Just say it out loud

I don't know what it is, but sometimes I just have this issue in supermarkets. The issue being they make me hostile. I get all annoyed in there, mostly when I'm checking out. I always seem to pick the grouchy cashier person. The line with the old lady who is paying with exact change in pennies. And of course recently, big guy is always at almost melting stage. It's the perfect blend to make me get really hostile.

On wednesday, in preparation for aunt M's visit, big guy and I were at the supermarket. big guy was delighted to be in the fruit section. he loves picking fruit and putting them in the bag. But recently as we drift away from the fruit section he freaks and tries to escape the cart the whole time. We've been practicing walking next to mommy. Which in real life terms means- running like a crazy person through the aisles and trying to escape mommy's grasp. It's obviously going very well.

Anyway, we are doing our normal song and dance when this mom down the aisle gives me this nasty look. Now, her son is like seven and walking calmly. And I could see giving me the nasty look if big guy was seven and acting like a nut, but really, a toddler? So, I quickly grab big guy and move to the next aisle. Everyone else in the supermarket thinks he's cute (he is) and laughs and says hi as we move through. We finally make it to the check out line-whew!

Big guy finds the rack of gift cards and starts crazily pulling them all down. Uh-oh! And then I look down the two lines and there is that b---ch of a mom giving me and big guy the nasty eye again. My blood boiled! I was moments away from yelling, "Just say it out loud, B!" Luckily, I didn't, I could see getting into a verbal argument with some lady at the acme would mean I wouldn't be allowed back in. But I was seriously pissed off! And then we made a hasty retreat and attempted to clean up as much as possible. I may need to find a new supermarket....

new stuff

Big guy has been up to a lot of new stuff lately. One of the very biggest is big guy's new found love for construction vehicles. He has since x-mas loved cars and trucks. and now that the Acme down the street got torn down and that townhouses across the street are being built, he has become obsessed with big construction. He yells, "WHOA!" whenever he sees them. it's so adorable. The whoa's let me know that big trucks are around.

He has this look of pure wonder on this face and constantly wants to go outside and look at them either moving or when they are "sleeping." Which telling him they are sleeping is the only way I can get him away from our bedroom window, where you can see them. He waves bye-bye and then closes the curtain. It's gotten to the point where we've bought a truck book so we can look at them whenever- and he loves learning about all the different kinds. WHOA!

This past weekend, big guy also had real strawberries for the first time. I was a bit worried b/c apparently hubs and his brothers were really allergic as kids, but no anaphylactic reaction and his skin was clean! And I was so excited that he loved them. He gobbled almost an entire pint all by himself! And then I threw in some whipped cream puffs and he was loving life.

big guy has also discovered his bellybutton! We were sitting on the couch- big guy was just in a diaper (what else is new?) and my shirt was up over my bellybutton. He put his finger in my bellybutton and I told him what it was. Then I pointed at his bellybutton and he put his finger in his. Then he was obsessed with touching both of our belly buttons! When we went to show his Aunt K, I asked where is big guy's bellybutton? He lifted up his shirt and I poked it. He then grabbed at his belly while staring down in wonder! Amazing, it's still there!

weekend of fun

Well, this weekend was quite welcomed after the long week we had. Big guy joined me at work and it was exhausting- for both of us! But this weekend was awesome and filled with fun. We had a special visitor- Cousin C came to spend some quality time with us while his parents went on a romantic vacation.

big guy loved seeing his cousin- who is going to be ten in two weeks. He was just entertained by him! We ate a lot of food- all of which big guy gobbled up. big guy and I went for long walks and to the park, while cousin and hubs went to see Cars 2. Today, we had a waffle morning- which big guy ate with gusto- including dipping in syrup!

we went to the duck pond for a really long walk and ran around the fields. Then we visited Grandpa J, Grandma C, and Uncle I, followed by a yummy yogurt and leftover pizza lunch. After our nap, we watched Cars- needless to say, big guy was enamored! he just loves vehicles- any kind. And then Uncle E and AUnt K came to get cousin and we all shared a yummy dinner! It was so pleasant and after some discussion, hubs and I have figured out that we could do a second child... but not anytime soon! It might actually be a bit easier once they can entertain each other. But for now, we are going to enjoy our wonderful big guy!

So cranky!

Over the weekend, big guy was miserable! The cranky-ness was at maximum level, which is very strange for my happy boy. WHen we were home, he was happy and played with glee. Unfortunately, we had two lunches to go to in restaurants.

We barely scraped by without getting dirty looks from ALL the waitstaff and other patrons. Then big guy decided he was not going to sleep. Which on top of his budding cold/cough situation was another layer of misery. Finally, on sunday night I just couldn't figure out what was wrong. Exasperated! I stuck my freshly washed index finger into his mouth and discovered the culprit to all the mayhem- 4 new teeth! All upper- 2 canines and 2 molars. Poor bubba!

Fish sitting

Big guy driving his favorite yellow car with the fish.

Big guy enjoying his new friends!

This summer we are fish-sitting. That's right, we are watching 4 fish and the hubs and I are scared out of our minds. I agreed to watch the fish a few months ago, thinking it would be no big deal. Put some water in the tank, dump the fish in, and feed 'em everyday. No biggie.

But as the day came closer to take the fish home. I started to sweat. What if I kill them? What if big guy knocks the tank over? What if the cat drowns? The sweating became profuse. Tuesday came and I was loading my car with a 20 gallon tank, a stand, 4 bagged fish, and a tote bag of fish items. I'm driving home and call hubs. Me- "Babes, look up online how to set up a fish tank." Hubs- "Why did we agree to this?" Me- "I don't know, a moment of insanity." Hubs- "This is awful, I feel so unprepared." Me- "this is exactly like taking big guy home, we have no idea what the h*ll we are doing!!" Sweat ratchets up.

After an hour of filling the tank, checking on the bagged fish, and lots of cursing (mostly directed at me from hubs), the fish were in the tank! We made it through the first night- they were alive this morning. But now the tank is murky and we are worried. I'll keep you posted. On the plus side, big guy LOVES the fish- he even says Fish now when he goes over and points at them. And the kitty cat loves the fist even more!

Water play

Big guy is obsessed with water. He just loves to play in it. Splashing it around, spreading it out on the floor, drinking it off of the table, making bubbles, playing in the sink, the bathtub, and just recently he discovered the hose! oooh, hours of fun and only the water bill gets injured. And maybe the environment, a little.

Here is the big guy enjoying not only the hose, but also some of his buckets. He has quite the collection now!

Not on my butt!

Here is big guy looking like he's 5!

Big guy had some major diaper rash the other day. Seriously red, very raw, and lots of poop. Not a good combination. I always know when the butt is red if even though he has a huge poop, he freaks whenever I mention diapers. Hysterical screaming and crying and geez, the diaper isn't even off yet. This particular bout lasted a few days. Part of the problem is that big guy is busy and doesn't like to stop and get properly cleaned. Which is normally ok, but not when it's hot out, we play with water all day, and he's pooping like a madman.

It was really sad b/c he screamed during the bath, it just hurts so bad to have the booty get wet. poor thing, I felt so bad. But I calmly explained during the very quick bath, that it had to get soaped up so that it would feel better when it was dry. The only positive side to diaper rash is that big guy gets to run bottomless- which sometimes leads to poops on the floor- ew, I turned around for a second and he had smeared it all over the floor. grrrr.

Big guy's most hated part of the whole diaper rash situation is the desitin. He hates desitin. He knows what the container looks like and freaks when he sees it coming out. So, I use aquaphor on his hiney- the best product on the planet. I use it on every surface of his body. And mine, too! it's the greatest lip gloss. I'm getting big guy ready, he knows it's diaper time and is pointing at the desitin as if saying, "woman, don't even try to put that on me or we will have a full on meltdown!" I calmly hand the desitin tube to hubs who stands across the room (seriously) while I put aquaphor on his diaper zone and then the diaper. Crisis averted!

last day of daycare

Friday brought with it the last day of daycare until september! yay! the elation I felt all day knowing that for the next 2 1/2 months, big guy and I were going to be together everyday was so awesome. I was beaming the entire day. I hate daycare. Probably why I call it school when I say big guy goes there. And I feel bad for all those other kids who are there all day. Hubs and I are very lucky that big guy is there from about 8:30 to 3:15. there are definitely kids there before big guy and stay after he leaves.

Oh well. I'm switching big guy in september to another place. His prospects actually open up b/c he'll be 18 months in august- I just can't believe it. He's such a big boy. I looked at a video of him from last year at this time, when he was 4 months old. Holy moly- he has changed so much. No longer a pudgy little baby. For now, I'm just going to enjoy spending everyday-all day with him. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Sheep... Baaa

Tuesday morning we were doing our normal routine. BIg guy and I were watching the news and drinking our morning cup of milk. We are very serious when we drink our milk! A news story comes on about a vice principal outside of harrisburg who loaned his herd of sheep to the school to cut back on lawn care costs (pun intended!). Hubs and I point out the sheep running through the field.

Big guy pushes the cup away, sits up, and says, "Sheep... Baaaa!" It was hilarious! And quite impressive! Then he continued to Baaaa the whole morning. He's been on it this week with talking about animals. Mooing when he sees cows. Grabbing the pig when I oink at him. Woofing like a dog when we see one. I just continue to be amazed by how much he learns everyday.

big steps

Big guy has moved onto another impressive level in his walking. He has figured out how to walk up and down the one step from our kitchen to the family room with no hands needed. WHen big guy was first walking up and down the step- hubs and I would yell, "be careful!" as he would get down on his butt and scoot off the edge. Or put his hands down to climb up.

But the other day, big guy just stepped off the ledge very casually and kept walking. Then on his way back up, just stepped up like it was no big deal. very smooth. I gave him an encouraging, "great job." Now I'll have to find something else to warn carefulness for.... hmmm, attempting to jump off the couch?

Don't touch me, don't let go

Big guy is in full toddler mode. Most of the time, it's awesome- way better than infant times. He's just so fun. He's interested in EVERYTHING- good and bad. He wants to play all the time. He's willing to go on adventures to just about anywhere. He learns new stuff and has been talking non stop- especially this week- just today he said the word bubble to me while we were playing with water on the kitchen table while I blew bubbles. It was cool b/c they stuck to the table to pop!

One of the funniest parts of toddler-ness is that "don't touch me, don't let go" syndrome. As in, I love you, but don't touch, wait, don't walk away, I need you! I swear I get pushed away and then quickly grabbed more than shoes at the DSW. But big guy is definitely a snuggler. And more often than not, he wants a big hug and just to know hubs and I are close by- keeping an eye on him, which he is in need of, since toddlers also like to climb and jump!

Lone mamabear

Wednesday morning, the hubs leaves for a conference and it's just the big guy and I until friday afternoon. I'm a lone mamabear in the world. I commend all single mothers- I'm so super impressed. And while I can manage working, keeping a house, and taking care of big guy all by myself, I wouldn't want to.

Wednesday night was a disaster. Big guy was tired and grouchy. We spent most of the night yelling at each other. Wednesday had been a tough day at work, so having a rought night at home made me worry about thursday. But as is turns out, thursday was glorious. Big guy and I had a nice relaxing morning. He didn't cry that much when I dropped him off at school. When I picked him up, he was all smiles. We raced home, grabbed some milk, changed, and then headed out to our favorite pizza place. I figured that getting out of the house was the key to both of us staying sane.

And I was right! we had a yummy meal- big guy ate a whole piece of white pizza (minus the crust) all by himself. We went home, took a stroll through the neighborhood. then bath and bed. Beautiful! Friday morning was just as calm- grandma C came over to watch big guy. It's so funny when he knows I'm leaving- like if I take a shower, he'll sob b/c it means I'm leaving. He has this new pouty lower lip that he sticks out. it's just so cute- I kiss it to make it go away. Just seven more work days until we have two months together. C'mon summer!

Shoes

It's amazing how fast big guy's vocabulary grows each week. This week alone he has started saying three new words. Shoes. Cheese. Moooo. Ok, I'm not sure if Mooo is an actual word so much as a sound- but he recognizes that it is the sound that a cow makes, which is pretty impressive!

Big guy says Cheese whenever he sees it, eats it, and breaks into the cheese drawer in the fridge. Which is pretty often. At some point he's going to figure out how to open the fridge- then I'm in trouble, along with my energy bill!

Shoes he's been obsessed with for a couple of months- I guess since I started making him wear them. It's so cute because he loves to pick them up, carry them to the person who needs them, and ew- tries to eat them. Now when he sees them- he yells out SHOES! and then grabs them. He carries his cool, new green shoes everywhere. And he does this funny little jig when I ask if he wants to put them on. THat would be a YES mamabear!

long and pointy

Jedi Sword Tricks

Both toothbrushes- ready for action!

Big guy has three new favorite things to play with- crayons, sticks, and toothbrushes. All long and pointy, and super fun. Crayons are probably the ones he's not totally convinced of yet. I want to get him some really fat crayons that will be easy to hold, but have yet to see any. I did get him a box of medium thickness that work on a mini-whiteboard. He's definitely into the crayons when I hold the whiteboard up for him. Mostly he likes to throw the crayons out of the little snack box I keep them in. And one day he drew all over the sliding glass door- oops!

Next in line for like-ability would be sticks. (you thought I was going to say toothbrush- I know it!) when we walk to the duckpond- we find lots of sticks that we carry with us, hit against the ground, and essentially practice our jedi sword tricks!

And our most favorite new thing is the toothbrush. This kid loves to brush his teeth. And he has two toothbrushes- a baby one and one that I was going to use, but that he usurped! Big guy will point at the cabinet that we keep it in and kind of grunt at it. Then he demands his baby toothpaste be put on both toothbrushes. He also loves his fluoride and will point to it also. It smells like a beef bouillon cube, so I guess it must taste better- b/c big guy slurps it up!

New and exciting food

Big guy has been on a culinary extravaganza! Ok, I wouldn't exactly call the food he's been eating very fancy, but it sure is delicious. On Memorial Day, big guy had his first hot dog!!! I know, I know- choking hazard and who knows what is in there. But we had Hebrew National, thus all beef. And I cut it lengthwise and then into fourths and then little bites. It would be an understatement to say he liked it. The kid gobbled it up and then wanted more. mmmm, and I found turkey dogs this past weekend. so good.

We've started this new thing where hubs cooks sunday morning breakfast and sunday night he grills. I'm definitely a fan of not having to cook dinner. And on sunday morning, we've been having eggs w/ cheese and turkey bacon. Which might be big guy's new favorite yum yum. He doesn't eat it, so much as he shoves it in his mouth, sucks off all the flavor, and then spits it out. I know I shouldn't laugh, but it's really funny.

Finally, big guy has started to finally express his extreme love of cheese by saying the word, "CHEESE." He loves going into the fridge, opening the cheese drawer, and yelling cheese. So cute and very exciting that his vocab is continuing to expand.

New sandals and trains

Last saturday we decided to take a family trip to the KOP mall. It was memorial day, so I was banking on everyone being down the shore and it being really well air conditioned. I turned out right on both accounts. Grandma J and Aunt B came with us to the stride rite- love that store!
The guy at the store wanted to put big guy in these dorky brown sandals. I casually said we should try them on and then picked out these awesome black/neon green waterproof sandals. Bad-butt! (which is the hubs and my new word for bad-a**) trying to cut down on the cursing.

Big guy wasn't too impressed with the brown ones- he sat on the floor. But the green ones were a different story- he ran right out of the store with joy. Not only do they look good, but they are lighter and slimmer- big guy is walking/running so much better. He hardly falls now. And because they have slits, he can wear them without socks and in water. The perfect shoe!

After purchasing, we went to the Ruby's diner- 50's food- burgers, shakes, but healthy stuff too. Best part- cool motorized trains that run on tracks above our heads. big guy was in heaven watching them go by. Every time they went by, he said, "WHOA!" So precious. And bonus, they have a great kids menu- not just hamburgers, pasta, and chicken fingers. BIg guy got a grilled chicken breast cut into strips with fruit salad.

Riding

Big guy has a lot of toys, though very few that we have bought him. One big present we got him for his bday is his awesome Caterpillar yellow dump truck with awesome noises (honking, dumping, and starting the engine). And not only do you push it around, the back part also opens up and then big guy can ride it!

On monday, big guy opened up the truck and climbed aboard. he then proceeded to push back and forth on the floor. That's right, he was riding! All of a sudden, a whole new world opened up for him. He wanted to hop on his bouncy blue horse. He wanted to ride his bday giraffe from aunt amy. He has started to play horsey on hubs's back. And then of course he tries to stand on all of these flat, elevated surfaces. What's up danger baby?

Our new favorite spot

Big guy has a new favorite place to hang out. He has enjoyed playing with a ton of kitchen tools- spatulas, colanders, spoons, the dishwasher! But by far our new favorite spot is the kitchen cabinet. First, big guy likes to clean it out. Everything must go- tupperware is especially fun to toss across the floor. Then big guy likes to climb in and get comfy. Also, after getting in he can properly get the stuff in the back. Then he likes to close the doors, giggle, and then pop them open to look up at me as I cook. Too funny!