If that's not love, folks, I don't know what is

I love being a mom. I have this fun little guy to hang out with every day. He needs me, and I think I need him too! He has been such a blessing to us, and he's so strong and healthy, I really feel lucky. He's also a trooper - he has been all over the place with us, spending just about as much time away from home lately as at home. First we went to Phoenix for eight days, then we spent a week out at my parents' lake cabin with my sister. This last weekend we were in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene to see family and watch the Ironman race. Isaac has handled most of this extremely well. He adapts really well to new environments, and charms everyone he sees.

BUT (there's always a but, right?) he's in a phase right now where he HATES the car. He'll scream when we get him in his car seat until he runs out of voice or energy. Sometimes this means 10 minutes, other times it means 45. I read in a magazine that when you have a crying infant in your car, your driving skills diminish by 50%. The article suggested that when your baby starts to cry, find a safe place to pull over and attend to him. Well, since Isaac doesn't really "need" anything (he's always freshly fed and diapered), attending to him really wouldn't be much help at all. Plus, we'd never get anywhere. So, I guess the poor little guy will just have to learn to deal with the car.

So on Sunday as we were headed back to Pullman from Spokane, Isaac cried for a few minutes, fell asleep, and slept most of the way in the car, which is wonderful. But then he woke up hungry just as we arrived home. I took him inside and he just started screaming. I mean, full-on, out-and-out, hysterical, I HATE BEING ALIVE screaming. So I changed his diaper. He proceeded to scream, and pee all over me and the nursery. Got the new diaper on, and picked him up to comfort him. More SCREAMING. Then he projectile-vomited, managing to cover himself, me, the dresser, and the carpet in puke. Finally he calmed down with his bottle, and all was right in his world again, but it was one of those 10-minute parenting snapshots that you wish you could videotape and show to high school kids as teen pregnancy prevention education.

I would not endure 45-minute car crying sessions or being covered in bodily fluid for everyone. But I will, gladly, for this little punkin. Here he is in his life jacket at the lake, looking particularly chunky.