Build-A-Bribe

"Are you here today for a birthday or special occasion?" asked the cheerful Build-A-Bear employee as she led us to the giant blowy stuffing machine.

Bribery.

Cassandra has had a slight eye turn problem for the past couple of years. It's not at all noticeable just by looking at her. We only see it when we bring a pencil slowly towards her nose, the way someone learns to cross their eyes. At a certain point close to her nose, one or both eyes give up and shoot in the opposite direction. This could be a horrible hindrance to her future, severely limiting her opportunities in the pencil-staring industry.

Actually, it could cause problems with her reading ability, if gone unchecked. Something to do with her eyes converging on the page. So we have her in vision therapy, doing eye exercises on the computer. It was supposed to be weekly, and now we're back to four times a week. With homework, dance, gymnastics, and play dates there's never a good time to do these exercises. Therefore, it has become quite a struggle to get her to put much effort into them at all. (I have to admit that it's my wife bearing the lion's share of this burden.)

In an effort to keep Cassandra interested, we've turned to the tried-and-true parenting technique of bribery. She'd been asking for another trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop for a while, and I wondered if letting her pick out six or seven outfits along with a new friend would give her weekly incentives to do her eye exercises without complaining. A few weekends ago, we went and picked out a koala Cassandra had seen in the catalogue and accessorized with a box full of outfits. KiKi (inexplicably pronounced "kay-kay") was the reward for that first week of exercises, and she has since earned KiKi's glasses.

We weren't sure what to do about Alex. If he got a bear not as a reward but just as a gift, would that diminish Cassandra's incentive? If he didn't get one, would it be punishing him for not having to do eye exercises? We really didn't have any comparable task or behavior-change for him to achieve. I was also wondering, would he even want one--is he too old for this now? (I don't think so, but then I was the guy with stuffed Chip 'N Dale dolls in my college dorm room.)

Things actually worked out about as well as we could have hoped. Alex was interested in getting a new friend and a single outfit, and Cassandra didn't say anything about it being unfair that he got a bear without having to "earn" it. Alex doesn't play with Donou (the bear comes with a doughnut, as well as sprinkles on his ears and nose) as much as Cassandra plays with her animals, but he still likes having him around.

My children are growing up quickly, but in this era where it seems everything is pushing them to mature more quickly than ever, it's nice to see that there's still "kid" in them, yet.

And this was way cheaper than American Girl would've been.

Salvaged from LiveJournal: January 2nd, 2002

Twenty-Oh-Two

The holidays are over- much too quickly. Thanks mostly to (over)work, I feel like I missed most of the holiday season. When I finally was able to take some time off, it was spent running around shopping and visiting family. This was fun, mind you, but none of my holiday plans really "clicked" like i wanted them too. My wife and I were looking forward to hosting a family gathering at our house, which would be the first "official" holiday thing we've done since getting the house. But everyone else's plans seemed to be designed to directly counteract our plans. Oh, well.

We've finally started to get our baby room put together. Wow, is baby furniture expensive! And, for some reason, my wife didn't much care for my idea of letting the baby sleep in the bathtub. In the morning, all that would need to be done is a quick hosing off of the baby, and you're all set! I guess my wife has maternal instincts and stuff.

For those who are interested: I haven't abandoned my comic strip. It's just in an unplanned holiday stasis.

Salvaged from LiveJournal: September 27th, 2001

mood:  thoughtful

Here I am, thirty-one years old... Pause. Rewind. Overwrite.

Here I am, THIRTY-ONE years old: a grown-up by virtually any definition of the term. So why don't I feel like a grown-up? My wife and I own a house and two cars. To be more precise, we live in a house owned by one bank, drive a car owned by another bank, and own one car.

And we're having a baby.

I don't understand why I'm having such a difficult time wrapping my brain around that one. I have friends with toddlers, friends with newborns, and friends who had children (very) shortly after high school.

This is something I've always wanted, and I've especially wanted it since meeting Annette in 1996. I'm not frightened by the concept of fatherhood, and I'm not particularly anxious about it (most of the time). I simply can't comprehend holding a little person in my hands and knowing that it's my [son/daughter].

The realization of the fact that my wife is pregnant has not been a smooth progression. I mean- I know she's pregnant, but sometimes I feel like I don't "know" she's pregnant. Since we just passed the first trimester, it's surprisingly easy to forget about it for a little while at a time. We talk about planning the baby's room every now and then, yet it remains a spare bedroom so full of boxes that one can barely navigate a path from the door to the window.

The realization has come more in jumps and lurches, like an automobile with a cranky engine. My wife clipping an article on baby seats and high chairs- Bump! Receiving our first set of baby clothes as a gift- Jolt! Holding my friend's three week-old daughter- Bam! It's sort of a "oh, yeah- that's right!" feeling. Christmas doesn't mean a whole lot, even though Annette will be about 7 months along. In fact, the date that had the most significance was the dentist appointment Annette made for April. She realized she'll have to find someone to watch the baby.

SHE'LL HAVE TO FIND SOMEONE TO WATCH THE BABY!!!

How odd is that?