On stubbornness and kissing

It's no secret that Owen is an affectionate creature. From the get-go he's preferred snuggles and cuddles, especially with mama. Of course, this isn’t a particularly difficult sacrifice to make on my part. James, while occasionally inclined to initiate a hug, largely keeps to himself and views physical affection as a "have to" rather than "get to."

Owen is also jealous of others hugging Mama. If I'm reading James a story on the couch he'll run over at top speed, dive-bombing into the middle of our book. He then wiggles around until he's wedged in between us. If Roy and I are hugging (or “worse”) in the kitchen it is never more than a few seconds before a little blonde head is head-butting at our knees, desperate to cut in. He used to want to join in the hug, but now just shoves Roy away.

I must admit, if they're the right men, it's great to be fought over. 

Sunday night we had a food battle. Owen, turns out, can be as stubborn as James when it comes to eating certain vegetables. All we asked for was one bite of yellow squash. 90 minutes later it was bedtime and it was still sitting in front of him. Roy loaded him up and took him to brush teeth and put him to bed. I heard, for the first time all evening, real trauma in his voice as he realized Mama wasn't going to be the one to read him his story and snuggle him to bed. 

"Mama!!! Ma-MAAAAA!!!" 

I listened as Roy brushed his teeth and changed his diaper, then figured I might would say good night. Owen literally leaped out of Roy's arms into mine and held me tight. We went to the rocking chair and read, a bit half-heartedly for my part, his current favorite. And then we said prayers. I was still semi-frustrated at his lack of cooperation at supper, but he was as happy as could be.

I turned him around and said "ok, hugs and kisses."

He planted a big wet one square on my lips. This is not normal behavior. My surprise must have registered. He looked at me for a sec, got a big mischievous grin on his face, then angled his head, reached for my face, and gave me a full-on, foot-popping KISS, just like Daddy does.

I'm sure this is what he was envisioning.

He was immensely proud of himself.

It's so hard to stay upset at that kid.

Book 51/50: The Mannings: The Fall and Rise of a Football Family. A brand new book out by Lars Anderson about Archie, Peyton, and Eli. It should be noted that this book really doesn’t touch much on any “falls.” It’s painted in extremely bright, glowing colors about the relationships of the Mannings with each other, and with football. I respect the Mannings a lot, and maybe all that glow is true, but it felt a bit saccharine to me after a while.

Book 52/50: Knives at Dawn: America’s Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d’Or Competition. This was a quick, entertaining read exploring the USA’s journey in 2008-2009 to select, train, and compete a duo (one chef, one commis) at one of the biggest international cooking competitions. Held biannually, the Bocuse d’Or is a grueling 5 hour cooking marathon, in front of thousands of people and the best chefs in the world. Even if you aren’t into cooking, this read like an athlete’s mission for Olympic gold. Loved it.