Mister Press-It

Dexter is busily mastering pushing buttons. Yesterday, I went to get him out of his car seat and he was pushing on the red release button with his index finger. He knew it would release his harness but luckily he's not yet strong enough to get it on his own.

Bad Mommy?

Yesterday afternoon I had a two-hour conference call with other researchers and federal government bureaucrats to kick off a project involving culling youth development theories, developing a framework for synthesizing existing knowledge and practices, and coming up with ways for federal agencies to work with each other to share knowledge and best-practices in their programs (easier said than done - and it's not that easy to say!). 20 minutes into the meeting, Dexter woke up screaming from his nap (luckily I had figured out how to work the "mute" button on the phone). I was unable to quiet Dexter and remain engaged in the conversation so for the next hour and a half I fed him...and fed him...and fed him. As long as he was eating, he was quiet. As long as he was quiet, I could hear the conversation. Do you see where I'm going with this? I've never seen him eat so much for so long. I felt so guilty for not being able to fully engage with Dexy and for not being able to fully engage with my work. I just hope Dexter doesn't develop some sort of association with food as a substitute for my love.