The Mom-inator

Looks like Dad, Acts like Mom...

One thing I've discovered about my son is that he has an attitude. We've all seen the pictures of how cute he is and how much he looks like Daddy, but he definitely has some of my more "colorful qualities" when it comes to his attitude. Ken is a very mellow, laid-back man. He takes things in stride and doesn't get upset over the little things, but when he does get angry you need to get out of his way and fast! I am the more out-going one. I'm a little louder and much more straight-forward, not that Ken's not straight-forward, but I tend to be a little bit too direct at times. When I have something to say believe me you'll hear it. When I get angry I vent it out and then it's gone and I move on to the next thing.

Jackson is sort of like me. I've seen certain aspects of my personality in him. He's feisty, and when he wants something it's NOW, not five minutes from now. How do you teach a nine-month old patience? Jack get's a bit riled-up and when he's in a mood you need to acknowledge it. We had a rough day with him yesterday because he's cutting a new tooth and we couldn't walk away from him for a second without him freaking out! Usually I can get things done as long as I've seen to it that he's occupied, but this teething is leaving everyone a little worn-out. To me it's upsetting because there's nothing I can do to satisfy him when he's cranky. I need to be all over him or he has a caniption fit. I'm glad that Ken was home yesterday so we could get housework and laundry done. It took all day to do the simplest chores, and of course Lord Fussimuss wasn't making things any easier on us; we had to do things in shifts so that someone was always with him. By the time Ken left to go to work for a graveyard file purge at the COMP, I was exhausted and still had to give Jack his bath and put him to bed. After thirty minutes in the tub playing and a baby massage and a bottle, Jack went right to sleep and actually had a restful sleep.

Now here's the funny; my mother-in-law is under the impression that Ken and I are on the outs because Jack's been so aggressive lately. Ken and I are so completely getting along, in fact we're hanging on to each other for dear life at times when it comes to Baby Attitude. There is hardly contention in my marriage, even if money is tight and we have very little time to spend together. I think we've both learned from previous marriages that being financially strapped is hardly a reason to cut your mate's throat. You either get through it or you don't, and we don't place blame anywhere except on the economy. Yes we wish we made more money, who doesn't, but we're not fighting, we're getting along really well, and we're both trying to work extra hours. Jack has nothing to react to as far as how his father and I are getting along; he's just being testy and himself as usual. Now maybe she'll calm down a little and trust in us that all is well and stop worrying.

posted by Alley @ 10:16 AM