Baby to boy, girl to young woman
My baby boy just turned 8. He still likes stuffed animals and Ben 10 but there are definitely more utterances and mannerisms that I associate with "real boys". For his recent birthday, he received "Destroy All Humans II" from his favorite uncle, a set of Doctor Who DVDs, some nice books and a so-called "Ugly Doll" which he immediately started taking to bed with him.
But the "real boy" makes his presence known unexpectedly sometimes. The other day I asked him to do some small task. He replied "I have to do it a little bit later, I've got a date with a poop." I furrowed my brow and looked both shocked and puzzled simultaneously. "WHAT?" I asked. "I gotta go poop and it's going to take a while". "Gross! shrieked my daughter. I tended to agree with her. He seemed to think such a comment SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). I thought "TMI". Like a boy, he showers as infrequently as he can. He only washes when his hair smells like rotten eggs. Track pants are a must. He wears nothing but sport pants--every day. Smelly, thick green ski socks also seem to be a daily fashion statement. I figure if I ignore them, they'll go away. Or I'll pack them up with the winter stuff in another week or so and they'll be out of my life until next fall.
My daughter is also going through changes. Almost every day for the last week or so I go out at lunch to the surrounding retailers in search of the perfect bra for her. Or perhaps not the "perfect" bra but the right brand, fit, comfort level, etc. Unlike some girls I guess, she is taking the new breasts in stride. She wishes they would grow bigger at a faster rate but overall she seems quite pleased with the whole process. For her, puberty seems fun. I like the way she doesn't even notice when her face breaks out. I notice and nag her about putting on the combo moisturizer/sunscreen/zitkiller that I got her, but she's oblivious.
The hunt for the perfect bra reminds me of my "diaper cover" binge when she was a newborn. Baby clothes and baby accessories were an exciting frontier and when I discovered that cloth diapers required something called a "diaper cover", I was on point. I bought leopard spots, purple tie-dye, stripes, monkey prints--whatever hip pattern I could find --all in the "newborn" size. Finally one day, probably after my daily prey was stacking up, our wonderful nanny took me aside and gently reminded me "she's not going to stay newborn size, we have enough now I think". Doh! I suppose that pretty soon the "newborn bras" won't be big enough either...
But the "real boy" makes his presence known unexpectedly sometimes. The other day I asked him to do some small task. He replied "I have to do it a little bit later, I've got a date with a poop." I furrowed my brow and looked both shocked and puzzled simultaneously. "WHAT?" I asked. "I gotta go poop and it's going to take a while". "Gross! shrieked my daughter. I tended to agree with her. He seemed to think such a comment SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). I thought "TMI". Like a boy, he showers as infrequently as he can. He only washes when his hair smells like rotten eggs. Track pants are a must. He wears nothing but sport pants--every day. Smelly, thick green ski socks also seem to be a daily fashion statement. I figure if I ignore them, they'll go away. Or I'll pack them up with the winter stuff in another week or so and they'll be out of my life until next fall.
My daughter is also going through changes. Almost every day for the last week or so I go out at lunch to the surrounding retailers in search of the perfect bra for her. Or perhaps not the "perfect" bra but the right brand, fit, comfort level, etc. Unlike some girls I guess, she is taking the new breasts in stride. She wishes they would grow bigger at a faster rate but overall she seems quite pleased with the whole process. For her, puberty seems fun. I like the way she doesn't even notice when her face breaks out. I notice and nag her about putting on the combo moisturizer/sunscreen/zitkiller that I got her, but she's oblivious.
The hunt for the perfect bra reminds me of my "diaper cover" binge when she was a newborn. Baby clothes and baby accessories were an exciting frontier and when I discovered that cloth diapers required something called a "diaper cover", I was on point. I bought leopard spots, purple tie-dye, stripes, monkey prints--whatever hip pattern I could find --all in the "newborn" size. Finally one day, probably after my daily prey was stacking up, our wonderful nanny took me aside and gently reminded me "she's not going to stay newborn size, we have enough now I think". Doh! I suppose that pretty soon the "newborn bras" won't be big enough either...
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