Everyone has things that are important to them – especially
when it comes to raising kids.
Some people don’t really believe in bringing kids places until they get
older. They don’t see a point in
dragging kids around “for no reason.”
We are the opposite. We
have been bringing Blake out with us since he was two weeks old and we are so
thankful we made that decision.
Every Sunday we go out to breakfast with my parents before
Blake goes to swim lessons. We go
to the same place every week, which is nice because my coffee is brought to me
the second I walk in. We
have taught Blake how to sit at the table. I always have books with me in case he gets a little antsy
waiting for his food. I can’t
blame him for that, he gets that from me.
This kid loves to eat, as do I.
His thighs show it more than mine but they are really cute!
Last weekend Blake took me out for Mother’s Day. We went to this really cute tea room
that I’d been dying to try. They
told us they didn’t have high chairs so we brought our new portable high chair (the Babymoov Up & Go Booster) and Blake loved it. Of course, it
was a super quiet place filled with antique china so Blake was practically
sitting in the middle of the restaurant in order to keep him away from the china
on the table. Despite them taking
forever to give us menus, take our order, and bring us our food, Blake was
behaving really well. Then it
happens. Blake lets out a scream. The waiter walking by jumps, as do the
three tables behind us. We
apologize, make sure we don’t laugh (even though it was sorta funny), and tell
Blake that he can’t scream. I give
him a book and he sits there quietly reading for a while. Another scream. People look at us. I feel terrible that people are trying
to enjoy a quiet meal and there’s my kid, screaming. I start to get stressed before I realize that no one
minds. They can all see that we
are not just allowing our baby to be a maniac. They tell us how cute Blake is. (He’s wearing seersucker
pants, a white collared shirt and suspenders – he’s looking GOOD.) Then a woman turns to me and tells me
that she can’t believe how well behaved he is. He is screaming because he is happy, but he is SO GOOD. I start to relax. And I get this really proud mom
moment. Because Blake IS so well
behaved. He is so happy. And I know that part of the reason
Blake is so well behaved is because we have been taking him to restaurants with
us since he was 2 weeks old. I
took a deep breath, relaxed, and enjoyed the rest of my Mother’s Day beaming
with pride and reassurance that we are doing things right.
I’ve never sat Blake in front of the TV and I’ve never given
him an iPad or my phone. He loves
doing things and learning. He
loves to figure things out.
Remember when I said everyone has things that are important to
them? It’s important to me that
Blake does not watch TV shows on an iPad while we are out to dinner. He is so social and I don’t want that
to ever go away. I’m not judging
people who do that. I know there
are times when I’ve done things I swore I would never do because I’m
desperate. I know that one time I
saw you give your kid an iPad at dinner could be the only time you did it
because you were just trying to make it through. Still, I am so grateful every time
Blake walks over to his books, picks one out, and hands it to me. He wants to read. He loves when we read to him, and I
love that when it comes to choices, he chooses to read.
Of course, Blake is not perfect. He did get super cranky twice when we went out. The first time was on our
anniversary. I know tons of people
would have gladly left their kids home for a night out, but I wanted to
celebrate with Blake. We try to
enjoy everything we always enjoyed in the past but include Blake. Blake fussed the entire meal and the
only thing that made it ok was that we were sitting outside and the only table
next to us was a bunch of moms who had totally been there at some point, and
even offered to pass Blake around their table if we needed a break. The second time he was fussy – my
parent’s anniversary. But Sunday
morning breakfast at the diner?
Best behavior. Go figure.
I’m glad I got to celebrate my first Mother’s Day after
waiting an entire year. Blake
wiggled his way into the world the day after Mother’s Day last year. Here we are, exactly one year apart!
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