Casanova

HT loves talking to his Grandma on the phone.  He tells her all about what he's doing or has done or wants to do or how he got in trouble because he didn't do what Mama told him to do.  Anyway, the other day while relating a story of how Auntie's favorite coffee place was robbed and how the "bad mans stold all the monies" and "Mama needs to spank deir butts!" and how he went with Auntie to give the barista's ice cream bars, "Haagen-Dazs, deir da best",  then he told her ... "boys like girls you know".

Suddenly this t-shirt makes sense.

In other news EM is rolling over, teething (which makes him grumpy), still missing his binkie (which makes him grumpy), but he slept until 6:50 this morning (hallelujah!) and loving solid foods.

It's snowing today so we are stuck inside.

My Best Friend

This is a picture of me (I'm the one with pigtails) and my best friend, my sister (aka Charming's Auntie).  She has been with me through thick and thin . . .  and thick again, buts lets leave my hips out of this okay.  We were the only two girls in a sea of boys (six brothers, four older, two younger) so we had to stick close.  It also helped that we are only 14 months apart and I liked everything she liked, if she got a new pair of shoes, I had to have the same ones.  I know it drove her nuts that I always picked the same thing she did, but if I didn't I was always wanting to borrow hers.  People often thought we were twins and it didn't help that sometimes our mother dressed us alike.

See matching outfits.

Even our eye glasses were the same style (cat eye), mine were pink, hers were blue.

We don't dress alike anymore, but I will still sometimes borrow her stuff.  I love you sis!

I'm linked up today, click for more stories,

and here for more photos.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things!

HT wanted purple juice (kool-aid) this morning for breakfast.  And I told him it was all gone.  Every conversation lately has at least one "why" in it.  The rest of the conversation went something like this:

"Why?"


"Because you drank it all.  It's all gone.


"We ranned out?"


"Yes, we ran out."


"We ranned out of water, and milk, and poop, and sometimes food,"
Then in a very matter of fact tone of voice . . .
"we have to buy some more."


"Hmm, really?  . . .  Finish your breakfast."


"Why?"

And then I said it, those immortal words that every parent has or will utter in their parenting journey.

"Because I said so."

Poop?  Where does he come up with that kind of logic?  Don't ask me I don't know, and no poop is NOT on my grocery list.

His new favorite hiding place.

Charming's Favorite.

Who said I wasn't Charming's favorite? Sure, he loves Mama & Papa and baby brother, but who else would be crazy enough to brave the hoards of people and take him to see TRAINS!

You Know You're A Parent When . . .

You hold your newborn in the palm of your hand.

(HT two days old.)

When you put him to sleep in a light box,

when you clean up an explosion of poop off your bedside table etc.,

when he reaches for your finger and holds on tight, 

when strangers stop you in the store to tell you that you have a beautiful child,

and you think wow he is my son, my son!

When he laughs out loud for the first time.

(6 months old)


When you've fallen in love with this face.

(9 months old)

When he turns on the charm and melts your heart.

When he dances.

(One year old)


Seriously how can you not fall in love with this face!

(18 months old)

When your son throws his arms around your neck and tells you that you're his "most favrit mama in the whole wide woreld".

When he tells you "I love you sweet mama".

When he tells you you're his very best friend.

When your family portrait has gone from this,

to this,

to this.

And now there are two to love.

I'm linked up today.  

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Binkie Update

Okay I know you are all dying from curiosity about how we are doing regarding the whole binkie thing.  No?  Well anyway, it has been exactly two weeks and we are not having fun.  We took it away and he doesn't seem to miss it except for naps or bedtime, because basically we have replaced it with the bottle.  And that's not good either, because he doesn't always need a bottle.  In the long run I know it is a good idea, in the short run I have mixed feelings, especially after I have spent 45 minutes trying to calm a screaming child because I dared to put him down for a nap.  Papa got me a pair of ear plugs, and I have used them, thank you very much.  He does suck on his fingers, but no more than he did before.  All babies do.  If he is upset and I try to encourage him to soothe himself with them, it only makes him madder.  What to do, what to do?  (Sigh)


Persevere we shall, and persevere we must!

Enough with that.

Happy St. Paddy's day!

Are you wearing green?  Not me, am I a non-conformist or did I just forget, you decide.  When my sister asked if I was wearing green I asked her if the booger wiped on my sleeve by my son counted, she said no.

And in honor of St. Patrick's day here's your pot of gold.

March 17, 2008

We are having corned beef for dinner sans cabbage, how about you?

Monsters

I asked HT what he wanted for lunch today and this was our conversation.

"Mama, what do monsters do?"


"Hum . . ."


"Dey scare people in the night, eating popcorn!"

"Really . . ."

"Yeah, dey scream and holler and make wots and wots of noise!"
             (pause)
" Can I have some popcorn?"

"How about a hot dog?"

"Okay."

Ah, my little monster!

Halloween 2009 - the dragon roars!

You Know You're A Parent When . . .

Your bathroom

countertop

has turned into

a changing table!

What about you, have you had a "You know you're a parent when moment"?
I would love to hear about it.

I have put some of my favorites on the sidebar.

Flashback

Did I mention that I love my in-laws.  I really lucked out with them and since my own parents are gone I really appreciate having them in my life.  With true mid-west hospitality they welcomed me into the family with open arms. (If only they lived a little closer, sigh.)

When they came to visit from MN in June 2008 they surprised HT with a swing set.

It took TR and his dad nearly a day and a half to set it up, but it was worth it.  HT  loves it and so does the neighbor, Ethan, he calls it HT's park.

Hum, let me see.

Wait, no I've got it!

Voila!

Before they had it all assembled and all the parts were all over the lawn, Papa put the slide up against the porch steps and HT couldn't pass up an opportunity to try it out.

Deewah!

 I love it when he gets to the bottom, he says whee on the way down, but whines about it when he gets off.  He was (and still is) a little chatterbox and he had a universal query word when he wanted to know something.  It could mean, who, what or lets go over there.  It all depended on the context.

Click here for more flashback friday stories.

Ode to the Binkie (pacifier, nuk, whatever you want to call it).

Binkie, binkie

you're so fine

how I love

to have you

mine.

This is how EM thinks of his binkie, I on the other hand, hate, Hate, HATE it.  Why did we ever give it to him, didn't we learn our lesson with HT?!



(Here's HT enjoying a game with Mama and his binkie.  I thought it was cute.)

I suppose it has its pros (i.e. nothing calms a crying baby quicker, the ultimate mute button, and they are less likely to suck their thumb) but sometimes I think they don't outweigh the cons.  For example he can't fall asleep with out it, therefore when it falls out of his mouth as it inevitably does he wakes up and cries for it.  I was up 4 times the other night plugging the stupid thing back in.  He needs to learn to self soothe like all the books recommend.  I really want to throw the stupid thing out, just go cold turkey.  Papa can't figure out why I don't, then I could quit whining about it.  I really don't want a thumb sucker, a binkie you can take away but a thumb, you really shouldn't.  Nope, not a good idea.

We took HT's away when he turned one and after about a week he finally started sleeping through the night at least more nights than not.  He still has his moments.

So as of today I am going to start limiting its use, I may just go cold turkey!
(I want my sleep!)

We shall see.

A couple of goof balls!

I'm done whining now.  Thanks for listening.  

I think I'll go have a coke (my pacifier).