Grandma & Grandpa P

J loves taking pictures with my camera.  Sadly his aim leaves a bit to be desired...

i.e. my head cut off, but the rest of my body kept in the picture.  Fabulous, right?

Anyway... I knew I would be chicken about taking my camera out to the beach, so I eagerly grabbed at the first chance to get J to pose with Grandma & Grandpa...

Sponge Bob bubbles...

Getting back into life has been a little slow in going.  J is having trouble sleeping by himself again, after having so many nights at my side on the sofa sleeper.  It will get better, but in the mean time, I'll post pics as I get them loaded...

Here is a fun pic of J blowing bubbles with his new Sponge Bob Squarepants that Grandma picked up for him... We had hours of fun with this...

Back to Reality...

After 8 glorious days in 80+ degree weather, waking to the sounds of waves crashing on the beach & seeing the sunset over the water...

We are back.

To reality.

Brutal as it is... 40 degree highs, if we even reach that.

Obnoxious number of emails...

As for my travel worries?

Wasted effort.  J did AWESOME!!!  He traveled like a pro.  He loved being on the big airplane, and lived up every moment.  I thought he would sleep, but both ways he was just to excited to sleep. 

And Disney was a huge hit!  I'm glad we did not take more than a day, as J was so exhausted, having gone from 9 (when it opened) to 5 (when he crashed out on my Dad's shoulder) walking & riding all over the Magic Kingdom.

And of course, he got to meet Mickey & even kiss Minnie.

There were priorities.

Pictures to come...

New friend...

While picking up Gatorade (have you tried the new pre-game version?  It's chuck full of vit B) for Mr. M who wasn't feeling well, J & I looked for a couple new movies.

I'm praying he travels well tonight.

Of course he picked more Barney.  More Curious George.  Duplicate Mickey.  And he would not listen to me when I said, "but you already have enough..."

I was on the search for a new Caillou (which I didn't find :( ) since that is his current favorite craze for TV time.  These half hour shows are awesome for giving me time to do laundry & dishes & cook dinner...

As we were heading towards the movie area, we passed a section of dinosaurs.  They were these little rubber guys & less than $5.  J had to have one.

As in, gave up all 3 movies I wasn't planning on buying anyway, but had in the cart until we got to where I was actually going to look for movies.

He then played the next half hour, happy as could be in the cart.  And the dinosaur carried over to a sleep buddy.  Mr. M said it was all he could do to convince J to leave his buddy at home.  As soon as we walked in the door at home, J was on the hunt for his new found friend.

So while I picked up Benji & a new Mickey, I'm hoping Mr. Dinosaur will entertain him for & ease my travel worries...

J says the funniest things...

Me:  What's for dinner?

J:  Mac-n-Cheese

Me:  Not an option.  Your options are; cheese pizza, chicken, eggs or waffles.

J:  Cheese pizza will hurt my tummy.  (huh?  since when?)  Waffles!  Those won't hurt my tummy.

Me:  (under my breath) No, they're just sugar crack.

J:  No they aren't.  Rocks are for in front of the house.

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J:  We'll do (eat) this & this, then we'll do that.

This & This being what J wants, and that being what Mommy wants.

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J has learned the hard way, that Payton is a doggie garbage disposal...  Chapsticks, suckers, cookies, chicken, etc... Leave anything at her level - or in a method she can reach & it is pretty much gone.

J:  Mommy, put Payton outside or she'll eat my toes.

Scooter Days...

I don't have any pictures, as I was trying to teach J how to ride it...

But with the wonderful Spring weather "Spring Forward" has brought us, we got out his Christmas present from Aunt Kristi, Uncle Jeff, Cam's, Mall's & baby boy P (expected in June):  a scooter. 

We rode it up & down the side walk until he was really starting to get the hang of it.  He hasn't gotten the concept of putting his right foot behind his left one yet, but he was at least riding it a little bit without constant pushing off of his right foot. 

He even got going so fast he crashed & burned.  However, his rough & tumble ways had him laughing, getting up & trying again.

Naturally, it is not yet warm enough for long play outside, and runny noses had us running inside for warmth.

Thankfully, we broke out one of his birthday presents (CARS color changing station), which he sat at the kitchen counter & played with for hours.

What a fun weekend!

Fat Tuesday Treat

My boss generously brought in paczki's on Fat Tuesday.  At the end of the day, she made sure I grabbed one for J & Mr. M.

Mr. M was delighted with a lemon one, that he proclaimed to be insanely delicious.

J was delighted with a cream cheese one.  He was so sweet, calling Miss Kathy to personally thank her for thinking of him & sending home a doughnut.  However, he was very stressed that Mommy did not have one, until Miss Kathy & I explained - I'd already enjoyed mine during the day.  :)

Soccer Update

J's soccer season is coming to an end.  And sadly, it has not been all that I'd hoped for him.  He was constipated going into his second game, and then Mr. M & I left for Vegas, so it didn't really get resolved for another week after we got back. 

As a result, he really just didn't feel good.  He didn't feel like playing. 

And he really wants to stop the ball with his hands. 

This past week, it took a bit for J to play.  It was almost like he's felt so crappy that he was afraid to play for fear of feeling bad.  But we pushed through.  His team coaches were awesome.  They encouraged him to get out & play.  Let him come in & out as he needed a hug. 

I felt so bad because every time he'd come over to me, he'd say "I want to play soccer" but he just couldn't get the nerve to go play.

By the last 10 mins, he was in & doing well.  He shook hands with the opposing team & handed out treats (it was our week) like a champ.  He was so good about it.  And we talked about how next week is the last week.  He was okay with it.

Made me glad that I did sign him up for t-ball, because I really wasn't sure until that moment that signing him up was the right move.  (I seriously waited until the last possible opportunity before signing him up) We'll miss the first game with our trip to Marco, but I'm thinking of getting him a t-ball set to play with Grandpa on the beach, so Mommy can have a little R&R by the pool...

More Party Pics...

My party pics are random ones taken as I mingled amongst the other parents.  Mr. M & his family all had a great handle on where J was so I didn't have to worry about him.  As a result, I worked to bridge the varies groups I pulled from for the invites. 

showing Mr. M all his favorite inflatables 

Caitlyn, a friend from our Luna Mom group 

Cheering a friend down the slide 

J & his "Best Friend Jacob M*"

Dottie, an *old* friend from Orland Park's Mommy's group 

tired boy, having a blast jumping with all his friends

3rd Party Pics...

Location:  Jump Zone in Crown Point.

Cake:  Beck's of Crown Point

Theme:  Cars (his new room) & Mickey (our upcoming vaca to Marco Island)

We had so much fun hosting J's friends to join us in celebrating his birthday.  In the end, we had 16 kids (including J) but with parents staying to help - it never seemed overwhelming.  We had the place to ourselves, so the kids really just had so much room to run & play.

After pizza & cake, everyone pretty much was ready for the overdo nap time.  I think J was still jumping in his dreams.

Catch-up - From the Blizzard of 2011

In February, we were hit with record snowfalls.  Mommy & Mr. M had our first ever family snow day. 

Roads were closed.

Snow came down at alarming rates.  I believe final snowfall tallied around 21.5 inches.

We laughed when we saw the snow plows replaced by front end loaders in our neighborhood. 

J on the other hand, didn't like it so much.  He was desperate to go out in it, but after making a *Caillou* inspired snow angel, trying to catch snowflakes in his mouth.  He was pretty much over it. 

this would be our 8 foot dog run fence

He helped shovel for a few minutes, before announcing - "I'm cold.  It's hot chocolate time"

And in we came.  To snuggle & watch it snow.

Stolen moments like these are priceless.