Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Tate the Womanizer

When Rob dropped Tate off at daycare on Monday, one of the teachers made a point to stop him in the hall and tell him that all the teachers love Tate and "he is quite a womanizer." We laughed and figured she probably meant "Ladies Man" or "Flirt."

Um, no, apparently she meant womanizer.

Because today when I dropped Tate off, the mother of a girl in his class told me that last night they were saying prayers and her daughter repeated after her, "God Bless Mommy...God Bless Daddy..." and then there was a pause and the little girl said "And God Bless Tate!"

And when I picked him up today, he went up to each of the three girls who were left and gave them each a hug goodbye. One of them actually cried as we were leaving.

Yep, I think she meant womanizer.

In other news, Tate has become obsessed with airplanes. We have been making frequent trips to DFW's observation area lately where Tate loses his mind every time a plane lands. If you live in the area, it's a great, wide open (free) place to take your kids. (Yes, I've been informed it is also a high school makeout spot. My sister Nancy was the one who gave me perfect instructions on how to get there...hmmm...)


(Even womanizing the sculpture at the observation area?)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Budding Golf Fan

Tate was apparently paying close attention to Rob all day as he watched the PGA tournament. When the highlights came on, Tate started providing his own commentary. Luckily he didn't repeat some of the words Rob said and only imitated the sounds he made.



Friday, August 14, 2009

Rob's Work Blog

You read my take on Tate's recent "behavior." Now Rob blogged about it on his work blog, click here. He's going to start regularly contributing to the Children's blog, bringing the "Dad" perspective.

I like how he says "my wife and I stayed patient and tried to learn why he was freaking out instead of just reacting to the freakouts."

I hope the readers don't read my blog for the real story! Shhh.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Important Decisions

A major decision is upon us, and it's just too big for me to decide on my own. So I am asking for your help:

What should Tate be for Halloween?

As a recap, Tate was born a week before Halloween, which happens to be my favorite holiday. Here's a quick trip down memory lane....

Halloween 2007
Tate the Air Freshener.



Halloween 2008
Tate the King


Halloween 2009?? You decide!


I have listed four options in the top right corner of my blog. Please vote. Here's a quick description of my initial ideas. (Feel free to post any additional ideas in the comments section).

1. The Tater Tot -- The inspiration for this is Tate's nickname. I envision some brown felt formed into a cylinder with holes cut out for his arms. A little red fabric on his head for the ketchup. And a treat bag in the shape of a ketchup packet. We have a costume party to attend as a family, so I am already thinking that I can be a carhop and Rob can be a fry cook (since he refuses to dress like a bottle of Ketchup...party pooper.) Benefits: There won't be another Tater Tot in North Texas, for sure! Drawbacks: Brown felt cylinder has potential to look like...well...you know...poop.

2. The Golfer -- This is an off-the-rack Halloween costume that is just too cute. Rob could dress as a caddy. I could be the cart girl. Or a golf ball. Or a tee. I don't know. Benefits: Comfortable and easy. Drawbacks: I would totally be stealing the idea from my friend Courtney who did this a couple years ago.

3. Elvis during the Army Years -- this is actually a continuation of last year's Elvis costume. I was thinking Tate could be a different stage in Elvis' life every year. You know...Army Elvis, Blue Hawaii Elvis, Fat Elvis...it could go on and on into his teenage years. Benefits: No more worrying every year about how to dress Tate for Halloween. Drawbacks: Future therapy bills.

4. Delivery driver for a major overnight shipping company -- When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight (as in awake all night) Tate is your man. His sleeping patterns make him destined to work for my employer (whom I'm reticent to name), so why not start him early? I could get some children's clothing from the company store and give him some boxes to deliver in his wagon (fill the boxes with candy to give others). I could even pay homage to "Castaway" with a little Wilson volleyball in his wagon. Benefits: Starts getting him to bleed purple early. Drawbacks: Gets me in trouble with the Brand police at work.

So what do you think?

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Terrible Twenty Two Months

Tate is a turd toddler testing his boundaries. He is really driving me crazy challenging my parenting skills lately. At twenty-two months he is acting like a rotten two-year-old advanced for his age.

Ok, I am throwing away my PR instincts, and I am just gonna tell it like it is. Tate has a 'tude and it's gotta stop.

He has been going through a phase for about two months where he likes to swing at me. Sometimes he actually smacks me, but most of the time he stands about two feet away and waves his arms in a way that looks like he is casting a spell. We've tried "timeout," but he practically skips to put himself in it. We've tried the evil eye, but he usually tries to imitate it which just makes me laugh. But not today. Today I reached my limit. Today I decided enough was enough. Today he intentionally hit me hard on the face and today I swiftly swatted him on his diaper-covered bottom. It was a soft swat, but his face was stunned, and he ran to timeout (I didn't even have to say "go to timeout") and then sat there and sniffled. And then I felt awful. I told him it was OK to come out of timeout, and he ran and gave me a huge hug. Then he ran to Rob and gave Rob a huge hug. Then he hugged his pull-along-puppy toy. Then he hugged the pile of towels I Rob had just folded. Then he started calling for the cat because he wanted to hug her, too. It was like Jimmy Stewart at the end of It's a Wonderful Life.

And he didn't act up again the rest of the day.

So go ahead and report me to CPS. My child is behaving again.