A New Grin

I'm feeling a little nostalgic this weekend and have gone through some of Aaron's baby photos.

I looked through a lot of them but the specific photo I was looking for is this one of Aaron's two front teeth when they first started to show. The photo was taken on 21 May, 2007, thats almost exactly six years ago.

During dinner last night, the right front tooth fell out. Here is his new look...

We were at a Turkish Restaurant and had just started on some bread when Aaron showed me his napkin, dotted with blood. I tried to discretely take a look at what was going on and asked him if it was about to fall off. Nope. Needed more wiggling which he started to do right there so Richard took him somewhere less conspicuous. A few minutes later, he came back with the tooth still there. One bite later and he spat it out.

Two seconds later, the couple at the table next to us left. They looked like they had only finished two thirds of their meal. Was it us?? I didn't think Aaron was too gross and honestly, I did the best I could with a tooth that just had to come out at that time.

Aaron looks cute but a little strange. He sounds very funny and we've been laughing at all his jokes because of how his words now sound. As a result, we're getting even more jokes from him.

More photos of that new grin....

Labour pains for men!

I've just watched, and re-watched, this very amusing video.



I think it would be great if all fathers could experience that, y'know, just to make it fair. But, I can't decide if they should do it before or after the mothers go into labor.

If they go first, they'll know exactly what the mothers are going through but they might also scare the mothers into c-sections. And if they go after, then they won't be able to empathize to the full extent during actual labour. Or maybe, they the mother should be able to activate a contraction on the father whenever he doesn't pull his weight in terms of parenting!

The 'Boxing Day' of Mothers' Day

I listen to the radio whenever I'm in the car and today, it was all about Mothers' Day. Almost every program from the breakfast one to the 10pm one had something to say about it. The phrase 'Boxing Day' of Mothers' Day was from one of them. Its wasn't just the radio that was still running on yesterday's mood. Almost everybody I met had something to say about it.

Our family has always acknowledged the day with small gifts (usually of the crafty sort) and a meal out but it hasn't been made a big deal of in the past. This year wasn't any different. I gave my mother a present and we all went out for a meal but other than that, it was a very ordinary Sunday. Unfortunately, I felt it was a little too ordinary. Aaron had made big proclamations on Saturday night as to what he would be doing but when Sunday rolled up, he had forgotten it all and I was woken up at 6.30am to sort out some dispute or other. That was followed by an absolutely normal day of the usual behavior (whining, bickering, making up and then whining again). I know they both love me but I really thought that Aaron was old enough to make a little bit more of an effort. Never mind, I knew this would be a mostly thankless job.

This morning, I woke up to a very pleasant surprise.

Aaron had already brushed his teeth, changed into his clothes for school, made his bed and was about to start making his own lunch. I usually have to ask him a million times to do the first three things and it has never occurred to him to make his own lunch before (no wonder a checklist was needed!). He said that he wanted to help out today so I wouldn't get so tired. Well, that was the perfect thing to say to have me make him an extra special lunch.

I feel a bit guilty of expecting him to behave differently on Mothers Day. These small, sincere and unprompted actions are much more cherished.