Friday, July 07, 2006

Why do they hate me so?


We as parents are constantly looking to our children for a sign that they genuinely like us for who we are and not because we hold the key to the cracker cupboard. It took me three long months with Baxter to learn how to control this insanity. Back when he was still pretty wet behind the ears, we did not see eye to eye. He cried constantly and wouldn't give me the time of day. I would come home from work and give 110% in my greeting. His response: nothing. Do you know who I am? Without me, dear boy, you are nothing! You will learn some proper manners and respond courteously when I ask you in a sing-song voice, "Whose my wittle man?" Meanwhile, Jennie had no issues; she was in love and could bond with Baxter while sleeping. Of course, I blamed nursing. He was a hungry little tank and she could feed him with her own body. To top it off, this nursing thing helped her lose all sorts of weight without even trying! Meanwhile, I would hide in the basement, drowning my angst in a bowl of ice cream while waiting for my fat pants to come out of the dryer. I use to think, "If I could just have one boob, just one, I'd be so powerful!"
After a while, we (I) figured out how to deal with it and everything has been grand since. Now Paige comes along and the roles have flipped. I seem to be able to get gigantic smiles out of her while Jennie is an allergen for the little girl; getting her to cry and writhe her body anytime she comes near. I know there is no logical or scientific reason to believe this, but still..... Here’s a recent pic of the kids.

See you on the playground!

1 comment:

Suzanne Lowell said...

how do you think i feel?!? i know it's no comparison.

one of my favorite moments will always be when baxter first said "thank you suzie" (which came out more like "dank oo doo dee").

re: babysitting last night -- i don't know how you do it!