For the Love of Marshall

Oh, Marshy, Marshy, Marshy...I like to call them 'Marshall Moments.' They are original, very original. They usually involve the trademark whaling that Marshall is famous for. They also usually involve me counting to ten- like a thousand times.


We had a classic 'Marshall Moment' yesterday morning. Marshall went in the bathroom after breakfast to take his diaper off, put pee pee in the potty and put on his underwear. Pretty simple, as it is part of our morning routine. But, things did not go smoothly on this morning- AT ALL. I hear the toilet lid drop and just seconds later the ear piercing whaling that our Marshy is known for. I ran in the bathroom to see Marshall clenching his hands together, mumbling something about pinching his finger while swaying back and forth AND peeing ALL OVER the bathroom. I mean ALL OVER, as in like a lawn sprinkler. I honestly didn't know what to do. I ended up turning him away from me and hugging him from behind, as he was still peeing. I've never seen his bladder that full!! He still wouldn't stop howling- or peeing. And, Marshall doesn't just howl when he's hurt. He howls if he's frustrated, tired, doesn't get his way, in a bad mood...Well, quite frankly, Marshall pretty much howls any opportunity he can. So, after quarantining the other two boys so I could settle Marshall and clean both he and the entire bathroom I seriously just sat and laughed my head off.

This is my Marshy. DRAMATIC, sensitive, accident prone (I think that's why he likes to just wear his bike helmet like all the time!,) hysterical, super silly, goofy, clueless (more so than the average 2 1/2 yr old,) a wanderer, a free spirit, sweet as can be AND probably the reason I'm going to end up in the Loony Bin! Marshall has a way of pushing my buttons. I'm thinking it's because maybe we are too much alike, or too different. I cannot even begin to say how many times per day I tell Marshall to, "settle down," "look where you're walking," "pay attention," "get your hands out of your pockets while your running! Remember how badly it hurt the last time you fell with your hands in your pockets?!?"...I could go on and on and on. But, you get the picture.

Marshall is such a sweet child and cute as can be, if I say so myself! But, how in the world are we (and I mean Marshall and I) going to survive the next 15 1/2 years together under the same roof???? How can this little person bring out so much love, laughter, joy AND frustration? Oh, he's one a kind, my sweet Mash Tater and I just love him to pieces...even though I am counting to one million at this moment because I can see on the video monitor that he has stripped his clothes off and is running around his bedroom instead of taking a nap.