Raising a cheese head

I have three major loves in my life: my husband, my son, and my cheese. While I love Casey and Johnny dearly, I must admit I have had a much longer love affair with curdled milk. In fact, all the girls I went to England with can surely vouch for my cheese affinity. We went to the town of Cheddar where I couldn't resist buying a tasty block of cheese. I ate hunks of that cheese all week and nearly cried when I realized the airport security guy wouldn't let me bring my cheese back to the U.S. So what did this cheese head do? I stood right there in the airport and scarfed down eight ounces of the most delicious Sharp Cheddar Cheese I've ever had. I paid dearly in the coming days for my impulsive decision, but I didn't regret eating those calories!

Now I have a little cheese head in my house. Johnny loves cheese as much as I do. Can you believe the kid will eat Roquefort Bleu Cheese? He has to have at least one piece of cheese a day. Every time I go to the refrigerator Johnny says, "Cheese, cheese!" Yesterday when we were grocery shopping I pointed to each item I was going to buy, said its name, let Johnny look at and touch it, and then put it in the cart. Each time I would say aloud to myself, "I wonder what else we need," Johnny would chant, "Cheese, cheese!" When we finally made it to the refrigerated aisle, he recognized the bags of cheese and became really excited. He pointed and shrieked, "Cheese, cheese, Mama, cheese, cheese!" The lady in front of me turned around and said, "I sure hope you are going to buy that baby some cheese." And I did--three packages of Colby Jack, Johnny's favorite.

It's all about vigilance

The weather has turned chilly! My favorite time of year has arrived, so I bundled Johnny up and took him to the park in downtown Marion today to enjoy the crispness of Fall. I pushed him on the baby swing and helped him "drive" the bouncy car. He loves to turn the wheel on the bouncy car. The park was hopping today. There were several kiddie birthday parties going on, and kids of all ages swarmed around, filling the park with shrieks and laughter. Johnny and I played and played.

At the end of our play time, a group of older kids came to play on the springy riding toys beside us. The kids were playing rough and began doing some seriously dangerous things. The teacher in me wanted to scold them and remind them of appropriate playground behavior. But we weren't at school, so I kept my mouth shut. I looked around to see where all the other adults were, and that is when I realized I was the only parent playing with her kid on the playground. Most of the other parents had their backs turned and weren't even looking at their kids. "Unbelievable," I thought to myself.

Then, the little rug rats came over and got on the bouncy car Johnny was playing on and began jumping up and down and shaking it all around. Johnny was scared, but he really liked the other kids being around. I guess they became bored with "the baby," so they ran back over to play on the other toys. I turned my attention back to Johnny who wanted to imitate the older kids by sitting on the seat of the car even though he can't reach the steering wheel from there. About the time I helped him up into the seat, I heard a commotion coming from where the other kids were playing and rough-housing. I looked over to check on them, and while I was looking away, which didn't last much longer than a second or two, Johnny fell off of the seat of the car. Luckily, he didn't hit his face or head on anything, but he did get the breath knocked out of him.

Poor guy! Here I am being all high and mighty about parents not keeping an eye on their kids, and who gets hurt? My kid. The one whose mom is within arm's reach of him. I suppose I don't have much to be high and mighty about, now do I?

Parenting is all about vigilance. Accidents happen, but I want to make sure I am there for Johnny to wipe away his tears, dust him off, and tell him I love him. I still have to work on the not being high and mighty part, too. I dread the day when Johnny will only want me to watch him play instead of play with him, so I am going to cherish every minute we spend together.

It's raining, it's pouring...

Well, not exactly raining. Johnny took his first shower today. I usually give him a tub bath, which he loves, but today I was pressed for time and decided to give him a quick shower with me. The kid loved it, except for the water in his eyes part. I kept telling him to close his eyes, but he wouldn't. I guess he was too afraid to close them. He kept reaching his hands up to catch the falling water and was amazed by the sensation. I just adore watching his budding curiosity.