Capturing the Moment to the Extreme
February 11, 2009
Let me back up and expand on something that I talked about yesterday, because nothing makes for a more exciting blog post than a story that you already know the ending to.
It happened a few weeks ago, when I was still staying at my parents' house, on the night before my dad's surgery*. My mom had returned to the hospital after dinner for one last private visit. I was alone in the house with two children, my dog and my mom's three cats, cleaning up the kitchen after yet another successful Crock Pot meal (seriously, yo, I rock the Crock). Noah was watching WALL*E; Ez was on a quilt on the floor and completely enraptured by the ceiling fan.
The movie came to a scene where alllllll the little future babies go sliiiiiding across the slanting deck of the ship -- a scene that always causes a brief fit of alarm for Noah. (SPOILER: EVERYBODY DIES AND IS EATEN BY ROBOTS.) He asked to give Baby Brother a hug.
Awwww, I thought. He wants to make sure HIS baby is okay! How sweet!
I gently propped Ezra in the chair next to Noah and, with my Sappy Preshus Family Memory Alarm going on at top volume, ran to grab the camera.
I was happily snapping away when this happened:
No, he's not kissing him.
Yes, he's biting him.
Yes, I yelled at him OMIGODWENEVERBITEBABIES WENEVERBITEANYBODY WESPUTTERWHATTHEHOLYOMG GOTOYOURROOM.
No, he's never done it again.
Yes, I kind of love this photo now, and think it will make a hell of an addition to a wedding day slideshow, hopefully during the best man's speech.
*Dad update: He continues to improve, slowly but surely. He's been moved out of the ICCU and into a step-down unit, although he still has some pnuemonia and breathing troubles, which are likely the result of a brand-spanking NEW diagnosis of emphysema, despite the fact that he quit smoking over 25 years ago. People, allow me to go out on a crazy limb here and say something super-provocative: Smoking is bad for you. I know! Me and my off-the-wall theories. I bet one day some science will back me up. Anyway, at some point he'll be moved again to an in-patient therapy/cardiac rehab place, and then! At some point after THAT, he'll go home.
Biting? Holy cow.
The things I missed out on as an only child.
My mom, for the TWO YEARS that I had a "biting problem" (ages 3ish to 5ish): Nobody likes a biter, Jenny. (With a very serious look) I mean NO one.
I bet she wishes she had this kind of photographic evidence of my crimes.
Excellent photo! I agree about the smoking. Bladder cancer is a disease of former smokers, especially those have quit for 30 years or more.
I thought I posted, but it seemed to disappear.
Anyhoo, this post just shows me what I missed out on being an only child.
I sort of understand Noah's predicament. I've seen pictures of Ezra before and I've wanted to eat him all gone too!
Nom nom nom. [looks up in horror] We never bites babies? Oh. Noes.
Your description of Noah biting his brother literally made me LOL, like nothing else has in a long, long time! That was hilarious!
I have a four-year-old son and am due to have my second son in June. I look forward to times like that!
Also, I hope your dad continues to improve!
Oh, that is good ammo for Ezra when they get older. "Remember when you BIT ME? And I was just a BABY?" My aunt is 59 and STILL remembers that my mom cut the fingers off of the beautiful doll she got for Christmas. Because my mom got the identical same doll. And they had to have SOME way to tell them apart.
Yep, smoking=bad. My grandma developed COPD years after she quit. Bad juju. I hope your dad gets better.
That photo is BRILLIANT! Ezra sad little face, Noah's twinkly mischievous eyes. I can just see the dawning horror in your eyes as you realize what's happening. This post totally just made my day.
This picture is 15 different kinds of awesome. I love the look of curiosity on Noah's face.
Poor bitten baby. Look at sad face. :( Noah hears all of us talking about nibbling him. He just wanted in on that action.
Excuse me for asking on the details, did he score a pinkie or just go for a knuckles graze? The look on Ezra's face says "pinkie", but the little brothers tend to play victim...
Great shot. Will make great blackmail.
That photo is BRILLIANT! Ezra's sad little face, Noah's mischievous twinkly eyes. This is going to be a cherished family photo for a long time.
Sprite's Keeper: Bingo. He bit him on the knuckles (hard, left a mark, but didn't break skin), but the way Ezra carried on you'd think I needed to retrieve several digits from Noah's mouth for surgical reattachment.
Oh yes biting. Im familiar with it. Daycare told me my daughter bit one day. I freeeaked out!
I thought they werent supposed to bite at this age? I thought biting was something of the past? She seems to suprise me often these days!
Wow, this must be a requirement for new older siblings. My 3 year old also decided to bite her new baby brother (not to hard, but hard enough) a couple of months after he was born, for no apparent reason. I fuuuhreaked the shit out on her, and no she hasn't done it again. More likely you'll find her petting his head and saying sappy things like 'you're my best friend', so I have no idea what the biting was for (curiosity at his reaction probably).
Ok, I don't know if you have ever seen this video, but that's what came to my mind straight away when I saw your boys' picture ... only the other way round:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM
Your boys are just the cutest Amy!
Ok so, I have the same picture. Actually,more like 20 of them. Big brothers eat little brothers. True story. Fingers are nummy, cheeks are even better. My advice would be protective head gear and steel gloves until age 2...then they can fight back.
Too bad he is not old enough to write "I will not ____ (in my case it was slap) my brother 25 times. That was my punishment once. My mom still has the piece of paper from that little episode. Also to file away for when they are older- my aunt makes her kids hold hands and look lovingly at each other when they fight.
Glad to hear your dad is improving...out of the ICU...HOORAY!!
Ahhh the biting. Another excuse to put off #2.
Many good thoughts and prayers for your family, Amy. And my word, your kids are C-U-T-E!!!
Chipmunk has not slapped and stepped on the Moose about a dozen times.
I wish my crazy bellowing about how we don't hurt baby brothers would work that well!
Glad to hear your father is getting better, lady.
See what happens? You let the kid get a few tattoos, and before you know it, he's resorted to full-on cannibalism.
Seriously though, adorable. Baby's First Bite! Should be a spot for that in the baby book, no?
I'm so happy that your dad is making progress. Slow progress is better than none, right?
My daughter (then 2) bit her baby brother. I think he was the only person she ever bit. (But in her defense, he did reach his little baby fingers up and put in them in her mouth. She probably figured he was asking for it.)
Ow Charlie! That hurts!
I had twin baby brothers, and I bit both of them, on the spine... In one sitting. I was Noah's age.
I think the knuckle grazing is probably a better option... LOL
So cute!
Oh, the sibling biting! In our house, it's the teething 11-month-old who's biting everyone else. My middle one is a real tough cookie, so though she'd bitten me a few times (there's nothing as fun as bleeding nipples caused by a baby with numerous teeth!), I had no idea what was wrong when big brother gave her the sweetest hug and then started sobbing. Turned out she'd clamped down on his cheek! I really should have snapped a photo so someday when he does something to her, I can prove that she wasn't always the one being picked on; she can stand up for herself! Instead I've spent most of the last few months repeating the household mantra, "No bite, baby, no bite." I swear those will be her first words.
Congratulations on your dad's improvement. I know he's still paying for it, but I'm glad he did quit smoking (my husband's been trying for years, and I know how hard it is). I hope things continue to get better!
My seven-year-old son informed me the other day that his buddy says they should "plug their noses and hold their breath" if they come across someone smoking. I'm wondering what will happen when my son figures out that his grandmother is a closet smoker....
Glad to hear your dad is doing better.
I did that when my cousin was born. I haven't bitten a baby since, but it was a satisfying experiment.
Glad to hear your dad's making progress.
That snap is hilarious!
re: emphysema - According to my respiratory therapist dad, even non-smokers can end up with it, sadly so. Smoking, obviously, does not help and can hasten it. I only make this comment because folks tend to be judgmental when they hear someone has emphysema and the assumption is automatically that the person is/was a smoker.
My son Jay was a biter! Oh, it was hell. But he eventually grew out of it. Now he is 23! So yes! They do eventually figure it out.
Ezra has the most perfectly round little face of any baby ever. I cannot understand, speaking of biting, how you resist chewing on those little cheeks every minute of the day. I would have a real hard time with that myself. Screw this career shit, Amy, you should crank out babies for a living, because you and Jason sure do manufacture some very handsome specimens there.
My son used to bite his sister. Until I bit him back. (Why yes, I AM that kind of parent) Mind you it had gone on for some time and nothing else worked. But that did. They don't remember it and I don't intend to remind him.
I'm sorry about your Dad's emphysema but I'm glad he's improving over all.
What I still want to know is: when your dad had his surgery you were reading Living Dead In Dallas. ARE YOU ON CLUB DEAD YET?
*waves Sookie pom poms*
I love this picture. It TOTALLY reminds me of my own childern (3 1/2, 8 months) -- so much so that I almost saved it as my desktop photo and then I remembered that these are not my children...
I feel better knowing that there is another big brother out there who would like to bite "his" baby, just for the hell of it.
Best. Photo. EVER! This should totally be your Christmas card in about... 11 years, when the boys are old enough to refuse to pose for charming family photos.
Just lovely on so many levels! Beautiful little boys! ;)
I have a series of photos of my 2-year-old daughter with her months-old twin baby brothers. I got one or two frames of her smiling, then a few of her grimacing and starting to cry, then one of her attempting to bite one brother on the head, then a frame with grandma reaching in to save the baby! It was only the first of many. Now and then they bite her and I usually tell her she had it coming.
My brother is 13 months younger than me, and when he was a toddler, he bit me, and I (understandably) complained about it, so my mom told me to "Bite him back."
Not understanding the nuances of possessive nouns, I bit "him" (his) back.
She figured I could do a lot less damage to his back than, say, fingers, so she let it go.
Also - You are about 2 weeks post-er partum than I am (with my first-and-only), so tell me this:
Is it a normal hormonal reaction for the image of someone else's children serving as bestmen in each other's weddings to cause a person to become verklempt?
(In my case, "verklempt" = "bursting into tears")
Haaa! I love the "keep-biting-while-I-snap-this preshus-but-oh-so-naughty-moment" aspect to this pic!
Poor Ez - the face says it all!
Glad for the update on your Dad and really happy that things are progressing, albeit slowly. He sounds like he has a lot of grandson visits ahead and he will have to be sure to take a finger inventory at each one! Now there is a thought that you need to plant to speed his recovery!
Look, Ez is delicious. Biting and chewing is inevitable...how can you blame Noah? ;-) Seriously funny photo though. Glad to hear your dad is doing better!
haha. I def bit my sister when we were little. And with the next sister, I prayed that God would take her back.
and brie- my mom makes my youngest sisters do a similar thing. They're 2 and 4, and when they fight she says "wait! Remember, you love each other!" And by now they'll sometimes remember it on their own, and stop themselves mid-fight to say "we love each other!!" and hug. Friggin cutest thing ever.
I have a similar picture of my nephew biting my oldest. My guy was about a month old and before he came along nephew was the baby of the bunch. We thought he was kissing the baby's finger until Rocco's face turned beet red and he started screaming bloody murder. Like you, I grabbed the camera to capture the cuteness of one cousin loving on another and I managed to get a shot of him in the act of biting. It too will be a family classic!
Glad to hear your dad's better better, but ugh! about the emphysema. The guy can't catch a break. Hope that move home happens sooner rather than later.
so glad to hear your dad is improving. and OMFG i LOVE THE PICTURE!!!
Yippee to your dad going home. Agree to the shocking conclusion: no biting! but also agree will be a much-treasured photo ...
Oh my stars, that is possibly the best pic ever.
My mother is currently dying of small cell lung cancer. Only smokers get this type of cancer. It is viciously aggressive. DON'T SMOKE PEOPLE!
Best of luck to your dad, he sure is tough.
That kind of reminds me of the Charlie bit me video, except backwards. :)
he totally looks like he is snacking on a carrot or something
It's a pretty funny photo, I must agree...
There's a similar Christmas photo of me and my younger cousin Nick. I look about 3 or 4 and Nick was a year younger. In the photo, he is pointing a finger - in my eye. Yep- they grabbed the camera and caught that precious moment of me getting poked in the eye by my cousin! And, I'll admit, it's pretty funny...and I don't remember it happening, either. :)
It's a pretty funny photo, I must agree...
There's a similar Christmas photo of me and my younger cousin Nick. I look about 3 or 4 and Nick was a year younger. In the photo, he is pointing a finger - in my eye. Yep- they grabbed the camera and caught that precious moment of me getting poked in the eye by my cousin! And, I'll admit, it's pretty funny...and I don't remember it happening, either. :)
I'm glad to hear your dad is improving! I've been thinking about you.
And while the biting is hilarious and all, I'm so excited to meet the other mother bought her kid the Wall-E movie.
GREAT PHOTO. If you feel real evil, when Ezra's older give him a copy so he can hold it over Noah's head. "Oh yeah? How about the time you BIT me?" and whip out the photo. Awesome. I totally wish I had something on my brother now.
It only looks like a little bite and his mouth isnt really THAT wide open and he isnt even really watching his brother.... surely you could pass it off for just a big kiss with teeth?? pity Noah isnt old enough to come up with that one on his own.... give him time! :)
www.MiniHipster.com
Would it have been weirder if he'd started sucking Ezra's thumb for him?
He HAD to bite him to make sure he was still there. It's just like pinching yourself to make sure this is real and such.
Also: I never understood how those people procreated in WALL*E... I mean, they couldn't even WALK.
Ezra will want the photo to show his therapist someday. Great timing you have - capturing your childrens' emotional scarring, one photo and a time.
Charlie bit me, and that really hurt....
youtube it. too funny.
That's like, the greatest photo ever.
I am so glad that your dad (despite the emphysema diagnosis) is getting the treatment he so desperately needs. Hope everything rights itself soon. Take care.
I also rock the crock pot. Here in Canada (or at least in my Canadian family...) we call it a slow cooker.
Recipes?