Like Mother, Like Son

I've always loved being "out and about." I like the hustle and bustle of going here, doing this and that, going there. Then, finally coming home at the end of a long, productive day. It seems that James is following in my fast-lane-footsteps.
Exhibit A: Today's schedule of events....
7:00 am- Out the door and on our way to school/preschool
5:15 pm- I pick up James after a full day of teaching and then working on grad school papers.
5:16 pm- I ask James if he wants to go to the gym or go home and walk the dogs. Emphatically, he announces, "the gym!"
5:30 pm- We arrive at the gym. James runs all the way from the car, into the elevator, through the door and into the Kid's Club.
6:30 pm- I finish my workout and try to convince James to leave the Kid's Club. He is having too much fun playing and jumping and building forts. It takes me almost 15 minutes to convince him that we need to get home soon.
7:20 pm- Arrive home. Walk the dogs around the neighborhood. I'm still trying to convince James that it's time to head inside the house and eat dinner. He refuses and tries to make a run for the nearby park. He starts crying and asking to go to the water and/or the park. I have to pick him up and carry him football-style into the house, kicking and screaming all the way. He wants to stay outside longer. Go figure.
8:30 pm- James is finally bathed, fed dinner and in bed. Whew! This boy is wearing me out!

Swinging at Sunset

On Friday, James and I walked over to the park in our neighborhood for some "swinging at sunset". The park overlooks the lagoon and provides a beautiful view as the sun sets over the water. But, what caught James' eye were two little girls swinging in the next swings over. However, they were using the only two toddler swings and were able to swing very high, safely.
Key word here is SAFELY.

James: "Look mom! See how high they are going! Higher! Higher!"

Me: "Listen, you aren't used to this big boy swing. Hold on tight and don't let go. We can't go too high. It's not safe."

James: screaming "HIGHER!"

And then his little impatient temper gets the best of him......

Yep. This is a picture of James falling out of the swing as he's yelling at me to push him higher. I was just snapping away, not realizing that he had let go in his demands. Luckily, I'm raising quite the stunt man and he just jumped right up and brushed off his hands as if to say, "I meant to do that."

This concluded our sunset swing session and secured my entry into the mommy-of-the-year award- NOT!

Bruiser

Earlier in the month, James had his first run-in with the pavement at his preschool. He was running (go figure!) and his little legs couldn't keep up with the rest of his body. So, down he went. Apparently, it was quite the bloody scene. Once the teachers cleaned him up (within minutes), he brushed off the injury and was ready to run again. But, since he fell on his mouth and there was already bruising on his gum line, it warranted a phone call to mommy and daddy. Will stepped up to the plate, erased his schedule for the rest of the day and rushed James off to the dentist to check his front teeth. We were worried about possibly loosing one or two....

After a very successful trip to the dentist (James was dancing and singing in the back room with the dental assistants), we found out that no serious damage was done to his jaw line or teeth. We were told to watch his front tooth for any discoloration or discomfort. Well, within two weeks, the tooth turned gray and James started to complain of an "owie" in his mouth and he didn't want to bite down on certain foods.

After another trip to the dentist and multiple xrays, we learned that the nerve was totally dead.The discomfort was probably caused by excess gases from the dead nerve tissue. (I'm not dentist and this is totally written in layman's terms from what I remember, so if it's incorrect, please forgive me.) So, the dentist recommended a procedure where they drill a small hole in the back of the tooth, fill it with a medication that kills all the tissue and cleans out the hole. Apparently, this is the most common procedure among toddlers!
A couple of weeks later, they seal off of the hole and re-whiten the front of the tooth. The sealant simply goes away when the permanent tooth pushes through (in a couple of years). Until then, our little sunshine still has his perfect smile, all teeth are in place and there is no pain or discomfort!

I was very pleased with the dentists and dental assistants and very proud of James!

We were able to take him out in public after a couple of weeks (after the swelling went down and his busted lip healed!)

Conversations with James

Me: "James, it's time to change to your diaper."
James: "Poop, mom?"
Me: "No James, there is no poop. Remember you are supposed to tell mommy when you have a poopy diaper."
James: "Okay mommmy. No poop. Just gas?"
Me: (stiffling back a laugh) "Yes, James. There was just gas in the diaper."

(One evening before dinner)
Me: "James, what would you like for dinner?"
James: "No mommy. Play trains."
Me: "You can't play trains. It's time to eat. Are you hungry?"
James: "No."
Me: "Do you want chicken?"
James: "No."
Me: "Do you want pasta?"
James: "No"
Me: "Do you want cheeseburger?"
James: "No"
Me: "Are you just going to say No everytime I ask you something?"
James: (looking guiltily to the side) "Yes"
(His dad almost choked laughing at that one. And yes, that is usually how my conversations with James goes.)

(Looking at the pregnancy portraits hanging on his wall in his bedroom and successfully stalling before naptime)
James: "Mommy in picture and Daddy in picture. Where's James?"
Me: "Yes, that's mommy and daddy. Baby James is in mommy's tummy."
James: "Where's James?"
Me: "In mommy's tummy."
James: "Where's James?"
Me: "In mommy's tummy." (we repeat this same question/answer routine at least five more times)
After mulling it over in his two-year old brain..
James: "Baby's trapped."
Me: "Yes, the baby was trapped. But thanks to the doctor and an unplanned C-section, the baby got out just fine. He's okay now."
James: "Okay mommy."

Working for the Weekend

That's pretty much how things have been lately. We get up early, everyone heads off to school/work/preschool, come home in the evening, walk the dogs, rush through dinner and bathtime, clean up from dinner, wind down for bedtime, finally get to go to bedtime, then wake up and do it all over again five times in a row. Sounds fascinating, huh?
Not so much, which is why we LOVE our WEEKENDS!
It gives us time to take leisurely walks to the park and around the neighborhood.....
Sometimes all that walking/running makes us very thirsty! I swear that James would run for two miles if I let him. He has so much energy and LOVES to run! I think that Mommy and Me 5k's are in our future!

At the end of a long walk, nothing is better than naptime! Well, for mommy anyway! James is all smiles for the camera now, but when I put down the camera and he realized that it "really" was naptime, the tears and drama came out! Life is so unfair as a two year old!

After a very nice three hour nap (mommy and daddy are blessed!), James woke up asking to "play trains". It is still his favorite pastime activity (besides running and jumping off furniture.)
While playing, we have to sing the songs from Chuggington and Dinosaur Trains. Sometimes the opening song from Little Einsteins will sneak in there, but who cares????

Still hamming it up for the camera! I don't know who taught him to say "cheese" for the camera, but I can't pull one out without him stopping what he's doing, flashing a grin and saying "CHEEEEEESE!" Then, of course, he demands to see his picture from the digital camera. Kids growing up today have SO many conveniences. Speaking of conveniences, James has gotten used to seeing whichever cartoon episode he feels like, whenever he feels like it thanks to our Tivo. During TV time, he demands to see whatever cartoon catches his fancy at that moment in time and will sometimes even request which episode he wants based on the title. Please don't comment on my willingness to cater to his every whim. I'm working on it...

We now have 6-to-1 shows saved for James verses Us. What's up with that?

One of James' favorite things to do when I'm making dinner is to "play drums." Yes, to a two year old, upside-down bowls and wooden spoons are drums. And yes, you'd be AMAZED how much noise they create! But, as long as he continues to hit the bowls and not the dogs with the wooden spoons, I consider it a success. Yes, it's the little things...

I hope everyone is enjoying your weekend and making as much noise as you can! Find your inner drum beat and bang away!