Mostly dad...

Sometimes I think Gavin is mostly his dad. He loves to eat. He loves to sleep. He does not wake up quickly. He loves to dance (and his lack of coordination does not prohibit him from giving it his all). He likes to run around in just a diaper (okay...so Shawn doesn't wear a diaper, but he does like his boxers). He'd take 5 showers a day if you let him. He loves to play. He likes treats. He wants to watch basketball on TV. He loves music. And he loves the outdoors.
Not to say I don't like any of these things, music, the outdoors, etc...but Gavin likes them in the same way his dad does. I can't truly put it into words, but there are days, when I look at him (oh yeah, everyone says he looks just like his dad too) and I think...I know I birthed you, so really, could you just pretend you got some of my DNA? Put on your clothes, stop dancing in your diaper and get over here!!! If he weren't so dang cute about it...I'd go insane (another thing he picked up from his father).
Yesterday, I saw some of me. I asked Gavin to get ready to go and he started to clean up his trains right away. I said it's time to get down from the table and he said, "But mama, wipe wipe wipe." I was in the bathroom and I heard a voice yell from across the house "Mom, whereareyou?" Brayden was playing around and accidentally kicked Gavin and he said, "No kicking baby."This was not what I was hoping for. My son has become a clean freak, who yells across the house instead of finding people and he's bossy. Great. I'll start writing my parenting book today.
It makes sense. I spend my days correcting, instructing, directing, and and redirecting. I think somedays I say his name a million times.
"Gavin stop."
"Gavin don't."
"Gavin clean up."
"Gavin be nice to your brother."
"Gavin where are you?"
"Gavin go to your room till you get a happy heart."
This is the plight of a mom. We know this is not all we do during the day, in our heads. But at the end of the day, you it can get to you. When I see Gavin doing my job, cleaning up his brothers "Spitters" or parenting Brayden in "No kicking" my heart sinks a little. Gavin is a two year old sponge. I know he needs to learn the things I am teaching him, but I also know I want to be intentional about his days being filled with creativity as well as order, with silliness as well as seriousness, and with praise as well as instruction.
I can tell you right now, you will not see me dancing around in boxers, but I am going to practice more airguitar with Gavin. We are going to spend more time reading books with Brayden and less time fighting over toys. We will color more and clean less. Mom is going to sit down with the choochoo trains and let the laundry wait. And I will do my best to use his name in praise more than I do in instruction.
"I like how you did that Gavin."
"Way to go Gavin."
"Good sharing Gavin."
"I love you Gavin."