Halloween preview...

Let the festivities begin...

Trick-or-treating tomorrow @ school, haunted train rides this PAST weekend, pumpkin carving tonight w/ Daddy, all before our Halloween party & trick-or-treating with his "best bud" on Saturday night!! Can't wait!!

"EARNING"...

I'm starting to wonder if B's concept of "earning" things has become a bad thing based upon a conversation we had as he laid on the house in his yuck-fest of the last several days. Unfortunately, because he's gotten to watch WAY more "toonies" (cartoons) than usual in any given day (or week, for that matter!), B has also been exposed to many commercials. Uh-oh.

Upon watching a commercial yesterday (or maybe the day before) for something like a "rockin' robot" (?), he looked at me and said, "Momma, can I earn that?? Can I? I LIKE that Rockin' Robot! Can you get me one and I can earn it?"

We've not seen or had a discussion about it since then...

Perhaps it's good he knows that he doesn't just GET everything, and has to DO things to acquire things he wants...good 'ole hard work, even if it is potty training...

Perhaps I should be worried, however, for him to think that he can have anything he wants, as long as it's "earned"?? Given, he's not hounding me for it, bent on material possessions, for which I'm thankful...but I wonder? Should he be more encouraged to work, for work's sake, for the intangible benefits one gets from hard work and attaining one's goals???

Oh the journey of parenthood...!

What a Difference a YEAR makes?!?!

What an amazing difference a YEAR makes in the life of a child...

Last year's trip to the pumpkin patch:


Today's trip to the pumpkin patch:


How fun to see him grow!

Little Mr. Bossy

While it's a relief to know that our "lessons" have not fallen on deaf ears, it's always funny, nonetheless, when they come back AT you, and NOT out of your mouth. We had a double-dose of this yesterday that just cracked us up.

S came home from work early to get prepared for his golf tournament today, and was around as B and I had our normal, "Mommy-day" routine. As B was eating lunch, S came into the kitchen, being goofy or something, to which he got an earful:
"DADDY, DON'T DISTRACT ME. I'm 'posed to be eating my grilled cheese, Daddy."

Touche!

Again at dinner, S was contributing some monkey business and B piped right up: "Daddy, do NOT distract me!! I'm trying to eat some tacos for dinner, Daddy. Don't DISTRACT ME!"

I am pretty sure that my preggo brain isn't making this up, but I feel as though little B was even chiding himself in the past 24 hours...I vaguely (but can't remember which meal) remember him saying to himself, "This time is to eat. I can't play with these toys because I need to focus on eating now."

Thank heavens HE at least has the brain like a sponge right now!!! ;)

Night Time Prayer

I truly want to get this recorded because it's so sweet, but will try to capture the essence of his endearing night-time habit. Before delivery, he was given a little lamb who says a little prayer. We play it for him each night before bed & awhile ago, he started reciting it with the lamb. Insert toddler speech patterns, though, and I never can help but smile:

"Now I lambie down to sweep
I pway the Wod my soul to keep
Angels watch me fwoo the night
Atil I wake in mowning's wight.
AMEN."

Don't ya want to kiss him?? ;)

He Just Can't WAIT....

B has added a new phrase to his vernacular which never ceases to make us laugh:

"I can't wait to _____________"

He uses it about EVERYTHING...the constant joy, wonder & amazement of the world through his eyes is wonderful to behold.

This a.m., for instance, the school bus drove by. "I can't WAIT to ride the school bus to school when I get bigger bigger!"

At the grocery store the other day, buying EGGPLANT..."I can't WAIT to eat that eggplant!"

Upon anticipating a craft project we're planning on doing: "I can't WAIT to make that craft w/ you Momma!"

I just love it!

Bouncing, Summer Fun & other Silliness

We have survived through a few nightmarish scheduling weeks and seem to have come thru unscathed, and still find time for fun in spite of the long days!! Just some silly pix of newer delights (the Bounce Gym), and some tried & true squirt park, or otherwise just silly shots!! :)

He is LOVING his new school, and exclaimed when we walked in this a.m.: "Look! It's ME!" at a picture hanging over his head...to which he then clarified, "It's me in the mobile!" I can tell you he didn't learn mobile from us!! ;)

Adventures in Eating...

One plus of Mommy's cravings are that Brendan gets to insist on using chopsticks, like Mommy/Daddy, with which to enjoy his Chinese food. Never hurts to start practicing, I guess.. :)






This was the upside of the meal.

Downside was that it was THE worst (probably) lo mein I've EVER had...not really fair when that was what I was craving!! WRONG!! :)

Little Man Heads to "School"

Here's to hoping he can make it to day 2 tomorrow @ his new "school", but had a GREAT first day on Tues.!!! :) After demanding his Batman, NOT his Star Wars lunchbox, we finally got him OUT the door on Tuesday where he settled right in! Yeah!!

SURPRISE!!!!

At long last, I finally feel comfortable sharing our news...

We are expecting #2!!!

After infertility treatments and a bit of an ordeal, we wanted to lay low until the end of the first trimester before sharing the news.

I will be 11 wks on Monday, and had my 3rd ultrasound today. Baby is looking GREAT and was moving so much the pix don't clearly show (ha!) the appendages since he/she wouldn't sit still!! :) Frame of reference, in the pix, the head is to the left, looking down, and the little arms are right off the head, at shoulder level. Legs on the right hand side, kind of pointing down... Like I said, he (feel compelled to call it a "he"?) was rolling all around, so we didn't get any cute profile pix ~ I'll TAKE action shots, though!! :)

Hooray!!!

"st" --> "sp"!!!

I have gotten used to (and love), the "B-isms"....

sprinkler heads = stinkabuh heads

spoon = stoom

special = stecial

trash truck = twash twuck

rabbit = wabbit

You get the idea...

Blends & diagraphs are tough for him, but that's normal developmentally, so we just enjoy the "little man" in him since he's growing so quickly.

THEN, in the last 48 hours, I've noticed...

"Momma, my SPoon is COLD!"

"Mommy, what's SPecial?"

My little boy is growing up!!!!!!!

...And We're Back!!!!

We are getting back in the swing of things after an exhausting but fun two weeks back East!! We started with a few days w/ Scott's side of the family & went to Ocean City for a few days of fun in the sun:





The beach was DEFINITELY a bigger hit THIS year than last since he was big enough to jump through waves, play in the sand w/ his cousins, etc. Fun times!!

After that we were in PA w/ my side, for several amazing days up in the woods at the family cabin. I will post pix when I get them (didn't pack a camera as I was flying back alone w/ him!), but there was lots of frog/lizard catching, finger-painting and fun in the woods!!

Thanks to ALL the family for hosting & entertaining us!!

Overheard...

When I put him down for his nap today, I locked myself in the office to get work done...and overheard him happily chatting. Then the tone changed, and I heard:

"MOMMMMM!!! QUICK!!!!! GET SUNWIGHT (Sunlight, his beloved duck) MOM. MOM! QUICK!"

I darted around the house, trying to recall where we'd last had a discussion about Sunlight before our errands/park outing this a.m. Checked the kitchen table, no luck.

meanwhile:

"MOM!!! QUICK! I NEED SUNWIGHT! PWWWWWEEEEEAAASSSSSEEEEE!!!!!!" (that's please in b speak)

Through the door, I respond: "I can't find him. Do you know where he is?"

B (whining): "On the kitchen table. Pwwwwease! I need him!"

(run around again. duck is NOT on the table for the 4th time)

B (desperate): "MOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!! I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED SUNWIGHT!"

Finally, the little duck was rescued from the couch, put into B's hands....

....and then he needed his "nuk" (mind you, he rarely, IF EVER, used one when he was little little)...

so we rescued his Nemo nuk & he was off to dreamy land.

*sigh*

The Joy of a BOX!

Yesterday we headed down to Grammie/Grampie's house to help put together some furniture. B capitalized on the opportunity and claimed this box as his "cave." You KNOW he loves something when he knows he gets to go to a restaurant for lunch, and STILL isn't interested, because he'd rather play in the cave!! Hours of fun, he had a snack in there, had "mail" delivered to his cave...he LOVED it!! :)

Father's Day Follies...

Who knew that toddlers didn't keep secrets really well?? ;) I wondered if we would actually MAKE it to today w/ the surprise intact, and we normally would have, had I not strayed from our routine last night.

As B is "reading" lots of things now (actually just memorizing & reciting), when I ran across a book, "I Love You Daddy" about a month ago, I couldn't resist buying it to pre-read w/ B, in hopes that he could "read" it to his Daddy today.

Last night, S got to put little man to bed since I was out...and that's where everything fell apart. :) S was snuggling B in the big red chair, talking about today being Father's Day, when B says, "Oh. Have surprise for you for Father's Day. Have I Love You book hidden right under here." Figured as much!! :) S reported that he didn't let B unearth it from our hiding spot, but enjoyed "reading" it with him several times today.

Hey ~ it's the thought that counts, right?!!

BFF

Sitting @ dinner tonight, little man looked at me:

"Mommy -- you're my best friend forever."

How could you not be??? :)

Cookies & Cartoons

On occasion, my son gets to watch a cartoon on our bed while I shower. Hey ~ quick 7 min. shower can't hurt as our master bath is attached to our bedroom, right? We'll, we've never really had a "problem", but this is what I saw when I walked out of the bathroom to check on him after my shower yesterday:


me: (laugh, or yell?)
B: (noting the internal dilemma Momma is facing): "Umm, this cookie is YUMMY," as he gripped the small ziploc bag with two remaining oatmeal raisin, and gleefully devoured said cookie in hand
me: (opting for peace & putting life in perspective): "B, what happened to the good choices we make for breakfast? Bananas? Yogurt?"
B: "But we are all OUT of bananas, Momma...." (hopeful silence. begins to devour a second cookie)

hey ~ can't blame him for improvising, right??? ;) He usually pushes his breakfast chair over to our counter, climbs up, and grabs his "own" banana from the basket in the a.m.'s. When I returned to the kitchen, I noted the appropriately placed chair. With the lack of bananas, he went for the next easiest thing, one supposes?!?! Hahaha ~ a laugh a day keeps the Dr away!!!

Compassion

We were at the park today w/ a few of B's little play-date friends. Said friend, G, has a little sister who is approximately 10 mo. old. My heart swelled as I observed the following interaction:

Baby on ground, crawling around curiously, picks up small stick & you know it will soon be in her mouth.
B crouches down to eye-level: "That stick is not a good choice. That stick is yucky."
(takes stick away)
B puts her pacifier in her mouth: "Here, this is better for you."

True wonderment.

THE PERFECT POPSICLE

Yes, this is a random posting, but it's totally worth it & needed to be said...for any Moms out there w/ kids who've been sick before, and spent at least 12 min. in the frozen dairy section debating the pro's of frozen dairy treats, say no more. I too have pondered the sugar-free, no high fructose corn syrup, all fruit permutations of the endless brands in the freezer case...throw it all out the window & buy these. TRULY.

First of all, they're all of two inches long. Literally. There's a reason they're called mini's. Want to review how many boxes of "all fruit" popsicles I bought that were "normal size," and after 4 licks, my ailing toddler declared he'd had enough, and the remnants were chucked, so as not to share germs with anyone else? What a waste! THESE are the perfect size. The other day, B polished off his first in a mere 2-3 min. Which brings me to my second point.

SLOW MELT. Read again, slow melt. They have a touch of gelatin, so that your carpet/floor doesn't look like an early Christmas after he's eaten the strawberry/raspberry/lime all-fruit bar. Aside from a few drips after he slobbered all over it, HE gets the whole thing and the carpet lives to see another day.

Third, yah, even though they're not sugar-free, how much is one really GETTING in two inches of frozen delight, and they're VERY low calorically (3=40 calories), so it's not like they're heavy hitters either.

Regardless...they really are the best. thing. ever.

They come in a box of 24, which I was leery about at first. No more. He can eat two a day, in any range of flavors from lemon lime to strawberry kiwi, and we still have backstock.

Kudos to the genius at Popsicle who thought up this one!!!!!

B the Tool Boy...

While he's been mending, Daddy DID get him a bribe for such good behavior @ the ER, etc...now he's "busy working" every day... :) He loves it!!
(Note: YES, the tools are all plastic, look very realistic but ARE safe...!)

On the Mend...we thought..?!

Just a little insight into the last week...

He's practicing going into the medical field after all of our visits to the hospital & ER...


Staples came out today, looking good, but he threw up again tonight, so we're still not quite sure WHAT'S going on after the isolated puking Tues. night?!?! Ack.

Eat your heart out Betty, err, BOB (?) CROCKER??

After seeing Mama in the kitchen, B is at the point where he REALLY REALLY wants to help cook. SO we did. :) After mentioning blueberry pancakes, as a feeler, he told me to "follow him" and dragged me over to our pantry to remind me where the pancake mix was...on the top shelf of our TALL pantry, behind the sugar...and he pointed it right out. That began his first entre into the "culinary" world...


Aside from occasionally getting a BIT too close w/ the spatula ("Momma, need that YELLOW spatula!") because he wanted to flip the pancakes on the skillet (UMM, NO!), he did really well & fun was had by all!! :)



Our FABULOUS result:


Yum!!

The Resiliency of Kids...

At the beginning of the week, this is where we were...thank HEAVEN for pediatric kids' medical staff, as we got great treatment after he was admitted Sun. for the worst case of croup he's had yet. I never thought my baby would stay in one place for 24 hours straight...but he barely moved from this bed and 23 of those 24 hours, I was wrapped up with him. Poor little guy.

As you can see from the video below, taken this a.m., he IS doing better, though...we went for a check-up w/ the Dr. this a.m. to confirm the meds that he's on in hopes we don't have such a siege again, and to check up on his lungs. Aside from a nasty, lingering cough, he actually is getting his energy back along w/ his appetite, so we're encouraged...fingers crossed!!

On the Trike...

I've taken several pix of him on his little trike, courtesy of Aunt Melissa, but haven't taken video. Though he'd rather I PUSH him than actually push the pedals by himself, he CAN get it moving...we're working on it. I can't help it, though ~ he's still darn cute!! :)

We Heart Playdough!!!

Again, per Auntie M's request ~ I was going to grab the camera but then I remembered, M, and he was too darn cute to NOT document this SOMEHOW. Reasons why we LOVE playdough #418 ~ he literally was fixated on this for 30+ min. (which is saying a LOT for a 2 yr old!) and was only deterred because I NEEDED to get to the grocery store...he LOVES it, esp. w/ the cookie cutters!! FABULOUSO!



ENJOY!!

Elmo, Crafts & more...

HOW am I so behind?!?! The past few weeks have been a BLUR...but we've had fun with Elmo in our own suite, included a random pix of an Easter craft he brought home from the sitters, but loved his face & love that he does fun stuff like that!

Now we just have to figure out why he keeps heaving and we'll be good!!

By Popular Request II

Auntie M, eat your heart out...this makes me :) and he does it FREQUENTLY...the song, for context, is a Disney reference, two monkeys named Ooh and Aah who come on before his much-loved Little Einsteins...

JUMP!

So, by popular request, we have more video. The first 40 sec. are the ones I'd hoped to capture (his new acquisition ~ jumping w/ BOTH feet off the ground), then he was just cute & chatty so I kept rolling. Enjoy, Auntie M & thanks for the feedback!!

The Growing Chatter...

I've been musing on this one & wanted to share it for the greater ponderings, I suppose. Had I never had a child, I would never have truly appreciated the ABSOLUTE miracle of language acquisition. It's one thing to read it in a textbook (and I have). It's an absolute OTHER thing to witness it, first-hand, and fathom the minutia of changes that have to occur for all the pieces to fall into place when they're supposed to. I'm telling you ~ there aren't words to aptly describe it, but I delight in it each day as I'm chatting with B.

His current milestone is the inclusion of linking/helping/"being" verbs, call them what you may. All of a sudden, within the past week (or two?), I hear: "My diaper is NOT wet." "I am NOT tired yet." "B would like a fruit snack PLEASE." "ARE YOU TIRED? Need to go to beddie?" over the monitor as he wakes up: "MOMMA, where AAAAAAAARRRRREEEEE YOUUUUUU?" "Mom, are you making DINNER? What ARE you making for dinner???" Unreal.

What kicked me also was when the questions started, so did the little vocal lilt. As a fluent speaker, I'm never cognizantly aware of raising my voice at the punctuation mark that denotes I'm asking a question; I just do. Furthermore, raising your voice isn't something that we explicitly TEACH when we're teaching our kids to talk; well, I didn't! :) Yet, he has this little toddler lilt, almost sing-songy, and it's unmistakeably going to be a question when it pops out of his mouth. UNBELIEVABLE.

Just to WATCH how language unfolds is a joy & a miracle. Yes, I'm an education/psychology nerd @ heart, I can't help that it fascinates me, but how can it NOT?!

Ha ~ his next language step is a funny one. He's got personal pronouns. He just can't yet associate them gender-appropriately. :) Today at the park, he repeatedly talked about his little friend, M, who he will tell you as a girl, and said: "Momma, his shirt is pretty." Explaining that one as the six-yr old girl pushed his swing was a different matter, but it'll all come soon enough!

DUCKS

Though I've mentioned it fleetingly in the past, I have to devote an entire entry to the phenomenon that's rocking our house. That would be ~ DUCKS. B LOVES ducks. He has for quite some time after his very early ducks akin to those found in Bath & Body:



to one of his newest acquisitions, "Cutie" as he dubbed him, an early Easter gift:


to his now, much beloved [I'd say favorite] "Sunlight" duck, who goes with him EVERYWHERE, including his crib. I pondered the extreme loyalty & love for such creatures @ 1:30 this morning as I balanced on my hips on the front rails of his crib, to reach over & THROUGH the back rails of his crib (up against the wall), to retrieve said duck from the floor, where he inevitably falls during the course of B's sleeping. (Mind you: This one's only 1 1/2" tall, so retrieving a mini-size duck who's ONLY that big @ 1:30 a.m., while balancing on one's pelvis is more of a feat than what it might sound!!) :) But, he loves him.

Sunlight:


I just have to shake my head, though, at the things these little people fall in love with that we absorb in due time. Makes me laugh. If I counted all of the ducks in our house, I'm sure we'd have at LEAST two dozen (and that might be a GROSS underestimation), including his assortment of rubber ducks, fire ducks, etc. I laughed even harder when, the other day, he found Easter socks I'd purchased QUITE awhile ago, then tucked away & forgot I'd even gotten them for Easter. I hear, "THESE SOCKS HAVE DUCKS!" Needless to say, they were on the feet in 3 min. or less:


SO, there ya have 'em. I want to get a picture of ALL of the ducks, just for posterity's sake, but now you know the truth: my little man loves ducks!

Why we love our pediatrician...

They know me. They know my son. That's enough for me to begin, but the last 24 hours have me REALLY loving Step-by-Step Pediatrics!! (www.stepbysteppediatrics.com)

First, enter my son's little accident from yesterday a.m. ~ dropping a rather smallish, but heavy padlock on his big toe. Good news was that, though it's black, it's NOT swollen, the nail's not bubbling up, so he didn't have to have it drained. Good thing ~ they would have been scraping my rear off the floor.


Thinking we were all good, last night he went to bed, no complaint, then 12:30 woke up gagging for breath, hysterical because he couldn't breathe, and coughing so hard he was nearly vomiting. Yeah for Round #20+ of croup. Gotta love it. Only thing I DID love was that we're fully stocked w/ albuterol, pulmacort, and an oral steroid to get it under control so we don't have to repeat the 9-1-1 from LAST April. *sigh*

SO, this a.m., here we were:


Again, GOD BLESS Susan & the crew @ Step by Step for calling, 2nd a.m. in a row, to make sure I was OK w/ a 5 mo old script, figuring out dosaging from an unusual 1 a.m. dose, etc. etc. ugh!!! I love a Dr's office who will still cheerfully help you, numerous days in a row, when you need!!

Grand scheme of things, we're hanging in ~ he's cheerful and has his normal piss & vinegar, so things shouldn't get ugly, and if they DO, hopefully we're ahead of the game enough that we'll be golden.

On Occasion of Grammie & Grampie...

Another reason I've been OFF the blog habit, as of late, is because we've had the occasion for a houseful of visitors, namely Grammie & Grampie as they drove out to AZ...and flew...





for their NEW HOUSE IN AZ!!!!!! HOORAY!!!!!



After an ordeal w/ realty, indeed, the house is theirs and they'll be abiding in-state half of the year to help w/ their little B & watch the little man grow!! Yeah!!!!!

EASTER!!!

Our newest "addition" to the family for Easter ~ B LOVES his "cutie duck" as he dubbed him, hopefully little J likes his cutie II too!



Fun @ M&J's for the boys' Easter Egg Hunt!!