Building Blocks and Bedtime

We have fallen into our evening routine of dinner, play, bath time, a little more play, then books and finally bedtime. Will (daddy) usually gets home sometime after dinner (James eats before Will and I do). This evening, he didn't make it home until after bath time. I was just getting ready to head into James' room for some books before bedtime, but then daddy walked into the door. Once James' sees him, it's goodbye mommy and hello daddy! He immediately grabbed Will's hand and led him over to the play rug. He asked him to "Sit down" so he could bring over his blocks. Then, James noticed that daddy had forgotten to take his shoes off. James never forgets our cardinal rule of no outside shoes inside the house, but daddy often forgets! So, James helped with the shoe removal. See below-


James took Will's shoes and put them into the closet for him. Then took out his slippers and proceeded to put them on daddy's feet. Yes, Will has him trained very well. You could call this child labor, but James takes his "job" very seriously and actually looks forward to "helping daddy with his shoes" every evening.

Once the dirty outside shoes are safely put away and daddy has on his slippers, the tower building can begin.....

James is very good at taking turns (sometimes)............

And he always applauds the efforts of his daddy when building towers. Apparently, he is very proud of his daddy's building skills!

Finally, after two towers have been built and demolished, it's time for bedtime books with mommy. His new fav book is Bedtime Stories with Elmo. Oh Elmo. Elmo, Elmo, Elmo......

Just For Mom

Okay, so my mom commented (complained) that my recent blog posts have been too wordy and less picture-y. It's just very hard when your "subject" won't stay still for two seconds, but here's the latest. Sorry for the super-close, blurry ones. Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary!

Today, Will and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary.

We celebrated by going out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. We go there every year, not because we love their food so much, but because our wedding cake was their Banana Cream Pie cheesecake. So, we go there for dinner and for our "wedding cake." It's always fresh, very yummy and it brings back such romantic memories of when we started our lives together. Plus, we think it's pretty cool that we can have it every year for our anniversary (unless the restaurant chain goes out of business, but I don't think it's likely).

This is what was left of our "wedding cake" dessert. So yummy!

And, we don't go overboard for gifts during Christmas, but we do like to shower each other with gifts during birthdays and anniversaries. I think Oprah said it best- "Don't have big weddings. Have big anniversaries and celebrate the fact that you are still together!"

After leading me in the "wrong direction" and teasing me with my gift, Will presented me with a beautifully written card and my gift this morning. Traditionally, linen and silk are the gifts for the 4th anniversary. The modern trend is electronic devices. So, in keeping with the "theme", Will got me a TomTom GPS unit for my car. I got him his much-longed-for water fountain/feature for the back patio. (it has to be plugged in for the water pump to work, so it's electric, right?)

Anyway, the best part of our anniversary was remembering how much we love each other and sharing that love with our son. I love how he expects a kiss every time he sees us kissing. Will can't give me one kiss without James smacking his lips as if to say- "My turn! My turn!" Of course, he never goes without getting a kiss from Mommy and Daddy!

Our lives are so full right now. Yes, full of good stuff and then the bad, not-s0-fun stuff, too. But, that's life. You have to take the good with the bad. But, having a good partner makes all the difference in the world.

Happy Anniversary, Hon!

Happy 22 Months Old!!!

My, how time is flying by! James' latest birth-month just snuck up on me!
This past weekend, we were at Ginnie Springs, tubing and camping with friends. Well, by camping, I mean staying at a motel near by the park. I'm NOT ready for a tent and a two year old! We had such a nice, relaxing, fun weekend at the springs.
On Saturday, he turned 22 months old. He amazes me every day by learning/saying a new word. His vocabulary has expanded to two-word expressions now. I love to hear him announce "I'm running" or "I'm jumping". His expressions are just so cute (Oh-No!) and (Nice!). I've ruined him with the free cookies at Publix. As soon as we pull into the parking lot, he yells out "Cookies!!" Sometimes I get full sentences out of him, "I want cookies!" or " I want outside!" After a conference with his teachers, I proudly learned that he is one of the best jumpers in his class. His legs may be short, but they are STRONG!
He is getting better at being gentle with his friends, but he likes to throw toys/objects, which doesn't always end well.
I love how he announces whatever he is drinking. For example, he will hold up his cup and announce "MILK" or "JUICE" whenever it is appropriate. Too cute.
His swim lessons are going wonderfully. As promised, I videotaped last Friday's lesson, but I can't find the USB port to connect the camera to the computer, so it can't be downloaded just yet. I have plans for a trip to Best Buy very soon. However, his instructor says that he is making great progress and really WANTS to be a swimmer. I can see how hard he kicks and really follows her directions. As soon as his ten minutes are up, he lays beside the pool for a good 15 minutes to rest and catch his breath.
We are just so proud of him and the little sunshine that he has become. Oh yes, there are the days/times that he drives me to drinking and pushes my limits! It makes for very hard mornings when we are trying to get out of the house in a timely manner. He is very head strong (gets it from both sides!) and very independent. But, we wouldn't have it any other way.
Overall, he is such a sweet, fun, cool, precious little boy and we love sharing our lives with him.
Happy 22 Month Birthday Little Man!

Is This the Face of a Bully?

Yes, my friends, apparently this is the face of a bully. I picked James up from school today and got a disturbing report of his daily behavior. His teacher did not say the word "bully" but his actions have it written all over them. It seems that this "angel" child of mine has been playing very rough with his friends, pushing them down (not out of anger, but because it's funny), laying on top of them (pushing his weight around) and taking toys from them. Some of it may be typical "boy" behavior, but he does play very rough and we are working on being "gentle." No, this is not good at all.

What's more disturbing is that I've seen this behavior at home as well. For example, James will come up to me and push me with both hands. When I give him the "What are you thinking?!??" look, he immediately gives me a hug as if to make it all better. Well, a hug that follows a push does not make it all better!

Fellow super moms out there (especially those with little boys) how do I nip this behavior in the bud???

On a side note, James is progressing wonderfully with his swimming lessons! The first couple of lessons were very difficult (for him and for me) but he is getting more comfortable with the instructor and making great gains in his air control and swim form. Another mom who was there with her two older children could not believe how well he was swimming already, at such a young age. Even though each lesson is only 10 minutes, he is working/swimming/kicking the entire time and it totally wears him out! Of course, after a little rest, he is back to his normal, rough-housing self! On Friday, I get to videotape his lesson. I'll be sure to post it for those of you who are skeptical and interested.

Also, I have to mention that my mother is completely AGAINST this type of swim instruction. She was mortified that I didn't immediatly pull him out of the water the first time he started crying and she can't believe that I continue taking him. I assured her that this isn't causing major future trauma (I hope) and that in the end, he will be a capable, confident swimmer (priceless). The lessons have not affected his desire to go swimming in our pool (or any other pool) but they have given him a healthy respect for the water. But, I just had to note my mother's hesitations.......

Weekend Shenannigans

It's Sunday night and I'm tired.
So, this post will be short and sweet...
After a couple months hiatus, I rejoined the Brandon Runners for an early Saturday morning run. I've really missed getting up early and running with the group. Okay, maybe I just missed the breakfast afterwards. I ran 5.5 miles and it felt great. Well, it felt great up until mile 5, then my left knee (it band) started acting up again. So, I'm just going to take it easy and not pack on too much mileage, too fast.
Saturday afternoon, I got really adventurous and loaded up James and Misha and Abby and headed to a nearby trendy children's boutique for a family portrait. It's been years since the girls (our dogs) have been in a family photo, so I wanted them to be a part of this years' Mother's Day portrait. Despite all of the things that could have potentially gone wrong in a children's clothing boutique with two small dogs and a two year old, the event went very well! Actually, the dogs did better during the photo shoot than James did! But, boy was I sweating! Trying to round up both dogs, get James to look at the camera and smile at the same time is WORK! You can see the pictures by clicking on this link.
I think they turned out okay, but I still love the work that my friend Susan does!
On Sunday, Will and I were invited to a co worker's house for grilling and poolside drinks. They have a son who is a few months older than James, so the boys had fun playing together. It was a nice afternoon away, but we are just wiped out and tomorrow begins the work week.
James continues with his swim lessons tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to going back after he's had a few days off, although I could tell he was practicing his "swimming" at our friends' pool today. And, if anything, the lessons have given him a healthy respect for the water. Priceless!
Okay, so the post wasn't too short and maybe not that sweet.
But, it was a weekend filled with sweet moments with my son and my husband so there you go!

Have a great week out there!

First Day of Swimming Lessons

So, today was our first day of swimming lessons. James had no clue, but I have been anticipating this event for several days now. We arrive at the dive shop where the pool is located and meet the instructor in the parking lot. She is a bubbly, cute woman and James immediately smiled and waved at her. She asked him for a high-five and then he proceeded to give her "knuckles". Yes, our boy is that cool. The instructor then commented that that would probably be the last time he would be so friendly with her. I started to worry then.

I had heard that many children cry throughout the lesson and even the Parent Resource Guide that I received in the mail prepared me for the level of anxiety that accompanies most of the swim lessons.

Since each lesson is only 10 minutes long (albeit the LONGEST ten minutes ever), I thought that maybe the first day would be an easy one. Not so much......

James went right to the instructor in the water, then the work began. Today, they worked on finding the side of the pool (a brightly colored pole easily accessible for small children). The side of the pool means AIR and an exit point, so this is an important lesson. James went under several times, but he always came up grabbing for the pole and was kicking/reaching/swimming towards it. As much as I prepared myself, it was very hard to see him struggling and crying and going under (all under the watchful supervision of the instructor, but still.)

She was commenting on his performance, checking his vitals (temperature, bloating, burping, fatigue, etc) and giving him swim cues all at the same time. She noted how active he was and how his energy level was very high (tell me something I don't know!). He used good swimming form and immediately rolled onto his back for a floating position. Although I was on pins and needles, she said he had an excellent first lesson. After his ten minute lesson, he was completely exhausted. I let him lay by the side of the pool for about 15 minutes. He needed it to catch his breath and just regroup. Poor thing.

During James' lesson (see, I told you it was a long ten minutes!) I met another mom whose little girl was in a lesson after James. Her little girl was one month younger than James. The mom explained that three weeks ago, the little girl had fallen into their pool. When she found her, she was blue and non responsive. The mom commented that she's just lucky she knew CPR.

My eyes welled up with tears and all I could think of was the importance of these swim lessons.

I shared this story not to scare you, but just as a precaution because children do die of drowning every day. And it is something 100% preventable.

Sorry for the buzz kill.