books fall open, ammon falls in… literally

Ammon loves books – really, he does. What are his favorites? “The Monster at the end of this Book” starring lovable, furry old Grover (this is one of my favorites, so I introduced it first, of course); “But Not the Hippopotamus” by Sandra Boynton; and Dr. Seuss’s “Circus McGurkus 1, 2, 3!” based on Dr. Seuss’s “If I Ran the Circus”. Believe it or not, yesterday he learned how to turn the pages of his “Circus McGurkus” book. He loves his books so much, and looks at the pictures so absorbedly, that he usually ends up “falling in” to them. So glad that he is soaking up some good culture early.

Speaking of culture… Brian feels that I inadvertently expose Ammon to entirely too much “sissy stuff” by indulging my own cultural interests during the day (i.e.: a little Gene Kelly or Cary Grant here and there). Granted we have had Fred and Ginger week, Howard Keel week, and chick-flick week – just to name a few. But, remember this is done 1.) for noise… as we aren’t usually “watching”, and 2.) to keep me from getting overly tired of Fraggle Rock. And what’s wrong with a little culture? What Brian doesn’t know is that we rock out to Billy Joel and Harry Connick, Jr. on occasion. I’m thinking of adding The Beatles and Neil Diamond to the repertoire next week… maybe some musical soundtracks, too…

But, despite all this, Brian offsets the “culture” with plenty of man-movies, Voltron and Transformers. I am more than positive that Ammon will not be a “sissy”, even though he is quite the “mama’s boy”. It has been said before, and will surely be said again - he is all boy.

Today… good gravy, I don’t even want to think about it. It did have its good moments. Ammon and I enjoyed lunch with my mom (and another visit from her later) and a nice visit from our friends Becky and Little Brian. But, during the other moments I was reciting this over and over and over again:

I will not pinch. I will not bite.
I will not kick. I will not yell.
I will not pout. I will not cry.
I will not throw things.
I must behave.
I must set a good example.
I must remember…
I am the Mom.
I am the Mom.
I am the Mom.

We have a very opinionated three-month old who knows what he wants, knows that he wants it right away, and knows that his mom isn’t doing it fast enough. Nothing I did was right and the only thing that I accomplished today was getting a headache. It didn’t help that Ammon spent most of the day in his car seat, missed two naps, and was up almost an hour past his bedtime. But, there is a new sunrise on the horizon… and we try yet again.

Updates: Ammon slept through the night again last night… we’re keeping our fingers crossed for several repeats... or at least one. He is also pulling himself up to a sitting position now while holding on to your fingers. Such a big boy...