Dance Night

My date for the Mother/Son dance was handsome. And a little solemn or grumpy - not sure which. It may have been residual from a baseball game in which some errors were made...or maybe he was just a little tired from a long day (I did notice circles under his eyes). The timing was unfortunate because we literally ran home from the baseball game and threw on clothes and left in about 5 minutes so that we could get in at least an hour of the dance. It was one of the first times ever that I got several pictures of Liam looking like he was wishing he was somewhere else. Please tell me that he's not "over" going to a dance with his mother already at the tender age of 7.

He tells me he had a good time. I know I did. We were both awkward dancers again, and that was okay. I enjoyed watching his dance moves. I think he enjoyed most going to McDonald's afterward to get a chocolate dipped ice cream cone.

Oh yes, and my date had a very distracting dangler. A tooth, that is. It's just hanging out there by a thread, and is all I can see right now when I look at him. We took some funny, albeit disturbing, close-up pictures of the tooth on my phone while we were at McDonald's and he laughed so hard. He wouldn't let me pull it, and I figured if he was nice enough to go out with me I shouldn't pull off any of his parts. Not good date etiquette.

It is funny how quickly the kids notice when something is different about me. Owen spotted the earrings and additional ring instantly. He asked me to take the earrings off for some reason. I never wear jewelry, so I think he just didn't know what to think. Natalie just kept smiling at me and telling me how pretty I looked because I was wearing lipstick. If that's all it takes, I guess I should wear it more often. Owen was disappointed he couldn't go, but I was home in time to put him to bed and I told him that someday I would take him to a dance too. He pumped his fists in the air and yelled "Yessss!" The smaller they are, the better they are for your ego I suppose. Still, I loved spending some time with my big boy.

Chatterbox

Have I mentioned how much the little man talks?
And talks, and talks, and talks, and talks.
He never.stops.talking. Ever.

So much so, in fact, that I finally took to Googling "repeating words or sentences" to see if this could be an issue. And well, yes, there are some cases where repeating things can be a sign of something else...ADHD or sensory issues, perhaps. But it does appear that right around this age is when repeating can peak in general. I'm thinking that he is just doing it with a little more...er...intensity, than some kids. And intense is his style, so that makes sense. I will try to have more patience next time we are rocking before bed and he can't stop talking and I try to say "shhhhhh hushhhh quiet", and he gets quiet for about...10 seconds...and then he starts in with "Quiet? No talk? Quiet? Stop talk? Stop talk Mom? Stop talk Mom? Stop talk Mom?" And when I ignore it by modeling quietness it just means that he continues on because he doesn't get validation from me that what he is saying is correct...

On the other hand, he does make for a great cheerleader. Or auctioneer. Or soccer announcer.
Just tonight, Jim was replacing several lightbulbs that were high, high, high up in the family room and he had to use a very long pole with a suction cup on the end. Owen stood at the bottom with a non-stop string of praise that went something like this:
"Ooooh cool! Great job Dad! Go, go, go Dad! (clapping hands for effect) Good job! Wow! Cool! Go, go, go! bup bup bup bup (making a noise to indicate the pole going up up up) Up!! Good job!"
The entire.time.Jim.worked. I think perhaps I'll buy him some pom-poms soon.
I wish I had video of the repeating. I will have to try to capture some soon.

Overheard

A Natalie-ism that I may have to enter into my own dictionary:

Destructions. Instead of toys coming with "instructions" she calls them "destructions." Usually quite appropriate when I am the one putting something together.
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And from Liam, when we were having some one-on-one time this weekend. We did play a board game as well, so don't bash me for encouraging video games. But after the board game I asked if he wanted me to play Lego Star Wars with him since I rarely ever play video games, and generally can't stand to watch them even when he relentlessly says "hey, watch this" or "Mom you have to see this part". So I figured playing a game with him was a special treat.

Me: So it won't frustrate you that I'm so bad at playing this, will it?

Liam: No, no, no. That's okay. I don't mind. If you don't play much and aren't any good, that doesn't make me mad at all. pause Now...if you play a lot and you still aren't any good....then I might be a little upset.

I think I'd better end my gaming career here, because I really don't see myself getting any better. I can never even keep track of which character is mine. Oh and then there is the part of the game where he tells me "in this section the Up arrow makes you go down, and the Down arrow makes you go up. I'm not sure why, but just remember that." I am so NOT coordinated enough for that.