It's officially February and, as Baby Daddy Natey Poo reminded me, in twelve days we will have a two year old. It's normal that I'm sad about that right?
I miss the little baby that exists now only in my memory and millions of pictures. But I am so in love with the little boy who is a whiz at puzzles, loves trains, climbs like a monkey, and has a magical laugh.
Two of his favorite things right now are pirates and trains. Soooooo.... we are going to give him a Pirate-Train Party! Naturally. And of course, I turned to Pinterest for inspiration.
On Saturday we had planned to go to our town's Silverbell festival (Santa, hayrides, tree lighting, caroling, "merrymaking", etc), when we learned from a mom in our music class that morning that there was a Touch-a-Truck event going on. Oliver has turned into a total boy and is in love with trucks and buses and police cars, and firetrucks, and motorcycles... you know... things boys get a kick out of. So we decided we were adding this to our very full weekend. And the weather...perfect!
Oliver dropped our donation to the toy drive into the wonderfully full bins and we were off- exploring the trucks he loves to point out on the roads up close. I felt pretty bad with our little offering, but it was a last minute decision to go and we didn't want to be empty handed so I grabbed what I had bought as a start to my Christmas shopping for all the little babies we know.
Looks like he was all over them right? Wrong. While we are convinced he did have a wonderful time there, he was actually not happy at all about actually going up into any of the vehicles. Running up to them and walking around them was enough for him. I think he wanted to want to go up, but he went all jelly-bones when Nate would lift him up into the seats and insist on coming down.
So, besides trucks, you know what else Oliver loves? Dogs. There was a K9 unit demonstration. Nate has wanted a German Shepard for a while...now he REALLY wants one.
And how bad do I wish this firetruck had a Christmas wreath on it?! Oh that would have made a gorgeous holiday picture for the card! Still heart-melt-able pictures, wreath or no wreath.
I have really enjoyed taking my own pictures of the boys instead of doing studio sittings... reason 1- we aren't in a position to spend money on that, and reason 2- I like being creative and pretending I can take good pictures. Well it was easy when Oliver was a wee li'l babe... got a little difficult when he started rolling and crawling... got REALLY difficult when he could walk... and now that he's a little lunatic jumping around, it's just about impossible to sit him in a small space for a picture.
So here is what I got out of my Christmas "photo shoot" of the boys...not at all what I hoped for!
I was so angry! Nate was trying to be my voice of reason "He's nearly 2...you're not going to get him to sit still...he's doing very well for hardly napping today"
Yeah yeah yeah. But I wanted to get a picture that makes everyone tear up at the beauty of my two little ones this holiday season... so I was pretty bummed that my vision and the realities of having a toddler were (once again) out of sync.
At least I have Owen who is too little to ruin my photography aspirations.
I didn't get what I wanted but I did manage to get some passable photos for a Christmas card. I can't wait for them to get here and to send them out!
"THAT THAT THAT THAT THAT" is about all I can get out of him. I am extremely frustrated, bordering angry, with his lack of verbalization. Here are 3 minutes and 45 seconds of frustration. Look at what I'm dealing with.
He fights it so hard. And I don't know what the right thing for me to be doing is. I am constantly giving things names as he points them out. We read. He watches preschool shows. I talk to him all day. I try to hold out until he says the word but as you can see he is pretty stubborn... and if I insist for too long there is a tantrum and that is just no fun to deal with. And in the end... he's going to get the damn cup, or whatever else he needs because I'm not about to deny my kid water, socks, or cheese (he did say cheese just before this actually in order to get seconds...but lets not talk about the socks, that was ugly).
Have I failed him? Is it my fault? Am I selfish in thinking staying at home with me was the best for him? Should he be in daycare? Because that's not going to happen. We just can't do it financially or emotionally.
I do think part of the problem is that we got too into a routine and I know what it is that he wants. And he knows I understand him. Truth be told he is very good at communicating. Just not with words.
So to keep from hating each other, we lightened the mood with a song.
See how stubborn he is?! He says excuse me ("teetee") all the friggin time!!! Whether the baby has a nice loud BM or burp, or daddy slips out a quiet burpish exhale, or he passes his own gas...Oliver is very good about calling it out and saying excuse me. But tell him to say it and all of a sudden he can't? Which makes me wonder if his lack of verbalization is a control thing. He wants to make US do things. He will clench his jaw and drag me where he wants me to go to get him what he wants me to get him, and REFUSE to say a thing, even if he has "words" or sounds for what he wants. So is it part power struggle?
He said excuse me quickly with that one. So see, he can do it... just wouldn't because I wanted him too.
So from these three videos you can see 1) How frustrating he can be, and B) How adorable he is.
From the table we went to his room to change his clothes and that's where we fought about his socks and slippers. I don't even know why it was an issue, but he totally picked a fight over nothing. And from there we sat down calmly together to read a book called The Yummiest Love by Lisa McCourt. It's a very sweet little book. It ends with: "I love you more than sunshine. More than the moon and the million twinkling stars. Thank you for being the you that you are" ....and with me in tears.
Ugh. He is pretty damn perfect. In the end that is just the him that he is. He is Oliver. That's just our Oliver.
Mommies make Super Duper, Fanciful, Fantastical, Uber Groovy Music Caves.
Owen scored an invite. Oliver was very happy to share his cave with his brother. Have I mentioned how obsessed he is with his baby? Yeah he loves the kid just a little bit I think.
And then there was a rock slide and the cave collapsed. Gee, Oliver... I wonder how that happened. Cave or not, sofa cushions on the floor make for lots of fun.
The boys got a visit from their Grandpa, Nana and Aunt Andrea on Sunday. Unfortunately Baby Daddy Natey Poo was working and missed out on our lovely day. We had some gorgeous fall weather, so we took a trip to Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport.
Oliver did really well. He loves being a big boy and walking around. He also loves his grandpa. Put the two together and he had a great day!
He is at a great age for the zoo now. He listens better when we let him walk, he follows our gaze and fingers so we can point things out to him, and he can identify animals now so he is impressed by seeing the real deal.
And, once again, Owen was there, too... he just didn't know it.
And Nana was there too...
...but she was behind the camera this time. Which means Mommy is in pictures, proof to the boys in the future that I really did do things with them!
Remember when "fall back" was a good thing? "Yippee...an extra hour of sleep!" I remember. That was before life with kids.
As we changed to clocks at bedtime Saturday night, I realized... no one changed Oliver's internal clock, let alone explained to him that 7AM is the new 6AM... and Mommy doesn't do 6AM with a smile.
So yeah... Sunday was pretty much the longest day ever. It was a good day. Just long. It felt like bedtime would never come. Luckily Oliver was good-mood-goofy tired, as opposed to bad-mood-mommy's-gonna-run-away tired.
For anyone who doesn't know what goofy-tired is (but really, anyone with kids knows)...this is what it looks like:
This was all on his own. Climbed up there and decided blowing raspberries would be fun. Once again, I am thankful for a camera within reach. Seriously...how funny is that big mouth of his!
Oliver got his first dose of Halloween on Friday when we crashed a mother's group party at our bestie's house. Saturday morning he was very happy to once again don his "arrrrr" (Oliver speak for pirate costume...not to be confuse with "garrrrr" for bear...any bear- teddy, panda, koala, grizzly, polar) to wear to music class. Owen was happy (as far as I'm concerned) to wear his Mickey Mouse costume.
Music class was wonderful as always! Luckily, the freak October snow held off long enough for my mom to make the drive up from NJ since BDNP had to work that morning. I don't know what I would have done without her help. Well I know I would have been stubborn and brought both boys to music class solo, but I'm glad I didn't have to... I'm not ready for that just yet!
I'll just post a pic or two now... I have a feeling I may put more in another post because once I get going about Music Together I can't stop!
From class we drove over to the mall where Nate met up with us for the safe trick or treating. It seems like fewer and fewer stores participate in this every year, which is a bummer because there are a crazy lot of kids who attend and the candy runs out way too quick.
It took Oliver a few times, but he warmed up to the idea of trick or treating. It was so beautiful. My heart broke just a little bit watching him go up to get candy and hold up his bucket... big brown eyes wide and shining with wonder at this new experience. Nate says he even said trick or treat a few times... well his version of trick or treat, which is "Cheek-chee"...kinda.
He's just getting so big. So independent. It's happening way too fast for me. The ride home from the mall took longer than normal (nasty slushy snow! With the precious babies in my car you can be sure I took my time!). As expected Oliver fell asleep in his carseat, and my heart broke even more gazing on that sweet little face- safe, secure, content and chubby. I love how cute he is sleeping in the car (hate that it screws up his nap schedule, but love the cute!). But it makes me so sad looking at the smoothness of his cheeks, listening to the adorable sound of his breath in it's sleepy rhythm... because I can't keep it. That face won't be there forever. That cheek will be rough and stubbly someday. That sleepy inhale will be a man's deep snore. And I will love that man because he is my baby... but you can bet your life I will miss that baby with all my heart. I already do, and he's still right here.
Owen was there too... but he had no idea. Sleepy kid.
Oliver decided not to nap. The sun came out. Daddy was home. We decided to be brave and take the trip to Lyman. Brave because lately the kid has been a little friggin' monster! He has learned the art of tantrums just in time to be a big brother. Yay.
Who knew apple picking would be such a success? When I took him blueberry picking with friends he ended up doing pretty well but I figured tree picking wouldn't go over as well. Wrong mommy. He loved it. The trees were low enough for him to reach the bottom apples and daddy's shoulders were high enough for the mid-tree ones. The second he was out of his car seat he was running over to some trees. We convinced him to come with us to get a bag and over to some different apples. Nate showed him one to pick and as soon as he did he plopped it right into the bag, like he knew what to do, demanding "mas" ("more"). Each apple he picked he wanted "mas". Super cute.
I was excited for pumpkins. Last year he was impressed with the pumpkins, so I was eager to see his reaction now. Not as good as the apples. The field wasn't as full with pumpkins as last time and he was tiring out. But he did pretty well. And looked super cute.
Once we got down to the market store the display of pumpkins, gourds and squashes was more visually impressive for him I think. He picked a mini pumpkin for himself, and one for his baby, Owen.
My father-in-law recently purchased a new DSLR camera for himself and let me have his old one. It has lots and lots of miles on it, but I am very happy to have it. I wanted to try it out with this trip to the orchards, and I got some good shots, but I am glad I brought my smaller camera (which is amazing) and glad to have some basic editing software. Got some good pictures of Oliver, but the button stuck and stopped working (the reason it was replaced), and being unfamiliar with the camera, I didn't get pictures as clear as I would like. Still satisfied with our trip and fulfilling my photo-snapping mother needs.
