Works of Art #22

Here's some more art projects from school.  Looks like someone had some fun with the bingo-stamper-markers!  And looks like Mommy is going to be uploading a ton of new art projects!

 

And I am thrilled to say that you know all of your teacher's names.  Today you weren't feeling well, so you went to visit Grandma Brooks instead.  This afternoon, after you woke up from nap, we were talking about going to school tomorrow, and you said, "Laura."  Yup, your teacher's name is Miss Laura, and when I asked about your other teachers, you said "Jordan" and "Karen."  I think you are really starting to get into the groove of this school thing, and it makes me feel so much more confident knowing that you are enjoying them.  I hope they are enjoying you, because I am most likely biased, but I think you're pretty dang special.

Love you,

Mommy

Toddler Life #10

You know you are the parent of a toddler (or any small child for that matter) when:

...you fantasize about sleeping in to the delicious hour of 8am. 

Cousins!

Dear Ian,

Today your new baby cousin, Abigail Ann, was born to your Uncle Kurt and Aunt Stacey.  This afternoon, you, Daddy and I went up to the hospital to meet her and to congratulate the new Mommy and Daddy.  You weren't really sure what to think of her, but you kept saying "Baby Abigail" over and over again.  It was super cute! 

At eight pounds and eight ounces, Abigail weighed a whole pound and seven ounces more than you did when you were born, and when I got to hold her, it just blew my mind that you used to be even smaller than she is!  It's amazing how quickly you've grown from that sweet, sleepy little bundle into a bouncing and active little boy. 

Anyway.  No sappiness from Mommy.  Here are a few pictures:

 Sweet little Abigail, just minutes after she was born.  Her birthday is August 26, 2011, which should be pretty easy to remember.  It's the day before your buddy Isabella's birthday. 

Here's a sweet photo of you and your new little cousin.  You liked to look at her, but you weren't  too interested in getting to know her yet.  I can't wait to eventually watch the two of you play together.  You and your cousin Payton are great friends, and I am excited for you to have a new cousin playmate.  We'll let Aunt Stacey and Uncle Kurt enjoy her tiny baby days for a bit longer, though.  Goodness knows yours sure flew by!

Love always,
Mommy

Works of Art #21

Here's your first art project to come home from school!  Well, one is an art project, and one is a cooking project. 

Your red painting.  Pretty!

Your first cooking project was a trail mix.  Animal crackers, pretzels, cheeze-its, chex mix, raisins and your favorite part, M&M's.  You got to eat it this afternoon, and of course you ate all of the M&M's first.  So much fun!

mmmmm, trail mix!

"Oooh, look!"

"Blue M-uh-M, Mommy!"

Toddler Life #9

You know you are the parent of a toddler when:

You can start the morning on time and even seem to have extra time to be somewhere on schedule until someone has a screaming fit about his socks.  Then you are instantly late when you were going to be early. 

Beginning of Something Great!

Dear Ian,

Today was your first day of school!  Well, technically it was orientation so Daddy was with you, which makes tomorrow your first day of school by yourself, but whatever.  It was your first day of school!  We all got up and had a good breakfast (eggs, strawberries and honey smacks - thanks Grandma Davis), got dressed, brushed our teeth, packed up and headed out.  Mommy had to go to her classroom, and you and Daddy came to visit for a bit, but then off you went to your class!  Your teachers are Miss Laura, Miss Jordan and Miss Karen (funny, huh?!), and you have a classroom full of new friends to make! 

Here are some pictures from your first day.  And of course, you realize that this is the start of your "first day of school" photo collection, right?  Your Grandma and Papa took one of me every first day.  It's neat to see the changes from year to year, both in how we looked and in how we dressed.  Oy.  Back to the pictures. 

Here we are outside the house, getting ready to leave!

And here's one on the actual way to school!  Yes, Mommy did this at a stop light; no one worry.  I'm not that nutty...

Once we got there, you and Daddy and I went and found your room before I had to go to my class.  And yes, your insane Mommy took pictures of everything!!

The top left photo is obviously the school sign, and the photo on the top right is your Bear clothespin.  Your Advent bag was hanging on it!  :)  Finally, the bottom photo is a list of some of your classmates.  New friends!

This next photo is fun; 30 years ago, your Daddy played on this playground!

You showed him all around the school.  You saw your class, the bunnies, the kids and the new toys.  I think that you are going to have a great time at your new school.  While it may be a bit of a shock to your little system at first, I think once you get comfortable, we won't be able to DRAG you away.

As for now, you are napping and hopefully dreaming of all the fun you are going to have.  Mommy, however, has a stack of papers to read and fill out.  Homework, if you will!

Great job today, Little Bear, and we are so proud of you!!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Something Borrowed

Dear Ian,

I didn't write the list that you will read next, but it reminded me of you, and it cracked me up, so I just had to post it.  I want it in your blog-baby-book so that way you have a chance to read it.  Without any further ado, here it is:

Approximately Three Minutes In The Mind Of My Two Year Old

by Jason Good

 

 Each of these “emotions” lasts about 3 seconds.

1. I wanna play with Daddy’s phone.
2. I wanna put on Mommy’s shoes.
3. GET MOMMY’S SHOES OFF MY FEET NOW!
4. I wanna open and close the thermostat.
5. I wanna turn on and off the light on the microwave.
6. Is there anyone here with a phone I haven’t played with yet?
7. I NEED TO PUSH SOME GODDAMN BUTTONS.
8. I wanna pick up the cat by it’s head.
9. I wanna throw all the toothbrushes in the sink.
10. HOLY SHIT I’M STARVING.
11. CHEDDAR BUNNIES.
12. I HATE FRUIT.
13. I want out of my chair.
14. I wanna play with the iPad.
15. I wanna go outside. No, I wanna turn the heat on.
16. I wanna take my pants off.
17. I don’t like the shirt I’m wearing.
18. I wanna play with Mommy’s phone.
19. I NEED TO PUSH MORE BUTTONS NOW.
20. I’m thirsty.
21. No, not for that.
22. Yes, perfect, juicebox. I’m gonna squeeze this damn thing all over myself.
23. Where’s Daddy?
24. Where’s the cat?
25. Where’s Mommy?.
26. SERIOUSLY WHERE’S MOMMY!?
27. Oh my God I think Mommy left forever.
28. Ok, there’s mommy. I want to play with her phone
29. Hungry again. Never mind
30. I just remembered not liking these pants. Get them off.
31. STOP TAKING OFF MY PANTS!
32. Wow, I’m starving. I want peas but I don’t know how to tell anyone.
33. Finally, peas. I like throwing these.
34. WHY DO I STILL HAVE THESE PANTS ON?
35. Oh look, a new person. I wonder if they have a phone.
36. Im tired.
37. IM NOT TIRED!
38. I wanna go for a walk but I don’t wanna go outside.
39. No, not inside either!
40. I need to push some buttons right now.
41. I hate this diaper.
42. My eyes itch.
43. WOW! Is this my toe?
44. STOP TRYING TO TAKE MY PANTS OFF!
45. I hate these pants.
46. This shirt itches.
47. I’m tired.
48. Stop asking me if I’m tired.
49. Where’s that toy that goes beep.
50. I wanna take a bath in my clothes.
51. Put on my favorite song.
52. Where’s the cat?
53. What is UP with my shirt?
54. Did I just hear a dog bark?
55. YOU DID NOT JUST TRY TO TAKE OFF MY SHIRT AGAIN!
56. I wanna see a dog.
57. No, not OUTSIDE! I wanna see a dog inside.
58. Is my penis still there? Good.
59. I peed.
60. I’m bored.

Repeat.

 

Yup, that about sums it up!  But add in a little Wheel of Fortune, some Daddy worship and Loveys.  But we love you and all the funny things that make up you and your days.  

Love always,

Mommy

Nighty Night

Dear Ian,

I am a lucky Mommy.  Since you were about six or seven months old, you just seemed to "get" sleeping time.  It was a long road to get you to that point; Mommy even got called the Nap Nazi once or twice, but we were proud to say that you were a great napper, and night time sleep was even better.  You go into your crib happily and with the company of Lovey and your sound machine, you fall right to sleep and stay that way until a reasonable morning hour.  Before last week your sleeping routine was as follows: up at 7:15am, nap time from 12:40 or so until 2:40 or 3pm, and then bed time at 7:45.  Pardon the pun, but your sleep skills were a dream!  The only variations or deviations occurred around the occasional family event or holiday or illness.  But even then, it only took you a day or two to get back into your routine.

However, and I say this with my finger in the air, lately you have sorta lost your mind when it comes to sleep.  Personally, I think we are stuck in an "overtired loop."  The other night, you woke up in the middle of the night upset and crying.  Not really sure what was up, Daddy and I were awake with you from 1am until about 3am (and then his servers crashed at 5am, but that's not your issue).  The next morning you were up slightly earlier than usual - about 6:30 or something - and fussy.  Figuring you were still sleepy from the night before, we pushed nap a bit early, and then did the same thing for bed time.  It backfired on us, or something else was going on; I have no idea.  But for the past week, you have been short napping and waking up at 5:30am crying and ready to have someone in your room entertaining you.  Or something like that.

Ordinarily, I would be frustrated but not so worried about this sort of situation.  But the fact that it coincides with me going back to work, having to function on very little sleep all week and helping you transition to going to big school has made this a bit of an issue.  It's been tough, but I am really hoping that you get yourself worked out again soon.


Today you actually took a good nap again, so that makes me feel a little better.  And you went down for bed much more smoothly than last night, so I am hoping we are on the upswing from this little adventure.  I keep reminding myself that, as I did when you were tiny, this is just a moment in the long run, and that in about 12 years, I will be cattle-prodding you out of bed.  This too shall pass, but in the meantime, I really wish it would pass after 6:30am. 


Good night, Little Bear, and I will see you (at a hopefully reasonable hour) in the morning.


Love,
Mommy

For The Birds

Dear Ian,

Today we did something that was so much fun, and it's something I have wanted to do for a little while now.  We painted our very own bird feeder and hung it up in the backyard for our bird friends!  On the route to your swimming lessons, there's a house in Foxcroft with about 20 different colored birdhouses in the yard, and you were completely fascinated by them.  Every day when we went to swim and passed that house you would point and yell "Birdhouse!" and then giggle like a loon.

Then the other day when we were at Joann Fabrics, we passed a whole selection of plain, wooden birdhouses and bird feeders just waiting to be decorated.  You pointed, asked for a "birdhouse, please," and then we became the proud owners of a new project. 


After donning our smocks, covering the table with protective newspaper and wrapping the rope handle with paper towels, we got to work.  You really got into your work, but after a few minutes, you asked me to help paint, and we really had a blast covering it with colors.  We stuck with your favorite color, purple, and a few others, and I think it turned out really well.  It's definitely bright, and I have no idea if bird or color-blind or not, but if they aren't they will be sure to notice it. 

Anyhoo...  after finishing the painting portion, we hopped in the car and zipped off to Home Depot to get the necessary tools to finish our job.  We purchased a black hanging-hook-thing, some lacquer to protect our beautiful painting and, of course, bird seed.  Random side thought: your memory is getting so good.  You "helped" me remember our list by repeating over and over the things we needed to buy.  The neat part was that I only mentioned once our list of items needed.  Smart boy...  Back to our bird feeder.  We came home, shellacked your project, hammered in the hanger and hung up the bird feeder! It is a great addition to our backyard.  I cannot wait for our first bird visitors! 

You are so excited about your bird feeder.  When Daddy came  home from work, you eagerly showed him what we had been up to this afternoon and were so proud of your work.  As of now, it's been up for about a half and hour and still no visitors, but hopefully soon.  We keep peeking out the window, and any minute now, some lucky bird will be at the most colorful buffet ever!!

Love you lots,
Mommy

Works of Art #20

The other day we painted outside, and although it was WICKED hot, you had a blast and painted a couple of masterpieces.

Ok, so the one on the left I helped with a bit, but that's largely because you have this thing with circles, and you kept asking me to paint them for you.  See my circles? 

Toddler Life #8

Only as the parent of a toddler:

Do you daydream about recording yourself saying things like, "Leave the toilet paper alone please," and, "That doesn't belong in your mouth.  Remove it please" so you don't have to repeat yourself 4,000 time a day.  The recording could do it for you!

Random Mommy Moment

Dear Ian,

I forgot to add this photo to the last blog post, so here it is:

Since you're on the calendar, that makes it official, and I get a little emotional every time I look at the fridge.  And since I open the fridge a lot to make you breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks, I feel like a puddle of Mommy Mush.

Love always,
Mommy