What he said

"Mama, mama, mama! My hand not listening to me!"

"Probably I have need some chocolate milk."

You: "I did cried."
Me: "Why did you cry?"
You: "Because I did cried."

Daddy: "How are you?"
You: "Me OK."

"I love you, mama. And I love Howie. And I love your baby."

"I love you, mama. And you know who else I love? That guy." [points to Daddy]

"One, two, three four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." (12/16/2013)

"Look, mama! A hole! Probably a man did that."

"No! Possie!! No go in my sandbox!"

Dad: "What's the magic word?"
You: "Potus, Potus, Potus."
Dad to me: "What's 'Potus, Potus, Potus?'"
Me: "Hokus pokus. Apparently Mickey Mouse taught him about magic before we taught him about manners."

Most all done

Doodle,

Your mastery of language continues to steam full speed ahead. You like to ask me if I am "most all done?" with whatever is boring you. That's because you hear me telling you I'm "almost done" pretty often. It's hard to believe you could ever be bored. You find a way to make mischief out of anything. When do you find time to get bored?

You LOVE to watch me bake or cook. If I'm in the kitchen preparing something and you notice, you are quick to get your "little yellow chair" from the kitchen table. You drag it over to me (usually insisting that I move so you can better see what I've got on the counter) and step up high to watch. Sometimes you add the flour or sugar to the cookies for me. You are always hoping I'm making cookies. :) I don't blame you!

This pregnancy I have been baking a lot. Your little sister is also always hoping I am making cookies. You two will get along well, I think.

You love, love, love books and going to the library. We're going to go to the library tomorrow to pick up some new books. I found a new author that makes truck stories - Jon Sczieska or something like that. I now have a hold request on eight more of his stories because you like the first one so well.

We will also play outside tomorrow if the weather is warm enough. Outside is heaven to you. Today we went out and you went directly to a stash of possum poop that has been deposited on our back rock wall. You're fascinated by it, though you don't touch it (thank you so much). You did touch the bird poop that had splatted onto the outdoor table, not believing that something so splashy looking could be poop. And now you know, dear boy.

When I was outside with you, you said "Baby is being a very good boy. And you are being a good boy, too, Mama." Thank you! That's high praise coming from you. Really, it is.

You got chickenpox last week - a mild case with about 150 blisters. It broke my heart, but I'm so glad it was such a merciful case. You haven't had any new pox in about five days now, and some of your scabs are falling off. I suspect you are helping them fall off, though I've only seen you touching them once or twice. What a good boy.

We are waiting for Daddy to come home from Charlotte. We will be by ourselves again tomorrow. Let's have lots of fun making cookies and checking out books! I love you so much.

The happiest words

Most days, the sweetest words I hear all day are these two:

"Hi, Momma!"

You say it so nicely! So I say a lot of "Hi, Cookie!" to you. You respond back right away. What a nice boy!

Your new nicknames are Cookie and Tookus. You do hear your given name a few times each day, too, and not just when you're into mischief.

Sometimes you ARE into mischief. How...darling...? Hmm.

Ever yours,
Momma

Age before beauty

Guess what! Your daddy and I have been married for six years as of today! Happy anniversary to us!

You are the best gift we received, ever. We still gaze at you sometimes with nothing to say, just happy to look at you. You are so beautiful. And you're ours! It blows my mind sometimes.

You have grown a lot. You are 36 inches tall now and you weigh 28 pounds. People are starting to speculate that you will be a tall young man one day. Could be! (That's something you say... "Tood be!")

Lately you've been saying a lot of funny things. Your newest repetition is "Wanna help me? Wanna help me?" Sometimes you don't even know what you want help with.

I used to count how many words you could string together in a sentence. The highest I counted was eight. But lately you've been saying so many words in a sentence - sometimes even making run-on sentences - that I can't count them anymore. You talk a lot!

Other funny things you say:

"Baby hold baby's hand." When you don't want to hold my hand...you hold your own instead, like a nun in a choir.
"I know that." To everything.
"Ow wight." All right. Your response when you receive instruction you find acceptable.
"Want to drive on the hard road." Daddy let you drive on the gravel roads in the UP last week. You will never forget it. You call the gravel road "hard road" and you often ask if you can drive now, even on city streets.

We had a fantastic time in the UP. You slept in a big bed, walled in by pillows and blankets. You loved that, I think. You slept great and woke up smiling. You went to the lake frequently and threw rocks in the water. The big dog, Rudy, didn't scare you. You liked him a lot. You got a lot of mosquito bites and refused to ride on grandpa's tractor. (WHAT??) You made cookies with grandma and ate so much dough I could hardly believe it. You said "It's soooo good!"

You were very good in the car. I guess you love road trips. You hardly fussed, except when you wanted my iPad. Who can blame you for that?

I've been trying to help you understand that there is another baby in my tummy that you will be meeting in a few months. You don't get it yet. That's ok. You're going to be a fun big brother. We plan to leave you in your room and prep the room next door for new baby. I'll find out what gender the new baby is on Sept. 16. I feel like it's a girl.

Love you, darling!

Hide! Hide!

Uh oh! No one can find Sam again! He must be hiding!

It seems your very favorite thing to do is to hide whenever you hear Mom or Dad approaching. Especially Dad - you hide every time he comes home from work. Behind the couch! Under the pillows! In the closet! I help you think of new hiding places, and sometimes we stump Daddy pretty good! He knows the routine now. He walks through the door, puts his keys away, and comes searching for you. You've finally learned to be very quiet when hiding, but Daddy still tries to trick you by saying "Psst! Psst!" to make you giggle. When he finds you, you are thrilled. You yell "Hide! Hide!" ... as if Daddy might not have known you were hiding on him.

All of us love the hiding.

In other news, it looks like you're going to be a big brother! I am 12 weeks pregnant. I am cautious but excited. This is my sixth pregnancy, and as you know, you are my only baby. But it seems to be going well so far this time. I've been sick! Poor Doodle, you've seen me throwing up quite a few times. You get very concerned. I'm sorry. I'd hide it from you, but it's not really possible. You follow me everywhere, and I never happen to vomit during nap time. I should be getting close to feeling better. I'm also looking forward to being able to eat more foods. You are, too. Dinner has been a rarity around here, since I can hardly stand the smell of food when it's cooking.

Now. We do need to talk about your vocabulary. You know a bazillion words. (I can hardly believe how recently I was trying to list all the words you know... You know so many now, I couldn't even attempt it.) But you heavily rely on a single word: No. Sure, it's an easy word, and you're a temperamental two-year-old, but it's excessive. Daddy and I have been trying to combat your "No!" habit lately. You've said yes upon request a few times, but you seem to grasp the accommodating nature of the word. It doesn't appeal to you.

A typical conversation with you:
Sam: Baby go to sleep. Baby go to sleep.
Mom: OK, Baby go to sleep.
Sam: No baby go to sleep!

More adorable Sam-isms:

"Uh-huh need Momma now." (Uh-huh is your typical affirmative.)

Also: "Nake in a hole? Nake in a hole?" (Is there a snake in the hole?) "Tood be!" (Could be!)

What a darling. :)

Love you, sweetheart.

No hold baby now, Mom.

This was your second five-word sentence, uttered just moments ago. Certainly a bittersweet one. I was explaining to you how when you were little, I held you all the time. You slept on me, I carried you, and I just held you. Almost nonstop. Now that you are 2 years old and bossy, I hardly get to hold you before you start hollering for Dada to come save you. It's true. So I was telling you this, and trying to snuggle with you, when you said "No hold baby now, Mom."

Thanks, dear.

Your first four-word sentence

"No see baby now!"

:)

You were hiding your face from me. You think you can't be seen if you can't see. And then you look at me and say "See baby now!" It's very fun.

I say bun-bun, you say mon-mon

Sweetie,

Since it is bunny season, we are often on the lookout for our long-eared friends. When I say "I see a bun-bun!", You say "Mon-mon?" Of course I think it's adorable.

The snarkier image

Contrary to what you must think, I do not enjoy being pinched, poked, pounded, groped, bit, slapped or shoved. I know, right? Moms these days.

You are so active and much too busy to take effort not to hurt me. So you do cause me minor injury every day. Today you put one of your tractor toys on my exposed calf and then flopped down on it. Some of my skin is now missing. Awesome.

You're 2. What did I expect?

But you're also sweet. You kissed my tractor-bitten leg this morning. Thanks, love.

XOXOXO

But seriously, if I could end one thing, it would be the groping. STOP. IT.

XOXOXO

My child

You possess great power over me. Let me explain.

You can completely shut down my brain function through the simple act of crying. When my baby cries, I can't read. I can't see straight. I can't process basic thoughts. I can't answer questions.

For example: When we were visiting Ken and Kari in Reno, we went to a sandwich shop. As we were ordering, you began wailing in my arms. Your voice pierced through my ear drum and emptied my brain of cognitive ability. I think the restaurant lady was asking if I needed a drink with my sandwich. I couldn't answer. I couldn't do a thing except hold you and panic. You were fine and I knew it, but my brain wouldn't permit me to form a response to the lady. Your Uncle Ken ordered me a drink. I didn't need it - I had a bottle of water from home in my purse. But I could not think well enough to say so.

Also, you sat on my lap this week as I tried to process an overnight shipment to Key West. It was my first overnight shipment ever, and I had to get it done in about 20 minutes to make it out in time. You were tired, or sad, or both. You cried, and in my stress, I asked you to stop crying. You cried harder. I asked you to stop crying again. You cried harder. At this point, you achieved total meltdown of Mommy's brain, and I pulled your sobbing body onto my lap. I couldn't think again until you fell asleep there. We didn't get the shipment out the way I intended, but Plan B worked fine and all was well.

Darling, I need you to use your powers for good and not evil. I hope you know that it's because I am so focused on your health and happiness that one wail from you reduces me to rubble. So please be kind. Try to learn to just fall asleep if you're tired, or close your eyes if you see something that scares you. That will help me look less like a spazzed out idiot in public.

On a sad note, we tried to nurse a baby bunny that a neighbor found rolling around in the dirt. I fed it, let it sleep on a heating pad in a little box, and carried it around in my bra for a couple days. You learned to expect it to be there. You called it "baby mon-mon" because I told you it was a bun-bun. You still pat my chest sometimes and ask if baby mon-mon is there, though I told you it fell asleep forever and Daddy put it outside. Your memory is amazing, and you are ever hopeful that mommy has the mon-mon in her bra. I wish I did, too.

After the bunny died, Grandpa Tractor came to visit for a couple days. You liked him pretty well. He played with you and teased you a lot. You started calling him "Papa" - short for Grandpa, I think. He loves you. He put shutters on our house and built my peas a fence to climb up. He is still learning to understand that you are a sensitive little guy. His sense of humor is generally not very sensitive.

Lastly, today is Mother's Day. It is my third Mother's Day of actual motherhood (cat parenting does not count, I've come to see). I'm still in awe of you, my child, and adore you. You're growing up a little every day. You learn a new word in a snap. Uncle Jake (not really your uncle, but we all like him) taught you what a wine cork is two nights ago, and you got it right away. I was changing your diaper the other day and happened to mention that I was cleaning your poo hole. You caught on immediately, and now like to talk about your poo hole. (Mommy suffers a bit of remorse about that.) And today I taught you how to rub your hands together when washing them, and it's pretty much the cutest thing on earth.

You are taking a nap now. I wish I was snuggling you and smothering you with kisses. Thank you for all that you give me every day. XOXOXO

A heart-burster

WOW! You did something I've only dreamed about!

Two days ago, I said "Mama loves baby! Does baby love mama?" And for the first time ever, you nodded your head! In case it was a coincidence, I asked again. You nodded your head again! I asked if you love dada, and you nodded again.

I felt my heart go from 0 to 60 in a half second. What cuteness!

It's finally really spring here and you are in full appreciation. You want to go outside all the time and play in the dirt. You express yourself clearly by whining and saying "Dut! Dut! Dut!" while smashing yourself against the screen or glass door. How adorable. ;)

Seriously, you are adorable. People tell me all the time. But I already knew. And the only girlfriend you can have is me - until you're at least 25. Trust me, you'll thank me later.

Love you, darling.

In your own words

Doodle, your vocabulary has really grown! Here's what you say now:

9 o'clock: any time of day
Ba: Bus
Ba-ba-bo: Red
Back: Back
Bah: Box
Ball-Ball: Ball
Bee: Bee
Bee: Jeep
Be-eh: Big
Beh: Bed
Bieee: Bike
Bieh: Bite
Bo: Boat
Boo: Boots
Boo: Blue
Bo-uh: Book
Bow: Bowl
Boobies: Boobies
Cach: Clock
Ceese: Cheese
Choo-Choo: Train
Co: Coat
Cold: Cold
Dada: Daddy
Dats: Touch
Dig-Dig: Tractor or construction vehicle
Duh: Dirt
Eee: Eat
Eye: Eye
Fass: Fas
Fi: Fly
Go-Ga-Go: Go
Gocks: Socks
Ha: Hat
Hi: Hi
Ho: Hole
Home: Home
Iieee: Light
Knee: Knee
Mama: Grandma
Mama: Mama
Mao-Mao: Cat
Mieff: Mice
Mine: Mine
Mo-Mo: Elmo
Mo-Mo: More
Moo: Move
Mouff: Mouse
Nadeladeladelana: Banana
Neh: Kleenex
Nees: Sneeze
No: No
No: Snow
Nu-Nu: Nursing
On: On
On: Off
Pa: Paw
Pee: Pee
Pee: Peeper
Pete: Pete
Poo: Poo
Rah: Rock
Ta: Stuck
Ti: Stick
Tit: Sit
Toe: Toe
Too: Shoes
Turt: Shirt
Turts: Church
Two: Two
Uh-Oh: Uh-Oh
Up: Up
Wa: Walk
Wa-Wa: Water
Way: This way/That way
Wiee: White
Wow: Wow

You string together a few phrases, like "more cheese" and "big stick." When we see a Jeep Wrangler (your favorite vehicle by far), you say "Bee! Tats!" You want to touch the Jeeps, and we do whenever we can... Like when they're parked and I think no one is looking. There used to be a great red Jeep at Costco, but they recently replaced it with a different display vehicle. My heart was broken for you; we petted that Jeep every time we went to Costco. You'd start hollering about it when you realized we were turning into the Costco driveway. Poor baby.

Lastly, you and I are sick yet again this year. It's about your fifth cold and my third so far. Here's hoping that the winter is finally ending, and with spring, our health will improve.

Love you, tiny Toodle.

Let's Talk About: Safety

My love.

Today we heard bad news about a lovely young man who died in a motorcycle accident.

That makes three young men who attend church with us who have died within the last year. All were much too young. All died in reckless activities.

As a result, there are children who will never be born. Young ladies who will never call them "husband". And mothers who will never feel whole again.

So I ask you my darling - Please be safe. Have proper respect for things that can hurt you, like cars, guns, and motorcycles. Don't live in fear, but be smart.

What do I mean? Abide by the speed limit. Don't ever drink and drive. Don't text and drive. Don't drive tired. Don't keep guns loaded - if you even have a gun. It is my preference that you never own one. Don't be tempted by speed. If you really want to ride a motorcycle, take a safety course and always wear a helmet. Don't ride at night when cars can't see you. And don't go too fast. That is never safe, and never a good idea.

If you have friends who want to break these rules, find new friends. Good friends should not be dangerous people.

There are no guarantees in life, sweetheart. We are never promised a single day of a year. We can't be sure that we can try again tomorrow. So do it right the first time, darling. Be careful. Be happy, but respect that life is a fragile, beautiful thing.

If you do, it's more likely that you'll have precious children in your future. You'll have a wife who loves you beyond words! And your mother will be so thankful for each day she has with you.

She already is.

Be careful, baby. Do it so you can BE.

Mommy Rave: Naptime

I LOVE naptime!

No, it's not what you think.

Naptime is the sweetest part of our day. That's when I get to hold the busiest little guy on earth. You settle down in my arms, sitting sideways on my lap with your cheek resting on my chest. I have you bundled in a blanket. I make the recliner rock. You know what this means and you don't fight it at all. Within a couple minutes, you're asleep.

I keep holding and rocking you for about 10 minutes - until you start to sweat. Sounds weird, but you sweat when you're really asleep.

Then comes the hard part. I have to put you in your crib. I don't want to. I love holding you, little boy. Love, love, love. But if I don't rest you in your crib soon, I hold you too long and it makes you wake up when I try to put you in your crib. Ten minutes after you zonk out is the perfect time. Even though I haven't had my fill, I have to do it. Then I creep out and do those boring mommy things: laundry, dishes, baking. I listen for you to wake. You're always on my mind!

Thanks for making naptime such a treat my love.

XOXOXOX

Two is not so terrible

Tiny squirming boy,

You turned two on Thursday! You did it! What a happy day for you. You took the early approach - you got up at 6 a.m. and began your day with a nap next to Daddy on the couch. I can't remember when you got your first gift, but you were very entitled all day.

We went out for lunch and you feasted on Mac and cheese. Then you took a monstrous nap (3.5 hours!) while your southern grandma and I went shopping. We bought you even more presents! After you woke up, we went out for dinner at Fritz's Railroad Restaurant. The food is awful, terribly awful, but it is delivered by a small train. Trains circle the interior of the restaurant at all times. And since this was a very train birthday for you, it was perfect. You absolutely loved it! It was the first time we'd ever taken you out to a restaurant and then had to do very little to keep you happy. We will go back to Fritz's any time for you... But we might pack our own dinner. ;)

You opened more gifts at home - a cloth John Deere tractor book sewed together by Uncle Ken, a Thomas the Train set from Grandma and Grandpa Tractor, a load of train toys from your mom and dad, some Hot Wheels, and a school bus shaped Magna Doodle. We have more gifts for you but we're spacing them out so you can appreciate them better.

You rewarded us by sleeping through the night last night. I know, we thought we had conquered that! But then you and I took a trip to visit Uncle Ken and Auntie Kari, and sleep habits went out the window. We had to share a bed there, and you kind of liked that. You liked waking up at night and finding mommy there. I became your pillow. I stopped sleeping when you stopped sleeping. How very convenient for you.

How I love you, my darling. You are the cutest little boy in the world. You're very clever and you're sweet. We will do all we can to make sure you don't have a "terrible two" year.

By the way - your new words include bowl - "bow", shirt - "turt", and church - "turtch". You also jibber jabber about things, and usually the last syllable is a real word. "Bellabalala duredurga ba?" is something about a ball. I get it. :) It amazes me when other people hear you talk - they don't understand a thing. I feel like your interpreter sometimes. And I like that. I think we should always be together, ok?

XOXOX

Bedtime Routine

Darling, Darling... You have become the most charming little guy at bedtime. You love it! Based on your bedtime history, you'd think I'm joking. But no! Listen up.

At bedtime, we head upstairs and get on our jammies. Daddy turns on your night light and fills your humidifier. You cuddle with me, and I sing songs to you. You like that. After a song is over, you lift your eyes up and say "Ahhn?" And I sing you another one... and another... and another. Then I ask you for cuddles and kisses, for which you are less agreeable. You get excited about getting in bed. No time for kisses.

So I lift you into "baby's bed" and have you sit up for a minute so I can fluff your pillow. You watch over your shoulder. When you think it's fluffed enough you flop back on it with a smile. You giggle as I put your big blanket over you. Then you ask for Mao-Mao - the Lynx you got from Aunt Jaci in Vail. I also hand you a little owl, a big owl, and a giant dog. Your arms are absolutely loaded with animals, and you look so pleased. I cover the animals with their own blanket, pet you on your forehead and tell you I love you. Before I can pet you three times, you push my hand away and say "No." This makes me laugh. Then I leave, and you fall asleep on your own.

How cute, my love. I'm so proud of you for putting yourself to sleep at night. And the fact that you're so happy about it is sweeter than I can say. Thank you, Doodle!

You sleep through the night most of the time now, unless you're sick or suffering from an ear infection. You've been getting those lately. You had one in September 2012, another in January 2013, and another in February 2013. The first two times you were prescribed antibiotics. I consented. This last time I asked around and did research and gave you ear drops and baby Advil. You got better in the same amount of time. It turns out antibiotics are not beneficial for ear infections most of the time. I'm glad I know now, though I hope you never have another one.

Our next big step will be potty training. You're not interested, though. You like to pee whenever, wherever. You poop while standing behind a chair or tucked next to the TV stand. And you do not like to sit on the potty without any pants on. We try to get you used to the idea by bringing it up, and by showing you the potty. Don't worry about it. In good time, you'll be interested. And Mommy has been sneaking in some paper diapers (I love Huggies Pure and Natural) so there are fewer cloth diapers to wash, wash, wash, wash and wash. I am really tired of washing stinky cloth diapers, though they have served us very well.

You've learned more words: "no" is snow. You say "go" very well. You put two words together sometimes and ask for "mo teese" - more cheese. "Gocks" are socks. "Toos" are shoes. Last week I picked you up out of the shopping cart after getting some groceries. You began hollering "too! too! too! too!" Halfway to the car, I realized you weren't pointing out "two" of something - a favorite number of yours. You were telling me you'd lost your shoe while getting out of the cart! We went back and picked it up. I was so impressed and so thankful you told me about it. I would have gone nuts wondering where your shoe was - and I would have assumed you'd kicked it off intentionally. You do that, you know. 

Next week, we are flying to visit Uncle Ken and Aunt Kari. I'm already strategizing how to survive the plane rides. But we're going to have a great time - so long as the big dogs don't nip at your bum. Don't worry. Mama is always watching.

I love you!

Does that scare you, my love?

You have never been a wild child, my love. You are much the opposite - you're a cautious little thing. When other little boys are zipping down the slide in glee, you refuse to go down. You will climb up the jungle gym and walk across it, and walk back down, thank you. You do not swing on swings, though you don't mind sitting on them for a brief moment. You do not climb down from furniture without assistance, even if your toes are a mere inch from the floor.

The good news is that you've never been reckless enough to fall down the stairs, or off a swing... though every now and then you topple over while standing or sitting. It gives me great comfort to know that you will probably never be interested in zooming down the highways on a motorcycle, or jumping out of a plane.

That's great, sweetheart, because I want to have you around for a very long time.

You continue to learn so much very quickly. You put two words together yesterday for the first time: "More cheese." You still use duplicates for almost every word -- you actually said "mo-mo cheese." You are very funny, and if I tell you so, you laugh. When Daddy coughs, you cough. You prefer to keep your clothes on and get panicked if I leave you standing there without a shirt or pants on. And you don't mind sitting on the potty, as long as you have your pants on. Perhaps we will potty train when you are five.

You now weigh more than 25 pounds (but not 26) and you wear size 7 shoes. You love to "go" and "walk" and "out". But watch out - we can't put shoes or a coat on you unless we're heading out the door within the next five seconds after. Because you, little stinker, kick off your shoes and snake out of your coat within a minute if we're still inside.

By the way, you say "nay-nay" for snake.

Your vocabulary is adorable, just like you.

Today I leaned toward you and puckered my lips for a kiss, so you leaned in and kissed me. I love that I didn't have to say any words. You are learning that gestures can be their own language.

And lastly, my love, you like to sing along! When we sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", you sing along like this: "Ah ah oh oh ah"... and you only accompany us during the line "How I wonder what you are." Of course your mother thinks it's precious. We'll have to get it on tape so you can listen to yourself later.

Love you! It's time to get up now... Here I come to wake you. XOXO