The Stuff We Do for Our Kids

Since having Abby I have danced goofy dances, sang silly songs, made the most ridiculous faces, and put all sorts of paraphernalia on my head - and those are just the things I've done in public. When we are home I pull out all the stops. If you would have told me ten years ago how absurd some of my behavior would become in order to make Abby laugh or to divert a tantrum, I wouldn't have believed you, but now I wonder what some people must think when they see me at my goofiest. Today though, Jason topped them all. Let me give you the background.

Abby had not had a good night's sleep, and therefore neither did we. We were all tired, and since Abby refuses to rest, around the time we were heading out to Nana and Papa's she was already in "a mood". For the ride out I sat in the back with her, in the hopes of providing distraction. We sang songs, we danced, we read books (one particularly gross one about the bugs and frogs found in pools and ponds that solidified my "No swimming in natural bodies of water" rule), and yet she was still crabby - until Jason cracked open a window and a balloon that had been hiding in the back was pushed to the front by the wind. This sparked a delightful game of "catch" between Abby and myself. This kept us entertained for the last ten minutes to Nana and Papa's.

It came as no surprise to me then, when we got in the car to come home, that Abby put in a forceful request for the balloon and wind. Since she was getting rather whiney, Jason obliged by putting down the windows, while I reached for the balloon in the back. Unfortunately, there were several stop lights and plenty of traffic, so the wind was more stop and start, than full blast as Abby likes it. Finally though, Jason saw his opportunity to provide her with the wind she so desperately wanted, and he floored it. Abby loved it - the police officer that we blew past - not so much. Amid Abby's gleeful laughs I heard Jason say, "I'm going to get a ticket."

What?!? I didn't even see the cop, until I turned around and realized that he was following us pretty closely. Sure enough, the lights flashed and we pulled over. Both Jason and the officer were cool and cordial, and as we pulled away (with a ticket), Jason told me, "I guess that's what I get for trying to give Abby some fun." I was impressed with his calm, but like he said, "What am I going to do?"

So, it seems that we can add "Getting a ticket" to the list of things that we've done for Abby. We drove home safely (and following the posted speed limit), without playing with the balloon or rolling down the windows - pulling out the iPad seemed like a much safer option to distract Abby.

Happy Easter!

Abby got ahold of the camera and turned the
tables on me.

Nana made cupcakes! According to Abby the
icing was the best part!