All the words they learn!!!

We went on a walk together yesterday. You know how we live WAY OUT THERE! Well, he loves to look for the "Moon", as many of you know. On this particular walk it was not quite dark yet, but there it was - the moon - clearly visible just over the hill as it was beginning to rise. Oh how excited he got! For the first few minutes of our walk he spent pointing out the moon and saying it every chance he got.

As we continued on I noticed a little bunny frozen just under the neighbor's fence apparently trying to avoid being detected. I parked him just about 10 feet from the fence and pointed out the bunny . . . when he saw it he repeated "bunny". We watched the bunny for at least a minute or two until the bunny finally decided he wasn't safe and darted off. At that point the little guy popped up out of his stroller and yelled "Bye bye!"

Later down the road he started pointing out every airplane that flew over. I think that was a total of 4-5. You'd be surprised, he says it really clear too.

When we were further on and the sun was almost down over the hill, he started pointing up and saying "bird" "bird". As I looked around, I didn't see any birds, but I did see bats! I explained to him what bats are and that they are different from birds because they come out at night with the moon and eat insects. He immediately began calling them "bats" and as we continued to walk he pointed out at least 8 more long after I stopped looking for them.

I had also told him that the bats, that were somewhat difficult to see fluttering in the dusk, were like the bats from "Bats at the Beach" a book that his Grandma Linda had got him when he was a baby. So when we got home, Mama and little Boo sat down before going to bed and read "Bats at the Beach". Of course he was much more attentive with this reading than he had been before when reading this book!

I am sure that his mind had many things to ponder in his dreams that night as he went to bed

He Learned . . .

to say "BEER" today!

Of course this occurred on Papa's watch. They went to the beer store to get supplies for this weekend's batch of homemade brew and this is the new vocabulary he came home with! You should see the joy on his face when he says it too!

A side note . . . much to Papa's dismay, Mama has not allowed the little one to try any of the stuff.

We also have more news . . . Papa taught him how to do the Tarzan call. You know, the one where he beats his chest and goes ahh ahh ahh aaahhh ahh ahh ahh! Another fun activity!

I also noticed this week that he is putting sentences together much better, to the point now that most people can understand what he is trying to communicate! Miss Geneva at daycare is very proud of his vocabulary and how smart he is. He is always pointing to things and naming them.
We are sometimes surprised and wonder how he even knew the word, who taught him that?!

Every minute is so precious! Even the ones where he "helps" with the laundry by spreading it all over the living room! I have to admit though, he is more helpful everyday. Now he is constantly saying "Thank you" and I even heard him say "welcome" the other morning!

Another thing that he does is drag the stool from the bathroom around the house and use it to get to things as yet unattainable. I caught him the other day at the refrigerator trying out the water dispenser . . . unfortunately we had forgot to lock it the last time it was used and, well, he seemed to like the small shower he got because he immediately went back for more. Lucky for him, Mama is faster and I got the lock back in place before he got totally drenched!

What a wonderful time this is! I am so blessed to be able to experience all this. I could have missed out on all this. I love him so much!

He's growing too fast!!

How do you keep track of all the changes that happen so quickly right under your nose?? My little guy is now totally able to follow 1-2 step instructions! At 20 months I think that is amazing. He is talking in sentences and is not as easy to distract anymore (especially when he starts to talk about bikes!). The days just are flying by . . . how do you keep track???

For New Mamas to be - The Value of a Mama

Before I became a "Mama", I definitely romanticized the role a mother plays. You know how you think about your life and what it will become in the rosiest of ways. However, it is not quite the same as living it. Have you had this same realization about things you anticipated in life? It is not necessarily a bad thing, just different.


What I mean by this can best be described in the way that your day changes from before you are a "Mama" to after: Before . . . let's see, you really only have to think about the things that you want to do. Really. If you want to make goodies for the office crew or get an extra load of laundry in, you just get up a little earlier without fear that you will actually accomplish this. If you want to take a long overdue shower with the hubby, you have no worries. There really is no comprehension of the chaos that is having a child - it is all about you and your guy. And believe me, this is not bad.


Now post baby is not bad either, just different - VERY different. There is no time, energy, or usually want (in the first few weeks anyway) to think about yourself, hence, all the talk about taking time for yourself, right? I really don't know many 1st time "Mamas" out there who really get a chance to think about themselves much, and if they do, it ends up being fleeting due to the constant cry of needs.


Typical post baby day starts off (or continues through the night without stop) with some sort of crying -either you or the baby. Once you have deciphered the reason for this crying or have sought the opinion of the slumbering "Papa", which may only prove to distress everyone further, you may decide that sleep just wasn't in your cards today. At this point you attempt to calm the little one and if like my little guy end up feeding him because the feedings seem to be continuous anyway. If you can get a moment free you try to get something solid to eat or drink, glance in the mirror and wish you could put on some make up or do something other than tie you hair back the same old way that requires no mirror in the 1st place. If you are lucky enough that your little one goes back to sleep and you are like me, you are so enamored with him that you let him sleep on you and lovingly watch him as you do so, until - so exhausted - you yourself fall asleep in the strangest of positions on the couch and a loved one takes a picture of you as you drool all over. Not so much what I expected. I thought there would be more "basic me time" involved in this adventure. And when I say "me time" I am not talking primping or shopping or gossiping, I am talking, going to the bathroom, taking a shower, getting dressed in something other than PJ's that have milk and spit up on them - THE BASICS!


These times of my past, and in many of your futures, are not in my mind a bad experience at all. These are times that you are pushed to your limits because of the magnitude of responsibility that you have taken on is so great and so worthwhile. I like so many others realize that there is no way to prepare for such a great change in your life. No one can come and tell you what your experience will be like. I think we all look back at these times at some point and wonder if we REALLY KNEW what it all would be like, would we do it again . . . All I can say is the wonder of a new life is a powerful thing. I think that we are made that way, so we can continue beyond what we thought were our biggest limits in life. These are the times that make us really grow as people, or more specifically, women. There really is no substitute for such courage and it is this courage that help us to nurture our children . . . forever.


As you can see from my pictures, my guys are well worth all the little and big trials there are to face along the way. In my mind they help me as much as I help them. As Mamas, we develop a vast pool of understanding and patience - this sustains us in the difficult times. This same pool is replenished with every smile, hug, kiss, and 1st time or experience that is shared. So remember, as you set out on your journey into Mamahood, know that you are not alone in any emotion you have, good or bad. You are a stronghold in the making. The maturity and strength of character that you find in your journey will be that of your family. Do not shrink from it - EMBRACE IT!

Curiosity

We are so proud of our little man and his curious nature. Here he is making friends with a horseshoe crab at he Long Beach Aquarium last April.

The All American Boy

Boo is our all American little boy enjoying his first (veggie) hot dog.

The Beginning

This is the story of a girl . . . me.

I am a lucky girl, living out a bit from the city, but running just as fast as most.
I am married and have one son. My boys keep me busy, as does work, most days.

I may have little time for this new thing, but I am going to give it a try.