by Amy | Sep 25, 2012 | mama confessions
Today was one of those days that makes you realize why you are starting to notice gray hairs on your head. It started out innocently enough. We all slept in til about 8am this morning which is quite a feat for our family. We got up and the boys played in the living room while Thomas made coffee for us. I got on my computer like I always do to check on emails and briefly look through news and all the ads I get sent. Julian, as usual, was not having it. He has started making it a habit of coming up and shutting my computer when he wants my attention. Sweet little thing. He did the same thing this morning, but he quickly went on to play with something and managed to leave me alone for a little bit. Thomas brought me my wonderful coffee with the foam on the top. It was divine! I started to take a second sip when Julian came up and knocked his toy on my keyboard and shook my hand with the coffee in it. The coffee then spilled on my keyboard. It was only a little bit, but it still managed to fry my keyboard to the point where it can no longer be used. Fortunately, the part is already ordered and I’m using an external keyboard now to type this ever important blog post.
Our day went on and I decided that, in lieu of parks or playdates or fun things for the kids, I would attempt to venture out with the kids and do a little shopping. We have a mini-trip coming up this weekend and I needed to get a couple of odds and ends. It went really well. I went to Marshall’s and found a couple of things (I always do). Then I went to Ulta and got some hair products and we went home to eat lunch because we didn’t have any spare diapers with us and Julian desperately needed a new one.
We had a nice and peaceful lunch where the kids actually ate what I made them. All was well.
As the day progressed, we went outside so the boys could play. But before I knew it, both boys ended up inside the minivan — their favorite place to play. I quickly got them both out and my oldest proceeded to scream and hit and kick me. I could tell he was really tired and I had planned on loading them up in the car so he could nap a bit, but I opted instead for a short time out on a chair in the garage so he could calm down and apologize.
Now, let’s back up about, oh, three days ago. We were out having breakfast and stopped by Sears Outlet to look at their lawn equipment when we noticed that they had the perfect sized bike for Tate and it was on sale. We had talked about getting him a bike for his upcoming birthday, but were not seriously looking. However, the opportunity presented itself and we came up with the perfect heist to get the bike back home and up in the attic before he could discover it.
Well, that almost went off without a hitch. As my son was sitting in time out in the garage, he looked up and noticed the beautiful box in the attic that had a picture of a shiny red bike on the front of it. His hysterical cries quickly went to hysterical laughter as he started to realize that it was a new bike for him. “OH. MY. GODDDDDDD!!!!!” I thought. This was supposed to be the perfect present for his 4th birthday and now it was ruined. My thoughts quickly raced to ways I could cause harm to my husband. I’m kidding. But seriously!? How could we have been so careful about getting this thing home and then, after all that, not followed through on a tiny detail like the fact that it was the front box in the attic and the attic door was open!??? My son’s hysterical laughter/crying quickly turned back to hysterical crying when I told him we couldn’t get it down. It was for his birthday. He needed to wait. That was not going to fly. I quickly called my husband to rip him a…and try to come up with a plan. His plan was to come home early and put the bike together for our son. We had no backup plan. We were screwed. We were just going to have to give it to him early and make him promise that he wouldn’t expect anything on his birthday. ha! Yeah. Right.
After that, I drove my kids on a couple errands in order to get them to fall asleep. Then we went to the grocery store to pick up a few odds and ends. I took my time because I wanted my husband to have plenty of uninterrupted time to put that bike together. When we returned home, his car was in the driveway and when he came out to greet us, we noticed that the bike box in the attic was gone. I asked my husband under my breath what he had done with the bike. He said he hid it when he saw us pull up. Funny thing is, he hadn’t even begun putting it together again. My son was in a state of disbelief that the bike had gone missing. Where could it be? We brainstormed. We thought about it. And that was it. He never asked about it again for the rest of the evening.
We took him to soccer practice. We came home and ate dinner. Not much more than a, “Where did that bike go?” come out of his mouth. By bedtime, he had put it out of his mind completely.
I said all that to say that I find some comic relief in all of this. My husband and I both have a tendency to take the stress of the moment so literally. We frequently get into heated conversations over situations like these. We let the situation affect us and make us second guess our parenting. We get frustrated. We get insecure. We lash out. But, in the end, the kids don’t even remember it. They just wanted to make a big deal out of nothing. And now that they have, they are over it. If only I could always remember this when I’m feeling near the end of my rope.
This will pass. And it will pass so quickly that you won’t even know what just happened.
by Amy | Sep 14, 2012 | mama confessions, Uncategorized
Our lives are so full and rich right now. We are so blessed by our little boys, Tate and Julian.
As I mentioned before, Tate started preschool last week and is attending on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He was excited to go at first, but when he realized he was going there by himself and staying there without us, he was not very happy. Each preschool morning, Tate asks with anticipation what we are doing today. When we tell him he’s going to preschool, he usually gets upset and says something like, “I don’t want to go to preschool!! I want to stay here with you Mommy!” The first couple days of this broke my heart. Thomas and I were both beside ourselves with guilt. Not only that, but Julian walked around the house (and still does) with a sour look on his face and points out the window saying, “Daddy! Tate!” He doesn’t like being left out, and since Thomas takes Tate to school, Julian sees them leaving and wants to go too.
Today was Tate’s 4th official day of school. He barely ate this morning and threw a mini-meltdown when he realized he was going there. We tried to change the subject at breakfast so he would at least eat. lol! Once he got there, he began to tell Thomas he didn’t want to go, but when they got to the classroom, he was fine. The teachers at his preschool are absolute gems and they have been so helpful with distracting him and helping him feel right at home there. I am so grateful we found this place!
Well, perhaps even more newsworthy than Tate’s day at preschool is the fact that Julian turned 16 months old today! I can’t believe how quickly time has passed. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long!! He is getting to be so big. He says so many words now and does so many cute things.
He has been saying words like Daddy, ball, park, dog for a while now, but his vocabulary is growing so rapidly I can hardly keep up. It’s the same with his teeth!! I don’t even know anymore when he got which tooth because they all seem to be coming in at once. What a cutie!
These past couple weeks we’ve been working on his colors. We point at something blue and say “Blue”…we point at something red and say “Red” and so on. Today he was looking at a book and we were pointing at the different colors and he was repeating them after me. It’s so cute! Also during the past few weeks, his favorite thing to do is point at the flowers in the antique quilt from my Grandma. They are all different colors, so he has been fascinated by pointing his finger to each one and repeating the color of the flower after me. He is so smart!
Today he was walking around just pointing at objects and either saying their names or looking questioningly at me for the answer. He knew most of them though. He pointed to a glass of water and said very clearly, “Water.” He then started playing with blocks and looked at me and said, “Block.” He knows his eyes, nose and mouth in English and German. And when he says Moon, he usually mixes the two languages and says, “Moond”. It’s truly fascinating to observe him learning. This afternoon we were in Target and he kept taking his shoes off and saying “Shoe” and throwing them on the ground. He thought that was so funny! He loves to go pick out a book and bring it to me and plop it in my lap and say “Book!”
What else is he doing? Well, he hates it when I’m on the computer. So now he shuts my laptop when he wants my attention. Maybe a sign I’m on it too much? ha ha Until today he has always cautiously sat down when he wants to go down a step — even a very small one. Well, today his big accomplishment was standing up on the fireplace and stepping down off of the bricks onto the carpet without sitting down or falling. He was so proud of himself that he did it about 20 times just to show everyone. We, of course, all clapped every time! And he clapped too.
by Amy | Sep 14, 2012 | mama confessions
I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but “balanced” has never been one of those things. Oddly enough, that’s something I’ve always strived for, and I’ve always felt that my lack of balance has been a shortcoming or stumbling-block throughout my life. In many ways it has been. I know that I tend to get excited about something and go go go, and then, somehow, whatever it was I got excited about loses its appeal days or weeks later. I also have issues when it comes to daily chores or developing a routine. I have the discipline to stay on course, but I’ve rarely been balanced enough to ride the waves and not let myself get bored or irritated with the task at hand. That’s almost embarrassing to admit. But, I hesitate to think that everyone I know doesn’t have a little bit of that in them. Or, don’t they?
I’ve mentioned before that I’m an all or nothing kind of gal. I either have it completely together (at least in my head) and things are smooth sailin’, or I am a complete train wreck with everything falling apart around me. I am either balls to the wall into something or completely disinterested in everything. I’m either super-duper productive or I can’t manage to open an envelope I got in the mail. I am either a crazed neat-freak with everything perfectly in place and a roast in the oven or a complete slob with stacks of paper piled high to my cobb-webbed ceiling and four different to-go boxes of leftovers from four different restaurants in the fridge. Call it what you will, but never call me “balanced”.
The biggest issue I’m having with this personality defect/charming, artistic side of me is how it affects my ability to be the kind of mother I want to be to my kids. I would think that it might be hard for them to deal with at some point, and for that reason alone, I would like to attempt to be a bit more even-keeled and predictable. Right now, however, that is really hard for me to do and here’s why…
You see, before having kids, I could just dive into a project and be completely absorbed in it without my absence or involvement in other activities affecting anyone around me. I could work on an opera score or learn German or spend hours learning how to do something with no interruptions other than having to pee or sleep or eat. I could brainstorm (which I love to do). I could read interesting books. I could learn a new skill. I could be the hermit I was meant to be and fully devoted and absorbed in something that gave me fulfillment. ha! But now all of that has changed. And I’m struggling with that. A big part of me feels a lot of guilt that I have other interests besides spending every waking moment with my precious lil’ ones right now. “That’s silly to say!” you might be thinking. “Every Mom needs a break!!” Well, I know, but sometimes I need more of a break than the time in my days or weeks allow. Everyone tells you to cherish these moments, because “they don’t last…” But lately, I’ve been wanting to do some things that are taking up a lot of my time and taking my focus away from my kids. The old me feels great satisfaction from doing things that awaken my creative side, but the new me feels complete and total guilt, and quite honestly, complete frazzled-ness from not being able to tend to the things that keep our household going in a way that makes me feel like a better Mommy.
This week, I have totally let things go. I mean, I’ve picked up the kids’ toys every night and put them away, and I’ve continued to do dishes and keep the kitchen picked up (for the most part), but the laundry has piled up and I’ve totally spaced out on my to-do list. The bathrooms are all dirty and the floors are a MESS. I haven’t cooked all week (except for tonight) and we’ve eaten out wayyy too much lately. I’ve been wearing the same outfit for two days and I’ve let myself go just to save time. Why, you ask? Well, lucky for you, I’ll tell ya!
Right now, I’m completely obsessed with learning about website design and have been up most nights for the past 3 weeks trying to make sense of it all playing around with graphics and attempting to learn CSS. It all started when I wanted to update my business website, and then I got the bright idea and the fire lit underneath me to attempt it myself with a new website I’m working on. I’m going to be tie-ing it to this blog, and I’ll let you all be the first to see it when it’s ready. I promise. Anyway, this is keeping me busy. It’s a good kind of busy. I am enjoying myself and learning a lot. But I’m also completely insane right now too. I’m finding that I am looking for every chance I can get to just sit down on my computer and work on these things. But that time rarely comes. And then I get frustrated and grouchy. Today was one of those days.
On the flip side, my little baby boy, Julian, turned 16 months old today! He is growing so quickly. He is so sweet and I feel terrible right now that I’m not more tuned in to him. I want to be. I try to be. I just desperately need this time. I feel so selfish for feeling that way. He is so smart and he’s learning everything so quickly. Just today, he was walking around the house pointing at objects and saying what they were. “Water”…”Brush”…”Shoes”…”Blocks”. His vocabulary is growing so rapidly. I want to be present and enjoying this time with him. But all I could think of today was, “When are you going to go to sleep so I can get some things done!?”
Ugh. Balance. It’s a neverending, almost uphill thing to achieve. I don’t even know that I really want to achieve it. I think I’d be bored if I were balanced.
Interestingly enough, this is what a recent book I just read has to say about balance:
“The pursuit of balance is stressing us out. It’s a maddening juggle of self, others, career. Equal parts exercise, home décor, loverly devotion, career ambition, and family tending— and we wonder why we get sick when we finally take a vacation. If you do manage to get balanced, it’s only temporary. Success throws things out of whack. Just when you get it balanced, circumstances or a great idea turns everything around. You can never get it right. Balance: the losing battle. I burn a lot of omelets. It’s a regular occurrence. I’m drawing robots with my kid, I’m jotting down an idea I don’t want to lose, I’m taking the call. And then the smoke alarms go off. I “work” on holidays. I’ve been known to read in bed all day on a Monday. I send birthday gifts three months early or three months late, but I always send just the right gift. I can eat granola cereal every day for a week, wear the same clothes, and not leave the house because I want to finish a project. The last time I was at a monastery, I tweeted about it. This is not a balanced life. But it works for me.” – Danielle LaPorte
by Amy | Sep 8, 2012 | mama confessions
Oh…is all I can say. I have been searching for a moment…ONE moment where I can have a little peace and quiet and actually write or do something without interruption. But the moment never comes. I guess I have to learn to sneak away in small moments like these — when my husband is giving our two boys a bath–and just relish in the 3 or 4 minutes of peace I get here and there. Outside of that, there’s no chance I will ever write anything here again.
Wow! This week has been a whirlwind! My son started preschool this past Tuesday. Truthfully, it’s just a Mothers’ Day Out program, but it feels like a huge thing to have him gone for 4 hours 2 days a week. I know I’ll get used to it and actually learn to enjoy it soon. For now, it just feels weird. But, I know it’s a good thing!
Anyway…I don’t have much time as I hear my youngest screaming in the bathtub on the other side of the house, and I think my husband is already at his wit’s end — even though he’s only been alone with our kids for a mere 30 minutes so far today. Ughh…sorry, that was not meant to be a jab. I’m just so OVER IT!
So let’s be real, shall we? I’m once again finding that I’m a bit…or let’s say a LOT overwhelmed. I’m not overwhelmed in the same way that I found myself this time last year. No, that was a naive overwhelmed. That was a flailing my arms through the air swimming upstream with my head barely above water kind of overwhelmed because I didn’t know the path ahead of me yet. I wasn’t aware of what was to come. I had a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 month old this time last year. I had NO idea!! And I didn’t have the rhythm of this whole thing down.
Now fast forward a year. I’m well aware of what’s ahead. I have an almost 4 year old and an almost 16 month old. They are both active and amazing little boys that require a lot of my time and energy. They are amazing and a lot of fun. That’s for sure. I am still tired, but not as tired as I was then. And now, at least, I feel like I have the rhythm down. I know what to expect. Things are fairly predictable. So why am I overwhelmed? Because it’s hard. It’s hard to juggle Motherhood and all it entails, work and all it entails, the household and all it entails and relationships of any kind and all they entail. I find this balance to be very tricky. You excel in one area and then fail miserably in another. When you start to pick up the slack in another area, the others start to fall apart. Very tricky.
I say all this not to complain, but merely to make sense of it all. That’s what writing helps me to do. I also realize over and over again what drains me and what gives me energy. If I could only pay attention to the things that give me energy! That could help, right? It’s not that easy though.
Anyway…enough about what gives me energy. I need to get some work done and then hopefully attempt to get to bed at a decent time tonight. That would give me some energy for sure.
Happy Weekend Everyone!
by Amy | Sep 4, 2012 | mama confessions, Uncategorized
Well, tomorrow is Tate’s very first day of preschool! It’s more like a “Mother’s Day Out”. Call it what you will, but it feels weird to me. I am so excited for him and I know we are all ready for this day. But, I can’t help but feel like he is slipping out of my reach. Sweet Little Guy! I love him so much!!! I still can’t believe he’s almost 4 years old! This doesn’t seem possible. And he’s growing so quickly as each day passes.
Last week, we went out and bought him a new “spaceship lunch box” at Target. He is very proud of it and always wants to take it with us when we go somewhere where we need to take our food. On Saturday, I finally convinced him that he needed to get a hair cut for school, and he didn’t fight me on it. We went to a kids’ hair stylist in town and he did great! The cut is very cute on him, and when we left he said very excitedly, “Mom! I didn’t even CRY!!!” lol He didn’t. He was a big boy!!
Other than that, we have completely taken the casual approach. For starters, I have no idea what he will wear tomorrow, and that probably doesn’t matter because he usually ends up wearing whatever he wants anyway. He is pretty stubborn that way. I hope I can convince him to at least wear something that matches and looks good. I will also be sure to pack an extra change of undies and shorts because he’s been going through them like crazy lately with little accidents here and there.
Anyway, we will see how it goes tomorrow. I am praying that everything will go as smoothly as possible and that he will LOVE it!!! Whatever the case, the day will be wrought with anticipation.
Help us God!
by Amy | Sep 4, 2012 | mama confessions
I know it seems melodramatic of me, but I’m feeling really emotional about tomorrow — Tate’s 1st day of preschool. I know many of you are sick of hearing about this topic, but just hear me out. I want him to go. I need him to go. I think it will be a great thing for him. But, I can’t help but be nervous and melancholy about it as well. This past weekend, I was frantically going through everything I think he should know (in my mind) and hoping that he is well-equipped.
This summer, we’ve been diligently working on all of the important stuff — please and thank you, going potty by yourself, recognizing the ABC’s and writing your letters and numbers. He is great with most of this stuff and I’m just happy he has such a thirst for more knowledge and is ready to learn. He will do well!
Again, I’m just struggling, as a Mom, to let go and let my son be on his own — without me! I know his teachers are great and the kids all seem very sweet. He will hopefully make friends fast and I will get to know some of their parents along the way. I’m excited about all of these prospects. I really am. It’s just all very new and change always brings a bit of anxiety with it.
So, stay tuned…I’ll share more tomorrow with pics. I’m currently just praying we make it on time and he doesn’t have a huge meltdown and hang on to our legs as we walk out the door. That would be a great first day!
by Amy | Aug 31, 2012 | mama confessions
I’ve been so busy working on my business website over the past few weeks that I’ve hardly had any time to write. When I do finally get the chance, I find that I am speechless. I know…right…Amy? Speechless? Well, it’s true. My brain is churning, but I think there’s too much going on inside of it for me to make sense of it all and write it down. I have missed writing though.
Tonight, I am SO tired and I wanted to just briefly write in my personal blog since I’ve also been remiss about writing things down that have to do with our family and milestones the kids are experiencing. I keep thinking I’ll sit down and write down that word Julian just said or the funny thing Tate just did, but I never get the chance. Not only that, but I am WAYYYY behind on recording Julian’s new molars in his baby book and updating all of his shot records and measurements. I literally have a STACK of papers in my closet that I need to go through and sort out to get everything back in order. Why is this so hard for me?
On top of that, we have had a devastating occurrence over the past week since our hard drive froze up and we no longer can get any of our pictures off of it. I still have an inkling of hope that someone can fix it and retrieve our pics, but I’m losing hope with every second that goes by.
Anyway, I wrote in my personal blog tonight so I could record some of the feelings I’m having and attempt to get caught up with my kids’ milestones. I typically don’t share my posts from this blog, but I thought some of you might be able to relate.
Here ya go!
Gosh, everything seems to be the same one minute and then, the next minute, it feels like things are rapidly changing. One minute you have a brand new baby who needs you every second of the day, and the next minute, you have a toddler who plays on his own and walks from room to room calling out your name. One minute, you have a little boy who is struggling to grasp the concept of going potty and poo poo on the toilet, and the next minute, he’s going into the bathroom and doing everything all by himself.
Today I was a little saddened by all the changes happening with us, but happy at the same time. Tate starts preschool for the first time on Tuesday. Today, we went to meet his teachers and other classmates and get familiarized with the room he’ll be in. He was very clingy and panicky when we first got there, and then he eventually opened up and started playing on his own without needing me right beside him. When we got in the car, I could tell he was SO proud of himself and so excited about the prospect of starting preschool. I know he’ll be a little apprehensive for the first few days, but I really think he’s going to nail this and enjoy it! For this, I’m so overjoyed and happy for him. He’s such a sweet, smart, funny, social little guy, and he will thrive in an environment like this. I’m so thrilled we found this preschool at OLC!
The sad part about all of this is that Tate has never been without me during the day. I have always been there with him, and if I did hire a sitter or leave him with someone, it has always been for just a couple hours. I know it probably seems dramatic and silly, but it occurred to me this evening that as of Tuesday, we will no longer be his only teachers. He will learn from the preschool teachers and of course, the other kids he gets to know. Truthfully, I’ve dreaded this day for some time. In my mind, I’ve always romanticized the concept of homeschooling and dreamed that maybe, quite possibly, I could do this. But, I don’t know that I’m cut out for it, honestly. I wish Tate could learn all of his information through me and the tools I introduce to him, but right now, I barely have enough patience to sit down with him and read. I feel terrible for admitting this, but it’s true. I love reading to my children, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes it just feels like an uphill battle. We’re either out running errands, meeting people for playdates or I’m home trying to get things done. I tell you, I think sometimes days and weeks go by before I realize that we haven’t spent that special time just sitting down and reading or learning how to do something new. Part of it is me and the other part of it is him. I don’t know how to change that and turn the cycle around. I don’t know how to make him more responsive to me and not always wanting to “do something else.” I don’t know how I get him to sit still long enough to read to him and focus on something like writing his letters or numbers. So when he is able to grasp a concept, I feel happy that he did it in spite of my ADD instruction which typically involves me trying to get something else done and keeping his younger brother out of things we’re doing simultaneously.
Anyway…that was all said to say that I have mixed feelings about next week. I want this so badly for him. I want him to grow and learn and thrive, but I also just want to keep him here ALL to myself. I don’t want to share him with anyone, because deep down, I feel like, if I do, I will never be able to have him just to myself again. It means that he will forever be changed. We will forever be changed. His horizons will continue to broaden and he will naturally move in a direction away from the safe, little haven we have here at home with our routines, our outings and our rituals. He will naturally gravitate toward new friends, new activities and new ideas.
Today, he said to us: “You’re the best Daddy in the whole world.” “And you’re the best Mommy in the whole world.” “I love you guys so much!”
What a great kid!! What 3 year old says that to his parents?
Mine does : )
by Amy | Aug 31, 2012 | mama confessions, Uncategorized
Gosh, everything seems to be the same one minute and then, the next minute, it feels like things are rapidly changing. One minute you have a brand new baby who needs you every second of the day, and the next minute, you have a toddler who plays on his own and walks from room to room. One minute, you have a little boy who is struggling to grasp the concept of going potty and poo poo on the toilet, and the next minute, he’s going into the bathroom and doing everything all by himself.
Today I was a little saddened by all the changes happening with us, but happy at the same time. Tate starts preschool for the first time on Tuesday. Today, we went to meet his teachers and other classmates and get familiarized with the room he’ll be in. He was very clingy and panicky when we first got there, and then he eventually opened up and started playing on his own without needing me right beside him. When we got in the car, I could tell he was SO proud of himself and so excited about the prospect of starting preschool. I know he’ll be a little apprehensive for the first few days, but I really think he’s going to nail this and enjoy it! For this, I’m so overjoyed and happy for him. He’s such a sweet, smart, funny, social little guy, and he will thrive in an environment like this. I’m so thrilled we found this preschool at OLC!
The sad part about all of this is that Tate has never been without me during the day. I have always been there with him, and if I did hire a sitter or leave him with someone, it has always been for just a couple hours. I know it probably seems dramatic and silly, but it occurred to me this evening that as of Tuesday, we will no longer be his only teachers. He will learn from the preschool teachers and of course, the other kids he gets to know. Truthfully, I’ve dreaded this day for some time. In my mind, I’ve always romanticized the concept of homeschooling and dreamed that maybe, quite possibly, I could do this. But, I don’t know that I’m cut out for it, honestly. I wish Tate could learn all of his information through me and the tools I introduce to him, but right now, I barely have enough patience to sit down with him and read. I feel terrible for admitting this, but it’s true. I love reading to my children, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes it just feels like an uphill battle. We’re either out running errands, meeting people for playdates or I’m home trying to get things done. I tell you, I think sometimes days and weeks go by before I realize that we haven’t spent that special time just sitting down and reading or learning how to do something new. Part of it is me and the other part of it is him. I don’t know how to change that and turn the cycle around. I don’t know how to make him more responsive to me and not always wanting to “do something else.” I don’t know how I get him to sit still long enough to read to him and focus on something like writing his letters or numbers. So when he is able to grasp a concept, I feel happy that he did it in spite of my ADD instruction which typically involves me trying to get something else done and keeping his younger brother out of things we’re doing simultaneously.
Anyway…that was all said to say that I have mixed feelings about next week. I want this so badly for him. I want him to grow and learn and thrive, but I also just want to keep him here ALL to myself. I don’t want to share him with anyone, because deep down, I feel like, if I do, I will never be able to have him just to myself again. It means that he will forever be changed. We will forever be changed. His horizons will continue to broaden and he will naturally move in a direction away from the safe, little haven we have here at home with our routines, our outings and our rituals. He will naturally gravitate toward new friends, new activities and new ideas.
Today, he said to us: “You’re the best Daddy in the whole world.” “And you’re the best Mommy in the whole world.” “I love you guys so much!”
What a great kid!! What 3 year old says that to his parents?
Mine does : )
by Amy | Aug 28, 2012 | mama confessions
I love this baby’s hair! It’s so beautiful. Everyone thinks he’s a girl. I don’t care. I’m not cuttin’ it! When he gets out of the bathtub, I can just brush through it and as it dries it immediately forms these beautiful lush curls everywhere. It is wild baby hair! It is crazy and it’s getting so long! We call him Little Professor because he looks like some crazy professor or Baby Einstein.
Well, sorry this post has taken so long to get here. I have been very busy working on my new website these days and have hardly had any time to write on my other blogs. Whew! What a whirlwind past couple of weeks it’s been!
anyway, I just wanted to share these photos.
g’night!
by Amy | Aug 14, 2012 | mama confessions, Uncategorized
My Tate, what a big boy you’ve suddenly become! I can hardly believe it’s happening this quickly before my very eyes. One minute, you were still drinking from a bottle that we couldn’t get you to give up and wearing a diaper I thought you’d never be trained out of, and then, here we are, just a few months later, making HUGE milestones!
For starters, we are COMPLETELY potty trained. When I say that, I mean that Tate goes potty by himself and can wipe himself after pottying, put the lid back down, flush the toilet and wash his hands with soap and water and dry them. When he goes poop, it’s a little different. He still needs our help with wiping, but we’re almost there. He still wears a diaper at night to make sure he doesn’t wet the bed. Sometimes, he still pees while he’s sleeping during the day, but not so often anymore. I’m so proud of you for figuring all this out! It’s a huge step!!
In addition to that, Tate is starting to recognize all of his letters and numbers and drawing them on paper. This needs a little more practicing on my end, but he gets it. He is doing SO well and learning so quickly. I wish I had more time to just sit with him and help him understand everything I want him to know.
This past Sunday, Tate went to Sunday school all by himself. Of course, Daddy helped prod him a little and coerced him into going in and at least “saying hello” to the kids. Once he got in there, he played with the kids on the playscape and ended up staying. I can’t tell you how proud I was of him for doing that. This has been such an uphill battle with Tate. He is so social, and yet, he really resists being left alone without us there. I guess that’s normal, but he’s starting to come out of it.
Today, we started our very first swimming lessons. Tate went to one side of the pool with some lifeguards and learned basic swimming techniques while I went to the other side with Julian and worked with him. They both did extremely well, and Tate was paddling and going under!
After swimming lessons, I dropped Tate off at JW Tumbles for gymnastics camp. He has been talking about it all week. He was hesitant when I was starting to leave, but when the girl asked him if he could be her helper, he quickly forgot that he was even upset. Such a sweet boy! He was there for 3 hours without me and did so well! He wants to go back again tmw!
In just a few short weeks, Tate begins preschool at O’Chester Learning Center at Great Hills Baptist Church. I am so happy that he’ll be doing this and so much at peace with our decision to send him there (despite the drive it will be for us). I just want to stop for a moment and pray. Dear Lord, please make this a smooth transition for all of us. Help this to be a positive experience where Tate loves school and learns as much as he possibly can. I pray for the perfect teachers to be placed in Tate’s life and the best of friends for him to get to know and be with during the day. I pray for wonderful experiences that help shape him and help teach him and build a strong foundation for learning God’s word. I pray for an amazing experience for him and for the kids to be sweet and the parents to become great friends as well. I pray for a really strong, healthy community both at O’Chester and at Great Hills. I love this place, and I keep having to pinch myself everytime we go there on Sunday. It is just the most awesome place! I didn’t really even want to give it a chance at first, but I’m so glad we’re there.
Well, there ya have it. Tate is an amazing little boy. Actually, I couldn’t ask for a sweeter, kinder, more loving and affectionate kid. He is so good natured and kind. He is also very vivacious and smart! He is constantly asking questions and constantly observing things that I don’t even notice.
He is currently very fixated on Monster Trucks and skate boards as well. He loves his shows about Monster Trucks. He is very maliable right now and learns things very quickly. This week, he has been obsessed with trains again and we checked out some train dvds at the library. He goes around the house saying, “CHOOO CHOOOOO!!!!” and pretends to be a train. He also sings “Get on board, Little Children…Get on board…Little Children” as well as “I love the mountains…I love the rolling hills, I love the flowers, I love the daffodils, I love the fireflies, I love the lights are low…boom diada boom diada boom diada boom di-e.”
LOVE. THIS. KID!!
He says things like:
“Mommy, you’re like a stinker bug.”
“I just love you, Daddy.”
“Julian, you’re a sweet little baby.”
“Julian’s Tate’s baby.”
“Is the orange one Home Depot or Lowes?”
“I went to Home Depot with Daddy and we had popcorn from outside and I fed him while we were walking through the store.”
On top of being incredibly smart and thoughtful and funny, he is just precious in so many other ways as well. His eyes are such a beautiful shade of blue and such a beautiful shape. He has this gorgeous baby face that I hope he never loses. He is just fun loving and full of life. I can only hope and pray that he finds friends in his life who can appreciate him as much as I do. I pray that he would find other godly, kind-hearted children who are sweet natured and help him and encourage him to continue along a good path. I want so much for him!
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