The King of Mommy's World

The rain has finally dried up and the sun is shining bright!
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing We ventured out to our most favorite place today. The park.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo PrintingOur park. We've been coming here for the last 2 years and each time you amaze me over and over.

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The way you used to stumble up the stairs, while holding my hand, has become a distant memory. It's been replaced with your lightning fast maneuvers and your big boy jumps!
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing"So fast, Me", you yell as you run down the planks and slide down the slides. Yes, darling, you are so fast! So amazingly fast! You went down the tallest, twisty slide ever!!! In the whole world.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing Our world.

You became "king of the mountain" today as you mastered the rock climbing wall. All. By. Yourself.

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I stood there, shocked at first....and then running over to make sure you didn't fall, I stopped. I backed away. I let you show me that you could do it. "No fall down get hut Momma".....I know baby. You won't fall down and get "hut"......your SO big!


And you did it!! You mastered the rock wall. Such a feat for such a small little dude! And mommy yelled, "Yay! You did it!! You're king of the world!". And you clapped and said, "Kin whirl Me. Kin whirl Me".

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I'm so SO proud of you, Grayson Michael!

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You are the king of Mommy's world.

The Potty Chronicles: Chapter II

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Or maybe you would prefer:

Potty Training Little Boys: A View From the Cheap Seats

Okay.....you're not supposed to laugh.

I'm at a standstill. Last week, I received a wild hair up my rear after clipping a coupon for $3 off any potty at Toys R Us. I know. I'm obsessed with coupons and saving money and I can teach you how to obsess too, for a small fee ;).

So, I thought to myself, "Self, don't let this $3 coupon go to waste.....you must go to this Toys R Us and purchase this potty for $29 instead of $32 before it expires".

I mean....right?

And okay, so what if we already had a perfectly fine $3 potty from IKEA (yes I said $3) that he had already peed on a number of times. I've had my eye on this shiny new potty for months.....it has all the bells and whistles, 5 stars from reviewers, and it matches the book that I've been reading to him for months. They were destined to be together!

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So, I bring home the potty and a 300-count bag of mini tootsie roll pops and not one but FOUR bags of M&M's (plain and peanut) and 6 pairs of big boy underwear. I was ready to roll! But it was dinner time and I felt maybe I should wait until tomorrow to start fresh and new with this potty training business.

I took Big Boy Potty out of the box and assembled it and left Grayson to sniff and poke and prod. He grabbed his plastic tools and immediately un-assembled it and put it back together no less than 6 times. We said "night night" to Big Boy Potty and went to sleep.

We woke the next day to a perfect potty-training day! The birds were chirping, the squirrels were singing, and Mr. Bright Eyed and Bushy tailed was ready to make contact. I woke him from his slumber and took off his 5 lb diaper and sat him on his throne. He had his bowl of Cheerios on a table in front of him and Handy Manny on the screen. What male doesn't find the perfection in this?


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My best friend successfully potty trained her daughter in no less than 30 seconds. Or so it seemed to me. She gave her an M&M every time she went tee tee and a sucker for every poo poo. Genius!

So, at first, Gray was all gun-ho. "Cool, I get to sit on a new chair and watch my shows with my Cheerios's.....with no diaper on" and I just sat there patiently waiting.....waiting for that tiny little trickle that would turn into singing and dancing and hooray-ing!

And I sat. And I sat. And then I went to the kitchen to get my own bowl of cereal, when I heard it. No, not the singing and hooray-ing, but the, "Ah oh momma....wet".
He had gotten up to follow me to the kitchen......and you know the rest. Tee tee on the floor.

No problem, we've got wood floors. Breathe. "Yay Grayson went tee tee.....here's an M&M". Yes, I gave my son an M&M for going tee tee on the floor.

Because I know him. I carried him in my belly for 38 1/2 weeks. He would want another. And he would do just about ANYTHING to get one. Sneaky? Perhaps. Smart? Absolutely!

I knew he would ask for "Mo num nums?" and he did and I said, "Grayson, if you sit on Big Boy Potty and go tee tee, you can have more yummies".

And so he did. Five hours, nine tee tees, and nine M&M's later, he was over it.

So we went outside to play in the back yard. Diaper less. Another trusted friend (and Realtor), told me this was the best way to potty train a little boy.....and she should know, she raised two of them!

At first, he was timid.....the grass hadn't been mowed in about 2 weeks and the weeds were tickling his "fellas". He wouldn't sit on his Big Wheel or go down his slide (smart little guy) and he kept saying, "tee tee momma" and grabbing his crotch. But no tee tee outside that day. I guess he just wasn't feeling it. So, after dinner, he tee tee'd about 3 more times on Big Boy Potty and that was that.

Next morning, nothing. Done. Don't even look at me Big Boy Potty.

I asked him to sit on his potty and he said, "No". Flat out. Nope. Uh uh. I bribed him with a sucker and still no sitting on potty.

What could have possibly happened between last night and now? Not even a sucker?? I checked his temperature. He was fine. Just done with the potty......for now.



Send your kids to trick or treat at my house.....I have 299 suckers.

Hard-Working Wednesday

My husband tells me this is,"So very wrong....in more ways than one"

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I say,"Can't start 'em too early"!

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......especially when the maid calls in sick.

You Are My Heart....

walking amidst the world.

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My dear, sweet, Grayson~

You amaze me.

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Pure and simple.

I find myself getting so emotional lately. You have turned into this captivating, heart-stirring individual in the past few weeks. A little man who says, "Mom" and grabs my hand while walking through the sliding doors, before the thought even enters my mind to grab yours.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing A little man who says, "Gras as Momma, I wuv voo" for allowing you to have a frosted cookie from the Target bakery. A little man who craves his Mommy's back scratches and his Daddy's shenanigans. A little man who thinks it's cool to drink icecream through a straw.

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We are in awe, son......of you.


Your vocabulary has exploded into a hundred different words and phrases and sentences. You say something new every.single.day. and we just stare at one another, your Daddy and I, and laugh. How did we get here?

Here.

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The place where our son grabs our hands in a crowded Mexican restaurant and bows his head to say Grace. Amazing.

It is extremely rewarding for us to see how far you have come in 26 months. From a helpless newborn who needed us for everything, to a willful one year old who needed to do everything himself, to this. An enthralling two year old.

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We have found our balance. We've figured one another out, I believe.

You get me and I get you. And this is my most favorite time. Right here. Today.

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Sure, I miss our co-sleeping days when all I needed was to nurse you and all was right with the world......oh, how I truly miss those days. And sure I daydream about swaddling you like a baby burrito and staring at your sweet little peach fuzzy head.......but look at you now! I love your hair......I love that we can walk from our car to your Sunday School class and get no less than 5 compliments on your beautiful hair. I love the way that your crooked little teeth are just perfect in your crooked little smile. I love that you can say, "Mamma look, I tee-tee on tha potty....yay....yummy yums".....that's right, angel, you did go tee-tee and now you get an M&M and Mommy and Daddy are so very proud of you!


I get it now.

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This is who I am supposed to be and I've never been more content than right here. Right now.

I am so incredibly blessed to be your Mommy and to be your Daddy's wife. And though your little life is far from completion, you are my most amazing accomplishment.

~Love Mommy

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"Star white, star white. First star at night night night."

For Pappi

(Pause the music to the right and enjoy!)


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Nappily Never Nafter

I come from a long line of nappers. My father was a napper on the verge of narcolepsy, often falling asleep on the couch with my brother and I in his arms, while reading us books.

It would start with:

"I do not like green eggs and ham..."

And then not two seconds later...

"Hhhhhhhhggghhhhhhh Psshhhhhhhhh*."

"Daddy! Daddy! Wake up and tell us more of this Sam I Am person!!"

He also tends to nod off while viewing most sporting events on t.v. (golf, football, golf, basketball, golf...).

My Mom is also an outstanding napper. She will fall asleep after preparing every Sunday afternoon meal, during every movie she starts past 8 p.m., and most times while reading.

I love sleep. Therefore, I love naps. Can't get enough. Ever.

And Grayson? Grayson was born to nap. For two years his naps have been like clockwork. Three - four hour naps practically to the minute. Every.Single.Day.

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Until now.

At the time I thought it was normal infant/baby/toddler behavior. I now have a new understanding of just how remarkable it was.

W.A.S.

He napped 1pm-5pm every day for two years and I totally took it for granted.

Of course, because I'm not very smart, I figured he would continue these napping episodes until he was a freshmen in high school......but-not-so-much-no-way-not-even-close. He's done. He no longer believes in napping. And he has been telling me so all week while jumping up and down in his crib screaming, "Maaaaaaama, no naaaaaap! No naaaaaap Maaaaaama!"

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I've tried everything to get him to nap.

We do the exact same bedtime routine for naps as we do nighttime.....minus the bath and the brushing of the teeth. My best friend has told me time and time again, "Maybe he's just done with naps.....you know so and so stopped napping at two". And I've chosen to ignore this statement....time and time again.

But, I have to admit.......she's right. Dang it!

He's getting plenty of sleep. He goes down around 8 p.m. and sleeps till 10 a.m. I guess now that he's a big two year old, he's decided that 14 hours of sleep a day is just dandy.

Dandy.


I've tried singing Grayson to sleep but instead he just laughs hysterically because my voice is a train wreck.


He loves for me to reach over his crib and scratch his back before falling asleep, and I love it, too, until my arm goes numb and my fingers start falling asleep (dang carpel tunnel).....if only they had magic napping powers.



It's sweet, really. My son only sleeping when I sleep. Wanting to be awake so he doesn't miss out on anything. Really, he probably thinks I lounge around in my underwear on the couch watching Handy Manny re-runs, while popping M&M flavored bon-bons in my mouth, and squirting Bentley with the water gun. Because that's what he would be doing.

It's a little annoying, I must admit. I love him so much, but it's almost like having a 6 month old, again....they need you to entertain them. I used his nap time for my "me-time"......and well, now there's no time for "me- time" you know like: clipping coupons, planning dinner, writing on this blog, eating bon-bons....etc.

Instead it's, "Momma. side. me. (watch me go down the slide), Momma. at side. me. ( I want to go outside....very close to go down the slide, but different), Momma. mo boose. (more juice), Momma. meenie meenie. (Handy Manny), Momma. wah wah me peese. (Fill my water gun up, please) Momma. iiii've vooo. (Momma, I love you)And he's smart.....so smart. "Momma. noooooo naaaaaaap. iiiiii've voooo." He knows by saying this, he has me wrapped around his sticky, dirty, little fingers.

It's pretty much become impossible to get on the computer during the days, so my nights have become the only time I can type. Sorry for not updating the blog for over a week, but seriously......now you know why.

And then there's today, like right now for instance. 4:28 on a Thursday afternoon and I can FINALLY BLOG! Quick! Before he wakes up! TYPE FASTER!

Wait.....what? Yeah, that's right, he's asleep. How can you go a whole week without napping and then, "Oh hey Mom, I think I'll take a nap today".......s.i.g.h.

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Seriously though. I want to have another baby soon. How in the world can I go through a second pregnancy without napping? Right?

I mean...

Right?


***

*that was supposed to be a snoring sound.