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The Best Lunch Date

27 Aug
  • A stroll through the mall – window shopping and checking out cool stuff.
  • An order of Bourbon Chicken with Fried Rice and Broccoli.
  • A spoon and a fork and a shared Styrofoam container.
  • He and I sitting side by side, allowing me to sneak smooches and help him cut his broccoli trees.
  • A hug around the neck as I carried him to his bed for a nap.  (He made it even better by saying “Momma” with such love as he wrapped his little arms around and squeezed.)

I feel so lucky Nate and I shared such a nice day together.  It made me worry that I didn’t make the right decision about going back to work but then I remembered we’ll still have our evenings and weekends to enjoy. I know he’s going to love his “school” and I think it’s really going to help him in a lot of ways. I’m just glad I have this memory to keep and to cherish and am so thankful for our little man.

 

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Potty Monster

21 Aug

It seems we’ve created a Potty Monster.  It’s kind of hard to complain about it though since we’ve been working on potty training off and on for some time now and we should be so excited something we’ve done finally seems to be working. It just seems our latest method of training may be working too well.

He wants to go all the time now.  ALL the time.  Even when he doesn’t have to.  Even when he just went.  All because we gave him a sweet treat after each potty trip.

That’s all he wants now.  “More cookie?  Go potty?  Get cookie!”

We try to explain to him that he just went potty and he doesn’t have to “go” but all that does is make him hysterical. He used to cry when we tried to get him to use the potty, now he cries when he tell him to wait.  It really has us confused about what to do.  If we tell him no then we’re essentially discouraging him to want to use the potty but if we tell him ok then we’re stuffing him with junk all day!

Today, we checked out a book about potty training from the library and I’m searching the net for other techniques.  I hate to change this one mid-method through though because it does seem to be working.  We just have to reduce the size of the sweet.  Something like an M&M or a fruit snack maybe.  I just don’t want to p-off the Potty Monster!
 

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Loves his Big Sis

18 Aug
Wanting to be like Nia
Wanting to be like Nia

 

 

 

 

 

Nate woke up in time to enjoy some of Nia’s second day of school.  He wanted to walk her to the bus stop but had to have his own backpack too!

Helping her little brother
Helping her little brother

 

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Class of 2021?!?!

16 Aug

First Day Excitement

It is so crazy to think that it will be the year 2021 when Nia graduates from high school.  I’ll be 43 years old.  What?  Wait a minute – I think I still have to get through the next 18 years of school days before I even let that cross my mind again.The first school day was fun, according to Nia.  She says she likes her teacher and the other students and thankfully didn’t have any major problems because our sweet, little neighbors watched out for her.  We are so grateful to have them in our lives. They are wonderful kids and we have a blast riding bikes and running from bees with them.

Buddies

Knowing that they were with her on the bus eased my nerves a ton but that doesn’t mean I didn’t burst into tears as soon as the bus pulled away.  How could I not? That’s our precious baby and there she was, barely able to climb the stairs on the bus.

Tiny Legs Tackle Big Steps

She left for school all smiles and came home the same way – only really exhausted. It seems all the fun she had at school really tuckered her out.

All Smiles

Right after that last picture was taken, she asked if I could carry her home and then asked if she could rest.  Of course I’ll baby my baby – for as long as I can.

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Our Little Puzzler

14 Aug

He doesn't know his colors yet but he can tell you where Alabama (or as Andrew taught him, "Al-a-BAMA!") goes on the map.

Nate has been amazing us with his mad map puzzle skills.  He just loves to dump out all the pieces and then put them all back – over and over again.  I love it!  He already knows more than I do about geography!  (I'm lucky if I can name the seven continents.  There are seven of them right?)

Little Puzzler
Little Puzzler

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Ready or Not

13 Aug

The “Hello Kitty” backpack now sits filled with crayons, glue sticks, safety scissors, antibacterial lotion and notebooks.  Her matching “Hello Kitty” lunch box will soon be stuffed with her favorites.  She placed the order herself – peanut butter and jelly, applesauce and cheese crackers.  Oh and don’t forget the juice box, Momma.

Soon that backpack will weigh on her shoulders.  Now crisp and clean, on Friday it will begin its days of being dragged, kicked, dropped, tossed, used, abused and loved to pieces. The lunch box will soon start its important job of carrying the lunches I make with care – the one connection I’ll have with Nia during her long day away.  It will carry more than food, it will carry my love all zipped up with her PB&J – Momma hopes you like your lunch Sweets.  I’m thinking about you and hoping you have a great day at school.

I hope you learn a lot, laugh a lot, live a lot.  I hope your school days are happy days.  I’ll miss you while you’re there.  I’ll worry that you’re ok on your own.  You’re so small.  You’re so sweet.  Will they take care of you like they should?  Will they love your little ways like they should?  Will you make friends that you’ll have forever?  Will you want to invite them over to play?  Will kids be mean to you?  Momma can’t protect you there.  Be strong little girl.  Be brave.  Be nice.  Be helpful.  Be polite.  Behave.  Be fun.  Be you.

I love you Sweets.  Friday is your first of many days growing up but I will always remember you as my little girl with the “Hello Kitty” backpack that was adorably too big and that bounced when you walked.

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Extreme Tricycling

11 Aug

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Nia Sings and Nate Counts

3 Aug

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The Key to Conquering the Commode?

23 Jul

Right now, Thomas the Tank Engine underpants are taking a tumble in our washing machine.  After that, they’ll be dried and given to a 2 and a half year old boy who has yet to master the whole peeing and pooing in the potty business.  I’m hoping that Nate will be so in love with the drawers that he won’t want to defile them.  I already know he loves them because the very moment he saw them he wanted to rip them out of the package and put them on.  I told him, “No, Mommy has to wash them first.”  He took them to the bathroom sink, tossed them in and said, “Mommy wash.”

Here’s to Thomas!
 

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Minding your own beeswax doesn’t work

29 Jun

Poor little man.  There he was (minding his own beeswax), taking a dip in the pool, when a bee decided to interrupt his fun day in the sun.

We never saw it coming.  He and I were watching Nia walk to our chair to get her floatie-arms and the next thing I know, Nate was screaming out in pain.  The bee got him right between his shoulder and his neck which is pretty amazing being that all of his floatie gear leaves very little skin exposed.

I never thought I would purposefully touch any bee but my motherly emotions took over and I actually grabbed that pesky mofo with my fingers and tossed it in anger.  I really didn’t know what to do next, but I saw that the stinger was still in Nate’s skin so I squeezed around the area to work it out.

Nate cried all the way around the pool as we rushed to get medicine from the lifeguard.  He kept saying so pitifully, “Bee did it.  Bee did it.”

It was heartbreaking.  After the initial pain of it all, Nate was just fine and actually faked a sad face when he later told his daddy what happened.  “Bee did it Daddy,” as he pointed to his boo-boo, “Bee did it.”
 

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