Kind of a Proud Mommy Moment

I got Number One four new pairs of pants in August, and they fit him fine. They now look like he's waiting for a tidal wave to hit. Seriously, well above his ankles. We didn't really have a ton of $$ for new pants, but I revamped the food menu so that I would have some extra money to take advantage of the holiday sales and get him three new pairs of jeans that would fit better. I'll have to get the fourth pair later. (The Beast also desperately needs new shoes, and I'm hoping Payless will have some awesome sale. Anyway, back to Number One...)

He has always had issues with gratitude and feelings of entitlement. It's usually kind of disappointing to get him anything because he never appreciates it, finds something wrong with it, or hates to say thank you. I know he's just a kid, and that's how kids are sometimes, but it still is often a real let-down to try hard to please someone only to have them disregard your efforts.

When I came home with these new pants tonight, he was ECSTATIC. I'd gone out of my way to get styles that he likes despite my own feelings about them. (If it were up to me, he'd dress like a little boy forever. He's really growing up, though, and it's time to let him shine a little more). He threw his arms around me, thanked me bunches of times, and giddily hugged the pants as he carried them off to bed. You'd have thought it was Christmas morning. (Actually, maybe I should have held onto them until then. I just wanted to let him try them on in case they needed to be returned or he hated them).

It's such a silly thing for me to be excited about. But it shows me just how much he is growing up. He can appreciate gifts now, and can acknowledge them. He even noted that he knew we probably had to give something else up for him to have them. (It wasn't like we're starving-just gave up some of the fancier meals in exchange for mac and cheese). Finally! All the lessons about gratitude, sacrificing one thing for another, and demonstrating appreciation are coming together for him. I guess he really is growing up...and maybe, just maybe, is actually hearing some of the things we say to him.

So, there you go. I had a proud Mommy moment today. (Now maybe later on I'll blog about the unfortunate incident involving the spilled water on our entry and my resulting belly flop on the carpet. That was NOT a proud Mommy moment in the least.)