Sunday, February 28, 2010

2 year old - Professional Pics

J is so photogenic, and it is sooo wonderful! I just have to share some of the pictures we captured yesterday.

Here’s a collage of some of my favorites…

Specific to Spring…

My favorite in black & white…

And my all time favorite picture… As I look at it on my wall, all I can think is – how is this little boy *only* 2? He looks so grown up! And at the same time thankful he is only 2… I’m not ready for him to be all grown up, just yet…

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Something Different - A Theme Party

J & I had a busy day yesterday. Crazy busy. But it was good busy too.


Sun is rising at 6:30 these days… How do I know this? J rises promptly at 6:31. Mr. M & I are loving this… Seriously.  And it is only going to get better… By mid-summer, J will be waking up before or as I leave for work due to the sun & not because I dropped something on my way out the door.

I love that he is an early bird like me… We get so much done, and rarely look at the clock feeling like the day has been wasted.


We were up baking cookies I put together the night before, before 7. As a result we were in sugar overload by 9. Okay, so I was on overload. On exactly 1 cookie. Yes, they are that divine… The recipe includes 3 1/2 sticks of butter, before you start adding gobs of sugar.  J, he had more common sense than me, he took two bites & gave the rest to a certain drooly & begging 60lb puppy. Plus, I’m more responsible as a mom than I am as me… J had also had his morning milk, Nutra Grain breakfast bar, yogurt and applesauce. While I had only had water.  But all J's food consumption is why he floored me by going mini-pepperoni for mini-pepperoni with me as I made a mad dash to get my protein into my body. Yes, I’m in fear of what his teenage howl legs are going to be like.


We then went to a small mom’s group gathering. Taking with us a quarter of those wonderfully sweet Orange glaze Cinnabon cookies, which we thought were perfect for a brunch. Unfortunately, the brunch was cut short for us, as J had a meltdown over my telling him no to his desire to have a sucker.


Luckily the day improved when we joined friends for lunch & an “Orange” themed party. Why the color orange? Well, the mom hosting thought it sounded like fun… She did orange Kool-Aid, orange plates and napkins, carrots, and cheeses. The other mom brought orange Jell-O. As for me, well, I brought another quarter of the cookies. Being Orange glazed and all….


The kiddos had a wonderful afternoon, and I got some good mommy bonding. Best part, J got some pink time, after being with all blue this morning… Here’s some pics of J hanging with his girls…


I actually have some cute video of J dancing, but silly me – it is sideways and I don’t know how to rotate it… So, I’ll have to try and get him on film later this week… He is really into dancing with music…


Today we have his 2 year pictures, and then we will go see Grandma & Grandpa M. Taking with us, another quarter of those delicious cookies.  So I had better get going, as I know someone will be up with the sunrise, and I will no longer have a moment of peace…


Moments like yesterday remind me why my life is perfect. 

Friday, February 26, 2010

I Never….

One of the key pieces of advice my sister-in-law, experienced mom of then 18 months, now 3.5 years, of which 9 months has been x2, passed on to me while pregnant was to:

“Never say, ‘I Never’…”

Whether it be, I will never co-sleep. I will never put my child to bed without a bath. I will never give my child what he wants to stop the tears, even if I know it will haunt me later. I will never allow my child cookies in place of a nutritious snack.

“Because, whatever you say ‘I Never’ to, will be the first thing you will do”

I didn’t listen. I said all of those and then some. One in particular, I had always thought was:

“I will never allow my child to consume food in the grocery store we haven’t paid for yet.”

I’m not sure why this was a big deal to me. It shouldn’t be.  I can pay for it when I check out at the end.  But morally, it just always seemed wrong to me, when I’d see other mom’s walking their carts around the store with their child consuming cookies from the bin in her cart. My thought was always – but you haven’t paid for that yet.

Yep… And as judging others would bite me on my judgmental rear end would have it…

When J & I were grocery shopping last week, I threw his Kool-Aid Bursting Water in the cart, instead of under it like I usually do. Big mistake. HUGE mistake.

J became insanely fussy. His ‘nacks’ (aka: snacks) had long since been consumed, but he still had his DHA enhanced, no sugar added Apple Juice, so I wasn’t all that concerned & just pushed onward.

As I was grabbing the trash bags – the last thing on my list – I hear “Ahhh!  Pease!  Pease!”

What do I turn around to find… That would be my child, holding out the individual bottle of water for me to open. When I responded with “Jacob Matthew, we do not open things before paying for them” I received such a loud howl, people who were not already looking at me from the volume of my exasperated statement, started looking to see what was causing all the raucous. It.Was.FABULOUS.

And I proceeded to rapidly eat my words with a quick twist to open the bottle.

And peace was restored.  At least I did get a "Tink You"

I admit, in an effort to try to not let this happen again, I will be packing a bottle from home next trip.

As for J, he was a happy a boy…
Alright, be honest now... could you have said "no" to him? 
Mr. M? 
Grandma? 
Anyone?

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Channeling Mother Nature

I’m itching for Spring.

Ask J what he thinks of snow, and he’ll ignore you. Ask him if he likes snow, and he will respond with a resounding “NO!”

Takes a bit after his mother, huh? Actually, Dad is not much of a fan either, but he told me from the start, unless I could find a way to move the White Sox & the Bears (Da Bears for my fellow Bears fans), then we were stuck here…


After snow on Sunday and Monday, the slushy kind that is good for nothing but making ice balls to toss at your brother before running inside to hide from retaliation. Not that I’d ever do such a thing. I was channeling Mother Nature. From my short sleeved light weight sweater, to my khaki pants, to my sockless feet in cute black patent leather tasseled 3 inch heels. As for J, he was from his lack of hat & gloves, to his sneakers, and khaki pants to his 1 layer of shirt…

As for Mother Nature, she wasn’t listening.


Yes, that is snow on my pant leg even. It took me until bed time for my feet to stop hurting from being so cold…


However, in an effort to be positive about it all… Here is my attempt at appreciating Mother Nature’s work.


Parking lot at work


Daycare’s back yard:


Yes, this is what my son gets to enjoy all day, every day…

and for Grandpa P – because I know you are dreaming of hunting season want to know… there were 13 in total

While, I still hope for Spring to land here in the Midwest soon, it was nice to stop & enjoy these few moments of winterland wonder…

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Happy Birthday Uncle Jon!

I meant to start mentioning birthday's as they occur, after doing it for my sister-in-law last September. And well, I’ve failed… Missing my father-in-law’s, my father’s, my mother-in-law’s, and my brother’s.

So here’s to trying again…

We hope you have a wonderful day!!! And I’ll be nice to not mention the milestone you are passing today, but only to hint at it…

I met Jon 9 years ago today, on his 21st birthday. From a stranger, he has become my awesome brother-in-law, friend, Uncle and Godfather to Jacob.

Thank you!!!



Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Lowering the ears - again...

We are doing J’s 2 year formal pictures next Saturday, and it had been requested I get J’s hair trimmed before hand. It amazes me how much older he ends up looking in just a few minutes…

We did do something new this time. We had her use the clippers, a level 4, and J thought they were very neat. Especially because she put them on his shoulder & let him feel the vibration before getting them close to his head.

That said, about half way through, a bribe was in order…

Pretty handsome, huh?

Sunday, February 21, 2010

1st Ear of Corn on the Cob....

Okay, so I admit I posted:

Ali thinks she just enjoyed my last lunch at Chilli's until J is old enough to understand proper behavior in public & acts accordingly.

on Facebook.

In truth, he wasn't that bad.  Just very opinionated.  Not very hungry.  And what I learned after we got home, very tired.  He napped from 1:30 to 4.  We were having a busy weekend, and the poor kiddo was tired.  So yes, it was probably my fault for pushing the envelope. 

And thank you Aunt Liz for taking him to the car while I gathered our stuff up inside...

That said, it wasn't all bad.  And I found it really cool that while he would not eat his chicken, or orange slices, not really any interest in the few fries I gave him, that my ear of corn grabbed his attention.  Even more cool when he got the hang of eating corn off the ear. 

Note to self:  Looks like J will be needing his own ear next time...

Friday, February 19, 2010

School Projects – Already? He's two.

After J’s first year, when I was asked to come back to work full time, Mr. M & I had a lot to consider in finding the perfect replacement for family care. AKA – Daycare.


J had only known Mr. M, Grandma M or me 7 days a week. It was a perfect balance. J had time with people other than me, preventing him from becoming overly mommy focused, while also giving him a day a week to bond with just daddy and one to bond with grandma. This was important to me, removing all guilt for returning to work.

However, the idea of placing him in daycare 4 days a week had me re-thinking working at all. Mr. M was re-thinking it as well. After long discussions we agreed that my having my fabulous personally inexpensive insurance was more important to Jacob, and our family as a whole than the benefits of my staying at home. Also, as the economy was in a severe downturn at the same time, we agreed willingly giving up a job just seemed crazy at that time.

Result, I’ve found I’m a better mom working 4 days a week. I think I’ve mentioned, I’m a bit of a Type A, never shut the brain off type of person. We’ve watched Jacob blossom & develop in daycare. It’s wonderful.

Miss Angie dotes on Jacob, which is probably in part why I love him there… Well, that AND she doesn’t complain when I do a, more often than not, daily call to see how my little man is doing.

However, recently I’ve been shocked to see completed work – displaying a sticker for good attention & effort in Jacob’s playpack. Yes, you read that right. My just now 2 year old, is already bringing home work he completed while at school. Shocking, isn’t it? Amazingly wonderful too.

I’m not going to bore you with showing off the day to day projects, but I do want to share the recent projects he’s brought home.

Seriously, I heart Miss Angie as much as my son does… And I owe her a HUGE thank you for loving, caring for, and teaching my son in my absence. We couldn’t ask for a better replacement for family care.

Valentine for Mommy

Valentine for Grandma M & one for Grandma P

Parrot is for P the letter of the week

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Grandma M’s great idea…

Childproofing is something I did before J could walk, maybe even crawl (not sure). I did it to the level of – what can actually harm him? At his level? Chemicals. So all cabinets that contained chemicals were dutifully locked up.

Then came the cabinet investigation stage. Out came the hair ties. I’m a little too Type A to handle all my pots & pans, my toaster, steamer, mixing bowls, napkins, etc… to be pulled to the kitchen floor & played with for all of the 30 seconds they’d keep J’s attention.

Not to mention, we have dogs that investigate all things that land on the floor in hopes of it being edible. And doing that much additional washing was not something I have the desire time to complete.

Anyway, my point is, I did a break-fix child proofing add, as opposed to actually getting more locks and installing them.

Probably good I kept those strictly to the chemical cabinets, since J now understands how the hair tie works & does it when Daddy is too lazy forgets. I haven’t figured out if he knows what he does actually is keeping him out of the cabinet…

So when Grandma M suggested I pick up bumpers for our counter & kitchen table where J has been prone to bumping recently, I blew it off with the idea of – he’ll do it a couple of times & learn to be more careful. He’s tough. He’s a boy. Leaving me to feel totally guilty every time he ended up with a bruise in the middle of his forehead or running to me to kiss the top side of his head. (Don’t forget, I am the one who laughed when he got his first fat lip & when he got his first black eye… I’m a tomboy tough that way)

Grandma M on the other hand, is much more naturally nurturing protective than I am. She bought them. While I was appreciative of her doing it, Mr. M had me beat by being thrilled with the idea. He promptly installed them, and has asked me to pick up another box so he can finish the job that he started Tuesday on Sunday when he’s home…



Offically childproofed to another level.

Jacob – he loves them!

As for Mommy, I’m admitting – Grandma M had a WONDERFUL idea. Thank You!!! And Jacob thanks you!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

ABC's for a Birthday Boy



A day to celebrate with family



Barney & Elmo



Cake, cookies, and lemon bars



Daddy’s his hero AND Doggie to be dressed up in tissue paper


Eliminate nap time (for the day)



Full of energy, despite the lack of a nap



Getting doted on by Grandma & Grandpa M



Having tons of laughs at anything and everything



Illustrating the innocent joy of childhood



Jacob, of course



Keeping everyone on their toes



Loving & laughing



Mommy cures all bumps & bangs



No! Your favorite word



Outside is where you will be this summer enjoying all your fun new toys



Presents, of course



Question of the day: “Jacob how old are you?”
(no intelligible response)
“Jacob, what comes after one?”
He responded “TWO!!!!”



Roller Coaster of his own



Spoiling of the birthday boy by all his family & friends



Train Table for Thomas & Friends



Up on the train table you promptly went to get closer to your Thomas train



Videos to add to his Barney collection



Work Bench to be like Grandpa P



Xylophone is what we could have played while waiting on everyone to show up, if Mommy wasn’t running around getting all the last minute things done…



Youthful joy to be shared by all



Zzzzz the sound he made shortly after everyone left… And kept it up throughout the night







And there you have it… Mommy’s ABC dedication to describing the day…

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Reason to Clap…

We had such a busy weekend… Again. I sometimes think I need to just stop. Forget laundry, friends, responsibilities, plans, groceries, visiting family, etc… And just let Jacob relax and chill at home. Only problem is that would lead to a stir crazy mommy, since I have serious issues turning off my brain of all we “have” to do…

Luckily for me, J is such a trouper!

Friday started with a Valentine’s Day party with our Mommy group. Followed by lunch, then nap in the car. Granted, he didn’t fall asleep until the last 10 minutes of our 45 minute drive. Leaving me to Facebook in the parking lot outside Macy’s, as I let him sleep another hour and half. We ran in & grabbed what we needed, then stopped for a pretzel and lemonade. On our way home, we stopped for a quick play date with J’s girlfriend’s Ava & Dottie before dinner.

On Saturday, we ran errands to get ready for J’s birthday party on Sunday. J and I shopped to our heart’s delight getting gift bags for every attendee, complete with cards saying “Thank you for celebrating your Valentine’s Day with ME! Love, Jacob”

Then I took J over to the Grandparental M’s, where he was able to play & make real progress on learning how to descend on stairs, while I ran to the bakery to grab his cake. And cookies, and special Valentine’s heart cookies (for the bag), and an Elmo candle, and balloons. Obviously, I sprawled from my initial cake purchase.

We spent until nap time with Grandma & Grandpa, then we took advantage of the road time home to grab a good nap before grocery shopping to get the stuff for the party and for us to munch on during the week.

Then of course, Sunday was crazy with the party… Pictures on that are to come…

And through this all, J remained in pretty good spirits. He even took time to stop and remind me there are small things in life worth clapping about.

Even, when those things are not perfect. And the 2 year old job is not nearly as well perfected as the Mommy job, but it was good enough to cause someone to clap. Which in turned caused Mommy to take an extra moment at the stop sign to look and clap. And ultimately, snap the picture of a moment worth clapping.

*In case you are unsure of what is so worthy of a clapping moment, that would be Jacob putting on his winter hat and sunglasses...

Monday, February 15, 2010

2 year old - Statistics

Back in late November, when he was only 21.5 months, J measured in at  36 inches & 27 lbs.  Both of these were done with shoes on his feet, pants on his legs... AND with a non-Pediatric Nurse.

Today, we had our traditional Pediatric Nurse, who had us remove our sneakers, drop our pants & change our diaper.  As a result... He shrunk.

At 24 months / 2 years - Jacob is 35.5 inches & 27.8 lbs.  Putting him about:

Length = in percentile 75
Weight = in percentile 50


http://www.babycenter.com/baby-child-growth-percentile-calculator?intcmp=Nav_Global_calandcalc_growthchart

And that also puts him about:

Height Predictor


Your boy will likely be 6 ft. 2 in. at age 18.

http://www.babycenter.com/child-height-predictor?intcmp=Nav_Global_calandcalc_heightpredict&pn=BC%20Homepage
 
Jacob had a great appointment with Dr. Trevor.  He was very happy to learn he was done with shots until he start school at 5. 
 
P.S.  Mommy was too, as she felt very guilty at the idea of dropping him off at daycare AFTER taking him to get shots...

Friday, February 12, 2010

Birthday Invitations

By now, the family should have all received their invites to J's party on Sunday. Yes, I realize that is Valentine's Day. But we either crashed Valentine's Day or the Super Bowl.

Obvious on what ranks higher priority huh?


No, I’m not salty. Or at least I am trying not to be salty. He’s a boy, and should probably learn early that sports will out rank most activities in life – especially when related to family gatherings.


The invites were late. My fault. I searched high & low to find cute Barney & or Elmo themed invites. Ones that I could have printed – so they looked professional. Only I didn’t have any luck finding ones I liked. And it is all about me, right?


Okay, so it is all about Jacob, but I wanted them to perfect.


So I spent days, creating the perfect invite.


I started with this…


But it wasn’t working for me.


So I created this…

Loved it!


Mr. M loved it!


Sent it to be printed at a local drug store.


HATED IT!


It is set up for a 5x5, and did not translate to 5x7 well at all. They suggested reprinting on an 8x10, but that left all kinds of black space.


Looked into getting it printed by the company that owns the software I used. 3 to 5 business days. Did I mention, this was all done 2 weekends before his birthday party? Yeah, it was. Obviously I didn’t have 3 to 5 business days.


So I scrapped it and started over.

Here's what I came up with... Sorry it's so small, but Kodak via Target would not let me save it any larger...

In the end, I think what I created looks more professional, but I hate that it lost the party feel. Now it kind of looks like an announcement of sorts. Which I guess a party invite kind of is… But it isn’t exactly what I wanted… Which leads us back to “And it is all about me, right?”


Actually, this is about the invite... :)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Jumping with a Friend

Last Friday, I got to enjoy Jacob jumping with his friend Dottie...


And driving the bus...
                            
And Dottie demonstrated she has already mastered the art of playing "Keep Away"...
Or maybe that is the art of "How do I get a guy to chase me?" 

After all this running, jumping, and playing, we stopped for lunch.  Mr. J promptly (okay, so after screaming for several minutes that I left him forever a few moments while running into the butcher for Sunday's dinner) fell asleep in the car (& allowed me to transfer him to his bed, a 1st) while Dottie watched Blue's Clues.

Leaving Dottie to have time to enjoy J's toys without having to be bothered by sharing with him...


And Mommies?  Well we got to chat. 

In other words, good times had by all...

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

What J enjoyed today....

Even though his party is not until Saturday, I could not let him not celebrate today too... 

I mean, today is his birthday... (in case you some how missed that)

Here's what he enjoyed while at daycare today...



Happy Boy!!!

on a side note:  Yes, Mommy resisted her urge to eat a tooth, prior to delivering it to daycare.


But I do not deny dreaming of eating those buttercream based teeth... hmm... sigh...

*oh, and if you noticed the left eye does look different than the right... Jacob threw his water glass at the cupcake container in a fit while shopping. Mommy had to fix it...


Have I mentioned lately how much I love the 2 year old temper tantrums?

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Wow... You are two today... I still recall every moment from the moment I woke up on the day you were born. Well, okay, I recall every moment, until they wheeled me into the post-op recovery room… 

See… I spent the last 6 weeks prior to your birth on bed rest. I monitored my blood pressure at least 3 times per day. I was in the hospital 2 times per week for non-stress tests plus a biophysical profile every Thursday, and we saw my OB every Friday.

Your Dad drove me to the hospital on the morning of your delivery, during which we talked about what we'd name you "if" you were a boy.  Had you been a girl, we had that name agreed upon.  (Sadly, I cannot recall that name)

You were born at 39 weeks 0 days by c-section. Saturday, February 9, 2008 @ 8:15 AM (right on schedule)
We promptly (okay at 3 months) showed you off to all our friends & family...
                                       
yes, it has been decorated with a train due to the public nature of  the blog.

Your first year was a whirlwind, and like the Prince you are, we celebrated it in a very Royal style.

This year's big highlights are:
- still very fond of your thumb
- entered daycare
- from mastering the art of walking to running full speed
- jumping on two feet
- saying your ABCs
- counting to 10
- feeding yourself with silverware
- eating what we eat, as opposed to having a special kiddo meal prepared
- developing thoughts on your own
- first haircut AND first lollipop
 - actively engaging in the ‘unwrapping’ of gifts process
     o promptly stopping after each bit is ripped to throw it away
     o not really concerned if the gift being unwrapped is for you
- Daddy introducing you to Diet Pepsi
     o and your subsequent learning of the word “Pop”
     o and your strong desire to enjoy some of your own
- saying the ‘Magic Words’ consistently
- entering the terrible 2’s
     o showing your independence
           strong Yes & No
           melting down when the Yes & No answers are not addressed properly
     o demonstrating how to cry on demand
- Favorite character was Elmo, until just after Christmas when Barney became the central attention grabber

Mr. M & I have had a blast & look forward to enjoying the next 100 years with you.


*note* The official height, weight, etc will be posted next Monday after his 2 year check-up with Dr. Trevor

Monday, February 8, 2010

not MY child - Monday!

Welcome to MckMama's blog train of "Not Me! Monday's"....

Are you feeling guilty about anything? Or did you have any embarrassing event happen that left you hoping no one witnessed it? Or witness your spouse, child, dog... do something that horrifies you in "how did that just happen" sort of way?

If the answer is yes, then listen to Mama - MckMama that is!

"Well don't be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!"

Write about what did not happen in your house in your blog, use her MckLinkey to link up your blog entry. What, you don't have a blog - that's okay... We'd still love to read your "not" happenings in her comment section.


I haven't done a "Not Me! Monday" in a while, however, after this past weekend - I must confess to several "Not MY Child!" moments...

On Friday, my son did not wake up at 6AM ready for the day. Nope! Not MY Child! He always sleeps his full 12 hours, not waking before 8AM. I did not react to this by climbing into his bed & telling him he could watch Barney (on continuous loop no less) while Mommy slept. Nope! Not Me! I’d never do something like use the TV as a babysitter while I slept. As a result, I did not wake up covered in dirty size 3T clothes with a small finger poking at me. I did not laugh and think – Well, at least I got that extra hour of sleep.

On Saturday night, while in the bath tub I did not start singing the ABC’s to Jacob, in hopes he’d join in. Nope! Not Me! I’d never take play time & make it learning time too. Nope! I’d never do something as multi-tasking as that… He would not respond in all his attitude glory “No Mommy”. And I would not then switch to counting. He would never respond with “No! Mommy!”. And if this were to have happened, I would not move on to Sandra Boyton’s Moo, Baa, LA, LA, LA. Jacob would not stand up in the tub walk over & get in my face to say “NOOO! MOMMY!” then turn away and face the corner wall of the tub to play with the rubber duckies. Nope! Not MY Child. He’s always game for learning while playing.

And he never gives me attitude. Nope! Never!

Which is why I did not give my son some orange pop in lieu of experiencing a full out melt down at the dinner table yesterday. Nope! Not Me! My child is not demonstrating the terrible 2’s with all that fan fare.

After giving my son 20 minutes to play on his own while Daddy watched the Super Bowl & I cleaned up the kitchen from dinner & caught the end of Damages, did I walk into his room to find diaper in hand & poop on the floor. Nope! Not MY Child! He’d never do something so disgusting. He knows we only potty in our diaper or in the potty directly.

Lastly, I am not sporting a sore left arm with a whopping bruise the EXACT same size as my son’s mouth. Nope! Not Me! My child never bites me. Nope! Not MY Child. He knows better than to bite me.

And I don’t wonder why I’m the only one who he bites while caring for him. Mr. M does not tell me that it’s because J knows I’ll put up with such behavior. I don’t disagree and say that it is more likely I’m the one who gets to do all the non-fun stuff. Like bed time, nap time, redirection, etc… Nope! Not Me! I’d never disagree, even if I think it might be true…

Thursday, February 4, 2010

1st Backpack

Right before J & I left for Marco in December, his wonderful daycare provider Angie mentioned I really should get him a backpack. I think she thought I didn’t get the hint J really wanted one, as he was constantly trying to steal borrow his classmates when I picked him up each night.


Only I had gotten the hint, just had no idea of what to get him… My old plain black Eddie Bauer ones seemed to do the job, but didn’t seem 2 year old’ish enough.  Granted, it was from my college days... Yet I was leery to buy Elmo, as he could be just a passing fancy. And let’s face it – how many backpacks did I want to buy for my son BEFORE he enters grade school? I’d kind of picked one out on Pottery Barn Kid’s website, but it was on back order at the time… So, I was stuck in limbo.

Then, when we were visiting Grandma & Grandpa, Grandpa had the idea to take J to see Santa at the Bass Pro Shop (BPS). I was game. Seeing Santa in shorts, always a great thing for a kid from the Midwest. My fear, however, was J would meltdown and scream like he had just weekends before at Mr. M’s Christmas Party. We have this delightful family portrait with Santa & Mrs. Claus of me looking at the camera in an attempt to salvage the picture, Mr. M trying to comfort Jacob, and Jacob reaching towards us trying to crawl off Santa’s lap with huge crocodile tears rolling down his cheeks. Let me tell you, that one went right.up.on.the.wall. Okay, so I couldn’t even tell you where it is at this moment. It was that bad.

When we got to BPS we learned, we were not the only ones with this great idea of a free picture with Santa. We had over an hour wait. Great! Not only did I have to worry about how J would react with Santa, but now I’m worrying how he will do in his stroller for an hour before hand…

Grandma solved it… Grandpa took J to the Men’s section & we took off for the Ladies… Good times had by all. After we get in line, seeing all the kids outside their strollers, J said in his very almost 2 year old way (read: scream, fuss & whimper) that he wanted out too. After a couple rounds of redirection, Grandpa gave in & picked him up. I, on the other hand, saw this as an opportunity to escape in hopes J would do well with Santa.

It worked. We have a great picture of Jacob sitting on Santa’s lap in his shorts & polo shirt.

As a reward, Grandma & Grandpa purchased Jacob his very first backpack. It is titled “Fish Stix” and has the most adorable fin & big eyes on the back. I love that it is just the right amount of kid, but not a passing theme, AND it is all boy – just like J. 

While in FL, J ran around in his new backpack - proudly displaying it to all that came in contact with him.


When school (read: daycare) started back up in January, Mr. M had a few rough days. I laid out his backpack for Mr. M to send him off with it at the end of the first week back. Mr. M called me on his way to work to tell me, for the first time all week I didn’t have to check on J, as Mr. M knows J was doing great. J proudly carried his backpack into school.

And with that, we now had a new routine. And he’s growing up a little more each day.  He's even brought home homework 2 nights.  Talk about Mommy not being ready for that!
He even taught me, it’s not a backpack – it’s a playpack. Playpack Mommy. Playpack. So being the good Mom I am, I’ve filled it with goodies that match its name.

We have crayons, coloring book, an Elmo story book, and its even been known to carry Barney (you know, when he’s not being held by the hand, throat, or tail)


I've heard, from experienced mommies, soon I'll be able to have J even carry his own diapers in his backpack.  Now that will be awesome.  Even better, when we don't have to think about them, but J carrying his own... And not putting them on Barney, or rubbing the floor with them...  It's a nice dream...  And for now, it is only a dream.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

We scored a 100%

On "Parenting Issues" that is...

Mr. M & I are currently being forced into given some free marriage counseling as part of having our marriage validated by the Catholic Church in preparation for my Baptism on Holy Saturday. Overall, we scored an average of 74% compatibility, if you weight all elements evenly. We both agree the average is skewed down in that some of the issues the Deacon reviewed with us, are things we recognize are issues, but have found ways to compromise our way to happiness. Amazingly enough, the Deacon agreed that is what happens when you apply a 189 question pre-marital test to a couple married for almost 7 years.  And still very happy.
However, the one place we are in a 100% agreement was “Parenting Issues”. I can’t tell you why, but this result totally delighted me. Actually I can… This reinforces my belief that Mr. M & I will be on the same page & Jacob will not be able to play us off of each other…

Hmm… Maybe those teenage years won’t be so bad…
Oh, who am I kidding... With a smile like this, Mr. M & I are going to have so much fun!  And we will love every minute of it...