Running away, already?

Matt got onto J for yelling while Matt was on a conference call. J leaves the office and comes, pouty face and all, to talk to me.

J: Daddy did a mean voice at me. That hurts my feelings. I am so sad. You are so sad that I am so sad.

Me (stifling laughter): Oh really? I must be very sad then.

J: You are. Now I'm gonna leave you! I'm gonna go to the train store!

M: Ok, we'll go as soon as brother wakes up.

J: NO! I am going all by myself. You stay here!

M: But how are you going to get to the train store?

J: I will ride Lightning McQueen!

M: But do you know how to get to the train store?

J: Yes! It's left, then right!

Easter Fun

Today we decided to do an egg hunt trial run. We made this decision for two reasons.

1) The egg hunt we attend every year is insane. If you don't act fast, crazy adults will knock you over to help their baby get eggs. The more familiar J is with egg hunts prior to Saturday, the better.

2) Is a bit more complex, and warrants some back story. Matt and I aren't really big on toys. We don't buy many things for either of our children, preferring to use imaginative play (space is also an issue, as each new toy means another one is chosen for the Goodwill pile). This suits both of our boys' personalities as well, as toys don't really get much use over here. Maybe at first will something new be exciting and worthy of J's attention. But for the most part, he's using "old fashioned" toys like blocks, or play kitchens, or pots and pans. Sure, Buzz and Woody get a lot of play. But even the way he plays with them is imaginative. He walks them through the house to go "on a bear hunt", or plays hide and seek with them, or teaches them how to dance. We all enjoy this type of play as it encourages creativity and thinking outside the box.

Today I took the boys over to a friend's house. They have just had a new baby and we were delivering dinner. O sat on the floor while I snuggled the tiny one (new babies are like an addiction. I could hold one for the rest of my life!) Nearby happened to be a collection of toys, specifically the Little People collection. Now, I should mention that my friend has a toy collection for her daughter that would rival Toys R Us'. She is quite the opposite of me when it comes to toys, and it's a running joke between her and me that my kids are deprived of fun. So when I say the Little People collection, I mean the entire collection. Her daughter was kind enough to push the learning zoo playset collection towards Oliver. And then, something happened. He laughed, he squealed with delight, he grabbed the tiger and would not let go. He corralled all 26 of those A-Z collection animals into his lap and picked them each up to laugh at. I cannot even adequately describe the joy he had from those little toys. We already have a few characters at home, but I guess the animal variety is O's choice du jour. When it was time to leave, I panicked a little. Was he going to flip out when I took that coveted little tiger away from him? My only choice was to act quickly. He still wasn't happy, but thankfully was distracted enough that he didn't cry.

On the way home, we stopped at Target. According to my friend Target sells holiday themed Little People. I should have known that, as it now occurs to me that one of J's most favorite toys ever is the Reindeer/Santa sleigh and Baby Jesus manger that Little People makes (again at our friend's toy store house). Once in Target, I found Little People eggs for hiding. And no, I did not pay that much for them! And also a Little People themed Easter basket. I wish they had had the train as O really loved that at our friend's house as well.

Once home, Matt and I decided tonight was a good night to do our "practice run" hunt.

The kids loved it! And I will admit, Little People toys are fun!





This series of pictures cracks me up because they are fighting over the toys. J was very particular about which ones were for him. For the record (ahem, Matt!) these toys are for up to 4 years old, so they are not too babyish for him. Check out J's angry face!




And look how happy O is to play with his toys.


Looks like there are many more Little People collections in our future.

Fashion Statement

Street Safety

People don't go in the road. They just go in the sidewalk. Only cars go in the road cuzin the cars will hit the people.

Exercise Needed

Hey Mama, I think there's another baby in your tummy!

No, there's not. I promise.

Yeah, there is. (pokes fat) Right there!

No, really. I promise there's not a baby in there.

Hmm. Let me see. (lifts shirt) Oooooooh. It's just your tummy.

Differences

Ten differences between Jamers and O-Man, as babies.

1. O is very content to play by himself, James always wanted to be held.

2. James woke up every 2 hours for his first 9 months of life. Ollie slept through the night at 6 weeks old and continues to sleep well, except when sickness/teething throws him off.

3. James was very attached and didn't like other people holding him. However, he was super smiley to strangers and very flirtatious (as long as they didn't try to hold him). Ollie will let other people hold him, but warms up to strangers slowly. Mostly he looks at people like they're insane when they "baby talk" him at stores. He's also very quick to let someone else know when he's ready for mommy or daddy to hold him again.

4. James would eat just about anything and had a special love for veggies. Ollie makes himself throw up if you offer him anything other than yogurt or babyfood-fruit.

5. James was a marathon napper. Ollie naps for 30 minutes at a time.

6. James was very demanding of attention (not in a bad way). Oliver is super laid back and never complains, unless he's sick.

7. James preferred mama, especially when he was tired. Ollie prefers daddy, especially in the middle of the night.

8. James had big sicknesses his first year of life (heart surgery and asthma issues). Oliver has minor sicknesses, but they are never ending. He constantly has a cold and/or eczema issues.

9. James was an easy teether. We never knew when they were coming in. He'd just surprise us. Ollie whines and cries for about two weeks when teeth are coming in (and whining and crying are so rare with him that that is our first sign he's teething).

10. Before he could crawl, James just fussed whenever he wanted to be moved or needed something out of his reach. Oliver somehow drags his body around, while staying in the sitting position.

And there ya have it. Matt and I comment all the time on how they are polar opposites. But in reality, there are a million similarities too. The differences are just more obvious.

Visual Size Comparison (aka, my baby is huge!)

How to Dance

70's style, a la James.

Point to the sky

Point to the ground

Point to the sky, point to the ground

And roll

And back

And roll, and back.

I've managed to avoid Yo Gabba Gabba for J's entire life. Too bad Buggy likes it. And now I fear J may have watched too much.

School Days

Last week I got the pleasure of attending J's school for "Muffins with Mom". They were celebrating Mother's day early due to busy times in school. The day included food, circle time, songs, and getting to know the other kids and moms.

J was very excited to share his day with me. And I must admit, I was rather curious to see how his interactions with the other kids go. He often fills us in on random portions of his day, with play by plays of who sat in timeout and what was served for snack. It's fun to hear about it all through a 3 year old's words. He loves to tell us the names of the kids in his class. It goes something like this: Connor, Mallory, Claudia, Kaylee, and....that other pink one. He has taken to calling people by the color of their shirts when he doesn't know/can't remember their name. Yes, I'm aware this could cause problems if someone is wearing the wrong color shirt. But for now, there's something just so....innocent about it. In his eyes people aren't different. And the only discernible way to tell them apart is shirt color. I hope he holds onto that innocence for as long as possible.

But I digress.

When I arrived at school, the kids were all playing in the large indoor playground right next door to his classroom. He didn't know I was in his class until he walked through that door. His eyes lit up and he ran to me with a huge smile on his face. "Mommy! You came. Mommy always comes back!"

The tables were set with apple juice and plates of muffins. The centerpieces were meant to look like flowers and were "made" by the children. We found ours and sat down.

It brings me such joy to see the art projects that J comes home with. I love that he has the chance to explore his creative side. And the thing I love most is that every day it's a surprise. I never know what I'm going to get when I open his backpack. For obvious reasons, this art project was extra special and I'll treasure it forever.

I was fortunate enough that Matt was working from home that day and graciously offered to keep O at home with him. I know he got zero work done while I was gone. In fact, O somehow turned the conference call off mute and screeched into the phone, causing a bit of embarrassment for Matt. But J and I were both exceptionally grateful for the one-on-one time. Time with just J is hard to come by lately and I know he craves that time just as much as I do. I love giving him my undivided attention and it was a real treat to spend an hour completely devoted to him.

When we got home, I told him he melts my heart. Yes mama, I do melt your heart.

Prayers

I'm going to skip the usual Friday post today because my heart is heavy. I am greatly saddened by the ordeal one family is having to go through right now. An internet friend pointed me in the direction of a blog about a baby girl with Leukemia. It struck a chord as she was Oliver's age when first diagnosed.

I've spent the past day poring over their blog and praying for sweet little Maggie. She needs any thoughts and prayers you can spare right now as she's struggling with clots, breathing problems, and an infection.

You can read her story here.

Cheeks galore!

So, I've been informed that Buggy's cheeks are always red. Not so. And since I snap about a billion pictures a month, for this Thursday 10, you get the pleasure of 10 pics of the Bug Man. 9 are "redless" and 1 is red, for comparison.








The next 2 I included to show you all how he's starting to try and get into things. He was a good 2 feet away from this table. NO idea how he managed to get here since he remained in the sitting position the whole time and still can't crawl.


In this one, his initial position was facing the camera, in front of that book. He somehow dragged himself over to the entertainment center where he proceeded to yank on the handles. But look how proud he is of himself!


Poor little dude has serious sensitivity issues and eczema. Because of that, if he gets hot or irritated, his cheeks get red. Like this


And that is our little cheeky guy, whose big jowls sometimes droop. Everyone comments on those cheeks. And it's not because they're red. It's because they're so darn irresistible.

9 months old, already??

Tip of the day

Actually, bunnies don't like carrots. They only like apples. So it's ok to throw apples in the yard cuzin* we need to feed them.

And really, when it comes down to it, how can you argue with a face like that?


*cuzin- also known as because.

Monday Map

I don't know if I mentioned it, but J learned to float in swim class last week. I use the term "learned" loosely, of course, as it's hit or miss on whether or not he actually will float. But he did it once. And we made a huge deal out of it, so I'm hoping that gives him the confidence to keep on trying!

He's fearless, as I've been told countless times by the owner of the place. Given that we know someone who almost drowned, at a similar age to J's 3.5, fearless has me worried. Fearless is just one tiny step away from falling in the pool, or perhaps even jumping in, when someone has their back turned for one split second. So every Thursday we have swimming, and he definitely looks forward to it. He's in the class with 3 of our playgroup friends who he has known since they were all infants. They get along well and it really helps to keep them interested.

So....I got sidetracked. Back to that floating day. Swimming is 45 minutes long and O had fallen asleep. I moved closer to the small pool that J was in, in order to get a seat with a back (as opposed to the bleachers, which are the antithesis of comfortable anyway, but especially when holding a child). I settled in with O draped against my chest, snoozing. I can hear most of the conversation going on in the pool.

The instructor, Miss Kristen, had to repeatedly tell J to keep his hand on the wall. Paying attention to safety isn't exactly his strong suit. Then came his turn to practice floating. Up until that particular day, floating was the one thing that made him nervous. He'd scrunch up his legs instead of stretching them out, squeeze his eyes tightly shut, and try to grab onto Miss Kristen. The owner happened to walk by and said "make sure he opens his eyes and relaxes!" J was instructed to do so. I'm assuming it worked (forgot to mention the lattice blocking my view!). Then the owner instructed Miss Kristen to make sure J's ears were under the water. I could hear him yelling "but I can't HEAR!" He was instructed to relax, yet again.

They sang the ABCs to keep them calm. And that's when Miss Kristen let go. And J floated.

Proud does not begin to describe his face when he first walked out to tell me. That shy little smile curving up as he said "I floated by myself." High fives and clapping abound, with the owner lavishing on the praise. A lollipop rounded out the lessons, making the whole day just amazing for him.

Ok, the whole thing may not have been quite that dramatic. But it certainly felt monumental to me. And probably to him too. The thing is, everything he learns still feels monumental to me. It's so amazing to watch him soak up new knowledge. Their brains are like sponges, paying attention to every tiny detail, sometimes even the details you don't want them to notice. So I shouldn't be surprised about what happened at bedtime last night, but I still was.

I mentioned above how he didn't like his ears under water since he couldn't hear. I figured he didn't much pay attention to the ABC song. I didn't pay attention either because I had no idea Miss Kristen sang it differently.

Last night we were reading his Curious George book. It has an ABC section in it. He touched every letter as he sang the song. He gets to the end and says: Now James knows his ABCs, next time won't you float for me?

He smiled up at me at the end, looking for approval. And it took me a minute to figure out where he had heard that. So he can hear under water! I smiled and told him his song was perfect. Next week it's back to floating!

Funny Friday

Last night, at bedtime, I told J he could have 2 minutes of snuggling. Snuggling rounds out the very elaborate bedtime routine. Ok, I take that back, one last kiss/hug, one more sip of water, and one last trip to the potty round it out. But snuggling is supposed to be the end.

I cuddle in with him and rub his back for a minute. I start to pull away.

Mama, that was just 1 minute. Now we need the second minute. This is just the second minute starting, ok??

He certainly knows how to delay!

Thursday 10

From Matt regarding O-man....


His center of gravity is jacked because of that bottom.

Sweet baby, er, big boy James?

At bedtime, I always sing a song or two for James. Typically, it's Twinkle, Twinkle as he stares at the most amazing invention for getting kids to sleep ever, his twilight turtle. Tonight he also asked for "that cowboy song", also known as Sweet Baby James.

He has heard this song probably a million times, for obvious reasons, so he's no stranger to the lyrics. Tonight, he stops me mid-song "no Mama. I am not Baby James. I am Big Boy James. Sing that!"

Wordless Wednesday

Tips on Tuesday

You don't have to wear sweatpants in the snow. You can just wear reg'lar pants. 'Cept if you wait till it gets really cold and really snow, then you can wear sweatpants.

-------------------------

You can't let milk get cold. You need to freeze it so that you can drink it later.

A Day in the Life....

of us!

For my first Monday Map, I am cheating. I thought it might be fun to show you what a day in our life is like.

My day starts at 6:45 when J wakes up. He climbs in bed and pretends to go back to sleep. Usually this means a bit of thrashing about, lots of talking, and questions about watching TV. On this particular day he fills me in on a bizarre story:

"I forgot to get a Barbie for Emmy. I just needed to get one, but I forgot. And Emmy really likes Barbies. Plus, Buzz Lightyear Big is not here. Just Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, and the Zurg. But not Buzz Lightyear Big. He's just not anywhere. Do you know who I am, mommy? I am Buzz Lightyear. Then I'm Jamers. But really, I'm just Buzz Lightyear"

This is all said within about 1.2 seconds, with no breaks in between, making it really hard to keep up. And where did he learn about Barbies??

We get dressed and go downstairs for some breakfast. Since it's a school day he won't eat much. He gets too excited to go to school. But on a normal day, he loooooooves breakfast.


8:40 and it's time to wake Buggy. I hate this part, and here's why....


It's a cold day, so I bundle them up and load them into the car.


Time for carpool.


By 9:07 I am out of the carpool line on my way home. I feed the Bugster, eat my own breakfast, and we play.


At 10:30 Buggy takes a nap, while I work a bit. He wakes around 11:40 and it's time to go get J from school.


We get home about 12:15. On the drive home, J fills me in on his day. Apparently someone threw a block at him. Then it's time for lunch (yes, that's a pickle with a PB&J...my kid likes strange things).


Followed closely by naps.


I work while they nap. This is followed by an impromptu grocery run, as I've found a recipe online I want to make for dinner. Yes, we've just been to the grocery store the night before. But I am so not good at thinking ahead. I'm pretty sure we single handedly keep this particular location open. No adorable pictures of the 2 of them in the shopping cart because, well, I have enough trouble keeping track of my purse. So instead you get a boring picture of the grocery store.


I would like to take a moment to gush about my love for my van. I am able to fit sooooo much in there. And the kids are nice and cozy!


Daddy gets home and J has a snack (he mostly never eats dinner), while mommy reads the internet recipe and cooks dinner.


The boys all play in the dark (?) office. I'm pretty sure it involved the use of a flashlight and lots of yelling and running around.


Then it's that blessed time of night.....bedtime!

And that's a typical day! Sometimes more exciting, and surprisingly sometimes less.