Where I notice subtleties in the behavior of my children

Not long ago, I wrote about “uppy.” My kids enjoy it when I carry them about, and I’ve gotten really good at lifting and carrying both children at the same time. Heck, if I have somewhere that I need to be, this is my preferred method of foot transportation, because it means that I can walk at my own pace (which is considerably faster than the toddler constant of dilly-dally). Monday, during the preschool drop-off, we parked, I got both children out of their carseats, and asked “who wants uppy?” Both children said “me,” so I picked them up and worked my way to preschool.

But as we got close to the actual school, CJ started seeing his friends. And, suddenly, he wanted to walk.

I wonder if the days of cuddles with the cuddlier of my children are limited.


Leila is finally turning the corner with potty training. We still have accidents, but I feel like we’re getting close to the end of them. Now, though, when she thoroughly fills the toilet, she’s taken to saying “my poop is like daddy’s.”

I don’t know what to make of this.


I’ve taken to doing handstands & headstands in an effort to getting used to being upside down, which will aid in my doing handstand push-ups. My kids find this hilarious, but it’s going to kill me when one of them pulls off a perfectly executed handstand before me. And I know that’s going to happen — they have a LOT less mass to balance.


I typically sleep in my underwear or pajama pants — seldom do I wear a shirt to bed. This means that, at night or in the morning, I hang about, in my house, wearing little. Leila has taken to sucking in her tummy whenever I’m getting her dressed so that she “is like daddy.” I don’t know if this is a testament to my fat-loss, or if I subconsciously suck in my stomach whenever I’m not wearing a shirt.


As someone who can hear a song time and time and time again & barely know any of the words to it (I pay attention to the music, itself), it’s kind of scary how well my kids know the lyrics to the songs they like. They both seem to know every word to every song in Frozen. Whenever I have them alone in my truck, I just tell Siri to “Play Artist, The Beatles” and that’s what we listen to.

The other day, Leila was singing “Letter B”, to “Let It Be” which made me giddy. And at the end of the same trip, CJ asked me who Jude was, and why wasn’t she paying attention? Because, if Jude were paying attention, you wouldn’t have to call “hey” all of the time.


Tantrums as I get the kids ready for preschool are pretty commonplace. But the last made me chuckle: I was getting everything ready, and, as it was a Monday, I had symphony practice that night, so I had to put my bass in the truck. When Leila saw me pick up Lenore, she asked if I was going to make music.

I explained that, yes, that night I was going to play music. She wanted me to take Lenore out, right then, and play. I really, really hope this is the start to true music appreciation.

13 comments

  1. All of those small moments are so great to enjoy and writing them down is a good idea. Sometimes we forget those years later.

  2. I agree with CJ about Jude, and you know I love anything having to do with the bathroom and poop. I feel your pain with the snuggling. I’m pretty sure the only reason I still get snuggles from my oldest is because he’s my son and that’s how it is with a momma’s boy.

    1. CJ is just, simply, a cuddlebug. And while he’s quick to say “I can walk” when his preschool friends see him, he is NOT shy about giving me a kiss & a hug (often, multiple kisses & hugs) when I drop him at preschool, whether his friends are looking or not. So I think I have some cuddlebug time left.

  3. That’s one of my husband’s favorite things. My boys sing/scream “Sweet Caroline” in his car at full blast. It makes him giddy with excitement. 🙂

    How is it that our kids are growing up so so fast?

    1. How are our kids growing up so fast? Because they’re assholes who refuse to stop growing. Or something like that.

      And I can see how such a rendition would make anyone happy 🙂

    1. It caught me off guard, because it wasn’t the last song we were listening to. It’s kind of cool (and scary, at the same time) to know that they actually do listen to whatever.

  4. You know what’s super cool?

    That in every single one of your posts, it’s obvious how much you love being a daddy.

    It isn’t always easy. Or clean. Or well-rested.

    But it’s joyful, nonetheless.

    That’s what I get when I come here.
    So I always leave here smiling.

    “Whisper words of wisdom…Letter B…”

    1. Yeah — being a dad is pretty amazing. It’s funny – I can think of a bazillion things that I wish I had done before I added “father” to my list of titles (I’m reminded of the “live in India for a year” bit in Knocked Up), but I truly cherish every moment with the children.

      Even when those moments involves one kid cry-screaming at me because I’m trying to dress them in the “wrong clothes” while the other is giving me the silent treatment because I said that ice cream was not breakfast food.

    1. Oh, how I love the Muppets. With the way I am, I barely ever listen to popular music . . . this is how I was introduced to “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s by “Letter T”

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