The queen

big guy has this habit of saying hi and bye to everyone and everything, with a big wave and a smile. it's hilarious- just like the queen! In fact, that's what we've nicknamed him when he starts his hellos and goodbyes.

The return of the Olympics

I say the return of the Olympics because big guy was born during the winter Olympics. Though this Olympics is much better namely because I don't have a newborn and am awake at appropriate times! Anyway, as we've been watching with big guy he definitely has some favorites! Equestrian events have brought about a lot of talk about farm animals. And soccer is of course a huge draw- mostly because we watch it a lot during the year. And we enjoy kicking. And playing with balls in every size and shape. By far our favorite event has been synchronized diving! surprising, I know. We recently bought a new papasan cushion, but we've put it on the floor for fun. big guy will watch diving and then jump off the couch. hubs and I give a score and then clap after each dive. most dives consist of falling face first into the cushion, but big guy thinks it is hilarious and fun, so who am I to stop the fun?

baby pool

yesterday, after big guy decided he was NOT taking a afternoon nap, we headed to the pool a bit early. on our way there, big guy was drifting to sleep, so I was tickling him and singing loudly in a ploy to keep him awake. so mean, but I wasn't going to let him sleep in the car at 3 in the afternoon and ruin our schedule more than it already was ruined. cruel, aren't I? anyway, we got to the pool, and it was nice and hot/sunny. big guy was awesome! he was swimming, splashing, talking. we found a dump truck that he filled with leaves- leaf being one of his new words- and drove them around the pool. so sweet when it would tip over, he would scramble to rescue them! after about an hour, big guy started talking about how dirty the pool was- lots of leaves and dirt due to a bad storm we had the night before. I looked at one of the other moms and said, better dirt than poop. then I checked big guy's diaper, as he had been pretty poop-y recently- due to an excess consumption of carmel corn from down the shore (more on that later!) I checked, oh yeah- BIG poop! I grabbed big guy and plopped him on the towel- poop exploded everywhere, which means I also threw out the towel. I wiped him down with about thirty wipes. it got on his swim trunks, swimmy shirt, and I didn't have extra. I looked at big guy and asked if it was ok to just go get a soft pretzel instead of swimming, and I got a positive head nod with an "uh-huh!"So, we ended the trip very nicely and didn't shut down the baby pool! phew!

The poop pendulum

I feel like we are on the poop pendulum for the past few weeks. Aunt M came to visit for July 4th weekend and big guy went like eight times a day for the four days she was here. His poor little booty was so red and irritated. I felt so bad. But as soon as she left- he was refusing to go. For three days at a time. I started our miralax regimen. Half a cap every morning. But he was still loading it. And waking up at night sobbing in pain and gassy. I was finally exhausted and worried enough to call the drs office. The lovely nurse laughed at my explanation of big guy stretching his toddler wings in terms of holding the poop and then very slyly told me to give him a full cap full every other day bc he wouldn't be able to hold that. Which has been working! I need to start this whole potty training thing. I mean thre is still a month left in summer, right? I have time.

Brooc-ka

A few weeks ago, our broom broke. Truthfully, it was the broom that the woman who owned the house before us had, so it was old. An had a wooden handle that chafed. Anyway, big guy loved this broom, for obviously unknown reasons- baby's first broom? Anyway one day we were sweeping up the grass clippings and it broke. Big guy was devastated. He kept yelling, " broom broke!" in fact he still yells it when we are in the front yard. I don't have the heart to throw it out. We have since bought a new broom, of which big guy has no interest in. However, big guy is obsessed so telling us how everything is broken. Only he says, "brooc-ka!" and let me tell you that anything can be brooc-ka. Pretzels, the bush outside that hubs cut down, stickers that he crazily ripped in half, the list is endless. And I love hearing him say how things are broken. It's very serious. He'll repeat it like ten times. Which is what he does so most words and phrases he says right now. So precious. Love talking!

Sometimes...

Sometimes you are the one with the perfect child who plays calmly, eats well, and makes all other moms jealous. For instance, this was me and big guy on mondaymat the zoo. We played, we talked about animals, we ate. We had a great time. Big guy did awesome, even when we left, he was awesome. Fast forward to today, we went to smith playground. Where for the first hour and a half, big guy was a gem. Playing, eating calmly. But as we were leaving, he threw an epic fit. Crying. Screaming. Throwing himself on the ground. He bit me. But his own lip. Hysterical. And I was the one getting those sympathetic looks. Moms were ushering their curious toddlers away from us. Sigh. It would be embarrassing if I wasn't so annoyed. But following a good nap - we've regained our good spirits!

Pool friends

The past few nights big guy and I have been going to the pool for a few hours. Hubs has been under the weather, so we've also been giving hubs a break and a chance to nap! Big guy has a friend from school who goes to our pool, B, who just turned two but who makes the whole pool experience different. In that big guy is more adventurous. He's more comfortable going through the pool and doing stuff by himself or with B, instead of needing me to follow him. He shares really well. He wants to eat the same snacks as B. and I get a little bit of mommy to mommy time. B's mom is actually older and I'm so impressed with how calm and cool she is with her son and with big guy. B jumps around the pool, throws himself under the water, and is generally a risk taker. If big guy did any of those things, I would be at his side fretting. But she's totally calm. In fact, big and B were fighting over some toy. I said to big guy to be gentle and was about to get up when she looked at me and said, let's see how they work it out. Ok. And they were fine. I think I need to relax. Or just hang with this woman all summer!

Cutey-pa-tootey

Ever see a cuter kid? Didn't think so!

First baseball game

Big guy went to his first baseball game last weekend. And I think he did pretty well! We went to the Camden Riversharks game, as I didn't want to spend a ton of money for a place we were possibly only going to be at for an hour. It turned out to be the perfect place to spend the first game! We had great seats right behind home plate. And an awesome view of the Ben Franklin Bridge, where we watched cars, buses, and the train go by. We ate a ton of food- Auntie Anne's pretzels, slushies, soft serve ice cream and lots of water, as it was really hot out, but luckily the sun stayed tucked behind some clouds. Following the opening ceremonies (of which there were a lot) and downing an immense amount of food, big guy watched/danced through an inning and a half before getting antsy. We took a walk through the stadium, visited the dodgy playground area, got really overheated, and then went to the gift shop, which was disappointing, but we managed to find a junky yellow monkey and a squishy ball. When we tried to return to our seats, he was freaking out and a very nice older usher came by and gave us the OK to go home by saying, "I think he's done!" Overall, about two hours of baseball fun!

Long night of sleep

One of the best things about aunt M coming for a visit is that she tires big guy out big time. He is constantly playing, talking to her, showing off, etc. yesterday was an awesome day. We played outside for over an hour in the morning with our sand table. Then we hit up the supermarket in preparation for hubs BBQing for joy 4th. After lunch, both he and aunt M fell asleep, while I watched bad tv. So relaxing. Upon waking up, we snacked and went to the pool. Big guy was awesome the whole time. He didn't want to leave. He usually only swims for an hour and then wants to get out. But he was still rocking the pool by an hour and a half. So much so that I had to bribe him with a soft pretzel to get out of the pool. By this point he was shivering- obviously not having enough body fat will do that to you in 90 degree heat! Jealous much? We got home, had dinner, and then went back outside. I put big guy down last night around 8:30pm. He and hubs didn't get up until 9:00 am this morning! Impressive! Seriously though, this is the longest big guy has slept without being horribly ill. I might have to think of new holidays for aunt M to visit for...

Update

Well hello. We survived the illness of last weekend with hubs being out of town. Upon his return, I was battling a sore throat, big guy was recovering, and hubs got really sick. As in he actually left work early. Which I've never seen him do. I felt so bad. We were all pretty beat up. But then hubs took it easy and we did too. We ended up having a really awesome weekend. Saturday brought a healthy family. Big guy and I went to get barges in e AM with grandma C and grandpa J before they left for a cruise. We played outside with our sand table and big guy was rocking out with his train table. We ate some lunch and then the boys napped. Ah, so nice when they both nap. Following nap time, we went to a Camden river sharks game! So awesome. More on that later. Because I actually have pics! Then on Sunday we relaxed in the morning, then went to the home depot for a new broom and hedge clippers. Could we be any more suburban??? More playing and relaxing ensued. And then aunt M came to visit! Yay!!!