P-Diddy wannabe
I've realized over the last few weeks that I am Jenny's "parenting P-Diddy". Not the "I'm going to attack my son's college conditioning coach" P-Diddy, but the late 1990's Puff Daddy who weaseled his way into every good Notorious B.I.G. song and later, in "It's All about the Benjamins". When Jenny's explaining stuff to Bailey, answering her many questions, or just talking to her, I evidently feel the need to communicate my support and agreement with what she's saying, typically in the form of an "uh-huh", "yeah", "yep" or a "that's right". Here's a sample:
Jenny: Bailey, we need you to be a good listener.
Travis: Uh-huh...
Bailey: ...
J: And make good choices.
T: Yep...
B: ...
J: Good choices have good consequences!!
T: That's right...
B: So I can go to Lollipop Park???
J: Yes, going to Lollipop Park is a special place we can go when you make good choices.
T: Uh-huh, that's right.
B: ...
And on and on we go. On one such occurrence, Jenny just stopped talking and looked at me, wondering when I had adapted this style of support, and hoping that I'd stop ASAP. Sadly for her, it's just gotten worse.
Anatomy Lessons
Nothing prepares you for that first time you hear your 3-year-old daughter inform you of what body parts she has. It just gets worse when she follows that up by taking an inventory of what parts your closest friends and family have. And just like that, the dread sweeps over you, wondering when she'll decide to bring this up again. With my luck it'll be at church or the library, or some other crowded place. Oh, kids...
4th of July Fun!
Head, Shoulders, Beads and Nose
Speaking of body parts, Bailey recently got her first object stuck in a nostril...a star-shaped bead from her hair. We had just completed her bedtime routine when she began calling for us and informing us that her nose really hurt. I went into her room and she explained that a bead had made its way into her nostril. Instantly terrified, I looked at her nose hoping that it hadn't moved too far up. I brought her in to Dr. Mom, knowing my sausage fingers would likely do more harm than good. We slowly began the process of working the bead out of her nose. I was so afraid she was going to sniff, sending it further north. After some nose blowing and handy tweezer work by my better half, we freed the bead, reminded Bailey that beads don't belong in noses, and sent her back to bed.
Profile Book
For Bailey's adoption, much of our time was spent on paperwork - forms, forms, and more forms. For #2, being a domestic adoption, we're learning firsthand how the processes are different. Instead of forms, we're now working on our profile book - telling our story and presenting who we are in a strict, pre-defined template that will become the tool agencies use to present us to birth moms. This thing is proving to be quite the task, and I'm already so grateful for the hours Jenny is pouring into it to make it communicate "us" to birth moms. After we get this completed (and of course, some more paperwork), our profile book will be available for birth moms to consider us for placement of their babies! The waiting is well under way!
I've realized over the last few weeks that I am Jenny's "parenting P-Diddy". Not the "I'm going to attack my son's college conditioning coach" P-Diddy, but the late 1990's Puff Daddy who weaseled his way into every good Notorious B.I.G. song and later, in "It's All about the Benjamins". When Jenny's explaining stuff to Bailey, answering her many questions, or just talking to her, I evidently feel the need to communicate my support and agreement with what she's saying, typically in the form of an "uh-huh", "yeah", "yep" or a "that's right". Here's a sample:
Jenny: Bailey, we need you to be a good listener.
Travis: Uh-huh...
Bailey: ...
J: And make good choices.
T: Yep...
B: ...
J: Good choices have good consequences!!
T: That's right...
B: So I can go to Lollipop Park???
J: Yes, going to Lollipop Park is a special place we can go when you make good choices.
T: Uh-huh, that's right.
B: ...
And on and on we go. On one such occurrence, Jenny just stopped talking and looked at me, wondering when I had adapted this style of support, and hoping that I'd stop ASAP. Sadly for her, it's just gotten worse.
Anatomy Lessons
Nothing prepares you for that first time you hear your 3-year-old daughter inform you of what body parts she has. It just gets worse when she follows that up by taking an inventory of what parts your closest friends and family have. And just like that, the dread sweeps over you, wondering when she'll decide to bring this up again. With my luck it'll be at church or the library, or some other crowded place. Oh, kids...
4th of July Fun!
Head, Shoulders, Beads and Nose
Speaking of body parts, Bailey recently got her first object stuck in a nostril...a star-shaped bead from her hair. We had just completed her bedtime routine when she began calling for us and informing us that her nose really hurt. I went into her room and she explained that a bead had made its way into her nostril. Instantly terrified, I looked at her nose hoping that it hadn't moved too far up. I brought her in to Dr. Mom, knowing my sausage fingers would likely do more harm than good. We slowly began the process of working the bead out of her nose. I was so afraid she was going to sniff, sending it further north. After some nose blowing and handy tweezer work by my better half, we freed the bead, reminded Bailey that beads don't belong in noses, and sent her back to bed.
Profile Book
For Bailey's adoption, much of our time was spent on paperwork - forms, forms, and more forms. For #2, being a domestic adoption, we're learning firsthand how the processes are different. Instead of forms, we're now working on our profile book - telling our story and presenting who we are in a strict, pre-defined template that will become the tool agencies use to present us to birth moms. This thing is proving to be quite the task, and I'm already so grateful for the hours Jenny is pouring into it to make it communicate "us" to birth moms. After we get this completed (and of course, some more paperwork), our profile book will be available for birth moms to consider us for placement of their babies! The waiting is well under way!
