Sideshow #2

Our Liam is an active boy.  And he's at an active age.  Essentially, he is perfect sideshow material.  This past Sunday morning he was a Sunday school sideshow, rather than a third row sideshow.  That is because there is no good option for him during Sunday school.  He can't go to the little preschool class because the near hysterics that he melts into when I leave make it a little impossible for Miss Lynn to continue teaching the preschooler(s).  So, usually he comes with me to adult Sunday school class.  And each week as he tries to climb on the table and eat my paper and squeal when I take the pen away, we discover why most churches opt to have a nursery! 

Now, in his defense, Sunday mornings are really terrible torture for a baby his age.  I mean, about the time we're needing to leave the house each week is about the time he'd prefer to be going down for his morning nap.  But of course he's old enough now that the whole, "just fall asleep on the way to church" thing doesn't work any more.  So he suffers, I suffer, and everyone around us suffers.  Well, once I'd had enough of being used as a jungle gym this past Sunday, I decided to just try letting him play in Lily's classroom while her lesson went on.  Yeah, that lasted about one minute, and then like I said, I just feel like it's total unfairness to the teacher.  So I decided to take the nursery exersaucer, that I purchased at a yard sale this past summer, into the adult room for him to sit/play in.  He loved it!  But the clunky boinging sound it made as he excitedly "exercised" soon caused the teacher's brow to furrow and eyes to narrow in a look of extreme concentration.  Since I'm married to that teacher, I've seen this look before and knew that this solution was proving to be a major distraction to my husband/pastor/teacher, and therefore likely the whole class.  Thus, the active boy was removed from the apparatus and amazingly found contentment by playing with his carseat.

I thought maybe given all these happenings, our church-time escapades might be avoided, but I was wrong to be so hopeful.  Things started out fine.  I had Lily seated in the third row, literally containing her urge to dance back and forth across the front of the church during the worship songs.  (Sometimes we sit on the front row with her daddy and let this desire spill forth, but this morning didn't seem like the morning for it.)  I got Liam situated in his sling and was attempting to lull him to sleep during same said worship songs.  The task was finally accomplished about the time they dismissed the kids for nursery/children's church.  Lilyanna initially exited the sanctuary with the other children only to return about 20 seconds later.  I thought maybe she was a bit shy because some newer children were joining her in the nursery this morning.  She frequently has the room and the worker to herself.  But I quickly deduced by her little hip shakes that she probably had to go the bathroom.  Dilema.  I have a sleeping Liam strapped to my side.  Not exactly conducive to helping a toddler use the potty.  Do I just take care of the issue likely waking Liam up in the process?  Or, do I...gasp...ask for help?  I actually opted for choice #2 and stepped across the aisle to ask kind, Sunday school teacher Miss Lynn if she'd be willing to take Lily to the bathroom.  She was happy to help and I was happy to keep Liam sleeping.  But once again disturbed that we can't make it though an hour of anything without distracting at least one person!

Liam in his sling back in May.  He doesn't sit in it this way anymore.  He rides on my hip now with his feet dangling down below the sling.