Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Egg Hunt, a set on Flickr.

This past weekend I invited a bunch of friends with children near little man's age to participate in an Easter Egg Hunt. It was supposed to be outside but the weather refused to cooperate so we made as much open space in the living room as possible and....it was a blast.

The kids were super excited to grab the eggs and see what was inside. And the balloons inside some of the eggs? They were a HUGE hit. Little man is still playing with them very enthusiastically...two days later.

I love celebrating holidays with my kidlet. He makes everything so much more exciting. I'm glad I had enough friends willing to participate in this activity. An Easter Egg Hunt for one just isn't as fun. :)

Little man LOVES to talk on the phone. Not for real, just with a play phone...or computer mouse...or book...whatever is handy.

Today his daddy got a phone call when he got home from work. Little man quickly got a phone of his own (Mr. Potato Head's hat) and began mimicking his dad. He followed him around the house (daddy tends to walk a lot when he's on the phone) and copied as much of the conversation as he could. It was a lot of fun to watch and it wasn't until the end that I realized, "I should be recording this!"  I didn't catch much but it was so funny!

(Curse Blogger for not letting me post the video!)

The remainder of the afternoon was spent taking turns talking on little man's "phone".  I love this kid so much!

I was going to be so awesome and update all about how much we've been enjoying the sunshine and how I was a great mom and we made bird feeders and it was so cool and today while I was at work little man and his dad got to watch the birds eat the seeds we put out....but I couldn't get flickr to work and load my pictures.  So instead you get a hilarious video of my son playing with money.

By the way...what I didn't get on video?  My clever little man counting to 5!!!

Little man is speaking up a storm these days.  He repeats EVERYTHING you say, which can be really funny at times.  Sometimes his daddy says stuff just so he can hear it repeated in our darling son's voice.  He still speaks a lot of non-sense though.  When he gets really excited he will run up to you and just rattle off...well, baby talk....for several minutes before you can find a real word and figure out what he's trying to tell you.  I'm smitten.

Here's a video of a silly little man moment...talking non-sense into the back of his dump truck. 

Weekend Away

Weekend Away, a set on Flickr.

I have had problems with one of my teeth for a while now. Finally it got bad enough that I caved and got something done (though I should have done it a loooong time ago!). The main work was done near home but my cousin is a dentist about 4 hours away and the rest of the work he was willing to do for MUCH cheaper despite the gas money and the night in a hotel. (Thank you, thank you, thank you for that, dear cousin!!!)  So for the President's Day weekend, we traveled to my cousin to get my dental work done.

Little man found staying the night in a hotel a HUGE adventure. He was so happy that we joked about staying more than one day. He loved his bed (the pull-out sofa bed), he loved the room, he loved the air conditioner, he loved eating doughnuts for breakfast...I don't think he fussed the whole time we were there. What bliss for everyone!

A lot of the pictures I took were blurry because my kidlet would not stop moving, but they are fun all the same. :)

Fighting Cabin Fever, a set on Flickr.

Life lately has been crazy. The weather has been snowy and then warm, and then snowy, and then warm. Little man and I have been without a car all week. There has been some cabin fever. In fact, I let little man go outside today because the sun was shining and he was literally screaming with happiness as he ran back and forth in front of the house. But we've found some fun things to do inside without the car (like baking...my baby loves to help me bake!).

Every time I turn around, little man is doing something new. He's growing so fast and learning so much, it blows my mind on a daily basis. We have conversations, he seems to understand everything I say, and I just can't believe it. He's doing great in a big boy bed, which I didn't expect. He adjusted with no problems at all. Not only is he sleeping great, but he doesn't try to get out of bed to play! How did I get blessed with such an amazing child?

Because he keeps growing so much and because we've been doing some fun things, I thought I'd better post a bunch of pictures. Too bad I can't post them straight to the blog but still...enjoy!

Today my baby boy and I had an honest-to-goodness conversation. 

LM: (holding up a SeaBand) "What's this?"

Me: "You put it on your wrist.  It's supposed to help you feel better if your tummy is sick."

LM: "There's a ball!" *tug tug* "It's stuck.  I need help."

Me: "It's supposed to be stuck.  I can't get it off, sorry."

LM: (puts down the SeaBand and walks around the room, bending over to pick something up)  "It's fluff!" (actually technically he said "shish" which is his word for fluff....)

Me: "Oh, look at that!  It is fluff!  Cool."

LM: (rubs the fluff on his cheek) "Is it soft?"

Me: "I don't know, is it soft?"

LM: (accidentally drops the fluff)  "Uh oh.  The fluff!  Where did it go?"

Me: "Uh oh!  Did you drop it on the floor?  Better check!"

LM: (turning around in circles) "Where did it go?  Where did it go?" 

We never did find the fluff, which is weird.  It must have blown away in the air from the ceiling fan we keep running at night.  Anyway...I just couldn't believe I was holding that kind of extended conversation with my 20 month old!  When did he get old enough to do this?!  He's saying more and more every day. 

He's also graduated from his crib to a big boy bed.  I wasn't ready for the transition but hubby told me it was time.  It's only been one day but so far, so good.  Our little boy really is growing up fast.

New things my baby is up to:

~He repeats everything he hears us say.  Like when his daddy dropped his phone and said, "Oh shoot!"  Little man walked around the house for the next half hour saying "oh shoot! oh shoot! oh shoot!"  Thank goodness that's ALL Daddy said!!!

~He loves taking baths.  I think if we let him, he'd bathe three or four times a day.  He loves being clean.  In fact, I have to wipe his hands after each bite of food he eats because he can't stand having dirty hands.  And he'll pick his nose and then hand me the boogers.  Bleck!

~He can name most of my family and his best friend. (Bup=Grandpa...the others are all recognizable)

~He insists on taking toys to bed with him.  And sometimes instead of sleeping I listen to him talk to himself.  It's hilarious.  I even have it on video, but it's hard to hear through a closed door.

~He's (finally!) willing to walk places instead of wanting me to carry him everywhere.  This comes in handy when I'm trying to bring bunches of groceries inside!  Though unless he's walking on snow, he won't hold my hand and that sometimes means I have to chase him all over the place.  He's usually decently obedient in public though (thankfully!).

~His favorite song changes constantly, he sings along with the radio all the time, and he loves to dance with his dad.  He also pulls out his guitar whenever his daddy is playing his guitar or ukelele.  And he's been a lot more interested in his keyboard lately as well. 

~He's learned the song "Ring around the Rosies" and loves to sing "ashes, ashes" (which he will repeat over and over until you pay attention) and have you say "we all fall down!"  Then of course he will throw himself on the floor.  This can go on forever.  

As always he makes us smile, keeps us laughing, makes a mess, and throws ridiculous fits.  We love him to death.  :)

Over Christmas, little man came up with a new phrase to get our attention.  "I need."  Yes, our little man now "needs" everything.  It all began with this experience on Christmas Eve:

He needed the ball.  He really needed the ball.

Since then he has needed doughnuts, his grandpa, a drink, his cars, a bath, candy...you name it.  But the cutest demand he has made was this last Sunday when he came up to me and told me he needed a friend.  I was busy and told him his daddy could be his friend.  So little man took Daddy up to his room and they played.  Doesn't it just melt your heart?

Christmas 2012

Christmas 2012, a set on Flickr.

We've had such a busy holiday season that I have put off posting. Little man is learning new words every day and keeping us busy with all his antics. He got lots of toys and goodies for Christmas and for now those are occupying most of his time (which is a nice break for Mama!).

He's still taking his pants off when he finds the opportunity. He puts them on his head and calls them a hat. In fact, anything he puts on his head is considered a hat. He's also become quite the parrot, repeating just about anything he hears us say. We are having to be very careful what we talk about around our little man these days.

We've been going through an anti-food stage where even little man's favorite foods (cheese and chicken nuggets) haven't satisfied him. He's usually asking me for "nuts" (doughnuts) and "boats" (Pringles), but I'm not keeping those in supply at our house. He thinks I'm a pretty mean Mama for not always handing over the junk food he wants. And he does yell "I need ____" at me whenever he isn't getting his way. This doesn't just end at food though. He will yell, "I need a ball", "I need a bup" (meaning Grandpa), or even "I need up". He's become very demanding.

Little man's new favorite thing is to throw things away, which is sometimes helpful and sometimes not so helpful. On Christmas he enjoyed throwing away all the wrapping paper. He will always throw away his diaper after a diaper change (and gets pretty mad if you don't let him!). However he will also throw away anything he thinks we don't need anymore; like food he doesn't want to eat, or his toothbrush (which he used to love and now hates...I could use some suggestions so that brushing his teeth isn't such a huge battle!).

Life is good though. Little man still loves singing, reading, and coloring lots of pictures. And as parents we are enjoying watching him learn and grow.