Name change PLEASE!

You know sometimes I just want to change my name. Not my given name. Being Charlotte or Charli is just fine. I am talking about my newest title – mama. Or should I say MAAAA-MAAAAA!!!! All other mothers out there will definitely be able to identify with me. I can recall as a child my own mama telling me that she was changing her name. I never understood why she would want to do such a silly thing. The statement usually came when I was constantly calling her name to ask her senseless questions or when Christy and I were calling her name to tattle on each other or especially when Christy and I both would yell for her to get my dad under control when he was being particularly aggravating. I totally get where she was coming from now. I usually have this desire to change my name about 10 minutes into our 1 hour drive to or from daycare everyday after my name has been yelled at least 20 times. Our car ride goes something like this

Matthew – MAAA-MAAAA
Me – Yes, Matthew
Matthew – Whas tis (What’s this) (As if I can see whatever he is pointing to in his book)

Me – I don’t know sweetheart.
30 seconds of silence
Matthew – MAAAA-MAAAAA
Me – (Sigh) What Matthew
Matthew – Bopp-Bopp
Me – Mommy doesn’t want to listen to Bopp-Bopp right now. Mommy wants to listen to the radio.
Matthew – Tay.
1 minute of silence
Matthew – MAAAA-MAAAA
Me – What Matthew
Matthew – EAT EAT
Me – You already ate all of your snack. You can eat breakfast when we get to school.
10 seconds of silence
Matthew – MAAAA-MAAAA
Me – Yes sweetheart
Matthew – Waa Waaa
Me – Mommy can’t give you water now, she is driving.
30 seconds of silence
Matthew – MAAAAA-MAAAAA
Me – WHAT Matthew
Matthew - Where Flop Flop
Me – You threw Flop Flop on the floor. Mommy can’t reach him right now.
1 minute of silence
Matthew – MAAA-MAAAA
I don’t answer right away because I am on the phone usually with Christy.
Matthew – MAAAA-MAAAAA!!! MAAAA-MAAAA!!!
Me – What Matthew
Matthew – Da-Da
Me – No it’s Aunt Christy
Matthew – Da-Da.
I go back to ignoring him.
1 minute of silence.
Matthew - MAAAA-MAAAAA book
Me – I can’t give you a book right now because I am driving.
Matthew – MAAA-MAAA moov, moov
Me - The driver on the bus says move on back, move on ba-
Matthew – beep beep
Me – The horn on the bus goes beep beep beep –
Matthew – Dada
Me – The daddies on the bus say hush that fuss –
Matthew – Mama shh
Me – The mommies on the bus go shhh, shhh, shhh
Matthew – bab-beeee
Me – The babies on the bus go waaa, waaa, waaa

Then we repeat this whole scenario in various orders until he drifts off to sleep in the morning or until we arrive home in the evening.

So sometimes I think it would be nice to change my name. It is funny how before Matthew could talk I couldn’t wait for him to say Mama. And when he finally said it the first time, it was the most precious word I had ever heard. And when he said Dada more because it was easier, I treasured each time his little mouth formed the sounds Ma Ma. Now my name is rarely spoken at a normal decibel. Usually it is screamed at the top of his lungs. It is still the most beautiful word I have ever heard and it is a title I treasure, but sometimes I would like it if my name came out in a normal tone of voice. I honestly believe that Matthew thinks that my name is MAAAAMAAAA, not mama. Maybe I ignored him one too many times and he decided that the only way to get my attention was to scream my name. Well it definitely works, but good grief it tries my patience sometimes.

So now you all can imagine how my car ride goes. Now I do get breaks as he uses his “yo” (cell phone – hello) to call Da Da, Pop Pop, Ayyy (Ayden), Jon Jon, Pap, MaMaMe, and Kar (Kara his girlfriend). He also reads me stories and I can convince him to show Flop Flop different animals in his books. And he sings to me. But I am going to have to get more creative in how to keep him entertained in a car 2 hours everyday if I want to have any peace myself.

Since my last update Kung Fu Panda is still a treasured show, but we only have to watch a couple of episodes a week. Now he is totally into Barn-Barn (Barney). He asks to watch it several times a day. I preferred Kung Fu Panda, but he is adamant about Barney.

Matthew is repeating or trying to repeat almost anything we tell him too. So we have to be more aware of what we say in front of him. He is enjoying Mrs. Katie’s room at school. He has learned to count to 2. He is learning his colors. He can point to all his body parts. He loves arts and crafts (especially the projects we do as homework for school, like this float).

And he is so precious reading his Gee-Sa (Jesus) book (picture Bible) and trying to sing Jesus Loves Me. He can jump sometimes and he is starting to show interest in pottying in the potty. So far in the couple of weeks he has shown interest in the potty he has pee-peed in the potty three times and once on the floor beside it. He sits on it nearly every evening after dinner, but he gets bored usually before something happens. But I know he will get it when he is ready.

He is such a big boy. I can hardly believe how fast he is growing up on me. And I try to remind myself whenever I get frustrated about getting up in the middle of the night or trying to cook dinner with someone hanging on my leg or trying to have a peaceful commute to work that he is only going to be this size for such a short period of time. Before I know it, he won’t need me like he does now. So I try to enjoy these days for the fleeting treasure that they are.