Saturday. Two Years Old.

Around 7:00 I wake up to Ted sniffing my face and boofing to go outside. I flip on the video monitor. He’s still sleeping. This is a new thing, sleeping past 6. Most days he’s still asleep when I leave for work. While it’s nice to have the morning to myself, I do get kind of sad when I don’t get so give him a hug and kiss his sweet checks before leaving.  But it’s Saturday so I wait until he’s moving around a little bit then get up to let the dogs out. Ted’s thundering down the stairs almost always wakes him up and today was no different.  Once the dogs are fed, I go get him out of bed. “Hi mommy! I’m awake!”  “Go out dere!” and points toward the living room. I carry him out and sit in the chair with him for a little bit while he says hi to the dogs and Daddy. I plead with him a little bit to change his diaper but have to promise we can leave his jammies on before I get the OK.  I change his diaper and send him back out to the living room while also trying to ask him what he wants for breakfast. If he doesn’t eat right away in the morning he gets really, really hangry. A trait he inherited most certainly from me.  We decide on waffles and he goes to play with his train table. “Mommy play choo-choos!” “ Daddy play choo-choos!” Zach keeps him busy while I make his breakfast.  I tell him it’s ready and he comes running in the kitchen “time to eat!” We negotiate back and forth on where he will sit, high chair or table? Stool? Ultimately landing at the kitchen table where he demands to pour his own syrup.  Breakfast lasts quite a long time including many “are you finished” questions followed by removing his plate only to have to return it because, “I eat!”.  Finally we are all done and hands are washed and face is wiped.

Zach feels especially productive this morning and starts tidying the house. I get ready for the day because I want to get to the grocery store early to get it out of the way. I plan to take David because he loves going to Price Chopper, mostly because he gets a piece of cheese. Zach drags out the vacuum and David gets really excited “I do it!!” he cries after Zach starts the vacuum. Zach tries to give him the vacuum and he runs away frustrated. Zach starts to vacuum again. “I DO IT!” David screams. Rinse and repeat. I, give up, grab him and go change him so we can go and Zach can vacuum in peace. Today he wears a grey football tshirt shirt and red swishy pants. With matching red and grey socks. I don my yoga pants and Old Navy tshirt. The Mom Uniform. David gets excited when I tell him we are going in the car.  “Go to Papa’s house!” I tell him we’ll go to Papa’s house tomorrow, right now we are going to Price Chopper. “Price Chopper!!! Piece of cheese! Mommy drive the cart!” We load in the car and off we go.

First we go to the car wash. He’s not so sure about the car wash. He does ok during the soap and even the brush part, but once the blowers turned on, he was done. “Mommy get it outta here!!!”  Next stop Price Chopper, which is thankfully not busy. Grocery shopping with David is always good, just so long as he gets his piece of cheese. Sometimes the deli people sense his excitement and give him one, but today I had to pull a slice out of our pack. He always says “Thank you!” to the deli guy anyway then continues to remind me “I got a piece of cheese!” as we continue our shopping. He charms the checkout lady as usual and waves bye bye as we leave. Sometimes he says “have a good one!” which just cracks me up.

By the time we get home it’s almost lunch time and with the amount of time it’s been taking him to eat, I start making his lunch pretty quickly while he plays with his “hayride” toy. It’s a tractor and trailer with a few different animals in it that Zach’s mom gave him for his birthday. Our neighbors had a hayride for Halloween and that’s how we went trick or treating. So as he unloads all the animals he says “go trick or treat!” and then after they do so he says “OK! Time to go!” and loads them back up.  Lunch was a turkey and cheese sandwich (he only at the turkey and cheese). Along with some grapes and wheat thins. Lunch lasts approximately 45 minutes, including a time out for something Zach and I cannot remember at all except for the fact that I had to leave the room because I was laughing so hard about it.

After lunch we play with his new Magna Doodle where he scribbles, erases and repeats like he’s done it a million times. I’m trying to teach him his letters and name so I write those several times. “Mommy write my name!”  D-A-V-I-D spells David! Scribble, scribble, scribble! I keep a close eye on the clock and know that if he doesn’t go down for his nap by 12:15, it’s not happening. Today he seems especially tired and actually asked “nigh-night?” and trotted off to his room without protest when I said it's time for nap. We read some books (Hello Bugs, The Velveteen Rabbit and Moo Cows), rock a little bit in his chair, take a few extra drinks of water, close the blinds and out I slip. 

Nap Time! Yessss! Zach embraces nap time and heads to the office to play some video games. As much as I’d like to nap myself, I always end up getting busy doing something else. Today I decide to go in the basement to do my “Fusion Fitness Dream Body Workout” DVD. It is ridiculously hard and I cuss out the TV on multiple occasions. It’s over an hour long, but I still am able to get in my shower and some cheese and crackers before I hear David talking in his crib.

Zach goes and gets him while I keep sacking. We cuddle on the couch for a few minutes then I head off to dry my hair. Zach and David have “guy time” and I hear them playing in-between drying my hair and putting on my makeup. I believe a stinky diaper was also changed somewhere in there.  It’s rare that Zach’s home at this time with his crazy football schedule so I take my time getting ready and dressed (back in the Mom Uniform!), lounge around on the bed for a bit with the dogs and I even check Facebook on the iPad a couple times! Luxurious!

I come out to the Nebraska game on TV and David playing with his trucks on the couch. We lounge around for a little bit and even open the house up because it’s getting so warm. I know we need to get outside and enjoy the day. I get David a snack and soon he’s asking to go outside. No neighbor kids appear to be home so I tell him we are going to go to the park and then to Target – another favorite shopping spot of his. The Nebraska game is close and Zach was on pins and needles so I thought it best to let him watch the game in peace. Ha! We head to Harris Park outside of Summit Waves and much to my surprise it’s not very busy. Usually it’s crawling with kids, especially on nice days.   As usual he doesn’t spend much time on the playground equipment but instead wants to “go get a drink” from the Lion water fountain  that’s been there since I was a kid.  He’s never gotten a drink from a water fountain, let alone a Lion water fountain so I’m kind of perplexed as to how he knows what it is. We walk over and discover the water if off. Oh darn. Then he notices all the walnut(?) balls that have fallen off the trees and begins collecting as many as his little hands can hold. During the two split seconds I look away, he has taken one and put it in the lion water fountain. Of course it’s exactly the same size as the drain and promptly gets stuck. Oh yay! Just barely two and already destroying vintage park property. I spend the next 10 minutes trying to fish the thing out with tiny little sticks. I’m sure the other parents are giving me the major side-eye. Finally I get it out and try to distract David back to the playground. No way, no how.  So we keep gathering sticks, kicking balls and watching a long train go by until it really is time to go.

He loads up in the car without much protest. “Go to Papa’s house!!” I tell him again that we’ll go to Papa’s house in the morning, but right now we are going to Target. “I go to Target’s house!” He actually holds my hand and walks from the car to the store without being held. It doesn’t happen often, but it just melts my heart when he’ll hold my hand. We don’t need much at Target but decide to wander around a little bit. He really is the best shopping buddy. Never complains and loves to look at things just as much as I do. We go over to the Christmas section and he is utterly fascinated by all the trees and lights. “see the Christmas twees!” “See the lights!” He gets a little upset when I walk away, but I make a note to take him out to see as many Christmas light displays as possible this year.  As we walk through the clothes section he likes to point out things and while we were in the coat section he goes “that’s a nice jacket!”. Maybe I had said it earlier and he was just repeating, but I love my little shopping buddy!

On the way home I decide I’m not up for making dinner. I call Zach and ask if we should just pick up some McDonalds on the way home (a banner day for eating – clearly. As an aside, I swear I feed David more wholesome meals during the week. No really. Sometimes we even drink green smoothies together!) He gives me his order and I ask David if he’d like a Happy Meal. He squeals back “Happy meal! French… Fries!! I want French….Fries!” He’s only had a Happy Meal one other time in his life so again, my mind is baffled.  We get home and really go full on “parent of the year” and wheel his highchair out into the living room so we can all watch the end of the Nebraska game (it’s tied!).  David dives into his fries first, happily munching away. He tries a few bites of his cheeseburger but in the end devours all of his apples, most of his fries and leaving almost all of his cheeseburger behind. Sacrilege. The game ends (a win!) and we put on some music and play with all his toys on the floor. "Mommy! Sit on the floor!"  "Daddy! Sit on the floor!"  The dogs chew their bones and the cat curls up on the couch. Pretty much perfection.

By 7:15 the fussies start to creep in because his nap wasn't quite long enough. It's Zachs night to do bath time. I fill up the tub while Zach gets a towel and washcloth. In the meantime David asks to sit on the potty. Success! Then into the tub. I pick up toys and get his crib ready while he and Zach play in the bath. After bath, lotion, jammies and a quick hair combing we are back in the bathroom to brush teeth. It's a nightly battle, but it's getting easier each night.

"I have a ssssnack!" he yells as we head back to the bedroom to read books. We've been in a bad habit of letting him have a snack before bed and we're gradually phasing it out. Tonight he gets two animal crackers and a cup of water. "Sit on the floooooor!".  We read Thomas, Hello Bugs, Goodnight Moon, Moo Cow and then he says goodnight to Daddy and I get to rock him in the chair for a few minutes. He wants to keep sitting on the floor but eventually let me hold him. Just for a few minutes though. He asks to "go nigh-night" pretty quickly. I put him in the crib, ask if he wants a book (he does, Thomas) and give him one last drink of water before coming his hair back and saying I love you. I leave the night light on and begin to close the door. "Love you buddy, good night."  "WUVVVA YOU MOMMY!"  "WUVVA YOU!"  "love you too David, nigh-night"  "NIGHT!!!"  

I giggle, close the door and head to our room where I sit on the bed and flip on the monitor. He doesn't fuss tonight. He rolls a round a bit, looks at his book for a minute, then sets it down, sucks his two fingers, crosses his legs and mumbles till he falls asleep. A few hours later I creep back into his room, peek in his crib and watch him sleep for a few moments then click off the nightlight and head to bed myself. 

Love you buddy. Love you. 

Two years old is pretty good, guys.

 

 

Pumpkin Patching

This past weekend we made our second annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch! We originally had plans to go out to the KC Pumpkin Patch in Gardner, but we didn't have a whole lot of time so we just stuck closer to home and went to Shuck's in Pleasant Hill. Our neighbor said her kid had fun there, so why not? I do think I am either not quite understanding this whole pumpkin patch thing or if this is just the way it is, but much like last year, there was not an actual pumpkin patch to be found.  Good thing we already had our pumpkins picked out from good ol' Price Chopper!

Before we left Zach asked if we should stop and get some cash. I scoffed and said "who doesn't accept credit cards?!"  Yep... We really hyped up the pumpkin patch to David all day and all the way there. He was ready! So imagine his little heart just breaking to pieces as we loaded him back in the car after finding out we needed real money. Thankfully the drive all the wayhome and back didn't take too long...

David has been asking to "ride the choo-choo" ever since our last trip to the zoo. I promised him that he could ride the choo-choo at the pumpkin patch. I had no doubts that he would love the barrel train so I didn't even think twice about plopping him in the car and happily waiving as they sped off.

I stood with the camera at the ready for when they looped back around - ready to capture him having the time of his life....

Uh, yeah. I was really winning at mommy-hood that day. Turns out the ride was a little on the bumpy side and that really scared him. He recovered pretty fast after I got him out, but boy did he watch that barrel train ever so carefuly each time it drove past the rest of the day. Finally as we were leaving he asked to go on it again. Maybe next year buddy...

 

Next we moved on to the giant box of corn. I took his shoes off and set him down. Cue the crying! It took several minutes of standing and watching the other kids play before he would try to get in again. He did insist on leaving his shoes on though and it took a good 15 minutes before he would consider sitting down. But once he did.... He was in love. He could have stayed there all day.

The other big hit was the hayride! We went on one last weekend at Deanna Rose Farmstead with my friends and he loved it. So, I knew he'd at least enjoy this tractor ride! Good thing too because we are having a big neighborhood Halloween party and a hayride is part of the festivities. We can't wait! Lets hope the rain goes away by then.

So that was it! He really wanted to go on the zip-line with all the big kids and even made a break for it and started climbing the stairs to the tower! Again, maybe next year buddy....

Here's our best "David at the Pumpkin Patch" photo we could manage. It was time for dinner and someone was getting hangry!

And last years picture, just for kicks. Look at that little muffin!!

TRICK OR TREAT!

Down on the Farm

Last weekend we took David to Deanna Rose Farmstead, a children's farm in Overland Park. It was our first time, but definitely not our last. I wish it was closer! David had a great time walking around and exploring. He liked the animals and all but his favorite parts were the playground with the ride-on animals on giant springs (just like from when I was a kid!) and "milking" the buckets in the dairy barn! 

We got there bright and early so it wasn't crowded at all, which was really nice. Afterwards we went out to lunch and took long naps at home! I could get used to this nice weather! 

 

 

There goes the summer...

We're starting to wind down the summer over here. Fall weather might not be here yet, but football has started, so that means the weekends tend to revolve around the Huskers and Chiefs.

We've had a pretty good time these past few months. Another trip to the lake, several trips to the zoo, get-togethers with friends, lots and lots of outside time on the cool days and mess after mess inside on the hot days.

I could write and write and write about all the fun things David is doing these days. Talking (sentences!), running, climbing, mischief making, eating, not eating, g-r-o-w-i-n-g.... the works!  Mostly I'm just a little short on words tonight so I'll leave you with a picture post! Enjoy!

 Playing with cars at the lake. He LOVES playing with cars!

 He's finally started holding hands. FINALLY.

 He is only in it for the hose time. He wants out of the pool as soon as it's full.

 Vacuuming. Always with the vacuuming. It's still his favorite activity.

 

After my camera...

 ....and got it.

 Thank you, Crayola for your non-toxic Color Wonder markers. No really, thank you.

 He always has VERY SERIOUS conversations when he gets ahold of the phone.

Missy. Because, I mean....

 Daddy + Hose = David in heaven.

 Shop Cart! Mommy's Shoes! Be-Be! Three more favorite things.

Walks around the neighborhood. Our newest and most favorite nightly tradition.

Stay tuned for lots of festive fall updates soon! :)

The past month and a half

So, it’s been a little while since I updated everyone on what’s been going on with David!

Here's what's been up with this 21 month old!

David transitioned to a new daycare at the end of June. He went from a center to an in-home. While we really liked the center and his main teacher a ton we just felt like he might do a little better in a smaller environment. Turns out we were correct. He is absolutely loving it. Of course, it took about a week for him to adjust but now he just goes right in and seems as happy as can be. He even has a BFF! There’s one little girl there who is his same age (just one day older actually!) and apparently they are inseparable. He’s frequently talking about his pal, even pointing at girl shoes at Target and saying her name. It’s love! It could be his age but we are also noticing he is talking a whole lot more and sleeping a whole lot better. It is nice!

Speaking of talking! Whoo boy, he’s a talking fool.  I couldn’t even begin to count the number of words he knows and he learns them so fast! We pretty much only have to say a word a couple times before he has it down. He’s also saying things a lot more clearly and properly. Sadly, Zach and I are now “Mommy and Daddy” . “Mama and Dada” are officially things of the past and I won’t lie and tell you it doesn’t hurt a little bit.  Missy is no longer “me me” but is “Missy! Moo!” just like I call her. Outside is no longer “side” but “Outside”, “Deck”, “Yard”, “Park” or wherever else he feels like telling me he wants to go.  Oh opinions, boy does he have them!  He also tries to sing which might be the cutest thing yet. His favorite songs are “Happy Birthday”, “Row Row Row Your Boat” and “The Hotdog Dance”.  He does, however, no longer want me to sing to him and says “NO!” every time I start.  So…..

He is my most favorite little errand runner. I am soaking up his love of shopping while I can, because I know it won’t last forever. He has a shopping cart that he loads up with all his toys and pushes around the house saying “shop!”.  Sometimes when he gets bored he will look at me and say “Car, bye bye, shop?” Who am I to turn that down?!

We’ve been to the zoo a couple times and while I don’t think he’s super into the animals quite yet, he does like to walk around and explore. Going on stroller-free walks is one of his favorite things but he also really likes to sit in his stroller and go on walks around the neighborhood with Missy too. I’ve been toying around with the idea of investing in a Bob stroller with some gift card money I’ll be getting from work, but I just don’t know…. I’m afraid he’s almost to the end of his stroller-loving time and then if we have another we’ll need a double. So, I’m still thinking.  Decisions, decisions.

The lake has also been a destination this year. I went over the 4^th of July weekend without Zach or David. I hung out with my brothers and sister in law and we just went on boat rides, floated in the lake, ate a crap ton of junk food and took it easy! While I sure missed the boys it was nice to just have a little bit of downtime. We went back a couple weeks ago and took David with us. Boy, does he like it! He plays with Vince and Sheena’s dog Max and swims and goes on boat rides. Last weekend when we were driving to the store he goes “Lake? Boat? Papa?” Little lake baby.

It’s crazy to think that summer is almost over. Zach’s already been busy getting ready for his job with the Chiefs and Nebraska games are just around the corner. It’s going to be just me and D for a while pretty soon, but I think we’ll manage. I’ve got lots of fall plans, but hopefully we can still get in a lot more fun summer stuff. I’ve yet to take him to the real pool, so I definitely want to get that in and maybe, just maybe another lake trip!

I’ll end with some of his currents:

Favorite Food: Toast (French or Jelly), mac n cheese, pb&j, cake (he calls it “happy” which might be my most favorite thing in the world

), cold green beans, corn, applesauce, cheese, crackers, and of course, cookies (which are still “coo-coo’s” ), cereal, blueberries and popsicles (“cop-i-co’s”)

Most Loved Toys: Shopping cart, vacuum, broom, ride-on turtle, cars, puzzles, sidewalk chalk, kitchen utensils (he loves to “cook”), Zach’s video game controllers and any random item he finds laying around. He really doesn’t play with his “toys” all that often actually….

Preferred Activities: Shopping, PLAYING OUTSIDE, going to the park, baths, playing with the hose, chasing the dogs, reading books, throwing things, collecting rocks, throwing tantrums

Sleep Stats: Goes to bed at 7:45 and now sleeps with a pillow along with his beloved be-be. Has been “sleeping in” until 6:30-7 most days which is ridiculously luxurious and I’m not even kidding.  Naps are usually from 12:30 to 2.  When he wakes up he will tell us he is “wake” or “up” and when I try to tell him it’s time to go to bed he says “no! wake!” however once we lay him down he falls right asleep without protest.

I'd really like to try and updated this thing a little more often. I'm toying around with a few ideas, but we'll see. I need just a few more hours in the day....

Summer Vacation

Last weekend we took our first family "vacation" to Minneapolis/St. Paul. Zach's sister was getting married that Saturday but we drove up on Thursday so we'd have a whole day to do stuff, just the three of us before all the family festivities started. 

We left really early in the morning and David was an absolute DREAM in the car. He mostly slept. We only had to stop two times during the 8 hour drive. We let him play at a McDonalds Playplace the first time (Ew. Yuck. But, he had fun...) and then we had some lunch I had packed at a rest stop in Iowa (I must say, Iowa rest stops are pretty darn nice actually). Otherwise he was perfectly content in the car! It was great!!  

We got in around 3:00 and checked into our hotel which was located in downtown St. Paul, right across from the Excel center. We got settled into the room and then wandered around a bit outside before stopping for some snacks at a coffee house. We also entertained ourselves by throwing baby washcloths at David. He seemed to enjoy it.

 

For dinner that night we met up with Zach's Dad, Step-Mom, Uncle, Cousin and the Bride & Groom for dinner at a local place called Bonfire. I had a really good pasta dish with blackened chicken and extra yummy sangria.

The next morning David woke up in his pack & play around 6am so I reached over and grabbed him and put him in bed with us, thinking that we'd be up for good any minute. Turns out that little muffin just settled himself right in and slept until EIGHT THIRTY! An all-time David record. It was fantastic, I can't even tell you. So after a great night of rest we headed out first thing to get some breakfast and hit up the Minnesota Children's Museum.

 

 

Zach's uncle suggested we try Mickey's Diner, which he said was a "Minnesota institution". It was right down the block from our hotel and even closer to the Museum so we gave it a go. Oh my. It was old. Olddddddd.  We luckily got a "booth" and placed our orders. I tried to ignore the fact that everything looked kind of, um, dirty? I got the pancakes to split with David and Zach got a ham and cheese omelet. The omelet was good but the pancakes were AMAZING. Oh my goodness, they were so good. Possibly the best I've had. Worth the health risk ;)

 

The Children's Museum was also amazing. It came highly recommended and lived up to the hype. It was huge! Four floors and countless galleries for kids of all ages to just go crazy in. I wondered how David would do and he jumped right in. His favorites were the grocery store where he got his own cart to load up, the water room, the city bus and the restaurant where he was absolutely thrilled to find both a broom AND a mop. After several hours of hard core playing we headed back to the hotel for lunch and nap. We ALL crashed out for nearly three hours!!! Vacation is the best!

 

 That evening, Zach's family got into town and we all met up at the hotel restaurant for some drinks and appetizers. Grandma and Grandpa wanted a little David time so they sent Zach and I off in their new convertible to explore the Cities for a bit!  We headed over to Minneapolis and drove through the college to an area called St. Anthony Main (another Uncle Jay suggestion! 2 for 2!) where we did some people watching and had some really good burgers, fries and spiked lemonade. My kind of place! We didn't stay out late as we were trying not to keep David up TOO far past his bed time since the only time he really got cranky during the whole trip was right before bed.  

We got to sleep in AGAIN Saturday morning and met his mom downstairs for some breakfast before trying to decide what to do for the day. The weather was a little threatening and VERY humid so we thought about hitting up "the mall" but realized it didn't open until just an hour before lunch/nap time so we passed and just walked along the river for a bit. We took another LONG nap (have I mentioned how awesome vacation was?!) before getting ready for the wedding!

The wedding was about a half hour away in a town called Forest Lake. It was supposed to be in the back yard of the groom's parents house but it was pouring rain. Just a total monsoon! After a lot of back and forth they finally made the call to have the ceremony at the reception site, a golf course clubhouse down the road. By the time everyone got there the sky was blue and the birds were chirping. Isn't that how it always goes?! The wedding was nice, very simple and we all had a lot of fun. David and his cousin Jude (just 4 months younger than D) ran around outside like crazy goons and at one point I had to literally sprint across the fairway to catch a runaway David. We couldn't stay long because the little guy had officially reached the end of his very patient rope and was demanding a reasonable bedtime. So, we headed back and hit the hay.

We packed up and left first thing Sunday morning so we could get home to the dogs in time for dinner.  David, once again, did great in the car! This time we stopped 3 times and I had to sit in back for a little bit to keep him occupied before lunch but all in all he was a total dream. We had a GREAT time and it was just what we needed. 

Congrats Alicia and Michael!!

(also, I found a new free photo editing site. I kind of went a little crazy.Newbie alert! #sorrynotsorry ;))