Raindrops on Roses

Lest anyone think I'm just all gloom and doom around here, I thought I'd mention a few of my favorite parts about this job so far. Also, we are making progress on both tummy time and self-soothing fronts. I have to remind myself fairly frequently that it's not necessarily mistakes that we've made that lead to this particular moment in time, and this particular moment in time doesn't necessarily point to more of the same in the future. He is right now what he is right now, and he'll be tomorrow what he is tomorrow. The last few nap times have started with only a few minutes fussing instead of the long, sweat-drenched, red-faced, vein-popping scream sessions, and just moments ago, he suffered five to ten minutes of tummy time with only a whimper or two while I rinsed out a surprisingly asparagus-scented dirty diaper. He didn't have his head up, but turned his head and sucked his thumb, apparently believing it to be another enforced nap and resigned to his fate. But he wasn't screaming! So we are moving forward, even when I think we're stuck forever in exactly the same spot. Patience, for me, is a virtue only when I know exactly how long I have to be patient.

So anyway, here's what I like:

The way he laughs when I wipe the poop off his butt. It really brightens up the entire dirty diaper experience.

The joy with which he thumps his legs down on the changing table when I take his diaper off. He lifts his legs high into the air, and I say, "Ka..." Then he slams them down, and I say, "THUMP!" And he grins his dimpliest grin, and we do it again. Ka-thump! Ka-thump!

The excitement with which he greets each new day. He's nearly always very happy to see us.

The wide-eyed wonder and foot-kicking excitement with which he, when we have run out of other things to look at, stares at the treasures that occupy our pantry. I can only imagine he is dreaming of the days when he will get to sample the mind-boggling variety of culinary delights like "tuna fish" and "multi-vitamins."

The way he now sucks his thumb. He hasn't figured out yet that if he curls all his other fingers down, he won't poke himself in the eye as much. He doesn't seem to think it detracts from the experience, though.

The number of "Awwwwww"'s he illicits from strangers, especially when he wears the Santa hat Grandma gave him when we go out jogging on a chilly morning. He's just so freakin' cute!

There are more, like the conversations we have, his tiny little voice and breath when he yawns or coughs, his enjoyment of the Giggly Wiggly Silly songs I'm learning, and others, but I'll have to save them up for the next time I start to feel like I've whined too much here. I mean, really; What's to whine about?