MOM OF THE YEAR

I'd like to tell you I  got to the bathroom in time to stop Ryder from putting the yellow, plastic ring toy he had obviously dropped into and then retrieved out of the toilet into his mouth this morning...but I didn't!! Ooops!!  While I am able to laugh at this (thank God we are in the habit of keeping our toilet flushed after each use) some of you may be shaking your heads, thinking, "rookie!!"

I know, I know, I am a rookie, but I have almost made it through my first year as a "Mom!"
I have made decisions and done things that may make some shake their heads and others laugh, but they've all become memories of my "rookie year."

There were the times, 

-I brushed my teeth while holding Ryder, everything was fine until I attempted to spit over his head into the sink...I misestimated the size of his head and the arc of my spit..oops

- I let go of him for one second to wipe poop off the wall while he was on the change table, he rolled off. Scared the hell out of both of us...ooops!

- I let him play with the toilet seat lid, even though his fingers got smashed...ooops

-I let him lick the pop can he so desperately wanted, until he cut his finger on the top of it..oops

There were the times I was just too tired to stop him from,

-eating sand at the playground

-licking rocks off the ground in the yard, the same yard the dog does her business in...

- sucking on Scout's very hairy collar

-sticking his tongue to various fences at the farm, zoo and park (don't worry, I make a bigger effort to stop this in the winter, if the fences are metal...)

There are the times it's easier to,

-let him and Scout share chew toys, then to take them away and listen to both baby and dog wine

-let him eat Dirt Face's oats, so I can actually brush the horse without a baby in one arm

- let him eat dog food out of the bucket than watch him try to steal it right out of the dog's mouth

-play in the dishwasher, than to discourage his interest in it

-empty the lower pantry shelves than to cook with him in my arms

While some of you are shaking your heads, some of you are laughing and Ryder and I are filing these away as memories that have helped shape our first year together!

Never a dull moment around here, ever!