Mazzy's favorite thing on earth is something she calls "booms". A "boom" is when someone tosses her up in the air so that she lands with a big PLOP on our king size bed, while whoever is doing the tossing yells "BOOM!" for maximum effect.
I'm not sure how these started but we've been doing "booms" forever. As Mazzy gets bigger, it's become more of a dad activity than a mom one. Daddy's better at it, she says. Which I translate to mean "more reckless". But truth be told, she's getting a little heavy for me to throw up in the air anyway.
"Booms" are usually done in the small window of time between when I put Harlow to sleep and Mazzy starts her bedtime routine. Mainly because I put the cabash on "booms" while Harlow was also in the bed, because the close proximity was enough to give me a heart attack.
I know, I'm no fun.
Recently, Mazzy has decided that not only are "booms" a Daddy-preferred activity, Mommy's not even allowed in the room. I am instructed to wait in the living room on the couch. I assume so I can't see how much potential danger she might be in.
When I'm not worried Mazzy's head will accidentally hit the corner of the bedpost (nobody ever explained how much I'd have to trust my husband once I had kids with him), I try enjoy the forced break from parenting. I sit back and play on my phone while a small piece of my brain waits for something to go wrong.
Like lately, my audio cues tell me "booms" are getting increasingly aggressive.
"Higher!"
"BOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!"
"Farther!"
"BOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!"
"Faster!"
"BOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!"
Whenever there's silence, my heart skips a beat.
"Do it again, Daddy!!!"
Phew.
"Do an upside down boom!"
"BOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!"
"Do a flip boom!"
"BOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!"
"Do a SUPER boom!"
"BOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!"
I don't know what the difference between an "upside boom" and a "flip boom" is, my position on the couch affords me no visual reference— I just know they all sound lethal.
Each of Mazzy's demands ups the ante but seems to end with everyone in one piece. Until last night.
"BOOM!!!!"
"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
Mazzy's screams filled our apartment and I sprang to my feet, running as fast as I could into the next room. Straight to my daughter while Mike stood back to let me do my job.
"ARE YOU OKAY???????"
She didn't look hurt. There was no blood. She would be crying much louder if there was something broken, right?
"Are you okay???" I said again, les panicked this time, with a look that somehow showed concern for my daughter, while using the third eye in the back of my head to lob silent disapproval squarely at my husband.
Mazzy continued crying while not really seeming that injured. She crawled into my lap and I hugged her close.
Mike spoke. "She landed wrong. I knew something was going to happen sooner or later."
My third eye said, "You think?"
"Where does it hurt?" I asked softly.
Mazzy pointed to her forearm.
I gave her arm a kiss.
"Does that feel better?"
She nodded.
As I gently rocked my big girl in my arms, both of us clearly milking this non-injury for some cuddle time, Mazzy started to pull herself together.
"I guess an upside-down-flip-around-super-boom is not a good idea after all," she stated sadly.
I laughed and kissed her on the forehead. "I guess not," I said, my third eye mouthing "I told you so."
We stayed like that for a bit. Her being dramatic and weepy. Me cradling her in my arms and being overly attentive. Mike standing on the other side of the room, looking on.
Then she jumped up abruptly and gave her signature smile.
"Okay! You go in the other room Mommy, so Daddy and I can keep doing BOOMS!!!!"
And there I was. Back in the living room as an outsider again, while Mazzy's fate was left entirely up to her dad.
I do trust him. And I try not to be too jealous of the squeals of laughter emanating from the other room.
I get it. Dad's fun. He does better "booms", he lets her ride on his shoulders, he pushes her higher than I'm willing to push on the swings.
But that's okay, because I have my role too.
I'm comfort.
Together, we make a pretty good team.
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I feel the exact same way with my 2 year old! My husband is much rougher and does something similar to “BOOM” makes my heart drop to my stomach!!
PS. I voted 🙂
My 4 year old son totally has us figured out. Daddy is better for the crazy fun and Mommy makes all the boo boos go away with cuddles and kisses. Works perfect for us too!
Voted too!
Yet again you’re channeling my life! We play KA-BOOF! pillow fights…well daddy does.
It really is true, I’m huggies, kisses and comfort while Daddy is tickles and crazies. Yesterday, they broke my favourite Pooh bear mug going to brush her teeth. I literally sit on the bed nightly as he does his bedtime stuff with her, with what I call “the mommy itchies”, waiting for the crash and scream.
Booms are so much better with a yoga mat on the balcony.
Awesome– so true.
We have Kerplops. Fortunately, however, I am the chosen “kerplopper” so I have a little more control of the situation. Apparently dad is a much better bucking bull than I am, so he really gets the harder job of gyrating around on all fours trying to “buck her hootus off”. And I too am the lap of choice when something goes wrong. Dad calls us drama queens, but I still get the cuddles so I’ll take that any day!
This issue is so hard for me! (The issue = trust my husband not to seriously injure my child.) That image that circulated around Facebook were the dad throws the child a gazillion feet up in the air while the mom just throws a few inches? That’s how I feel.
My son loves to ride on my husband’s shoulders while he traverses up and down stairs and hills in our neighborhood. My loves our version of BOOM, which he named, not-so-creatively-but-still-gets-to-the-point “Throw Me On The Bed Game!!!!!” I just try to take calming breaths and not think about broken arms and ER visits.
Daniel (the husband) is the fun one. He is better at playing with my son. He elicits more giggles. And that makes my mommy heart melt. But, goodness gracious, I may have a heart attack before Marshall (the son) starts kindergarten.
so true! my son runs to my husband when he wants that crazy rough play that mommy just can’t bear to initiate…but I’m okay with listening to them both laugh together and swoop in for the cuddles when it get’s too tiring 🙂 it’s not a bad hand to be dealt, this mommy thing
Ahhh I have so much trouble with the same thing – I cannot handle letting my daughter’s daddy do these crazy things with her! The corner of the nightstand/the headboard are too sharp and too wooden for me to feel comfortable with it. yet she loves it and they carry on without any real injuries. Ahhh so much trust involved…
We lived with my parents for years and grandpa was the one she would run upstairs with every night and they’d play for hours doing who knows what until the inevitable crying because she got hurt. Of course, he wasn’t the one that had to take her for an x-ray of her arm, hold her down while she screamed through it, and then be interrogated by multiple hospital workers on what happened. In the end, though, I still didn’t and wouldn’t take that special time away from them.
FYI – I keep voting for you in the awards but i have gotten an error the last couple of days and it won’t let me vote for your blog – which is so obviously the best!
In our house (with a 20 mo. old), Daddy is definitely the fun one and Mommy is the comforter. We both struggle with that sometimes, but it works out in the end. And we’ve definitely had some of those laughing, laughing, laughing, CRYING, I TOLD YOU SO, moments.
Jessica
http://www.beautifmylifeblog.com
“nobody ever explained how much I’d have to trust my husband once I had kids with him”
This is so true!!
This is like the exact opposite at our house- Pi is always super worried Sweets will fall/hurt herself/get rushed to the hospital on his watch. He will do some rough and tumble with her, but forget about anything that includes tossing her into the air. I have always been the one to do that! The good thing here is that I know I’m not going to do anything super crazy and even though the game is called “crashing plane”, we’ve not had any casualties yet!
This just made me cry because that is how my daughter is with her daddy. I’m there for comfort and he is there for fun. Sometimes that sucks because I want to be the “Fun” parent sometimes too. But in those moments when only mommy will do for an owie I guess its all worth it.
I love it! This pretty much sums up our house too, although my wife has her own version of the Boom game, which consists of me getting boomed in the head every time she has to get off the couch to referee or console during Daddy time!
wow – I thought it was just me but apparently this is the mommy/daddy role. I love the snuggles and hugs but I do get a little twinge when my son asks to play with daddy instead of me. Sometime I just try extra hard to get laugh.
Mas al ‘pasarse’ al cigarrillo electrónico llegó a
consumir a lo largo de su ingreso cinco cargas al dÃa, el equivalente a cinco cajetas.
Incluso el American Institute of Cancer Research ha debido desmentir su utilidad en el comunicado
” Cancer and acid-base balance: Busting the myth “.