Happy Camper

One of the things I bought for Emrick for his first birthday was a funny little t-shirt that says the word “Happy” on it, with a picture of a camper underneath. Get it? Happy Camper? A ha ha ha.

It was on clearance.

Anyway, shortly after his birthday I washed and dried that shirt, hung it in the nursery closet, and then immediately forgot it existed. But recently I have been rediscovering the contents of Emrick’s closet, and I’ve been favoring shirts over onesies. The onesies are great because they don’t slide up the way shirts do when I have to pick Emrick up or put him in his car seat. But with the warmer weather, and with Emrick becoming more of a boy than a baby, and with my realization that Target has so many super cute t-shirts for toddlers, I have been dressing him in shirts about 90% of the time for maybe a month now.

And so, the Happy Camper t-shirt finally made its debut, about six months after I bought it. And guess what? As it turns out, dressing your child in a shirt that labels him a “happy camper” is a temptation that Fate just cannot resist…

…because for Emrick, it was Opposite Day. Do the opposite of what Mommy is encouraging. DO throw a tantrum next to the pantry. DO pour your milk on the floor. DO be malcontent even when Mommy is trying so hard to comfort and appease you. So that’s pretty much what most of that day was like:

Emrick recently learned that tortured body-flinging should always be done on the carpet, and never on the tile.

WTH? I just spent 2 minutes rolling around on the floor, and I STILL don't have a cookie/cellphone/firearm?

I always look forward to Marcus getting home from work, but on days like this, the last couple of hours before he gets home can really drag. Some days, Emrick and I have such a good, easy time that when Marcus comes home, I think “Already? Cool!” But on Emrick’s moody days I’m clockwatching by 2 PM. Sometimes when Emrick is cranky, it doesn’t necessarily get any better when Marcus gets home, but other times, Pookie’s crankiness seems to vanish at the sound of Marcus walking in through the mudroom door. Fortunately, on Happy Camper Day, Daddy’s arrival home was just what Pookie needed!

Even Daddy's laptop needs to be crawled on and cuddled.

And all was right with the world.

2 comments

    • cinda morgan on April 15, 2012 at 2:23 pm

    For a millisecond I thought you were going to tell us that you were inspired to go camping! I am glad to know that your “miracle worker” is so reliable. Love those grins!

    • Kellie on April 15, 2012 at 3:27 pm

    There should DEFINITELY be a camping episode! I’m looking forward to it!

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