Thursday, March 22, 2012

Big Boy Seat

New and old...oh boy, here we go

It's funny the things you don't know as a parent, or that never cross your mind. For instance, I was talking to my sister on the phone and I mentioned that Topher was out-growing his car seat. I told her about a seat we were going to buy that started as a 5-point harness, then converted into a belt positioning seat and later into a backless booster. Then she said her girl had been using just a regular booster since she turned three.

Topher in his "baby" seat for the last time

Well, this kind of blew my mind. Three! I mean, that's practically a baby, isn't it? And then I thought about my child, sitting in the car, his seat un-anchored to the car's infrastructure, his arms on armrests instead of tucked into a little pod of a seat, and the seat belt--just the regular seat belt--holding him in.  Quite frankly, it sounded like a deathtrap.  

So when we ended up at the doctor's office on Friday for an acute case of tonsillitis (and then filled Topher's first prescription of his entire life--amazing huh?) I asked the doc about the car seat.  He said as long as Topher weighed enough (he does, by over 6 lbs) and was the recommended age (he is, by over 6 months) he should be good to go.

So excited to bring his Mario seat home

So it was off to Target, and Topher immediately found a seat he deemed the "Mario" seat (because it was blue and red, which he believes are Mario's signature colors).  It happened to be on sale today so I took the plunge and bought it.  And then I un-anchored the baby seat and set the new seat in its place.  That's right, it just sits there.  Topher climbed in, tried out the new seat's "big kid night-time activity lights" (his favorite feature) and I strapped the seat-belt across his tiny little body.  Then I tried not to hyperventilate.

Test drive in the living room showing off his seat's lights

I haven't actually gathered up the courage to drive anywhere yet.  Heavens no, let's not get crazy here.  But I'm working on it.  I just don't understand how we got to this point.  How is my little boy big enough to use a seat-belt?  Maybe it's not a big deal.  My sister didn't seem to think anything of it, after all.  But it's just one more reminder that Topher will soon be big.  Bigger than me.  And sweating more and eating more than I can cook.  And not asking me to cuddle with him every morning and not needing to stroke my hair before bed every night and not pronouncing "pudding" like an indescribable one-syllable word that can only be spelled puhdn.


But I guess I'll just have to do what every mommy does: hold onto him while I can, squeeze him until we both can't breathe...and let him sit in the big boy seat.

Trying it out in the (stationary) car; activity lights blaring


--KC

Monday, March 12, 2012

Squash those bubbles

Squash loves bubbles, we recently discovered, and Topher ADORES anything his cat does. His laughter is the best part of this video:



--KC

It's Working!

Topher hasn't ridden the tricycle in awhile, and he wanted to give it another go.  When he put his feet on the pedals, he started riding it and said, "It's working!"  Now he's very excited because we told him that he could have a big-boy bike (and helmet) whenever he learned how to use the pedals.  He used to want the Spiderman bike at Walmart, but now he's deep into a Mario Bros. obsession.  I've never seen a Mario bike for toddlers, but maybe we can just put some Mario stickers on a regular bike and watch him swoon.

Yeah, that seems like a good idea.



--KC

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

For Sale By Owner


It's no secret that we are outgrowing this townhome.  I am vigilant about keeping toys picked up, counters cleared and beds made.  And yet...I feel like every time I turn around the messes are sneaking up on me behind my back.  Everything is close at hand, and so potential messes are ever near. 

A house would not solve this problem.  A house might even magnify it (you know, the ol' "we have more space so let's collect more junk" mentality.) 

Except that in a house I would have more rooms to retreat to.  And maybe a bigger bathtub so I could completely submerge myself in some water therapy.  And maybe a room dedicated to toys so I could hurl them all in there and shut the door on them. 

Topher would love a yard.  Sassy would love a yard.  Even Squash would love a yard for her tiny leap-out-the-door-get-scared-and-leap back-in excursions. 

I would love a kitchen table.

There are a lot of reasons we would like a house, but none of them are urgent ones.  We just want to plant roots somewhere, show Topher a home and tell him he will grow up there.  Let him pick out the perfect shade of green for his bedroom, because to him all other colors are naturally inferior.

So we bought a sign and put it in front of our townhouse.  It reads For Sale By Owner.  We added an info box full of brochures.  We listed it on Craigslist and forsalebyowner.com.

And now we're just waiting for the right individual to come along.  We have had several emails and one showing so far.  We've also had two offers to buy it on contract (to which, obviously, the answer was no.)

I'm not generally a patient person.  But I feel strongly that the Lord has something mapped out for our little family.  If we need to wait awhile for a buyer, it is because our future house isn't on the market yet.  Or something else that only someone who knows everything could predict.

So our little sign sways in the wind and marks our home with its red and white message.  And we sway in the winds of fate, wondering where we might land but trusting that it will be somewhere wonderful.

--KC