Just Average

Before becoming parents, the Romgi and I discussed at length the alarming trend to label children as geniuses for hitting developmental milestones early or for showing some talent in any given sphere. Surely you’re familiar with the Lake Wobegon effect (all the children are above average). We didn’t want to go into parenthood by taking for granted that our children would be exceptional. Of course we knew they’d all be unique and dear to us, but we tried to prepare ourselves for the very real possibility that in most aspects, they might be just average (or even below – but, given how amazing the Romgi and I are, that’s less of a possibility, right?).

Now, having said that, I want to tell you two things the Bwun did this week that nicely balance him out to being average.

First is the genius part. The Bwun really likes the song “The Ants Go Marching,” so I’ve worked out a bouncing rhythm for it – ups and downs on hurrah hurrah, that sort of thing. A few days ago as we were bouncing along, I noticed that the Bwun would give me a huge smile at the same parts in each verse: right as I said “one by one” or “five by five,” which happened to be just before I’d jump him up for hurrah hurrah. What a clever boy, right? Remembering how the song goes and how he gets bounced? Yes, I know. He’s a genius. (Hm.)

And the not-so-genius part…the following day, the Bwun was playing on hus tummy, spit out his pacifier, and gave himself a hickey on his arm.

Thank you, dear Bwun, for tempering my inclination to write a post solely about how clever I think you are.

New Camera

New-to-me, at least: a Sony DSC-F717 that is tons of fun to play with.

Behold:

Baby fox from IKEA is the Bwun's new best friend.

I haven't bothered reading the manual yet so I don't know how to fix the saturation on the camera - just in a photo editing program. And only sort of, even then.

Yes. I know. The Bwun is adorable.

We got some English roses from the Romgi's grandmother last night.

I'm not a fan of roses in general, but English roses are so fragrant and blossomy.

Again, I don't know how to change the saturation and I didn't want to ruin the image by playing with it too much. The Romgi likes this one.

Miscellaneous

Did you miss me? I know it’s been about a gazillion years since I posted. (Slight exaggeration.) I’m going to try writing once a week…but don’t feel disappointed if I can’t manage that.

We’re enjoying our last real summer for a long time. The Romgi will be doing internships the next two years and then studying for the bar/beginning his career as a lawyer the summer after that. We keep meaning to take a quick weekend trip down to Moab, but between the Romgi’s hateful work-every-other-Saturday schedule and the various other events that come up, it hasn’t happened yet. Tentatively planned for July 17-18. Our big adventure will be a few days at my grandpa’s cabin in New Mexico in mid-August. Law school starts August 19, so I think the Romgi is planning to leave his job about a week before that.

Can I tell you a secret? I didn’t know that law schools (and dental/medical/business/etc.) actually have wives’ clubs – I thought it was a joke. But I’ve been invited to be part of the Law Partners group at BYU, which means that hopefully I can make friends with some people who have kids. We realized recently that aside from our siblings, we don’t really have any friends who are parents. I can see that as a benefit, though: our friends always want to play with the Bwun. As much as I adore him, it’s nice to have a break once in a while.

Recently someone gave us some diapers for the Bwun, but unfortunately he had already outgrown them. I posted the diapers on FreeCycle and got over 30 requests from parents who were trying to make ends meet. I felt bad about only being able to help one person – so I started looking for a volunteer opportunity. Tomorrow I’ll start volunteering at a community center in South Provo, with a summer reading program for kids in the area. Lately my days seem full with trying to improve myself, take care of the Bwun/the Romgi/our house, and helping friends and neighbors. I feel busy but exceptionally happy. It’s a good life, and I’m glad I have so many chances to enjoy it.

And, before I go, here’s a picture of the Bwun NOT enjoying our new IKEA Poang chair:

Look at that pout!