Busting out

O can be timid around new people and places, which is both hilarious based on the fact that I am his mother and un-nerving (same reason). It takes him time to warm up and I am growing concerned about him being labeled shy, when in fact, he is not shy, he just is deciding whether a given situation is worth his time.

I stopped worrying this weekend when we all miraculously recovered from our colds to attend a family wedding. My family is HUGE, so I have countless cousins, aunts, uncles, the works. The droom was a cousin I babysat when he was little. We took O to his first wedding. He was excited to see the princess (this will be a coming post) and her prince and then have cake. We had him with princess and cake. He was his usual reserved self in church and during dinner. In fact, when a man asked O if he could have two of the plateful of crackers, O counted out two crackers and handed them over with a look that said, "that's your limit buddy, these are my crackers, don't ask again!" Then, the music started and the cake was served.

He was ALL OVER THE PLACE. Racing between tables, talking to everyone and BURNING UP the dance floor. I had sore abs from laughing with his joy. He drug everyone onto the dance floor. Me, Steve, and both my mom and dad. He danced for more than 2 hours and would have continued had it not been 10:30 - WAY past bed time.

Needless to say, I worry too much!

Raising people

Now that I will be going from managing clients to raising a child. I see very few differences. Really, if I want a client to do something and they are challenging, I make it their idea. This might be one of my special skills. I know it sounds completely manipulative, and maybe it is, but it works and everyone feels good about the outcome.

The same can be said about our son. He is in a big boy bed now. We made it his idea. We bought some rails and played in the bed with him and when it came time to go to bed one day, he said big bed, big bed. And then he slept the whole night for like 4 days in a row (this is the current record).

The same for the potty. We bought him a potty when he asked for one. We never pressed him to use it, instead we would tell him that when he used it all the time, he would get a fish to replace his changing pad. We also told him many times as he squirmed during a diaper change, that if you don't want us to change your diaper, you can always learn to use to potty. Last week, he looked like he might have to go. I asked him and he did. He is not using it all the time, but it isn't scary or a big deal. It is his idea to use it.