Boys Do What Late?

The past two years has shown me that this is a completely bogus line. I think children in general will have their timeline of doing things - independent of gender. Some girls will delay, boys will delay, some delays are minor, and that all seems normal with the progression of a human. But this boys do developmental things late - complete bunk with my kid. He has only ever done one thing late. Talked - and that was because we catered to his every need, anticipating them instead of forcing the issue. Everything else is either ahead of schedule or on track.

So that expression kind of pisses me off. It's like a stigma that everyone buys into and then becomes a tag line.......oh well boys do things later. Ok, well if they do, then apparently my kid is einstein. But I don't know how much I buy into that theory. I think a lot of circumstances go in to why one child may do something on a different time schedule. And my kid has the only child syndrome. There is no other distraction. The schedule is built around him and for his comfort. So there isn't a million errands to run that would impede things like potty training.

What I have found is that if I catch Logan at the moment of cognition - then I can easily transition him into the next phase. Weaning off a bottle and onto a cup - no problem. No pacifier - no problem. Potty training - no problem. And then there is just a boatload of other things we have done to make certain situations not be a problem. All in all, he is a great little boy. Way proud momma. And I'm not going to buy into those boy myths anymore.....

The Raddest Little Bug on The Planet

Of course every mother has bias for her child. I am no different. He is the most amazing little dude I know. And part of this is probably do to my complete amazement at his intellect and also, my complete lack of understanding of child development no matter how much I read up on it. What really is probably surprising me the most is, I feel like he is smarter than a lot of 14 year old boys I have had the displeasure of knowing. Which begs the question - when they hit puberty, does something happen to reverse the brain capacity and knowledge learned up to that point? Cause I have to say, if Logan's learning capacity stays on track, he should be accepted to Harvard by the time he is 16. I've got severe problems on how I am supposed to handle this highly intelligent individual. He will push me to the limit nonetheless.

Barely past the age of two and he is already showing empathy. On several occasions to his friends at school. That is supposed to be an age 3 thing. He knows his colors. Can count to five - and to some degree 7 or even 9. And darn near knows the days of the week. And I am not even talking about what he knows in spanish. His memory is starting to freak me out a little bit - he can easily remember something that happened a week ago. He has popped off the next lines in a book (several different books actually) when relevant - especially on a few that had only been read about 10-15 times to him. He has the eyesight of a hawk and the hearing of a bat. There have been things he has seen that it has taken me moments of really searching to find it. And he can spot the moon in the day, or even against street lights. Animals? No problem. The sounds they make? No problem. And he will say any word no matter how complex. Hippopotomus - ippomatamus......brontosaurus.........bontosaurs......triceraptops.....ticeratops.......incognito.......ignito....

Unbelievable what he is capable of. Not to mention......Gogan Funny......he is extremely coordinated as well. Gogan do it....as he says....ok Gogan, go for it buddy. Show mommy what you got.

The why birdie has begun, and of course - he has opinions. LOL And for the most part - I love that he has opinions. I finally get to have a baseline on what he wants. He won't always get to exercise his opinion, but at least I can understand where the little bug wants to go with some things. my biggest frustration is when I just get a no.......or Logan don't want it....as in the case of choosing costumes for Halloween. Well can't you want at least ONE thing Logan????

So here he is at the age of two. Two years old and I already feel like he is a genius. What oh what is three going to bring? I can't even imagine 4 or 5 right now.

But, the ultimate competitor I am - I am up to the challenge on the mommy front - so bring it my little man. Bring your best game. I have the leg up on you know you. I know you are going to challenge me consistently. So I have an advantage in the preparation department. My mother once told me she constantly was having to bluff me - I see that at some point in the near future. Luckily that day is a far time away. But for now, I at a minimum have experience on my side. And I look forward to all the days in the future where you will challenge me to be the best, do the best, and guide you correctly.

Just Keeping Him Alive

I can say I'm now clearly understanding the depth of the term paranoia. Being a mother or a parent really is fraught with a million scenarios of "oh shit" or "what if...." that have you bathing in a panic mode. My brother once told me a few years ago that you'll spend the first few years just trying to keep them alive. At the time I had a little laugh and nodded my head in understanding, although it wasn't until I went through a few of these cycles myself that I trully understood the nuances of that statement. And as I go through my phase of trying to make sure i keep this alien alive, I am amazed that more kids don't die due to neglectful parents and even highly attentive parents succumbed to that split second oh shit factor.

I look around and it seems like everything is a hazard of some sort. The moment I have to go to the bathroom, and that smart creature I spawned decides to grab the stool, and go to the counter, climb on it and I will find him playing with knives...or worse that he falls off said counter and falls on the knife stabbing himself. Luckily, this situation has not happened......yet. But I still think of these things like - it could. It might. The more probable is him falling off the dinner chair and onto his fork - because he was wiggling and wobbling on the edge, lost his balance and then the fork just happens to stay in said hand as he falls on top. Hasn't happend yet either - but I think of these things. As I have the moment of the calm yet watchful eye, don't let your fear grip you Athena, you can't play to the one off percentage. I don't like being paranoid, and yet I feel like not being paranoid is what will bitch slap me back to that nasty thing called reality in the event it happens.

The other morning I was dreaming, fully in REM. And then my dream stirred. Pulling me from my unconscious state, I sat up. Something seemed off. Eery. Did I hear something? I felt a presence in my space. As I stared in the dark at 4:20AM, my sense perking, using the muted light from the other room to try and focus my perspective, I heard another slight sound. Scanning the dark room, there it was. The little head at the foot of the bed. My son was awake - very unusual. My son never wakes up this early. In those moments I find the innate subconscious connection between me and my son to be amazing. That's really the only word I know to use to describe it. He can cough through a wall, and I will wake up. Moments I've had where I think - I should just go check on him. A niggling sense of - I don't know why, I just should. Only to find him with a blanket over his face.

I know as he grows, the little things will fade away on the keeping him alive bit, and instead will be replaced with less abundance of these moments, but most likely more severe instances - the friends angle and the decisions that are made. The lack of self thought in moments you either hoped he would think, or know someone else should have but didn't. In this moment, he is constanly with someone who has a watchful eye, but those days where he won't be are coming. All I can do is take a breath. And hope I can navigate this labryinth of life with him as best I can.

Until then, I just make it my goal to be faster than him. Physically cause he his starting to run. And I find myself wondering if maybe I shouldn't have taken those Fish Oil pills during pregnancy - cause clearly it helped the spawn's intelligence earlier than I was counting on. Although I have heard once puberty hits, there appears to be some regression in brain processing. I'm wondering if that will be a blessing in disguise? Cause at almost 2 - I can't imagine what mental strategy I am going to have to employ by the time he is 16. My mother used to tell me she always had to think 2 steps ahead of me and was constantly bluffing me, waiting for me to call her bluff. Well, I better start brushing up on my chess - cause this little boy is going to give me the largest mental challenge I have ever had. He is already showing the determination and resolve I have. I'm in for a real treat. Thank goodness i have experience on my side. I'm going to need it.