Amateur Hour

A few people have asked me how Charlie is handling a new baby in the house. You be the judge.
Here’s Charlie - stealing a binky:

Charlie in the baby gym…with the binky:

Charlie trying to squeeze himself into the bumbo baby chair:

Charlie trying to fit in Daniel’s car seat…with the binky:

I guess he’s missing the good old days of binkies and babyhood. Being a toddler can be stressful, with lots of new responsibilities; dumping the freshly-folded laundry on the floor, coloring on the furniture, emptying mommy’s wallet - its a full-time job! Come to think of it, I could use a binky myself right about now…but I want one like this.

You will not get a memo when your child learns how to do something new. You will instead find yourself diving across the living room to shield the couch from being doused in nail polish because you were unaware that he had the hand strength and coordination to unscrew the cap.

Ten tiny toes are perfect for praying a decade of the rosary while nursing.

I recently stumbled across this article comparing life as a stay-at-home-mom to life in a monastery. It made me look at my everyday tasks in a whole new light. Here’s an excerpt:

Hence, a mother raising children, perhaps in a more privileged way even than a professional contemplative, is forced, almost against her will, to constantly stretch her heart. For years, while raising children, her time is never her own, her own needs have to be kept in second place, and every time she turns around a hand is reaching out and demanding something. She hears the monastic bell many times during the day and she has to drop things in mid-sentence and respond, not because she wants to, but because it’s time for that activity and time isn’t her time, but God’s time.

…never send to know for whom the monastic bell tolls; it tolls for me!

Daniel was baptized on May 17th - hooray! It only took me a little over a month to get around to posting it (such is life with a toddler and baby!) His wonderful godparents Tom and Katie traveled a long way on short notice, which was much appreciated! Unfortunately, Charlie’s antics during mass were more than the bunch of us could handle, and my mom had to take him out. Daniel screamed almost the entire time, so between the two of them I felt like the worst. mom. ever. If I could have nursed Daniel during the actual baptism without flashing the entire parish, I would have. Oh, well, I’m pretty sure the sacrament is valid even if the priest’s words are drowned out by the baby screaming. Here are some pictures (you can’t really see Daniel screaming in the pictures, but the funny look on my face says it all, I think!):

Oh, and here’s a picture of Daniel in the cutest onesie of all time ( a gift from his fabulous godparents):