Meet Ned

Or Needy Ned as I've been referring to him lately...



I really hate comparing my children because they are two unique little people...but sometimes I just can't help it.

Ruth Ann came into this world independent to the max. She was never a baby that wanted to snuggle, she would sit quietly in her bouncy chair or bumbo seat for hours, she would watch a Baby Signing time video or look at books without needing or wanting a parent at her side...and this independence has continued into her 3's...although now it's accompanied with high levels of sass making for many difficult & long days for this momma.

Lately I've considered legally changing Tripp's name to "Ned" because I seriously think I refer to him as "Needy Ned" more times each day than by his actual name. He was a super snuggly baby and still enjoys the occasional snuggle in the nursery rocking chair at bedtime...something Ruth Ann never tolerated. And I enjoy those sweet moments and treasure them because he's my last and these may be some of the last moments of baby snuggle time I'm ever going to be lucky enough to get. But this boy doesn't just want his momma's attention at night...no way...he is at my feet crying for the majority of my day. And it's not just for me to hold him...he also wants me to be the vehicle that gets him to whatever location in our house is on his mind...and with a very limited vocabulary this can be challenging for both Ned and his momma.

There's a part of me that LOVES how much he loves being with his mommy...but mommy still has things to do and most can't be done with 24 pounds of love sitting on my hip. Lately nothing seems to make him happy...he's been in a grumpy mood for a few weeks now. I keep blaming it on a cold or teething or the weather...I keep waiting for my happy little boy to return. I see occasional glimpses of his old happy self...but shortly after he has a tendency to melt into tears for reason unknown to me. I'm hanging my hopes of the return of Happy Tripp on the development of an expanding vocabulary. Right now he says "baby" (which is what we refer to a lovie or security blanket at our house), Daddy, Mommy, bye bye, no, uh-oh, something that may be "dog" when he sees our family dog,something that sounds like "truck"  when he wants a car or truck to play with, ei-ei-oh, and row-row (the last two are from hearing Old McDonald and Row Your Boat at his grandparents house). He also does a lot of babbling or maybe it's singing...between him and his sister there's rarely a quite moment in our house.  I wish he would enjoy the Signing Time videos more like Ruth Ann did because he could really use a few signs to tell me what he wants...but again, I can't go comparing my kids...we'll just be waiting for Tripp to start speaking more...or I would even take his sister speaking for him at this point...whatever it takes to keep the neediness to a minimum!