Tuesday, January 17, 2012

King of Mountain Seth

I'm surprised at how natural I can be at creating dinosaur and train characters and renactments using Seth's plastic dinosaurs and various Thomas the Train engines. Take Seth's bath time tonight, for instance. Seth is surrounded by a tub full of bubbles, an engine in each hand and dinosaurs floating around him. He remembers a scene that I created in his last bath time called, "King of Mountain Seth", and hands me his dinosaurs with a questioning look to me. I know what he's asking for and so I begin. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. I stomp the dinosaur up the side of the tub until it sits with a penetrating glare at Seth with water separting them. In a most serious dinosaur growl, I say, "I must climb and conquer Mountain Seth. But first, I will jump into the sea between us!" Seth is captivated with a huge, serious smile. He knows what's coming. I splash the dinosaur into the tub water in front of Seth's belly. "Now, I will swim to the mountain!!" I make the dinosaur splash and flap around until I make the dinosaur land on Seth's arm and proceed to march the dinosaur up his arm until it sits on his head. "I have conquered the mountain!! I am King of Mountain Seth!". Seth erupts into giggles and he send the dinosaur sailing from his head to the water. And then we repeat the scene a few more times. I love it! My inner drama goddess is coming out. Thank goodness I watched such male classic movies like Braveheart and Last of the Mohicans to understand the manly nature that boys so often draw into at such young ages. I like to think I'm kind of cultivating this aspect of Seth's male nature. :) After getting Seth into his PJ's, we played with his hair. There was a bit of a concern in his eyes as I squealed over how adorable he looked with his hair messed up. I don't think he liked it and thought I might have been laughing at him. But then I took the camera out and exclaimed how handsome he was, giving him hugs and kissed. Don't you agree?
After the usual bedtime routine - a few books, prayers and a glass of milk - I rocked Seth to sleep in his chair. He was so relaxed, which made me so relaxed that I almost fell asleep. I took in the reality of the moment: rocking my little boy who is not a baby anymore, but still likes to be cuddled by his mama at night. Seth will keep getting bigger and older until there is a day where we won't do this any longer. So, I cherish every night that I put Seth to bed.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Living in the moment

Living in the moment is not a new thing to me. I'm not talking about the kind of "living in the moment" perspective that throws caution to the wind and cause more harm. I'm talking about a different kind of living that was again brought to my mind when reading an email from Jill Savage of "Hearts at Home". Jill said, "We focus on what's next instead of what's now. We get caught up in the chaos, instead of the beauty. We long for what we don't have, instead of seeing all that we do have. "In the MOMent" is all about being fully present in the motherhood season that you are in. So rather than "wishing she would sleep through the night," thank God for the precious moments of quiet you have as you feed her each night. Pray for her future spouse. Notice her little nose. Moments like this won't last forever." I have an index card on my bathroom mirror that says not to wish away these young years because someday I will miss them. So, when I wonder what Seth is going to be like as a 10 year old or wistfully think about what it will be like to wake up in the morning without having to beckoned to the room next door to change a diaper or take a little one out of their crib, I think about all the things I will miss: - Spending 20 minutes every morning cuddling with Seth in his chair. Someday that chair will be moved out of his room to accomodate different furniture. - Changing the 5th diaper of the day and playing the Itsy Bitsy Spider up Seth's legs. Someday Seth will be too busy playing outside and totally self-sufficient where he doesn't need help. He will find other things that will make him laugh and he will think his Mama's humor is out of date. - Seth's innocent wide-eyed surprise at a ball that he is able to catch. Or a tower of blocks that he knocks over that makes a ton of noise. Or an "Uh-oh!" when the ball unexpectedly rolls right through his legs. - Seth's imagination and simple belief that Pooh Bear (on his toothbrush) and Thomas the Train (on his toothpaste) are so excited for him to come brush his teeth. I hope I never forget the wide-eyed look of surprise and open-mouthed "Oh!" when something catches him off-guard, delights him or surprises him. Can I brag a little bit that he recognizes words like "Mama", "Papa", and "Seth" when they are written out? He is learning his letters! It's amazing to see him digest these new things. It's hard not for me to wonder and imagine what this little boy is going to be like when he grows up - as a child, as a pre-teen and as a teen. Seth is so easy-going, delighted, compliant (for the most part) and full of happy fun. But I don't want to spend too much time and emotional energy wondering. I need to use this energy and time cuddling and hugging Seth, making him laugh, showing him new things and bringing new experiences to him. Oh, I love this little boy so much! Thank you, God, for letting me be Seth's Mama.