My big boy

Ah, sweetheart. You are growing up so fast. You are hurtling toward age two. It makes me emotional. I absolutely love my big boy, but I'm so amazed by you.

Not very long ago, you were a tiny, squalling little guy who just wanted to eat, sleep and be held. Now you are walking around (or running, if you have something to hang on to), eating solid foods, requesting I read books to you, and expanding your mind every day. You love to open and close doors. You get a thrill out of shredding paper and stuffing it into boxes. You like to swirl the curtains around yourself and hide. You love your baseball and carry it around. You squeak when you see cats. You like garlic. You hold my cell phone to your ear properly and talk.

It's so fun to watch you. It's even more fun to play with you. And one of the very best things - you like to climb into my lap every five minutes or so for a hug and kiss. You love me! It's the sweetest thing in the world.

We took you down south last weekend to visit family. You rode in your new car seat like a trooper. You hardly fussed. You didn't nap at all on the way down, probably because you could see everything! You love that. At Grandma and Grandpa's, you didn't sleep well at night. Both nights you got up and Daddy took you to the living room. After a while he passed you to Gammie and she played and cuddled with you. The first time, she slept next to you on the couch for 2.5 hours. I can't even try to guess how much she loved that.

We took you to church, where you were very celebrated. You got the mother's room all to yourself. You thought that was awesome! And the next day we took you to a picnic, where you outshined even the tastiest of treats. People just wanted to look at you, hold you, and take your picture. You still thought the tall men with facial hair were very scary. Sorry about that.

I love you, darling. As we get close to my second Mother's Day, I can't help but think how much I love you and how thankful I am for you. It will be a happy Mother's Day, indeed.

 XOXOXO, Momma

What's cookin', Fussingpants?

You slept in today. That is a rarity. Normally you chime in at 7 a.m. and start the day for us. But you took the morning off today; thank you!

When I came in to get you at 8:45, you had pooped in your diaper. I found pieces of crayon in it. Yes, crayon.

Yesterday we went to the grocery store and they were having an anniversary celebration. The cashier said you could have a tiny packet of four crayons. They came in a little box, and I let you carry them out of the store. You were thrilled.

I heard you sucking on the box as we drove from there to pick up the cat from the vet. I got an inkling that it might not be a good idea, but I was in the front seat and you were in the back, so I made a mental note to check the condition of the crayons when we got to the vet.

You had chewed a hole in the corner and eaten the tip of the red crayon. I opened your mouth, and there were only tiny bits of paper and crayon left. Nothing salvageable.

Actually, your willingness to eat crayons is a surprise. You come across as a very picky eater. I'm having trouble thinking of ten foods you willingly swallow:

Scrambled eggs
Applesauce
Chips
Mashed potatoes (limited amount)
Cheese
Crackers
Bread
Ice cream
Strawberries
Beef (certain kinds, but not hamburger)
Chicken (sometimes)
Pear

So that's 12 things. Yes, I'm surprised, too. If I add "crayon" to the list, you'd be at 13. Nice.

Please sleep well tonight.

With all my love,
Mom

My little boy

It happened this week that one morning, you suddenly didn't look like a baby anymore. You looked like a little boy, and you have ever since. You must have grown overnight. You're very fun, and learning so much. I think you understand a lot of what I say. And this week you learned to sign "more". You showed off this new skill at dinner tonight when asking for more of grandma's applesauce. Mmm, I understand completely. You've been napping like a champ lately - you took two three-hour naps today. Mom got a lot done! And when you were awake, you were so sweet. Thank you for the nice days we had today and yesterday! Xoxoxo, my little boy.

Your perspective

Baths: Standing is the best way to stay dirty
Boogers: Leave 'em in there!
Books: Meant to be read upside down and backwards
Bread: The whiter the better
Car seat: Great place to store extra Cheerios
Cat food: Nice and crunchy
Cats: Very funny
Cell phone: Open it up and say "Arlerr-Arlerr"
Cheese: Yes
Daddy: Perfect for climbing on
Dogs: Overly excited about everything in general
Goats: Giggle-worthy
Going for walks: Keep up the pace
High five: You bet
Junk mail: I get mail almost every day!
Kisses: Catch me if you can
Laptop: Just testing the keypad, Dad
Men with facial hair: Untrustworthy, except for Dad
Mom: You have two arms for a reason. Carry me.
Music: Play it again, Mom
Naps: Always sneaking up on me
Orange pig: Sounds scary
Other kids: Fascinating
Piano: I play with my feet
Pizza: Vital food group
Potato chips: Put them all in my mouth
Sandals: Bloody murder
Shoes: Bloodier murder
Shopping carts: Meant for goods, not babies
Sippy cup: Now I drink just like Mom and Dad
Snuggling: It's growing on me
Socks: They're coming off
Strawberries: Only if Mom is eating them
Teeth: Three is plenty
The baby in the mirror: My best friend, after Mom & Dad
The broom: Magnetic
Tissue paper: Love to shred
Trucks: Never enough
Tylenol: Cruel and unusual punishment
Veggies: Parents, do not provoke your children unto wrath
Walking: Not as important as you'd think

Walking is for babies

Noodle, you're getting your walking shoes on! You've been walking more in the past couple days. In fact, you were taking steps as I typed that. Five or six steps seems to be your max. After that, you want to grab something or drop to your bum. (Thankfully, your cloth diapers give you a pretty good cushion.)

What a BIG boy you are!

You've had trouble sleeping lately, which I blame on teething. You're also less willing to eat real food, which people say is also due to teething. I tell you, darling, teething is a hassle. It hurts you and it disturbs almost everything. You've spent a couple days being very, very fussy. At times it was hard to remember that everything is just a phase. But here you are, with gums bulging with almost-here teeth, happier. Right now you're carrying around your baseball, chattering and sputtering. You're going to be fine. You're just getting ready to eat steak!

Momma would like to thank you for the new phone she is about to get. Apparently, you knocked over your "no-spill" bottle of bubbles and the liquid soaked the back of my phone. My phone went into convulsions earlier today, while I was talking to your grandpa from up north, and it will never be the same. Daddy and I are going to the store in a few minutes to find me a new phone. I've been wanting one for a while, so thank you.

In other news, our plumbing work is done. The back yard has been reduced to a giant brown puke. Underneath it lies brand new plastic piping, surprisingly superior to the clay pipe laid nearly 50 years ago. Inside was a giant mass of roots that couldn't be loosed with an auger. In the process of getting new pipe, we lost one cedar tree. This means we can see a little more of the neighbor's house than we used to. It's a small price to pay in order to flush toilets with confidence - no more risk of sewage visiting us in the basement. One day soon you might even be allowed to walk around down there.

With all my love,
Mom

Your first blog post

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Precious! Your sneaky little hands typed on Daddy's laptop while I was trying to write this post. I'll consider it your first blog post. It looks brilliant to me.

Yesterday

We overdid it yesterday. I'm sorry, love. You went to two parks, saw lots of kids, spent hours outside, petted a cow, touched goats with your toes, missed both naps and cried all night. You even sprang a fever for a few hours. It was hard on all of us. Momma is sorry. I didn't know that it would be too much for you.

You played with another little friend Saturday night, and it was charming to watch the two of you together. It makes me want to get you together with more little friends more often. That's why I tried both activities with you yesterday. From now on, one thing per day. And maybe with nothing on the agenda the next day.

Every baby needs his own backhoe.

Thankfully, there is nothing on our agenda today. Except for having our back yard dug up to fix our plumbing issue. Our main drain is backed up majorly, and it brings nasty stuff up in our basement. Really nasty. Like maybe no one can ever have bare feet down there ever again. It's good to get it fixed, first, so that it's fixed. Second, since the basement is our tornado shelter, it is important that we not be cowering amongst turds in the event of a tornado. Revolting!

I love you darling. Want to help me make bread now?