Toddler teeth are sharp, I have the bite mark to prove it

-
Most days, The Kid is absolutely adorable and today was no exception. But sometimes adorable comes with a price, especially when she is frustrated.

Gladys was getting ready to take her to the Detroit Zoo, while I was getting ready to study for the class I'm taking and visit Grandma as she recovers from a broken rib and pneumonia. While Gladys was getting dressed, I was trying to occupy The Kid so Gladys could get ready interruption free.

The Kid and I had been chasing each other around our apartment for most of the morning, so I made the choice to leave the baby gate down. Instead, I thought I would just get in her way when she decided to run down the hall. I positioned myself so two steps in either direction would completely block her path.

Foolishly, I thought she'd find it a fun game. I took one step over, she grabbed my leg and laughed.  She tried to run around me, so I stepped over to block her path. I received a laugh and a slap, which I interpreted as playful. The third time, she grabbed my leg like she was going to hug me, which is normal for her. Except, she decided to lead with teeth first and chomped down hard on my left thigh.

We both started screaming loudly enough for Momma to come running to find out what happened. I was shocked, The Kid was mad and Momma was amused.

Needless to say, I learned a hard lesson today. A frustrated toddler has teeth that are sharp enough to break skin. I have the bite mark to prove it.  

Popular posts from this blog

Marching for hope in our neighborhood

-
Image
The Kid and I walked our neighborhood this evening, but with a different purpose than usual. Many in our neighborhood gathered at Gesu Catholic Church to March for Hope . Roughly this time last year, a federal judge who lives a few streets over, was shot on his front porch in a botched robbery attempt. His physical recovery from the single bullet to the knee took the better part of a year and extensive rehabilitation, and his emotional recovery was sped by his church community and immediate neighbors. I don't know the judge, nor am I a member of his church Gesu Catholic. I'm not much of a protest guy either, I prefer to work behind the scenes. I read about the walk this morning , and almost forgot about it until Gladys started to do some work for a class she's taking. So we bundled up The Kid, and the two of us walked over to the church to support our neighborhood. When we walked into the church, I was struck immediately with the knowledge that this was not a protes
Read more

Yet another blog of parenting advice

-
Image
A friend whose wife is expecting their first child was asking me for advice today. He's going to be a new dad, so he was asking in general terms because until you're in it, you really don't know what to ask for. My knee-jerk reaction was to tell him to get rest. Lots of it, whenever you can from now until the kids are adults. Forget the idea of work/life balance too, because balance is a myth. Sometimes work will take priority, sometimes the kids will, and sometimes dad has to be a priority. If you're too concerned about hitting a false measure of balance, you're going to miss something. The End of the Beginning And that was it. That's all I could come up with until I got in the car and scarfed down one of the sugar cookies I bought for myself as a treat that I had no intention of sharing. Here's what I came up with. Avoid watching Caillou at all costs. For some reason, kids are absolutely mesmerized by him. No adult on that show holds the kid acc
Read more

But you're so young and athletic

-
Image
I fully expected to be writing a few humble brag posts on my social media channels by now of my athletic prowess, or at least tales of how I survived my first couple of organized classic cross country ski races. I’ve long thought about what it would be like to participate in the Noquemanon Ski Marathon , but living in a snow-desert like Detroit makes training tough. Since I’ve never done a race in my life on skis, I figured it would be a good idea to take on some shorter distances to see if this was something I would really enjoy doing. My training for the Krazy Klassic closer to home was fun. My walks with Barney were longer. So was my time on the yoga mat. When the race began, it was harder than I expected but I chalked that up to a lack of time on skis this year. Ultimately, I hit my goal, which was to finish the race. My 5k time was among the slowest that day , but I left the experience encouraged that my fitness was going in the right direction for the White Pine Stampede a few w
Read more