Showdown: Applesauce vs. Bananas

Mood: Happy!

Quotable Quotes: Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow. --Jeff Valdez

POD:

Tummy time!

Over the past month or so, Khalil has been changing at an alarming rate. His favorite things these days are tummy time (yes, the same kid who used to scream bloody murder if his tummy got within a 2 inch radius of any floor-related object), the ghetto tic-tac toy I made him (put a dozen tic tacs in a baby bottle, put a lid on it, and voila, instantaneous happiness), the patented dad basket, and when I talk to him in my witch voice. That kid cracks me up.

Myth: Kids change fast.

This is definitely a myth, because "fast" doesn't at all accurately describe the incredible speed at which they learn and start becoming their own person. Khalil used to be this little blob. Granted an adorably precious and cuddly blob, but I'm not above admitting his personality was very blob-like. Not much character, very predictable, and if he wasn't so darn cute, I'd be tempted to say he was a little boring at the beginning. He just didn't *do* much. Well, except when he'd crap in his diaper, then he did A LOT. But in general, for the first few months, life was very routine, and I'll fess up that more than once, I thought to myself "Wow, this isn't so hard... I don't know why people think having kids is a challenge sometimes!" Uh huh. Then it all changed. He's seriously like this little dude now. He has opinions (applesauce is gross, bananas are the bomb!), ways to communicate (he reaches out his arms when he wants to be picked up, actually yawns! when he's sleepy, starts smiling when there's a big load down there (I haven't figured out the logic of that one yet)), and can actually get bored! He's a person! I know, you guys are all thinking that I'm a total whack job for just having figured this out. But it's truly mind-blowing to watch this little blob morph into a real person. It's so exciting, but at the same time a little scary. I seriously need to figure out why the sky is blue and how cars work before he gets old enough to talk. Because if I don't know the answers to these basic questions, I'm so screwed.

These days I've been feeling this general feeling of discomfort about being a mom. And I've been obsessively thinking about that feeling, trying to figure it out. And I think I finally have. Here's my final answer. I'm a mathematician by education. I base my life on patterns, proofs, clear step-by-step ways of solving problems. If I can't figure out a problem, there's usually a paper or formula or website that will answer my question. But most of all, in math, there's only one right answer. True or false. 0 or 1. In comes parenting. There are a million parenting books out there, each with a million different ideas, theories, step-by-step ways of solving problems. But there's no right answer. Only suggestions of things to try, but never any guarantee that it'll work or he'll sleep better or he won't spit it out. Because every kid is completely different, and what works for one kid might not work for another. Which makes complete sense... imagine what a boring world we would live in if every person was the exact same as the next. But as a mathematician, this realization is very unsettling. And requires a complete about-face of how the world works. What's truly amazing is that I'm finding this new way of thinking rather exhilarating. Think of the possibilities!! Think of the scientific experiments I can perform on my kid! :) Man, I wish I could get a re-do on those junior high science fair competitions.

Daily Dose of Lubna: Lots of fun daytrips planned for this weekend!