The Ultimate Dis

The Ultimate Dis

I’ve got a pretty cute kid, but I don’t have mommy blinders.  I know he has a big noggin.  I’m aware that his hair is a little patchy now.  Did I consider entering him into the babyGap casting call?  Of course.  So far everyone that has met him as seemed to enjoy his company or has done a great job concealing their true feelings for him.  That was until Teddy was introduced to his five year old cousin, Mason. 

Andrea had been trying to pump Mason up for weeks about meeting Teddy, but Mason wasn’t having any of it.  He made sure Andrea knew that Teddy was not allowed in his room.  Why?  Because he would mess it up.  No matter how much we tried to explain that Teddy couldn’t possibly mess up Mason’s room, he was adamant.  I get it.  Mason’s the youngest and wasn’t excited about the new baby coming in and stealing his thunder (and more importantly his mama’s attention).

So what is the worst possible thing that a five year old boy can think of to insult his new cousin?  He kept calling Teddy a girl.  Nana had bought him a jungle activity play mat that had colorful butterflies in the center.  Teddy loved it.  He was so cute laying there kicking his feet innocently, until Mason walks over, looks down disapprovingly with a frown on his face, and looks up to Andrea pointing saying, “See!!!  He likes butterflies!  Only girls like butterflies!”  He stomps off with a superior attitude, of I told you I wouldn’t like this kid.  I suppressed the urge to argue with him and explain that he liked the parrot just as much, but I wasn’t going to get down to his level (yet).

When Teddy would get tired of his bouncy seat and have sweet little adorable baby coos, what was Mason’s response?  “What’s her problem?”  Papa explained (to no avail) that he was just bored but he doesn’t have the words to say, “I’m bored.”  Mason just huffed and went upstairs to play on the computer.  Again, I suppressed the urge to explain to Mason that he used to not be able to talk too.

My final straw was after t-ball practice when Mason insisted on riding home with us…that was until he realized he had to sit next to Teddy.  TJ saw my inner turmoil between my unconditional love of my nephew and my instinctive need to defend my son.

·         No, Mason, Teddy can’t sit up front with us. 

·         No, Mason, Teddy can’t scoot over.

·          No, Mason, we can’t shut him up because he’s ready to go and you won’t get in the car. 

Finally we get Mason in the car and get going (which actually does shut Teddy up much to Mason’s delight) when my genius of a husband sparks the following conversation:

Uncle TJ: Mae – you know that Teddy already loves you and in a few years he will follow you around and think you’re the best cousin in the world.  Just as much as you love playing with Nolan, he’s going to love playing with you.

Mason: But he can’t even talk yet.  He’s just smiling at me.  Make him stop.

Uncle TJ: Well, you should think of him like a puppy.  Puppies can’t talk can they?

Mason: (Hesitantly – he LOVES dogs) No…

Uncle TJ: He can’t talk either, but thinking of his smiles as him wagging his tail.  He’s wagging his tail because he likes you, and doesn’t know what you’re saying but he just knows he likes you.

Mason still isn’t completely sold, but he definitely warmed up to the idea of his little cousin being a puppy.  Disaster averted.  The lesson here?  If I got protective when my youngest nephew wasn’t fond of my son, I feel sorry for the rando kid who pushes him down on the playground. 

 Some pics from our weekend home:

The infamous playmat with the girlie butterflies.  This is Nolan trying really hard to get Teddy to say his name (he was asleep which is why he was swaddled before my family has a comment - why do all of you hate swaddling?!?!).

Nolan honestly loved him.  It was so sweet.  Unfortunately he had to fight his mom, nana, and papa for time to hold him. 

Teddy in his Easter outfit via Asia.

Mason REFUSED to have his pic made with Teddy but at least Uncle TJ was still allowed photo ops.