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Just an administrative note: I am now cross-posting my blog to LiveJournal. My main blog Hyperbole still remains here but all entries I post there are being cross-posted to LJ.
Props to Chip Marshall for his LJ Crosspost Movable Type Plugin.
They should take away my parenthood license this week. Wednesday I was horsing around with my son and I thought I broke his wrist! He was in so much pain, I called my wife back (she was on her way to an appointment) and we took him to the ER. At some point while we were waiting in the ER waiting room, he was suddenly remarkably better. Basically, he seemed like he was in no pain at all. Turns out he had "Nursemaid's Elbow" (see about.com entry or just google it), which is common and is remedied simply by popping the elbow back in place (which he must have done himself!) But it gets better! While we were in the waiting room, my son was playing quietly by himself and I was watching our daughter, she fell down and started bleeding from her mouth! What had I done! Turns out, she just bit her lip – the bleeding stopped in less than a minute. But by that point I was thinking that it was time to suspend my license...
I've been a parent for three years now, and it's been one of the most rewarding parts of my life. It's hard to believe now that he's three, but here we are. He is truly a light – loving to his parents and his little sister, polite, well-behaved in public, articulate, and most surprisingly of all reasonable. He can be reasoned out of almost any misbehavior or meltdown. What's more, he's able to articulate clearly to us what he's trying to do when he "misbehaves" and why he's troubled when he "melts down." I never knew this could happen by three (really, by two-and-one-half for him) but I thank God every day that my son is this kind of kid. I hope things turn out as well with my daughter – I guess the chances are good since she has the same parents...
My baby turned one Friday, and we had her party yesterday. It's hard to believe she's not a baby any more – though I'm not eager to start now, I don't think we're done growing our family yet.
The party was great – a decent turnout, though several "expecteds" did not show. As a result, friend actually outnumbered extended family, which made for a much more relaxed atmosphere. And there were lots of kids. (And this wasn't even the kids party – that's next week at my son's birthday party!) So much so that shortly after my brother arrived he came to me with a wide-eyed, nervous look and said, "There's a lot of kids here!" I was amused...
Party season will be over soon. As much as I am looking forward to my son's birthday party, I am ready for party season to end. Let's recap:
Are we through yet? Fortunately or unfortunately, not until next week. <sigh/>
So we made it through two Christmases without any event to report. Everyone was better-than-civil to each other, there was no "issue" hanging like a dark cloud. It was actually a good time! Survived for another year.
This is not to say that there wasn't stuff under the surface...