Spring break baby

It's spring break, finally! Hubs pointed out that my break is already half way over. Five days down, five to go. I'm ok with it. We are finally getting into a good groove. Saturday we went to dc to visit aunt M. The trip was less than successful , but more on that later. Monday we stayed home and relaxed. Lots of sleeping. Yesterday the weather was nicer so we played outside a lot. The took a disastrous trip to the duck pond. It was bad.

But today we hit our stride. It was practically hot out. We went to the park covered in sand and played for an hour. Then ate lunch outside and did a massive and much needed supermarket shop. Fell asleep. Which I have to say, big guy is so lovely when he sleeps. He really is out. But he lays in the same way he did as a baby. Hands tucked under his cheeks. Cute little groans and sighs. Then he starts moving his mouth like he is sucking on a binky. So precious and so what I need to remember to appreciate his loveliness and how lucky I am to be his mom. It was a lot to think about during the nap! Following nap, we went to get hubs from the train station and got dinner. Big guy ate like a champ. We've hit our stride and now we can enjoy the rest of our break!

Catch the moon

Due to sme reasonably good weather at night recently, we've been able to be out to see the moon rising. There have been few clouds, so big guy has been obsessed with the moon. Which when he says it is so cute, like mooooon. And his new interest is trying to catch the moon. He stretches on his toes and jumps. Reaching his cute little paws trying to grab it. Then he looks at me and says in a kind of garbled way, "mama, catch the moon!" and then I jump and claw the sky trying to get it. It's so precious and definitely is proof that he is hubs's child - such a dreamer.

in four hours

I can-

-go to the ikea- buy a book shelf, some storage cubes, cute plastic cups, and cute ice cube trays

-go to dry cleaners to pick up $124 worth of clean work clothes

-super clean upstairs bathroom- bathtub/shower area, sink, toilet(even the bottom of it), floor

-run through two loads of laundry- wash, dry, fold, put away in drawers

-hang up all dry cleaning

-hang up all clothes that should be hung up but end up on couches/tables

-unload/re-load dishwasher, run it again

-clean out fridge

-empty all trash cans and replace with empty bags

-pick up all toys in living room

I got off at 11am today and instead of getting the babe, I did all of this. This is the first time I've had four hours to myself since big guy has been born. I think it was definitely time well spent. Very tired, but satisfied with myself. Hubs is at a conference tonight, so big guy and I are getting pizza and chilling! Spring break has started officially!

Cups and high chairs

So, awhile back I had mentioned that big guy got a certificate from school about graduating from sippy cups. But, at home he was still using them. This week has been a turning point. Hubs has been forgetting the back-up-just in case sippy cup at school and he's been doing just fine. And awesomely enough he's been wanting to drink from a real cup! So every night at dinner. He and I share a little cup of chocolate milk, mmmm. With this new cup drinking, big guy has also started protesting immensely about the use of his booster seat. Not interested is clearly expressed in the screams and back arches and sobbing I get when I try to put him in. And we've been, well, not as successful at giving this up as the sippy cup, but we are working our way there!

spring break- don't take too long!

spring break is merely days away, yet it feels like it is taking forever. Probably a big problem is that the weather has turned cold. Un-freaking-believable. it was in the 70's last week and this week the 50's! it's making for an uncomfortable couple of days. I want to wear short sleeves!

Sunday we went to the outlets to buy some springy stuff for work. I'm so excited to wear the, except now it's freezing. Oh well. But we already have some big plans for spring break. Saturday we are heading to visit aunt M in her hood. And visit the local zoo and other sites. Just for one night, but we are staying in a hotel. Which is always nice. Then we have a trip to the Elwood park zoo with a friend of mine and her two kids planned. And then of course all those Easter festivities. Dyeing Easter eggs, making sweets, Easter egg hunts! It'll be so nice to be home with the big guy in general!

my bday

Today I turned 30 years old! Everyone has been asking me about how it feels. I'm pretty calm about getting older. Considering I look young, giving me more years in the bday department definitely is a bonus. So I'm feeling good. But I think the weirdest thought I've had today is that I accomplished a whole lot in my twenties. For example- I graduated from college, got my masters, got my first job, bought a house, got married, and had a child! That's a lot. I'm beginning to think I won't be nearly as impressive in my thirties. Or maybe the thirties are all about enjoying the hard work I put in the decades earlier. Or am I just saying that to make myself feel better? I can't decide, but I do know that tonight we went to eat at the ruby's diner for dinner. And we had a great meal- read: big guy did awesome behaviorally and ate a huge dinner. After dinner we went for a nice stroll in the neighborhood and enjoyed the weather. I was definietly enjoying.

Full on toddler

Big guy has hit the full terrible two's! We have been seeing glimpses of it for the past year, but over the past few weeks, he's fully embraced his toddlerness. For example, tantrums have started to be an at least once(if we are lucky) a day occurrence in our lives. And the word NO is big guys new favorite word. Not only does he say the word, he also accompanies it with a dramatic gesture.

I'll say, big guy, do ou want to sit on the potty? Response back, NO! Followed by slamming the bathroom door. It's also developed into a hitting thing. So if I say something like, big guy lets put on your shirt, he'll say no, followed by a hit or two on my arm or leg. They aren't hard hits but they definitely aren't nice. So, I usually say in my mom voice, I really hope that wasn't a hit. And I give him the ol' mom stare of terror, and he comes over and gives me a kiss. Other times we have a nice little talk about why it's not nice to hit.

The tantrums I'm attempting to handle as best I can. I've read repeatedly to keep my cool, let him work it out safely, and then talk once he's calm. Mostly I can do this, except for when lets say, big guy decides to throw a fifteen minute fit in the rite aid, making the whole shopping experience really fun for me and all the other patrons. Just keep breathing. I know the stage won't last forever, but it certainly is trying at times.

But the two's have also brought with them better communication and more desire for responsibility. Which is awesome! Big guy wants to be in charge of more stuff. Like helping me with cleaning, helping with dinner, etc. and he likes following directions. And the recent discovery that I'm still working on and will have to write about later is giving choices. Big guy likes having choices. And getting to choose is a big deal.