The New Man, The Escape, Teddy Bears, and Nightmare Sleeping Arrangements

Twenty years ago, my young nephew returned from the barber shop with a new haircut and was told by someone that he looked like a new man. For a long time afterward, this young boy thought that anyone who got a haircut (male or female) became a new man. When Alex got his first professional haircut last week, I couldn't help thinking he looked like a "new man" too. I guess it was time for the haircut, because while we were waiting, another patron asked me about my "little girl." Alex really looks more like a little boy than a baby with his new haircut. And by the way, he loved the feeling of the clippers against his head. He sat so still with a big smile on his face most of the time.

Our new man thought he'd like to see a little more of the world, so on Friday, he ran across the street and down to the end of the block. We had just returned from spending the day with Laura's 1st grade class at the zoo. I hadn't had time to even clean breakfast off the table before we had run out the door that morning, so I was rushing to get that done when we got home. Alex went out to the sandbox, and Amy (almost 5) said she'd go play with him and keep him from going in to the road. I could see them through the kitchen window, and I kept checking to make sure they were all right. But then I looked out, and Amy was playing happily all by herself. I asked where Alex was, and she calmly replied, "Oh, I think he went out into the road." I went to the carport, and just then, my neighbor was carrying him up the driveway. Thank the Lord she had just stepped out her door to get some carrots from her garden when he went running past. She said, "He's going to be a handful, isn't he?" I don't need to join Curves or Golds Gym, because I get plenty of exercise chasing after Alex, and lifting him down from all the places he climbs (his highest record is the very top of the piano), and carrying him around to try to keep tabs on him.

Then there's that sweet side that keeps showing up. While we were in Taiwan, Callie went to Build-a-Bear Workshop and made a cute little Teddy Bear for Alex. She was heartbroken when he cast it aside. At St. Lucy's, he probably never even got to touch a stuffed animal, so he didn't know what to do with it. But he knows now. He'll pick up that little bear, and cuddle it and carry it around. He loves to sleep with it. He likes all stuffed animals now, but especially his gift from Callie.

But sleeping around here can be a nightmare. For 4 years, we've searched for a different house with more bedrooms on the main level, but this house has some things we can't easily give up. So we have our 3 youngest children all in one bedroom across from us. It wasn't until she was 12 that Callie was brave enough to have a bedroom in the basement, and no one else seems willing to follow her anytime soon. So the girls have bunkbeds, but no one really wants to sleep on the top bunk. One of them sleeps on the bottom bunk, and the other on the floor next to Alex's crib, or they might share the bed or the floor. The other night, Amy insisted on having the bed to herself (it is HER bed, after all), so Laura took the floor. At 1:00, Alex was crying, and when I went in, Amy was on the floor, and Laura was in the bed. But at 5:00, when Alex was ready to get up, Amy was back in the bed, and Laura was back on the floor. How does this happen?
Meanwhile, Alex likes to sleep in total darkness with the door closed, and the girls like to sleep with the door open and the hall light on. If I get Alex to sleep before the girls' bedtime, the girls can sneak in quietly to their beds. If he's asleep, he doesn't notice the door ajar with the light coming in. But then Alex begins to fuss during the night, so I try shutting off the light and closing the door to calm him down. Pretty soon, Amy is up opening the door and turning on the light. So what do you do? I might laugh if it weren't around 3:00 AM. My best solution so far is to put Amy on a blanket in my room and close the door again. Sometimes, I get both Laura and Amy on my floor. After nights like that, I tell Leigh, "We've got to find a new house!"