Now he's this big...
Monday, October 25, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Weekend
What a fun and exhausting weekend! Congratulations to Jennie and Patrick, our dear friends who were married on Saturday. What a beautiful, memorable, and exciting day!
Saturday was the big day and it started out early! Brian and Daddy went to swim lessons while Mama got all dolled up. Brian went down the slide again at swim lessons!
Then on Sunday we visited with a high school friend and his baby boy!
Whew. I'm exhausted still and it's Tuesday. I guess I needed a trip to Grenada with Jennie and Patrick.
Friday we enjoyed the rehearsal dinner. Brian made an appearance for a bit and then he went home with Nana. He was very excited to tell everyone that. "I'm going bye bye with Nana." He LOVES riding in her car!
Not a great self portrait of me, but pretty cute of little man!
Me and Shannon being silly...
Attempting to get a fish face pic-
But laughing too hard...
Then success-
Then finally a good shot-
Not a great self portrait of me, but pretty cute of little man!Me and Shannon being silly...
Attempting to get a fish face pic-
But laughing too hard...
Then success-
Then finally a good shot-
Saturday was the big day and it started out early! Brian and Daddy went to swim lessons while Mama got all dolled up. Brian went down the slide again at swim lessons!
Then on Sunday we visited with a high school friend and his baby boy!
Whew. I'm exhausted still and it's Tuesday. I guess I needed a trip to Grenada with Jennie and Patrick.
It's here!
Dad's putting green is in and it's awesome! Here are a few pics of the boys trying it out on Sunday.
It's in the freaking back yard. How cool is that?!
It's in the freaking back yard. How cool is that?!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
We Needed This
On Monday, Brian and I had a rough day at work. He was getting into everything and driving me batty. The worst part of the day was when I was snapping at him over something and a preschool parent walked in to ask me a question. I felt like saying, "I really am nice to children. I really do like them....just not my own at the moment." Ah! I felt terrible for letting his "terrible twos" get the best of me.
I was relaying this story, and the details of my day, to one of my teachers and she gave me the best advice I have heard in a while. She said, "Maria, you have to realize that we expect more from our own children than we do of others. Brian is two. You are expecting a 2 year old to basically self entertain for 3 hours a day. That's a long time and a lot to expect." She wasn't being mean, or reprimanding me. Just giving me some advice as a mother.
And I heard her.
Tuesday, we took breaks. We went on a walk on the ridge at church and I showed Brian the newly installed outdoor stations of the cross. He pointed out the picture of "Jesus" at each station.
We went on another walk with the kids later on and saw Father Jeff.
After our daily drop off at the Banta house, we went to the park for about a half an hour.
We went on our Tuesday "date" for pizza at LaRosas.
And tumbling was a joyful event. Brian listened. He didn't run all over the place the whole time. I wasn't exhausted after it was over.
It was a good day.
Tuesday night Brian invented a new game. His version of "football." This entails me or Shawn wearing the football helmet, Brian wearing his Bengals cap, and an orange and black nerf football. The basics are:
1. We hold the ball in place so he can kick it.
2. He retrieves the ball and throws it to one of us (the one wearing the helmet).
3. He tackles the parent wearing the helmet.
4. He commands the parent wearing the helmet to "get up" so the game can be repeated.
Occasionally he wants us to tackle him. We know this is the case because he runs off with the ball. And Ruben wants to play too. He can't leave us alone during the game. Brian spends half of the time telling Ruben to "go to bed."
Hi-larious.
And then yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch. We were outside the whole morning. Brian spent lots of time in the dirt. It drove me crazy. But he had fun. And he's a boy. And he's two. So I realize there is going to be dirt involved.
The best part is, we get to go back today! That's a fringe benefit to having a mommy who runs a preschool. There are two classes, so all of the cool things we get to do, we get to do two days in a row.
On a side note, last night Brian got a hold of my phone last night. He figured out the voice activation. Sort of. It kept asking him who he wanted to call and he would yell, "Call Dada." (Shawn was at class.) It would respond, "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understood, call Shawn?" And he would yell, "Call Dada." Then it would ask him if he wanted to call someone else, and he would yell, "Call Dada." He's pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.
I was relaying this story, and the details of my day, to one of my teachers and she gave me the best advice I have heard in a while. She said, "Maria, you have to realize that we expect more from our own children than we do of others. Brian is two. You are expecting a 2 year old to basically self entertain for 3 hours a day. That's a long time and a lot to expect." She wasn't being mean, or reprimanding me. Just giving me some advice as a mother.
And I heard her.
Tuesday, we took breaks. We went on a walk on the ridge at church and I showed Brian the newly installed outdoor stations of the cross. He pointed out the picture of "Jesus" at each station.
We went on another walk with the kids later on and saw Father Jeff.
After our daily drop off at the Banta house, we went to the park for about a half an hour.
We went on our Tuesday "date" for pizza at LaRosas.
And tumbling was a joyful event. Brian listened. He didn't run all over the place the whole time. I wasn't exhausted after it was over.
It was a good day.
Tuesday night Brian invented a new game. His version of "football." This entails me or Shawn wearing the football helmet, Brian wearing his Bengals cap, and an orange and black nerf football. The basics are:
1. We hold the ball in place so he can kick it.
2. He retrieves the ball and throws it to one of us (the one wearing the helmet).
3. He tackles the parent wearing the helmet.
4. He commands the parent wearing the helmet to "get up" so the game can be repeated.
Occasionally he wants us to tackle him. We know this is the case because he runs off with the ball. And Ruben wants to play too. He can't leave us alone during the game. Brian spends half of the time telling Ruben to "go to bed."
Hi-larious.
And then yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch. We were outside the whole morning. Brian spent lots of time in the dirt. It drove me crazy. But he had fun. And he's a boy. And he's two. So I realize there is going to be dirt involved.
The best part is, we get to go back today! That's a fringe benefit to having a mommy who runs a preschool. There are two classes, so all of the cool things we get to do, we get to do two days in a row.
On a side note, last night Brian got a hold of my phone last night. He figured out the voice activation. Sort of. It kept asking him who he wanted to call and he would yell, "Call Dada." (Shawn was at class.) It would respond, "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understood, call Shawn?" And he would yell, "Call Dada." Then it would ask him if he wanted to call someone else, and he would yell, "Call Dada." He's pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Pumpkin Patch Part 1
Okay, when did this happen? This growing up stuff needs to stop. ASAP. I am not okay with it.
October 22, 2009
October 13, 2010
BFFs. Sigh.
More on the Pumpkin Patch later.
October 22, 2009
October 13, 2010
BFFs. Sigh.
More on the Pumpkin Patch later.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Monkey Business
Brian had some great interactions with his monkey friends at the zoo this past weekend! He speaks monkey (or at least George monkey) better than he speaks English on occasion, so it is fitting that his monkey buddies interact with him more than the average zoo patron.
And then there was this guy. Totally cool up in his tree.
And down he comes just like that. Scaring the crap out of my baby boy!
Sad that the picture is blurry, but this was just too funny to pass up!
Prepare yourself. You have never seen anything more adorable. Ever.
And then there was this guy. Totally cool up in his tree.
And down he comes just like that. Scaring the crap out of my baby boy!
Sad that the picture is blurry, but this was just too funny to pass up!
Crazy Driver
Brian has finally decided his Cozy Coupe is fun. I think it was the driving lessons from Jade a few weeks ago. At any rate, Brian's been having a lot of fun with his little car lately. Nana has too...
And his crazy side kick!
Baseball, drive in style!
Crazy driver...
And his crazy side kick!
Baseball, drive in style!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Reading with Expression
I'm an elementary school teacher, so I am believe in reading everything I read with expression. Brian, having been read to since he was in utero, has picked up on this. He now spends time almost daily reading to himself. He curls up in his rocker, picks out a book, turns the pages himself and recites the parts he remembers. It's pretty funny to hear him recite, "This is George. George is a monkey. He's curious. And yellow hat." He paraphrases, as you can see. He looks angry in these pictures, but he's not. He's just reading with expression.
Future Wildcats
Last weekend we took a road trip to Lexington to visit with Maggie and Kristal. We ate at Joe Bolognas...yummy!! We also spent a bit of time on campus. We thought the kids would enjoy running around a bit. It was a bit cooler than expected, so we spent most of our time inside William T. Young Library.
Before the girls arrived, we spent some time outside the library running around. We even made a pit stop at K Lair for some hot chocolate. Yes, that horrid place is still there. And I'm not gonna lie. Going in there made me crave their grilled cheese.
Once the girls arrived, Brian took to Maggie immediately. It's kind of like cousins. They don't see each other very much, but when they get together, there is an undeniable bond. I LOVE this!
We were cracking up at these two as they explored the library. They read the most recent addition of the "Kentucky Kernel" and enjoyed watching the movable shelves.
Future wildcats? Only time will tell...
Before the girls arrived, we spent some time outside the library running around. We even made a pit stop at K Lair for some hot chocolate. Yes, that horrid place is still there. And I'm not gonna lie. Going in there made me crave their grilled cheese.
Once the girls arrived, Brian took to Maggie immediately. It's kind of like cousins. They don't see each other very much, but when they get together, there is an undeniable bond. I LOVE this!
We were cracking up at these two as they explored the library. They read the most recent addition of the "Kentucky Kernel" and enjoyed watching the movable shelves.
Future wildcats? Only time will tell...
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Appointments
Monday we visited the allergist. Brian had an allergy skin test. He has no allergies. None. This is crazy to me given Shawn's terrible allergies. I have allergies too. But apparently Brian does not.
The allergist ran blood work to see if maybe his immune system is out of whack. A constant runny nose is not normal. The blood work came back fine. So now the allergist is going to write a letter to the ENT to check his adenoids. He thinks that may be the cause of the constant faucet.
At any rate, I'm glad he doesn't have allergies. And I'm really glad his immune system is okay.
We also made contact with First Steps this week to have his speech re-evaluated. Some days I think he's making great strides and other days I worry a little. (A little as a mom can worry, which is pretty much a lot.) First Steps is our state program that provides therapy in home for kids who qualify. Brian was evaluated before he turned 1 and he did not qualify. Even with his hearing loss. So the hope is that he will not qualify again, which will mean I can stop worrying. (Or worry less maybe.)
Anyway, they are sending forms for me to fill out while observing him. Then I have to call the evaluator, go over the survey on the phone, and she will decide if he needs to be evaluated by her or not.
I made that phone call yesterday. This morning, Brian woke up, walked into the kitchen, looked at the dog and said (very clearly), "Ru Ru, I kick your butt."
I told Shawn he needs to stop threatening the dog. It's clearly wearing off on our son.
The allergist ran blood work to see if maybe his immune system is out of whack. A constant runny nose is not normal. The blood work came back fine. So now the allergist is going to write a letter to the ENT to check his adenoids. He thinks that may be the cause of the constant faucet.
At any rate, I'm glad he doesn't have allergies. And I'm really glad his immune system is okay.
We also made contact with First Steps this week to have his speech re-evaluated. Some days I think he's making great strides and other days I worry a little. (A little as a mom can worry, which is pretty much a lot.) First Steps is our state program that provides therapy in home for kids who qualify. Brian was evaluated before he turned 1 and he did not qualify. Even with his hearing loss. So the hope is that he will not qualify again, which will mean I can stop worrying. (Or worry less maybe.)
Anyway, they are sending forms for me to fill out while observing him. Then I have to call the evaluator, go over the survey on the phone, and she will decide if he needs to be evaluated by her or not.
I made that phone call yesterday. This morning, Brian woke up, walked into the kitchen, looked at the dog and said (very clearly), "Ru Ru, I kick your butt."
I told Shawn he needs to stop threatening the dog. It's clearly wearing off on our son.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Playtime
Brian has found a great new place to play.
Behind the couch.
Apparently the base of the lamp makes an excellent train track!
When he's ready to come out, he yells, "Mama, MA-ma!"
Funny how he manages to get back there, but he can't figure out how to get out on his own.
We also spent some playtime at the park yesterday. The nice weather is fading fast I'm afraid, so we're trying to take advantage of it when we can!
His favorite game there is the one where he throws handfuls of mulch onto the basketball court. I bet the big kids LOVE that. I usually stop him, but I was getting some really good pictures out of it since he was laughing hysterically at himself. I'm a bad mama. I can own that. Provided I get good pictures of my boy.
Behind the couch.
Apparently the base of the lamp makes an excellent train track!
When he's ready to come out, he yells, "Mama, MA-ma!"
Funny how he manages to get back there, but he can't figure out how to get out on his own.
We also spent some playtime at the park yesterday. The nice weather is fading fast I'm afraid, so we're trying to take advantage of it when we can!
His favorite game there is the one where he throws handfuls of mulch onto the basketball court. I bet the big kids LOVE that. I usually stop him, but I was getting some really good pictures out of it since he was laughing hysterically at himself. I'm a bad mama. I can own that. Provided I get good pictures of my boy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)