Tag: Parenting

I love you like a Love Song Baby

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Watching Maria mouth the words of Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream takes me back to my pre-pubescent years listening to Phil Collins and Air Supply on my 45s.  Or better yet, waiting to hear the love songs on Casey Kasem’s Top 40 so I could tape them onto a cassette to play over and over on the weekend. 

It is only in the last month that Maria has shown more of an interest in music.  First, Big Time Rush; then Justin Bieber; now Katy Perry and Selena Gomez.  She struggles to understand the words and produce a dance move while she sings but she certainly tries.  And it is doggone cute to observe her attempt it.  She does what I used to do a lot; sing a word that is not the actual word of the song.  She belts out “I love you like the Love Sun Baby.”  Meanwhile, her little brother stands in the background pretending to strum a guitar and mouth the words to the song – perfectly content not to have a clue what he is singing.  He just enjoys moving his body. 

I caught Maria the other day on my mom’s treadmill jamming it out to Ms. Gomez.  I had allowed her to start the treadmill and keep it at a low-level.  She had grabbed my mom’s CD player and headphones and inserted her Teenage Bop CD in it.  I saw the teenage Maria at that moment as she belted out a word here or there while walking on the treadmill and dreamily staring out the window in front of her.  I wish I could get into that brain of hers in those moments to listen to what she is thinking in that dreamy world of hers.  I am quite sure it is not how much she loves her mama….

My mother-in-law forwarded an announcement about Big Time Rush coming to Nationwide Arena in July. I can’t wait to take her to her first concert – I still remember heading to Prince with my mom in Cincinnati.  What a concert in which to begin my concert experience!  I think Big Time Rush will be a tad bit more subdued than Prince….

The Joys of Parenting A Daughter

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I had not seen Maria since Friday morning when I dropped her off for school with the exception of a few minutes on Saturday afternoon between her return from a friend’s house and her departure to her cousin’s house.  I pulled into the driveway at 5:30 pm and she ran down the driveway yelling “MOM!”  What a marvelous feeling. 

I loaded her and Mario in the car to head to Wendy’s Gymnastics.  She asked me if she could run in the house and get a snack.  I told her I would head in with her (knowing that her snack may be a four course meal).  Indeed, she was ready to rip into another cereal bar (after eating one a half hour ago with the sitter).  I told her that she could have an apple or grapes rather than the cereal bar since we would be eating dinner right after the gym.  She looked at me in disgust and walked away.  I asked her if she wanted fruit, and she shut the door behind her.  Lovely.  When I opened my car door, I got the following pleasantry thrown my way:

“I can’t wait until you are away in Cancun. You can’t leave soon enough.” 

Even lovelier.  I gave her a sad face that I know she saw through my rear view mirror but it stirred no response.  When we got to Wendy’s, she opened her door, stepped out of the car, and marched into the gym alone.  Mario looked at me as I picked her up out of his seat and observed “She seems mad at you.”  He is a smart cookie.  He gave me his sweet Mario hug to make up for Maria’s quick departure. 

Once inside, she continued to ignore me.  I had a pack of Tic Tacs and I offered her a few.  She accepted and whispered “thanks, mommy.”  I didn’t press the issue any more.  I want her to feel that she can assert herself with me – without retribution or revenge on my part.  I am not going to give her grief for saying she wanted me in another country – she needs to be able to get her feelings out (although there are times that it takes me biting my lip to near bruising to avoid saying something to her I will regret (and sometimes I say it anyway and slip up; I am human after all)).  I will draw the line if she cusses me out or behaves like a crazy woman but other than that, I am going to let her process her feelings. 

About a third of the way through gymnastics class, she waved me down and motioned for me to watch her jump off the balance beam.  I did.  And I gave her a thumbs up and a standing ovation.  She smiled at me. 

All is good.

Partyin’ til the Cows Come Home

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Party Girl

Maria slept over at her friend’s house last night.  Her friend turned seven and had Maria and two other girls over for a birthday party/sleepover.  She wrapped her friend’s presents (two barbies) in Christmas paper (I never buy wrapping paper besides Christmas time); signed her card, and found a big party bag to place all of the goodies.  These are the times that I think she could make it by herself in her own apartment better than most 20 year olds.  When I told her she could call me or dad if she got scared, she looked at me with an exhausted look.  “Mom, pleease!”  And sure enough, Jon and I never heard a peep from her until we picked her up.  She had gotten a manicure, perfume, and made up with her girlfriends. 

Meanwhile, Jon and I had chilled with little Mario all night.  He wanted to play on my iPhone or ipad all night long.  He is completely and totally addicted to all things electronic.  He could sit on the floor, legs crossed, head cocked downward to see the screen, and tap on the iPad all day long.  He is mesmerized by whatever he is playing.  You could call his name ten times and he still doesn’t hear you.  Scary stuff.  Was I like that when I played PacMan on Atari?  He gets away with murder when Maria is gone because Jon and I let him stay up while we watch a show or read.  He plays the iPad the entire time.  I figure he is in school all week with no electronics so why not let him live it up on the weekends. 

Mario and his iPad

In any case, after we make him turn off the electronics, I read to him for at least 20 minutes.  He enjoys that time with me, which is good. At least he is not crying for more electronics or covering his ears yelling “I’m not listening!”, which is how he reacts anymore when he gets mad at you (learned behavior from his sister, I believe). And he understands the books we read – he can tell me the main idea of the story every time.  So, his fixation with electronics doesn’t concern me… yet.  

We picked up Maria from her friend’s house this afternoon and visited our old neighbors, Doris and Kim.  We had not visited them since we moved in our new house (we are so bad that way).  They always welcome us into their house, and the kids love them.  They hung out with Kim outside while we talked to Doris.  Kim does anything they want; today she let Maria act like she was driving her car and let Mario toss a ball to Gunther (their dachshund). 

As soon as we left and walked in our door, Maria asked “when am I going to Alana’s house”  My brother-in-law invited her to spend the night tonight through Monday since they are going to watch Maria on Monday while Jon and I work.  Jon and I are chopped liver anymore.  The girl likes to get her party on.  We packed her up and Jon took her over.  She’s gone until Monday. 

Mario, meanwhile, loves having his sister gone for a day or two (any longer and he misses her like crazy).  He gets Jon and me all to himself.  I play baseball with him (he has got an arm on him and can hit pretty good, too).  I take him for a bike ride and he is in the lead the entire time (when Maria goes with us, she always gets in the lead).  We go to the library and he gets all my attention while he plays his computer games (usually I read to Maria while he plays).  We play Wii  table tennis and he kicks my butt!  We play Hi Ho Cherry-O, and he refuses to stop playing until he wins a game.  No, he’s not competitive at all…. 

Jon and Mario  play hunting games on the iPad.  Mario yells “Dad, I shot the bear right in the heart!”  Jon gives him the rock and then takes a turn.  Mario watches in awe.  They are hilarious together.  I think Mario will be supplying the meat for the family in no time.  Meanwhile, Maria will be busy having sleepovers and partying it up til the cows come home.

Mario Returns

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Mario returned home from Grandma and Grandpa Ionno’s house this evening.  He wasn’t in the door for ten minutes before he asked them to go back to their house.  I have no doubt that he would be just fine visiting us every other weekend and living day in and day out with Patty and Joe. 

He hid from me when I got home from work and only when I faked crying for two minutes did he come out from his hiding place and give me a big ol’ smooch and hug.  His arms wrapped around me felt like a piece of heaven.  Could I just bottle up that feeling and open it up on those days I feel like jumping out my window?! 

But within 30 seconds of giving me a hug, he begged me to wrestle him.  That is all he wants to do anymore.  Wrestle or box.  He could do it all day long.  I can last about 15 minutes.  Maria joined in after 15 minutes and within 5 minutes, Mario hit Maria in the mouth (truly an accident, I think) and she slapped him the face.  The crying and screaming ensued.  I wrapped up the WWF and moved us up to the bath where I hoped the warm bath water would calm them down. It did nothing but cause water to be splashed everywhere. 

After our bath, we headed downstairs for the most random combination of dinner food possible.  Pancakes, hash browns, hot dogs, hot pockets, cottage cheese and cheesy veggies.  Just the sound of the combination makes me gag but it wasn’t bad while we were eating it.  I grabbed two loads of laundry that needed folding and brought it into the family room to fold while we watched Blues Clues (haven’t watched that show in two years).  I didn’t have to say a word to Mario and he dove right in to help me fold.  Maria not so much.  She draws the line at certain chores and laundry is one of them.  She gets away with it for now but another few months and she is in for a rude awakening.

Mario is the most meticulous clothes folder I have met.  Even a more amazing feat when you consider that he is four years old.  He folds clothes over three or four times and makes sure that there are no edges sticking out before he hands them over to me to put in the pile.  It is hilarious.  He is going to be one of those people whose closets are in such complete and total order that you wonder how they function in the real world.  Then again, I am probably completely off base because I see his closet and floor and they are both a disaster area full of unkept clothes and shoes. 

After folding, we drew pictures.  Maria drew me a picture of roses and I drew her a picture of a tree and birds and a swingset.  I exhibit the poorest, saddest, drawing ever for a forty-year old.  The drawing look identical to drawings I made at age 8.  At least my writing is a tad better.  Mario drew a picture of a sunflower for Grandma and Grandpa to thank them for having him over this week.  It was precious.  We missed the little bugger although it was nice for Jon and I to relax together from 9 pm onward.  Maria always fell asleep at a normal hour.  Here we are tonight as I write this with Mario dancing around the downstairs waving his arms and singing “I’m sexy and I know it!”  It is 10:45 pm.

Happy Valentine’s Day Munchballs!

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Happy Valentine’s Day To My Precious Babies…

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways….

1. I love the way that you stand at the side of my bed at 7 am waiting for me to open my eyes. I love how you wait only about three seconds before you rub your hand on the side of my face and whisper “Mom, can you come downstairs with us” 

2. Mario, I love how excited you are when it is the weekend.  I love how you ask the question “Is it a school day?” and when I answer “no”, you smile so wide and we can see joy bursting throughout your tiny body.

3. Maria, I love your empathy for people and things.  When we watch a show on animal planet and a poor animal is killed, you feel a deep sense of sadness and ask questions about why the animal couldn’t fend for itself and why the predator had to eat the animal.  When you see a person that looks like he is down and out, you want to help him.  You ask if I have anything to help him.  When I complain about the person in front of me at the grocery who is taking so long, you remind me that she could be having a bad day or have something wrong with her that doesn’t allow her to move as fast as me.

4. I love how you both care so deeply for each other even if you get into fights everyday.  You never go to bed mad at each other.  I love how you have to give hugs to one another every morning before you leave for school. 

5. Maria, I love how you always call Mario your “little buddy.” Mario, I love how you call Maria “Ria.”

6. I love how you yell for dad when you get home from trips with me, and when you hear him, you run to him and give him big ol’ bear hugs. 

7. Mario, I love how you have such a passion for hunting like your cousin, Mario and your dad.  I love how you enjoy hunting shows, and have learned how to shoot so that you immediately kill your prey and they don’t suffer.  I love how understand the circle of life at age 4!

8. Maria, I love how you are so animated and possess a wild, uninhibited spirit that allows you to be yourself no matter where you are and who you are around.  I love your raucous laugh and big smile.  I love your blue eyes. 

9. I love how you both fall asleep in Maria’s bed like two angels in a Raphael painting.  Maria’s golden hair swept to the side; Mario’s baby face and red cheeks lighting up the canvas.

10. I love how you appreciate family and enjoy your time with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.  I love how you beg to hear stories about times when you were little – real stories about how you acted and your first words and what you liked to play with, and who you liked to hold you.

11. Mario, I love how, at age 4, you have mastered the Ipad and the Iphone.  I love how you can download an app and within ten minutes, describe the entire premise behind the app to me (i.e., there are dragons and you have to fight off the main dragon because he leads the other dragons….).

12. Maria, I love how, at age 6, you have mastered more than games on the Ipad.  I love how you use the video like an amateur cinematographer capturing some hilarious moments in our lives.  You have an eye for the camera, my love, and I have a feeling we may be seeing your name on the big screen one day.

13. Mario, I love how you don’t give up, especially when it comes to sports.  You will play a Wii game over and over until you have it down.  You will swing a bat 100 times until you connect with the ball.  You are a perfectionist in more ways than one (your clothes must still sit perfectly on your body before you will start your day), and I have a feeling we will see you on ESPN catching a line drive and making a double play.

14. I love how you take care of one another whether it be nursing the other when he or she gets hurt or it is agreeing to watch a show that one of you is not too fond of watching.  I love how protective you are of one another.  Maria, you will stand up to anyone that teases your little brother and Mario, you will confront anyone on behalf of your big sis.

15. I love how you sit so close to me when we read books at night.  Mario, I love how you snuggle with me on my lap and make a million comments as we read the book.  Maria, I love how you let him make those comments without one complaint. 

16. I love how you both can throw a frisbee; I see ultimate frisbee in our future!

17. I love the smell of you whether you’ve just taken a bath or haven’t had one in two days.

18. I love how you always think you can wrestle dad and win.

19. I love how you always indulge me and let me take your picture.

20. I love how much joy and wonder you have brought to your dad and me.  Our lives were full before we chose to have you but after you were born, our lives filled up in so many different ways that we would have never known of had we chosen not to become parents.  You opened our eyes to new way of loving; would we have ever understood how a heart can encompass such a range of emotions for such a little creature?  Ache so heavily for your well-being yet burst so happily at the sight of your tiny hands and feet?  Watching you grow every single day is a gift; seeing the world from your eyes is a treasure; hearing you express yourselves is fascinating.  We believe in you, Maria and Mario, and we love you to the moon and stars and sun and back. 

Happy Valentine’s Day 2012!

I just read what?!

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I read an article about reading to kids yesterday.  Yet another piece of reading that makes you wonder whether you are doing all that you can as a parent.  Heck, up until I read the article, I had been charged up because I have been pretty good about reading books to M&M every night.   But now I have to worry about whether my mere reading to them is even doing anything beneficial for them or whether I might as well sit them in front of the tv to watch SpongeBob every night.

Reading a little Dr. Seuss

When I got home with the kids after work, I set aside two library books to read after dinner.  Things never quite go as planned on school nights because dinner and showers and playtime get in the way.  Before we know it, the clock says 9:00 and we still haven’t read a book.  So, I picked one of the two books and sat between the kids.  The winner was Hot Hot Hot – a book about wooly mammoths and the Ice Age.  The mammoths get hot because Summer comes around and they don’t know what to do.  Ice melts when they lift it up in the sky.  “Why does the ice melt?” I ask them.  Maria chimes in “because the sun melts it.”  Nice job.  One for Ri.  The next page shows the mammoths cutting off their hair.  “Why would they do that?” Mario raises his hand and bursts out “because they are hot and that will cool them off!”  Rock-n-roll Mario! One mammoth fans the other but that mammoth gets hot from continuously fanning the other.  I ask them “why would that mammoth get hot” 

Maria responds “because the mammoth has to keep fanning the other one and is not getting any air himself.”  Mario responds “it’s not nice of the other mammoth to get fanned all the time and not fan her friend, too.”  Different explanations – both well thought-out – they are geniuses!   All of my nightly reading has paid off – they comprehend the stories and are brilliant.  I can stop worrying now.  Yeah, right.  I can just channel my worry to one of a mama’s many other concerns: are they eating healthy enough, are they getting enough exercise, are they adapting socially….

Dogs and Hamsters and a Super Bowl, Oh My

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This past weekend was one of those weekends where you wake up Monday morning feeling you totally took advantage of the weekend’s purpose – to relax, be silly, watch football, and eat chips while vegging in your pjs.

On Friday, Jon and I took Mario to the hockey game. Maria had to make the executive decision on whether to go to Kids Night Out at school or to the game with us. It was a brutal decision because she had her girlfriend asking if she was coming to Kids Night Out but she had her dad going to the hockey game. She LOVES hanging with her dad lately, especially when it’s dad and mom and Mario (she is the pack dog). But, ultimately a brief description of the hockey game (watching boys skate on ice and try to hit a puck in a goal) led her to choose Kids Night Out with popcorn, grape juice, friends and a movie. The pack dog strays when there is food and entertainment….

Mario loved the hockey game. He ate his favorite food – a hot dog – and watched the players skate along the ice and hit each other up against the wall.  Jon and I thought he might enjoy that activity more than he did since he is all into fighting.  Rather, he enjoyed hanging on the railing and talking to the older boys behind us in the box.  He also enjoyed the cheerleaders…. We left the game during the third quarter and picked up Maria.  It seems that every time I see her at school, she is even older and more independent.  She reminds me of me when I was in fourth and fifth grade (probably like when I was in first grade, too, but I can’t remember that time at all!) hanging out with my girl posse.  When I picked her up, she was laughing with her three girlfriends and they were falling all over each other.  Too cute. 

On Saturday, we headed to Hamilton Parker to find tile for our bathroom.  The kids ran around checking out the showroom showers and the kids’ room while Jon and I talked to the sales guy.  Maria explained where everything was in the showroom since she had come to the store with me back in September.  “Buddy, the kids’ room is over here and it has a tv.”  Mario’s response: “Will the tv have Godzilla?”  Maria’s reply: “We’ll see buddy and if it doesn’t, we”ll find something else for you.”  The way she calls him “buddy” makes our hearts melt.  After Hamilton Parker, we headed to BW-3’s for some wings and nachos.  Nothin’ like a healthy lunch.  We waddled out to the front of the restaurant and the kids begged to play a game.  They put a dollar in a chicken and egg machine and each of them got a plastic egg.  Maria scored a tattoo and Mario scored a little orange plastic cone that had the words “Back away slowly.”  I read it to Mario and he laughed “I know, mom and dad, I am going to put this in my room and when you walk in, you will have to walk back slowly.” 

We headed to the pet store in the late afternoon to torture ourselves by holding sweet little precious pups that needed a home.  Maria always picks the most docile puppies that love to be held.  She sits in the little room with them caressing and talking to them.  Mario hangs out at the hamster bin trying to put the hamsters on the exercise wheel or in the tire.  They run from him like he is death.  Mario does not have quite the touch with the pups like Maria does.  He likes to put them on the ground and watch them run around and play.  If they don’t move much, he picks another.  I can usually handle about 45 minutes in that store because it is such a madhouse of people but I made it an hour on Saturday.  When we left, Maria begged to go on Sunday. 

On Sunday, I skipped yoga because Maria and Mario begged me to stay home.  We ate cereal and read books.  Maria and I went on a stroller ride to the store to get pencils for her class project – a timeline of her life – all 6 years.  We headed out to Dirty Franks for lunch (yeah, two for two on the healthy lunch front for the weekend!).  When we returned, the kids and I took a bike ride to the library to grab some movies and new books.  Maria and I watched Mario ahead of us – his little legs pushing the clunky wheels of his tricycle.  He wants so badly to lead the group but usually Maria cannot help but bolt ahead because she is on a two-wheeler bike and can’t easily slow down without falling off.  But I held onto her on this bike ride so Mario could take the lead and he was one proud puppy.  When an older lady passed him, he stopped and said hello to her.  When we stopped at the library, he said “Mom, an old lady said hi to me and I said hi to her back.  I stopped my bike and everything. Are you proud of me?”

We headed to Kroger’s before the Super Bowl and Maria and I stocked up on chips and dip.  Maria was grabbing all sorts of dips and chips for our party arguing that “it is the Super Bowl – we had to have a real party!”  When we got home, we turned on the Super Bowl and watched all of the commercials.  We all sat on the couch together – Mario on Jon’s arm playing Leapster, Maria in between Jon and me.  She loved it.  She kept saying “I love cuddling with my mom and dad and brother.”  We have got to start up family movie nights.  Maria fell asleep with 30 seconds left of the Super Bowl.  Mario remained wide awake playing his Leapster Ben Ten game.  I dragged him upstairs with me to hit the sack, and we were both out cold in three minutes flat.

Sparkle

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Maria forgot to bring her book home tonight from school so I made her read a book here at the house for 15 minutes.  You’d think I would have told her she was never leaving the house again.  After she stopped whining, we chose the Sparkle Like a Flower Fairy book that she bought from Half Price Books this weekend.  We agreed I would read a page and then she would read a page.  The book has a paper necklace, crown, bracelet and wand scattered throughout the pages for little girls to wear while they read. 

Maria is reading so well lately, and I love to listen to her. She and I got through most of the book before Mario started complaining of feeling bad (poor guy just can’t kick this sickness).  I asked if I could take her picture real quick with all of her “jewelry” on and she agreed.  After the picture, she said: “Mom, I think you should put that picture on your blog and say ‘Maria and I read Sparkle Like a Flower Fairy tonight.  Fairies sparkle in the sky.  Maria put on all of the jewelry in the book.  Little did I know we had a fairy right here in our house.'”  I gasped when she finished, especially at the last sentence because it sounded so much like something I would say. 

I hugged her tight and told her how proud I was of her.  She reciprocated the big hug and relied with a smile “Mommy.”

Tornadoes and Yogurt

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I had our sitter bring the kids to my workplace tonight.  Luckily, most of my colleagues had hit the road when M&M arrived.  They whirled through the lobby like mini-tornadoes ready to ride the elevator and see my office.  Maria avoided a Mario meltdown by letting him push the elevator button to floor 5. Isn’t it strange how obsessed kids get over pushing an elevator button?  I used to think it was because they liked to see the button light up but even when the button doesn’t light, they still go nuts.  And take the buttons off the elevator and put them on a square toy, the buttons are completely boring to them.  Elevator magic.

The tornadoes ripped through my hallway door and into the break room to find snacks.  They know where the goodies are at my work.  After the break room, they corkscrewed themselves into my office to find more candies.  They also enjoyed sitting in my chair and acting like the “boss.”  On our way down the elevator (Maria again conceded the button pushing to Mario – such a good sis), they both commented about how cool my office was and how they wish they could work there.  Little darlins’ – at least they think so. 

They had the college kids cracking up outside.  Mario jumped on the stone resting areas and performed dance moves for all the world to see.  Maria followed suit until she noticed a college kid staring at her – she quickly jumped down.  Mario, however, basked in it.  It took bribing him with my phone to get him to walk to the car.  But before the car, we had to go to the fifth level of the parking garage.  Again, the fascination with parking garages? They got to the fifth floor and found the vacant lot awe-inspiring.  Maybe they will be architects or… valets.

We hit Orange Leaf with our cousin Maggie soon after leaving my work.  They were out of my favorite combination, chocolate and peanut butter.  Maria got her usual array of flavors: gingerbread, wedding cake, red velvet cake, and vanilla.  I monitored the toppings so she only landed one brownie, fruity pebbles, broken cone, oreos, and vanilla and butterscotch topping (I feel someone calling Child’s Services on me but really, it was only a speck of all of those toppings!).  Mario, on the other hand, opted for one flavor – pineapple – and no toppings at all.  Strange little being, he is. 

After Orange Leaf, we came home to a quiet house with no tv on, no washer churning and no pets roaming.  All of us noticed how calm it was.  You could hear a pin drop.  And then Mario screamed – just for the sheer fun of it – and Maria joined in a second later.  I turned around ready to cuss them out but when I looked over, I saw their ornery, angelic faces wide with laughter.  I decided to add a scream to the mix myself, and we all fell forward in a hard, belly laugh.

Setting off the emotions… or not…

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The Maria face when she gets her feelings hurt

 

Poor Maria – she has her mom’s emotional curse.  I remember when I was eight years old and I accidentally spilled milk at my grandma’s table.  She looked at me with a frown and disappointingly said “Oh, Mary Grace.”  That was enough to send me over the edge and I cried in her bedroom for 15 minutes until she came in to tell me it was alright and she still loved me. 

Tonight, Maria stuck her tongue out at Jon at the dinner table.  She did it playfully but Jon and I are trying to teach her that even if done in a playful manner, it is still not appropriate.  Jon firmly counseled her on not sticking her tongue out at him or others.  As soon as he finished, I could see her eyes begin to water and her fine little mouth begin to quiver.  Jon and I looked at each other knowing that she was starting to cry.  But tonight, instead of crying, she closed off completely.  She just stopped talking to either of us.  I asked her questions about her day to try to provoke her to talk but she informed me that she did not wish to talk during dinner.  Jon and I gave each other the “oh, my” looks and continued to eat and engage with Mario.  After I tried to talk to her a few more times, and we could tell that she was wanting to come out of her muteness, Jon finally asked her to tell him what was wrong.  She wanted to tell me first because she and I have a pact that she can tell me anything and I will always listen (she remembered that the other night when she wanted to tell me about getting mad at a friend at school; she tugged at my shirt in the living room and said “remember how you told me I could tell you anything, well…” – I love that she is taking me up on it). 

Jon told her she could talk to him, too, and so she laid it out to him.  “You made me sad, dad.”  He couldn’t stand hearing that from her and took her close to him to give her a big hug.  “You can’t stick your tongue out but that does not mean I don’t love you, Maria.”  He tickled her sides, and they laughed together.  I was proud that she told him her feelings and looked him in the eye.  A good sign.  She can’t stand to be angry at Jon or I for too long.  She is like a pack dog – she needs the pack to be together and if they are not, she fixes it pretty quickly. 

The Mario face when gets his feelings hurt

Mario, on the other hand, would have ignored us for all of dinner and cared less that Jon scolded him.  He can hold a grudge for a while.  He is more like a stray dog, independent of any pack, ready to take on the world by himself.  If Jon and I want to support him, great.  If not, he will go at it on his own….  Even though he certainly depends on us when it comes to wanting to play on our Ipads or Iphones.  At those times, he can play the sweet, adoring, darling role real well.