Good thing he can't write
The boy has a minor cold, so he's been a little bit irritable. When that happens, his meltdowns come frequently and with force. To manage, we have to make sure to have planned activities so there isn't much down time.
Yesterday, one of these activities was for dad to take him to the store to pick up a few things. Temps are cold here, so I had to get him all bundled up in his hat and jacket. I know I'm biased, but when he gets all bundled up in his winter gear, he's quite adorable. Anyway, we get to the store, and I sit him in his stroller. As I strap him in, I adjust his hat, make sure his shoes are still on properly (he enjoys removing them while in his car seat), and give him a general once-over to make sure he's OK. People always look at babies, and when they do, I always feel like they're judging me as a parent. So I like to make sure he looks good. And of course, he looked as cute as ever.
We made our way into the store. There were only 3 things on the shopping list, so this wasn't expected to take long. Unfortunately, one of the things on the list was for me to pick up a greeting card, and I'm one of the ones who can't do that quickly. As I'm reading a couple of cards, I notice that he was trying to pull his hat off his head. We're inside, and the kid has a lot of hair, so I took it off so he didn't get too warm. Then we moved on.
I picked up the other two items on my list, then headed for the check-out. When I started to move, I noticed that there was something being dragged underneath the stroller. It turns out that it was one of his shoes. Apparently, he enjoys taking off his shoes in the stroller, too. So I pick up the shoe and put it in the little bag on the back of the stroller, along with his hat. We wait in line, then check out. Before we went back outside, I wanted to stop to put his hat and shoes back on. I sat down on a bench and turned him towards me in his stroller.
In front of me was a kid wearing one shoe, with some crazy mad-scientist hair and disturbing amounts of snot surrounding his nose and mouth. I looked at him and couldn't help but laugh. He laughed back.
"I don't know what you're laughing at, you're the one who looks like a runaway," I said. "You know how many people saw you looking like this? Why don't you just wear a sign that says, 'PLEASE call social serivces'?"
He started laughing even harder. A lady walking by peeked around the stroller. "He's so BEAUTIFUL!"
I smiled politely. "Thanks."
As she walked away, I said to him, "Wipe that smug look off your face. I still think you look like a runaway."
Comments
cadiz12 said:
you're a good pops for keeping track of those little shoes. they lose those things like crazy.
i CANNOT wait until your kid starts talking.
Lia said:
Sounds like a fun trip. I'm one of those people who looks at babies. And if I notice something like a missing shoe, I think "How cute - that child pulled off his shoe" and then I think "The poor mother, who may never again see the shoe." And then I smile in sympathy at the parent, pretending we have just shared an important moment in the child's life.
'ka said:
yup... i hope you're still blogging when he starts talking and walking and going to school... :D
Cate said:
Awww...That's so sweet. What a fetchin' awesome dad you are, Omar.
jazz said:
maybe she was just one the million ladies who say all babies are cute.
you and i know that it's not true. that there are PLENTY of ugly babies out there.
not that yours is one of them, but maybe he was for like the five minutes that he was half-dressed and snot covered....
?
Glo said:
That dad is so accidentally cool! That kid, however, is a rockin' Joe Cool poster child!
Demosthenes said:
You said some variation of "cute" "beautiful" and "adorable" three times in that post. You're tiptoeing the manliness line here, Omar. Careful.
But while we're at it, allow me to tiptoe along. Look at it this way; at least it was only his shoe getting stuck under the stroller rather than his actual body. That happened to me as a child.* Not good. Seriously, how can you not notice your child has crawled beneath the stroller and wedged himself between the axle and ground? It wasn't my fault, that's all I have to say.
*snot was decidedly absent from this situation, however
MEP said:
Yay! Boxer briefs are back on top!
I said:
cadiz - I probably would have never noticed the missing shoe if it hadn't fallen underneath the stroller.
lia - From now on, I'll just assume that's what people are thinking, rather than judging.
'ka - Shouldn't be much to report, my boy's going to be respectful and socially appropriate. Hahahhahahahah
cate - If I had known that all I had to do was take my boy to the store, almost lose his shoe, and let him rub snot in his face, I'd have done that a long time ago!
jazz - There most certainly are some ugly babies out there. Cute babies like mine, however, can't be "ugly." They're cute with snot, or cute with crazy hair.
glo - Accidental? My coolness is so on purpose.
dem - Hey, I was willing to look past your sewing with Scroob thing... And as a parent, I don't know how you can escape judging looks when your kid is underneath the stroller. Hopefully, I won't have to find out. Oh, and glad you're OK.
MEP - I was surprised to see briefs get a few votes... And what's other? Bikini briefs? G-strings? Anyway, I'm with you. I like the boxer briefs.
Syar said:
its always the baby shoes that get the worst end of the stick. what gratitude do they get?
the boy : awesome and awww-worthy as always. keep it up, dude. you too, omar.
Katie said:
I think that's pretty damn cute. Mostly because it's from your point of view, and the fact that he can look at you smugly makes me inanely happy.