Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

Today is Daddy's birthday.  We are not saying how old, as Mr. M has reached the point of not wanting to celebrate them.  :$

J is beyond himself with delight in celebrating Daddy's birthday.  He was very adamant about wanting to sign his card to daddy all.by.himself.

He did pretty well.  I cannot believe he is already to this point.

It's so bitter sweet...

Happy Birthday Baby!!!  I hope this year continues to grow in happiness & delight we've enjoyed since meeting you in 2001, just prior to your 30th birthday.  Love you!

Vacation Countdown

J could not be more excited about going to see Grandma & Grandpa P at "the Beach".  He is already packed, although, he does seem to pack, unpack & repack his toys daily.  I think I finally have him convinced to not pack toys until this weekend.  Sigh.  He is so cute & I love he is so excited.

I'm looking forward to a few days of not thinking.  A few days of just being mommy.  No 5:15 wake ups.  No set schedules.  No *must dos*...

That said, I did request we check out the Gator Airboat rides this time.  I think J will love it, as he is getting so into nature. 

J is so excited he will have 3 unscheduled, uninterrupted, unplanned days with me...

And I'd be lying if I didn't admit I'm delighting in his joy & exuberance.

<3 him bunches & bunches!

Duck!

It's what is for breakfast!

I have to share this as J was so fascinated by the raw nature happening before his eyes.  He asked about 10 million questions trying to understand the "hows & whys"...

How did the duck die?  Did he go to Heaven?  How did the Hawk find him?  Did the Hawk kill him?  How does the duck go to Heaven if the Hawk is eating him?

and on & on it went...

All in a day's learning, as I dropped him off at school...

Season Opener

"Let's play ball"

 Or not...

Mr. M & I had many discussions on whether or not to sign J up for this year's t-ball.  He just barely made the cutoff to play.  In the end, we went with the 'eff it' attitude thinking what could the worst thing be that could happen?

Argh. 

A week ago yesterday, J's coach made a off-handed comment in regards to J being one of the best players on the team.  Mommy soared with pride, especially when you realize he is playing with 6-year-olds.

What a curse... Last Tuesday J spent practice in tears, and yesterday - OMGosh what happened to my player & can I please have him back?!?!?! 

At practice, I would stand on the field with him to help keep him focused, but during the games, I need to go no further than the dugout.  Sigh.  J had a really difficult time with me not actively being involved.  And that stressed out me & Mr. M, which in turn stress J out. 

As pitcher, J was randomly focused.  He'd grab the ball coming his way, but he'd also throw his mitt in the air if they were working on hitting.  He'd run off the field if he wanted to high-five, fist bump, or just "tell me something".  It was craziness.

To start 2nd inning, J was to the catcher.  He was all excited about getting to wear the helmet, then his coach said he didn't need it, then the Ump said he did.  It was a complete cluster to start the 2nd inning. 

It ended with J refusing to wear the safety helmet to play catcher (granted, he did face plant due to it being so heavy when he went to pick up a ball) & Mr. M deciding it was time for us to leave, prompting a massive meltdown by J.

We are now questioning on whether J is simply to young to play.  Are we pushing him to hard?  Initially we thought it couldn't hurt, but now I'm wondering if it is too much for him.  Tomorrow he will go to practice pretty much straight from school since Miss Cheryl is on vacation.  This will be new for him.  It will be interesting to see how he does without his normal downtown, especially since I will be standing with the moms & trying to put more of this on his Coach setting him for success on Sunday.

I hope anyway.

Friday Nights

Tonight J & I continued our Friday pizza & a movie night. It was so much fun! For starters, Miss Wendy & Skye joined us. J was rather bummed to realize Skye did not cherish this dinner & a movie as much as he does. But J was happy to snuggle on the couch with me and watch Puss n Boots together. Wendy & I were able to catch up on the chaos that seems to be invading our lives recently without dwelling on any one thing. Mainly it was nice to sit with a glass of wine & just relax. No driving required, so simple & so nice. We did find a super yummy wine tonight. I've found I really enjoy the sweet delights of reisling wines. Being from Michigan, I liked the idea of supporting a local winery. I'm so glad I did, as I stumbled upon a reasonably priced bottle of wine that was a full bodied delight to my tongue. Grand Traverse Select - Sweet Select Reisling. Truly enjoyable. J is surprising me more & more with the words heis learning. Between having to know how to spell things to communicate in ASL, or simply developing, he astounded me tonight when I spelled ice cream for Miss Wendy to approve prior to offering to Skye, only to have Mr. Monkey spell it out to himself & respond with "ice cream!!! Yes, I want ice cream!! It is crazy to me that he is picking this up. Id be lying if I didn't admit it makes reading & such a whole lot more fun... J's home opener is Sunday. Should be a great weekend!

Time Slips By...

No idea why this post does not seem to want to post... Try this one last time...

Life has been crazy in our home... Q1 close followed by a visit from the man whose name is on my paycheck from Europe.  We've been busy with t-ball & getting ready for some beach time. 

J has been an awesome trooper through it though.  He entertained himself while I worked from home & generally stayed pretty upbeat, all things considered, about Miss Cheryl feeding him dinner & putting him to bed on occasion.

Things are looking up & boy are we ever excited...

Local News...

Someone special made the front page our local newspaper...

J was more excited to see Maddi than to see himself.  :)