Monday Musings

After this weekend's events, it became very clear to Brad and I that Jack is still a bit too young for a live stage show.  We figured out that we spent $116.80 total for our Curious George event, and really, we could have gone and purchased the light up, spinning monkey wand and a balloon for $20 and Jack would have been just as happy:)  You live and you learn...
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In other news, this morning was Jack's first day in the two year-old classroom at school, and let's just say, he cried, and I cried, and it wasn't pretty.  It was actually pretty horrible.  Poor little man had to go in early this morning because I had to train teachers today, which means I had to wake him up early to get there in time.  I went into his room at about 6:30 this morning, and he was sound asleep with his little tushy up in the air - I would have snapped a photo but I was just too super-emotional and a little bit rushed, but my goodness - I love it when he sleeps like that.  Let's me think he really is still a baby!  Anyway, we'd been talking about going to the "big boy class" all weekend, and he seemed pretty excited.  He stayed really excited - until we got there.  It's a good thing Miss Tab was in the building because after I pried Jack off of me and left him with someone he did not want to be with, I ran into his old room and cried onto her shoulder.  She was having a rough morning too, what with Jack not coming to her room and all.  She promised to check in on him throughout the day so I felt okay leaving to go to work.

The good news is that after I left and set up my training room, I called the school to see if he was still wailing his head off, and Miss Shannon happily reported that Jack was in the library looking at books with a big smile on his face.  I felt so much better! 

When I picked him up this afternoon, the teachers said that he had a great day.  He spent all day in his underpants - no accidents - and was dry after his nap!  What a proud mama mommy am I!  Apparently, the big goal in the two year-old room is potty-training.  It would appear that Jack has met this goal, solidifying my belief that he is, in fact, a child prodigy:)

Hopefully, drop-off will be a little bit smoother tomorrow.  Keep your fingers crossed because I don't think my little heart can take much more.

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Perhaps you noticed that "mommy" replaced "mama" in the story above.  Apparently, when you move into the two year-old room, it isn't cool to say "mama" anymore.  I realized this afternoon that Jack hasn't called me "mama" all weekend, only "mommy."  What?!?!

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Tonight we had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn, and pineapple bits for dinner.  I didn't even give Jack the corn because I knew it was a lost cause, but I thought I would give everything else a try.  First, he ate every single pineapple bit, one right after the other.  He ate all of his meatloaf.  He didn't touch his mashed potatoes - so much for that!  Then, he looked at me with this big grin on his face, and said, "I eat my chicken all done!"

Oh, I love him.

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PS - While previewing this post, I was alerted that there was "an intergalactic emergency" in Jack's room (aka - Jack rolled over onto Buzz Lightyear in his sleep).

PPS - When going in to remove Buzz Lightyear in order to prevent any future intergalactic emergencies, I apparently woke Jack up because when I got back to my room to publish said post, he cried over the monitor that he had to go potty.  That's my boy:)

Silent Sunday

{feel the love}

Friday Fragments

*Today, Jack graduated from the toddler classroom.  I received a call from his school asking if we wanted to transition him up to the two-year old room a week early because they have an opening.  We've been eagerly awaiting this transition - especially since Jack has been potty-trained since mid-July.  I'm so sad that he won't be with the Toddler teachers anymore because I know how much they (especially Miss Tab and Miss Becca) love Jack, but I'm so proud that our little boy is moving on up (and yet, I'm oddly wishing I could stop time)!  I've been talking to Jack about moving up to the "big boy room" on Monday, and he seems very excited about it, but I can't tell if he really understands or not.  I guess we'll find out during Monday morning drop off.  I know he's going to be so excited about being able to use the potty at school, too:)

*While I was on the phone with Kimmee this afternoon, I heard Jack clomping up the stairs and rolling back the door to the closet in his bedroom.  Can you guess what he was doing?  Yes...randomly, without any mention at all, he decided he wanted to wear his boots.  He practiced putting his socks and his boots on and off for about an hour.  The boy's got some stamina. 

*Oh.my.word.  Jack's Halloween costume was delivered today, and I am so excited because he actually put it on (I was a little worried!) and he LOVES it:)  And, I've gotta say, it might be the cutest, darn costume I've EVER seen.  No, I'm not telling; you must wait.  But my goodness...absolutely priceless.

*Tomorrow we have a fun, family day planned.  We're going to take Jack to a reptile show in the morning (exciting, I know), and then in the afternoon, we're taking him to see Curious George Live.  I hope he'll like it!

TGIF!

Happy Birthday, Cuddlebug!

A year after getting Gracie, Brad and I stumbled into the same pet shop that we had purchased her from.  Inside were the most adorable puppies - they looked just like Gracie.  We asked about the dogs and found out that they were half siblings to our Baby Bear.  We decided that Gracie needed a playmate to keep her company during the day while we were at work, so we welcomed Miss Belle into our home (and when I say "we," I mean me and Brad, and not Gracie).

 
She was so tiny and adorable - not even eight pounds - but we quickly learned that Gracie-girl was first afraid and then not excited about our new addition.  Gracie was miserable, and I felt so bad.  I cried for an entire weekend, and truly Cuddlebug and I did not bond for weeks.  She was Brad's doggy at first.

Until one early morning in November, Belle woke me up because she had to go outside.  It was probably 4 am, and she was so tiny she couldn't go downstairs alone, so I had to carry her down.  It was bitter cold outside, and her tiny little body was shaking like a leaf.  She looked up at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes, and my heart broke.  From that moment, I was smitten.

A few weeks later, Belle ate some Christmas potpouri and nearly died.  I was scared to death, and this time, early in the morning, we made our way to the puppy emergency room.  I could barely breathe.  I waited for days for her to eat or drink anything, and finally, she took a tiny sip of water and didn't get sick afterwards.  I was so happy, I could've thrown a party.  Cuddlebug was going to be okay.

After that incident, we noticed that more and more things were being eaten around the house, and we assumed it was Belle.  She spent a lot of time in trouble.

Household plants

Presentation notes

It wasn't until months later we realized that the culprit was actually Gracie, Belle's very jealous sister.  But in all the time Belle was in trouble, she never once stopped snuggling and loving on us.  She is such a sweetheart.

When Jack came along, she accepted him whole-heartedly.  They are the best of friends, and we love watching them together.

Two weeks old

Relaxing on the boppy pillow

Keeping Jack's spot warm after he went to bed

Today, we celebrated Cuddlebug's fourth birthday.  Check out the photos from our little birthday party!

Birthday kisses

Belle and Jack blow out the candle

Jack picked out these mini-cupcakes at the grocery store

Peanut butter ice cream for the birthday girl

BFFs 4EVR

How a two-year old eats a cupcake:)

Cuddlebug, You are such a fun-loving puppy dog, and we are so lucky to have you as part of our family. You might cause a lot of trouble and make a lot of huffing noises, but you're always ready to snuggle. When we're sad, you cheer us up because you're always happy and ready to play.  You're definitely a glass-half-full kind of girl:)  You might be slightly blind, but you have the best hearing, and we know we're safe when you're on-guard.  We love the way you howl like a hound dog.  You do know that you weigh less than 17 pounds, right?!  We love watching you try to get Gracie to play and the way that you love Baby Jack. You have loved him from the very start, and Daddy and I are very thankful for that.  Please teach your sister how to love him that much as well. We love you, and we hope you had a happy birthday!

Wordless Wednesday

(note Daddy's watch in upper right hand photo)

Waterworks

This morning was a tearjerker.  When trying to get Jack ready for school this morning, he kept saying, "Me no go to school today, Mama.  Not yet.  Tomorrow."  My heart was breaking...

He repeated this mantra the entire way to school, and while he did very well yesterday and didn't cry at drop off, he definitely cried this morning.  Which made me cry.  I hate when he's sad:(  I felt so guilty that I had to go to work, and I had to rush out the door so he wouldn't see my teary eyes and get into my car so the other parents wouldn't think I was crazy crying through the hallways like a 12 year old school girl.

Working mommies - does it ever get better?  Do you ever not feel guilty when you drop your baby off at school and they're sad?  Oh, it's horrible.  I try so hard not to cry and to be super-strong for Baby Jack, but when his little bottom lip starts to quiver, I'm completely powerless.

So this afternoon when we got home, we had lots of snuggle-time, to say the least.  And he was being so super-cute (probably so I won't take him to school tomorrow!).  He wore his daddy's watch through most of the evening - so sweet.  He's sleeping with it as we speak:)

Here's a video of my sweet, little man, taken this evening before bedtime:

For the record, you'd cry if you had to drop off his sad, little face before rushing off to work too.  Don't lie.
 

Back to School

Well, today was the day.  And I. am. tired. 

Yes, that's right - today, I went back to work after my two month summer vacation.  It was rough, I'm not gonna lie.  I was really proud of myself this morning when I woke up at 6:00 after a good night's sleep and got up to get into the shower right away.  Usually, I roll back and forth all night long and hit the snooze button several times before I get up, but not this morning.  Super happy.

I got myself and Jack ready in plenty of time, and we headed off to school. On our way to daycare, Jack kept saying, "Not today," because during the summer days he spent with me, we'd drive past and he'd say, "No school," and I'd say, "Nope, not today." I felt so bad because I kept trying to tell him, "Yep today, sweetheart." But we made it without tears, and he had a really good day today. Mama was a little nervous after his week at home with his little tummy bug:(

12:30 rolled around, and I missed my nap.  At about 2:30, I realized I have to do this every day for the next nine months!  It's so hard to get back into the swing of things.

We had an all-day meeting today (yeah, gotta love those), but we all had a chance to share our summer experiences through pictures.  Truly, right up my alley:)  Take a look at the summer collage I made:

Hope you had a happy Monday!

Sunday Somethings...

I realized that I did take a picture of Jack's little watered-down soda experiment (of course!), but forgot to post it below.  Now you can check out the smile I mentioned for yourself!

And, of course, I have another funny story for you.  Last night, I was getting ready to put Jack to bed, and he was running around like a wild animal with the puppies.  I caught him running through the hall, and told him we needed to put his jammies on, when he looked at me with the cutest little face and said, "Three more, no four more minutes, please." 

No, I'm not kidding.  He can't even count to ten consistently yet, but somehow he was able to think up a specific number of playtime minutes, realized it wasn't quite enough, and then negotiated for an extra minute.  Can we say that I'm in t-r-o-u-b-l-e?

Naturally, those of you that know me well enough, know that Jack played for an extra four minutes.  But I rationalize it by saying that he asked using his very best manners, and he's learning numbers and how to tell time.  How do you argue with that?  You can't...right?!

Welcome, Baby Owen!

Today, I got to meet a very special, very new member of our family.  My cousin, Kristin, and her husband, Rob, had a precious baby boy very early Friday morning, just after midnight.  He is absolutely perfect.  I was in baby heaven today - thank you for letting me love on your little man, Mommy!

Owen William Gray

Getting love from his Grammy (my Aunt Jojo)

Snuggling with his Aunt Jennifer

So cute...and wide awake

Baby Yawn...oh.my.word.

Kristin - I am so incredibly happy for you and your story.  You have found a wonderful man with a beautiful daughter, and now you have welcomed your son into the world.  He is gorgeous, and I just couldn't be happier for you. 

Kristin, Allison, and Rob - September 2009

Me, Jennifer, Kristin (with Baby Owen), and Ryan - June 2010

Boots

So, in an attempt to allow Jack's calluses to heal, I hid the boots. For the majority of the day Thursday, this is what I heard:

"Boots, where arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre you?!"

or

"Where my boots go?" (with his little arms up in a questioning stance)

It was literally breaking my heart.  I caved - I just couldn't take his sad little face anymore.  He was so elated to be reunited with his Toy Story boots:)

He might just have to have a worker's hands when he gets older!

Some Pinot, Please

I have two quick, funny stories for you today regarding my little man.

*Last night, Grammy came over to join me and Jack for dinner.  I asked her if she wanted anything to drink, and here's how our conversation went:

Me: Would you like something to drink?

Grammy: Sure - what do you have?

Me: Soda, Juice, Wine...

Grammy: I'll have some wine.

Me: Would you like Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio?

Grammy: Oooh, I'll have some Pinot.

Jack (while playing on the floor in the kitchen nearby): I'll have some Pinot.

Note - Jack DID NOT, in fact, have some Pinot.  But nice try, Bud.

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*I left a watered-down cup of Coke in the office yesterday after reading my mommy blogs during Jack's nap.  When he woke up, he found my glass.  Here's how that went:

Jack: This is Mommy's juice.

Me: Yes, that's Mommy's juice.

Jack (licking his lips): I want some please.

Me: Okay, just a little sip.

Jack (his first taste of soda EVER): Just a little sip.

Jack takes a very teeny, tiny sip, smacks his lips, gives me the biggest grin, and says, "I like this juice."

Lesson Learned

Okay, I'll admit it.  I used to be one of those people who would see little kids dressed in mismatched clothing and (what I consider to be) ugly shoes and wonder why on earth their parents would let them out of the house that way.  I would wonder, "Don't they love them and want them to look adorable and well cared for?"  Shallow...I know.

But, that was before.  Before Jack got Toy Story cowboy boots for his second birthday.  When he opened the boots, he was not excited.  But then, something clicked in our little man, and all of a sudden he loved them.  Some of you might remember a Snapfish album when I sent a few photos of a little boy in diapers and his cowboy boots...yeah, those are the ones I'm hiding until he graduates from high school:)  Remember how he slept in them that night?

These boots go EVERYWHERE.  We even took them on our beach vacation.  Remember when he wore them to the pool?

                                             

He even wore them to dinner one night while on vacation, and on our way into the restaurant, a man at the bar said to us, "He must really love them boots."

"Yes - yes, he does."  What else could I say?  And finally - I got it.  It's not that those parents don't care what their kids look like or what they might wear...it's just that they want their kids to be happy.  (And also, sometimes with a todder, you really need to pick your battles.)  In fact, maybe those parents were so proud that their children were just glowing with having made their own choice about what they really wanted to wear.  Now I know...and I never judge.  Because, darn it, as much as I hope he doesn't grow up to be a cowboy, he looks so stinkin' cute in those boots:)  I just can't help myself.

But he does wear them all the time.  In the morning, he wakes up, and asks for his boots.  "My boots are in my room, Mama."

He zips and unzips them all day long.  So much so, in fact, that he now as a callous on his thumb.  A boo-boo he showed me tonight while we were getting ready for bed..........while wearing his cowboy boots.  That's right - he's sleeping in them.  Again. 

He often takes them to bed at night and tucks them in next to his pillow.  See?

                                      

He even put his little hand over there so he would know if I tried to remove them!  No, I'm kidding - I made that up, but seriously?!

I'm having to edit them out of some of our photos so people don't think we're crazier than we are.  Remember the water fun pictures I posted the other day?  Yeah - this is what Jack was actually wearing the entire time:

                                                

I know, I know.  Don't laugh.  Don't judge.  Just enjoy.

I know that this is a phase.  When it's over, I'm going to cry.  Probably not as hard as Jack, but I may really cry.  Does anyone know where I can find these exact boots in a size 9 or 10 because when they don't fit anymore what on earth are we going to do?

Sandbox

[Hint: You can always click on the pictures (other posts) and/or collages to see full size, if you so desire.]

What fun I have with this little boy of mine!

Monday Fun

Today, Jack and I had an unexpected day at home together.  I was getting him ready for school this morning when he told me that his belly hurt:(  Brad and I decided it would be best for him to stay at home and get well, rather than heading to school.  I was glad we did because his tummy certainly didn't feel good until much later this afternoon when we were able to go out on the deck and play at the water table - a perfect opportunity to play with my new camera.  I'm pretty impressed, if I do say so myself.  Take a peek.

There's water in there, Mama

How you doin'?

So cute

Funny Face

Thoughtful Play

Splashing

Lovin' the new camera

Show

Off

Gracie-girl

Cuddlebug

What a smile

Can't explain

I will never get tired of seeing this face:)

Could you?!