Meet Tucker. When he was born in 2010, I became the proudest aunt that ever walked the Earth. I fell in love the second I held him for the first time. I can't express how much I LOVE being an aunt.
So, we have enjoyed being an aunt and uncle to this little guy. However, there are some times that we are with him and we think, "Man, it would be fun to have our own." Like moments like these....
Like I said before....I'm in love. And I must say, Jordon is going to make a pretty darn cute dad. I always love when Tucker comes to Jordon's baseball games because he looks up to Jor SO much! He will wait as patiently as possible for the game to be over, then he will run over to Jordon and ask if they can go play together in the field. Just recently, Tucker told Jordon, "When I am grown, I am going to play on your team." My heart melted a little.
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| Waiting for the game to end.... |
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| Running the bases! |
After this game, I thought it was finally time that we took him for the weekend. We have a water park really close to our house, and I have been wanting to take him there for so long. Finally, I told my sister that I wanted him for an entire weekend. Well, I was in for quite a treat.
Most of you who know me, know that I am a Family Studies major. I have learned a lot about dealing with kids. I even took a Parenting Education class, and I thought I knew everything there was to know about raising children. Well, let me tell you, I was wrong. I sure am grateful for the book knowledge that I have about children, because a lot of the stuff I learned is true and extremely helpful. However, I learned more about children in 24 hours than I learned in an entire semester of Parenting Education. Having kids is HARD! Let me explain how our weekend went....
We picked him up on Friday on our way to a family party. Mind you, this party was an hour away. I figured he'd fall right asleep. WRONG. He's a talker. And he talked the whole way. And after every answer we gave him, we got a "WHHHHHYYYYY?" Now I understand why parents always just say, "Because I said so!" Which, by the way, you are not supposed to do. How do you expect your children to learn if you don't help them to understand anything? But I definitely became guilty of the "Because I said so."
The party was catered by Rumbi...who doesn't like Rumbi?? Tucker doesn't like Rumbi. I swear this kid is the pickiest eater on the planet. Before trying anything, he informed me he would only eat the rice. He said that he didn't like the other food. I finally got him to eat two slices of zucchini. I was actually feeling pretty accomplished for getting him to eat those. And what do you know?? He liked them.
My aunt started passing out balloons to the kids, so naturally they were all losing them to the wind. One girl started to lose hers, but Jordon caught it. When she ran off without thanking him, Tucker thought it was his obligation to teach her some manners. He pointed at her and screamed, "SAY THANK YOU!" At least he's learning manners, right? Shortly after, he lost his balloon as well. He cried and asked my mom if Heaven would give it back. Now, how do you respond to that? Sometimes, they just leave you speechless.
Once it was time to go, I was ready to just grab our stuff and walk to the car. We got halfway there and I realized that we didn't gather any of his stuff. I guess clothes and glasses are kind of important to not forget. Seriously, I am not good at remembering a third person. Then after we left he informed me I forgot to grab his Capri Suns that I told him I'd bring home. Shoot. Guess who bought Capri Suns the next day...
We were pretty hopeful he would fall asleep on the way home. Nope. Just talk, talk, talk. And he couldn't fall asleep in our spare bedroom because he wanted it to be cold. Luckily though, this 4-year-old falls asleep fairly quickly once he realizes that he really is tired.Saturday morning came, and sure enough, he's up and playing with his cars all over the house at 7:30 because "the sun is up." I can't remember the last time I was up that early on a Saturday morning. There is this thing that Home Depot does each month called Kids Workshop. You can go with your toddler and build random little things. He goes every month with my mom, so I figured I'd take him. We had a baseball game for Jordon though, so I just wanted to pick up the kit. Nobody at Home Depot knew what was going on. I never knew I'd be so panicked over a little wooden lawn mower.
The next item on our agenda was Jordon's baseball game. I thought it would be fun for us to sit and watch the game as we snacked on cookies and Capri Suns. Unfortunately, there was a playground right behind the field. Apparently 4-year-olds are much more interested in playgrounds than they are in baseball.
Driving home from the game, we got cut off pretty bad by a semi-truck. Jordon got upset and started getting a little loud and animated. While Jordon is yelling profanities, and the truck driver is honking at us, I am yelling for Jor to stop. I shouted, "How old are you??" Tucker then said to me, "How many is he?" I told him that Jordon is 25. Tucker replied with, "Then why is he acting like that?" BAM. And that is how you get slammed by a 4-year-old. Jordon apologized to Tucker afterward for his acting like a child. Tucker just smiled and agreed that grown men should not be doing that. [Please don't hate me for sharing that, Jor!]
After the game, we went to a small water park by our house. This was the best part of the entire weekend because he was good to just go play on his own, and I could lay out with my friend and get some [a lot of] sun. I noticed something about him though. This kid likes to take charge. He stood at the top of the little frog slide, turned around, and said to the girl behind him, "How many are you??" Tucker goes to Lagoon a lot, and I am guessing that the ride operators ask each group how many people are with them; I'm assuming that's where he got this from. He did this to each kid, and each kid happily told them how old they were, and he would move and let them go down.
Seriously though, I was actually pretty impressed by how orderly he was.
Watching him play made me forget about how frustrating and exhausting parenthood can be. I mean, come one, look at him....
By the way, I asked him to change his outfit and he refused. And I was not about to fight it.
We ordered him a grilled cheese sandwich, PRAYING that he would eat it. Of course though, when he got it, it was too hot. And when food is too hot, the entire restaurant must know immediately. And it is a very traumatic experience. Heck, after dinner, I was so exhausted and out of my mind that I asked a couple if their boy and girl twins were identical. I promise I'm not stupid; I was just a mom for two days.
The point of my story is this: I respect moms SO MUCH MORE now! I learn so much about children and parenting all of the time, and all that text book stuff seems to go out the window if you're not careful. Here are the main things that I finally grasped this weekend:
Children are smarter than you think they are
Children listen to everything you say
If you see a child with ridiculous clothes that don't match, don't judge the mother; respect her for her strength to pick her battles wisely
Children need to be fed, and they are picky. Make sure you have disguised healthy food in the pantry/fridge at all times
Naps usually happen when you are hoping they don't
When a child wants something, it is Life or Death. Sometimes it's best to just choose Life
Children want to be heard. Acknowledge them. Validate their feelings, even if it is just over a lost balloon. Let them know that you understand how they feel
Children need to know that it is okay to have feelings. Don't punish them for their emotions; rather, teach them the proper way to act on those emotions
Sometimes...you just have to let them help
Toy cars [or toys in general] somehow come to life and drive themselves around the house. There's no way one child could spread them out all over the house in such a short amount of time. I now believe that Toy Story is real
Children are psychic. They know whether or not they are going to like something, even if they have never tried it. Crazy, I know.
If you are frustrated, children might automatically think you are mad at them. Don't let this happen often. No relationship where one person is always the victim ends well.
No matter how exhausting children can be, nothing beats getting a hug and a kiss from a sweet little spirit early in the morning
Hanging out with a kid isn't so bad
Children are full of love; love them back
Let children humble you; you need that
Jordon and I came to a big realization after all of this. We would LOVE to start trying for a family, but we know how important it is to be able to provide for our children to the best of our abilities. With how far we are in school, it would be devastating if something were to happen to keep one [or both] of us from finishing. We decided that, in order to be the best parents WE can be, I need to be done with school before we have a child. We want our children to have as much love and attention as we can possibly give.
Yes, I understand that accidents happen, and/or plans change. I am certainly prepared for that. I respect those of you who handle school, work, and children all at once! I also respect those of you who give up some of your dreams in order to raise your children. People in all different situations make parenthood work; I have no doubt that we could do the same. However, as long as we have a say in it, we will be waiting just a little bit longer =) And I am content with that decision. Until then, we'll just enjoy being an aunt and uncle to this little stud.
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