I don�t have a million pictures documenting his first three months but now that I have a digital camera I�m hoping to be a little better in that department. I have spent some wonderful quality time while still giving him time to occupy himself. Right now he is sitting beside me (actually sitting up though somewhat propped on the B0ppy and sliding a bit, BRB) and examining his hands and the moo cow teether. He grunt periodically and seeks my attentions but if you let him alone he will find something else to focus on. This is an important part of his learning. My SIL is a stay at home Mom and as she admits �never goes anywhere� so her little boy is attached to her so badly that he will not tolerate being held by anyone else (only barely tolerates his Dad) and screams anytime she leaves the room. I don�t want Baby Boy to become that dependent. Of course since I work part of the time he is in the care of his Dad every night and that means he doesn�t recognize me as the sole caregiver. My Darling beds him down for the night and I get him up every morning. We each have �our� time with him and we (I) have had to learn to back off during the others time on our days off. As Mom I tend to want to do everything but My Darling is quite capable and I must allow him to parent.

I was chatting with an older woman and she was amazed at the idea of My Darling parenting. She comes from the era of children �seen and not heard� by the men of the world (I think they have always been seen and heard by the women or at the very least the nanny.) He husband, by her account, wanted nothing to do with the kids except to play with them from time to time. He also wanted nothing to do with the household chores. My Darling works ridiculous hours so I do the bulk of the chores but he recognizes that I work as well and so he cleans up after his self and tidy�s the house. He also has full charge of the out doors shoveling the walk, mowing the lawn and otherwise keeping the property. I think we manage a decent partnership.

Of course some days I take care of more than others. I don�t lie on the couch eating bon bons but yesterday I shopped for X-mas online and added to my wish list (as requested by My Darling who has the daunting task of shopping for me) and I often take time to write out my thoughts and adventures and post them for the enjoyment of the few folks who are interested. The life and times of me.

OK, right now Baby Boy is enjoying the shadows cast on the ceiling by the ceiling fan. I often turn my back to allow him to find focus on other things in the world besides Mommy (I hope that�s the right thing to do). The trouble with parenting is that you won�t know if you got it right until after they are grown and then it�s too late to do anything about it. Who knows it may already be too late for my nephew (at six months). How quickly babies form the patterns of their lives is open to considerable debate. I wonder too how much of their behavior is inherent and how much brought on by parenting. When I am faced with disruptive children in the restaurant I tsk about bad parenting but will I be mortified by Baby Boys manners someday in the future? I know how my parents dealt with our motley crew in dining situations both at home and out. Manners were stressed as important in the home as well as out and about. Since disruptive behavior wasn�t tolerated at home it didn�t occur to us to be disruptive outside the home. The one or two occasions when my little brothers acted up my parents would remove them from the restaurant and eat in shifts. The offending sibling would do without dinner (a torturous event from the child�s perspective but hardly abusive). It didn�t take but one event to make an impression. Poor behavior would not be tolerated.

I�m back (you didn�t even know I was gone right?) I had to put Baby Boy down for his morning nap. He goes to sleep pretty easy and then I had to scan his picture for your viewing pleasure. It took a lot longer than I expected to get it right but here it is�

My Little Angel

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Makes you tear up a little doesn�t it?

Gotta run, it's time to eat again (him not me).

I wish you Peace

~alison~

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