Good Morning! 7.6.06

Every morning, I walk into Collin's room with a big smile and a "Good Morning, Collin!" Then we usually sing our "Good Morning" song, swoop up Little O (who is usually already awake and babbling in my bed), do a round of diaper changes, and head down for milk. And every morning, I wait in hopeful anticipation for the sweet greeting back ... this morning was just like every other except when I chorused "Good Morning!" as I walked into his room, Collin smiled and echoed "Morning!" Oh! What a way to start off the day! What an excellent "first"! I felt like I was floating with glee all morning, and I told everyone that I ran into! It's funny the simplicities of motherhood that really, truly make like so worth living! : )

Then it was "Up, Dadda, Up - Morning!" Ha-Ha! Too cute! And that was followed shortly thereafter by another first ... Collin called me "Mommy!" I was so stunned! He shouted it up the stairs, "Bye Bye, Mommy!" I ran down so fast ... "did he just say, Mommy??" Woohoo! But then again, are the days of "Mama" gone?? :( What a catch-22.

Then big hugs and kisses and out the door we all go ... off to another Collin first ...

The boys and I have a few set-in-stone rituals that we follow almost every day, such as our Good Morning routine that I shared above. Another such routine happens each day when I pick up Collin from Blossom (his school). First, he gathers his jacket and points to his hand and asks for a sticker from Miss Lori T. Then, sticker in place and a grin on his face, we proceed out of his classroom. And I do mean proceed because it is quite the procedure. He must wave "bye-bye" to his friends, close the baby gate, shut the door, and head down the hall. Then he must wave to Miss Brenda (Owen's future teacher) and the little babies. Then he closes the door separating that half of the school from the other half. Then he opens the office door, waves to Miss Maureen and Miss Shawna, then closes their door. Then he closes the bathroom door if it is open. Then we wave (again) to Miss Maureen and Miss Shawna through the office window. Then we exit the front door and he pivots sharply to the right to point out the big snow shovel perched against the side of the building ("uvvel"). THEN he races down the front ramp, turns right, and races up the sidedoor ramp. While he plays on that ramp, I put Owen into the Jeep. Then Collin yells "Jeep!" and races to his side, but not without a quick peek at "Baby?" to be sure he's inside and going with us. And finally we are ready to leave. It literally takes at least 20 minutes for me to pick Collin up each day.

So here's where the "first" comes into play ... I get in, buckle my seatbelt, turn on the tunes (quietly), back out of my parking space, and, once I've safely pulled onto the road and started the drive home, turn to Collin and ask "So, Collin, did you have a good day?" Usually I then have a one-sided conversation, always believing that "one day" he'll answer and we'll talk and talk and talk. Well, "one day" was yesterday.

When I asked, "So, Collin, did you have a good day?" he said "Yeah!" (very matter-of-factly). It was the first response I've had to that question at that time of day ever. So I followed it up (as I always do) with "What did you do today?" And again, he answered! "Books." I was so thrilled! I asked: "what books did you read?" But perhaps I was getting greedy ... he didn't have much else to share, but I'll take what I can get! A conversation! A question and answer period where I was asking the quesions!! Ready or not, here we go!!

... which leads me to another first! Can you guess? The inevitable "Why?" question has begun to creep into our life! But oh it is fun ~ at least so far. : )

Oh, and here's another *fun* something. Collin said his first swear word .. s*&t. Collin had dropped a piece of popcorn just out of Daddy's reach, and out from Daddy's mouth came the word. And just as quickly, out from Collin's mouth it spewed, a distinct echo. Luckily, it didn't catch. What has caught on is "Zoot" for "shoot" (as in darn it, dang, bummer) and "Oh, Noooo" for "Oh, Nuts" (as in ... never mind, you get the picture).

Good Morning and Good Day, Everyone!