So here's some random things that have happened or thoughts.
1. Christian can now count to 10.
2. Elmo has moved to the top of the list as the favorite.
3. Benji is old news, thank goodness, I was so sick of watching the movie over and over and over and over..
4. Christian wanted to stand on our cat Zeke's paw. I told him no, he would hurt the cat very badly, but he kept chasing him around the house and when Zeke would stop, he would make a move to stand on his paw. Nothing I said would make him stop, so I put my foot on his with enough pressure to make him uncomfortable. He didn't like it and I told him that Zeke wouldn't like it either. Zeke is not being chased anymore
5. Christian lined up all the bath toys on the top edge of the tub. Then he decided they all needed a drink and I ended up mopping up the flooded floor.
6. I let Christian lock the car with the remote about a week ago. I showed him what button did what, one time, and he remembered it. Monday after school we stopped at the grocery store. I gave him the remote to unlock the car and he climbed in while I put the bags in the back. I went around to buckle him in and held out my hand for the keys/remote. He adamantly told me "no, I do it, close the door." Yeah, like that's going to happen. I may do some dumb things, but I wasn't about to leave my keys with my 3 yr old, inside the car, and close the door. I had a flash of the police and/or fire department showing up to unlock the car because Christian wouldn't. He wasn't too happy with me when after much talking, I ended up having to pry the keys out of his hands.
7. Christian was going to get his 3 yr old photos taken last Sunday, but a fall resulting in a bite lip the day before produced a purple fat lip Sunday morning. So the photos were cancelled and we'll try again another day. It's always something :)
8. Christian was mad at me a couple of weeks ago because he didn't want to do what I told him. I slid off the sofa, made a pouting mad face and said, "I'm going to Grandma's!" I told him, "good luck with that, she lives a 2 hr car ride away, so you'll be walking for days." So he opted instead to talk to her on the phone :)
9. So potty training is an interesting experience. He has the pee part down, let's me know when he has to go, does and usually doesn't wet the pull up diaper. The poop on the other hand is getting out of control. The pull up diapers do not hold the weight of the poop very well, plus the secure tabs aren't as tight so his pants push the diaper down on his butt. This means that when he poops, it goes everywhere, and I do mean everywhere; up and out the top onto his pants; out the sides onto his pants; etc. The other day he had to change his pants three times and when I picked him up, he had messed on pant #4. Two shirts were also changed due to the top side explosion getting on the shirt. I am doing SO much laundry and instead of having two changes of clothes in his bag at school, I now have four. It just sort of baffles me.
10. Christian now kneels at the pew when we enter church without me reminding him. He also can almost say the meal time prayer by himself too. Very proud mommy :)
~Amy
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
First Cardinals Game
After another successful swim class, Christian went to his first MLB game, the St. Louis Cardinals.
He had a blast!
A project team at work got a reward and were invited to the game in the company suite box. Christian and I walked the six blocks, in the beautiful weather, to the stadium. The second we entered the suite, his energy switch flipped on. He was so overstimualted and was having the time of his life. I got him to sit still long enough to get a hot dog, some chips and a cookie down him. Then we was all over the place, entertaining everyone, or at last I hope he was entertaining them and not annoying them!
He stood at the rail to see the field for a few minutes at a time and in between he was running back and forth. The husband of the Project Manager, and also my friend, played with him alot and Christian loved it! He was laughing so hard. Then he got comfortable and thought it would be ok to slip under the railings between the suites and go visit the neighbors. I ran around as much as his did trying to catch him before he disappeared or got into trouble. A couple of guys told me that he was welcome to run around in their box.....that spelled trouble. He was running from one end of the suite, out the balcony door, down two steps to the outside railing to watch the game for a few minutes....rinse...repeat. He was doing ok but slowly picked up his speed which made him not as stable and coordinated. I saw an accident coming soon.
I stopped him mid stride, pulled him aside and explained to him that he needed to slow down and stop running down the stairs. I explained to him that if he fell, he would hit is head on the concrete ledge and get hurt really bad. He said, "ok" and walked off instead of running, so I thought we were ok. Wrong. The last few steps he ran, caught his toe on the top step, fell face forward, belly down and smacked his face into the concrete ledge. It was like slow motion to me and a bloody mouth with missing teeth flashed through my mind. A man that was sitting on the top step, instantly picked him up and I was right there to take him. I rushed inside, looked at his mouth and saw blood and went to the back of the suite to inspect the damage. He was screaming (as I would have been) and I managed to see that he had biten his bottom lip pretty bad, but no broken teeth, thank God! My friend and another female guest were right there, handing me napkins and ice to put on it, but Christian fought that. Eventually he calmed down enough for us to get some ice on it for a minute or so and then we wanted down to run and play again. Amazing! I was shaken up but tried to remain calm and put out of my mind how much worse that fall could have been.
I've been told I am too smothering and should let him just run and play, which I have been trying to do. But I don't want him to get hurt and then this happens. It's a delicate balance to find, wanting them to learn and be independent but at the same time anticipating those moments to intervene BEFORE the hurt happens. It wasn't his first "owie" and won't be his last but that doesn't make it any less scary for me.
So he played some more and then started to get too rowdy and then came the not minding, being sassy which meant the naptime tired fit was going to make an appearance any minute. And it did. So we packed up to leave but I was so happy we got to go to the game and he did so good up until the top of the 8th inning. The Cardinals were playing the Cubs, and managed to pull out a win at the bottom of the 9th, which we missed. Darn! But we had a great time anyway.
~Amy
He had a blast!
A project team at work got a reward and were invited to the game in the company suite box. Christian and I walked the six blocks, in the beautiful weather, to the stadium. The second we entered the suite, his energy switch flipped on. He was so overstimualted and was having the time of his life. I got him to sit still long enough to get a hot dog, some chips and a cookie down him. Then we was all over the place, entertaining everyone, or at last I hope he was entertaining them and not annoying them!
He stood at the rail to see the field for a few minutes at a time and in between he was running back and forth. The husband of the Project Manager, and also my friend, played with him alot and Christian loved it! He was laughing so hard. Then he got comfortable and thought it would be ok to slip under the railings between the suites and go visit the neighbors. I ran around as much as his did trying to catch him before he disappeared or got into trouble. A couple of guys told me that he was welcome to run around in their box.....that spelled trouble. He was running from one end of the suite, out the balcony door, down two steps to the outside railing to watch the game for a few minutes....rinse...repeat. He was doing ok but slowly picked up his speed which made him not as stable and coordinated. I saw an accident coming soon.
I stopped him mid stride, pulled him aside and explained to him that he needed to slow down and stop running down the stairs. I explained to him that if he fell, he would hit is head on the concrete ledge and get hurt really bad. He said, "ok" and walked off instead of running, so I thought we were ok. Wrong. The last few steps he ran, caught his toe on the top step, fell face forward, belly down and smacked his face into the concrete ledge. It was like slow motion to me and a bloody mouth with missing teeth flashed through my mind. A man that was sitting on the top step, instantly picked him up and I was right there to take him. I rushed inside, looked at his mouth and saw blood and went to the back of the suite to inspect the damage. He was screaming (as I would have been) and I managed to see that he had biten his bottom lip pretty bad, but no broken teeth, thank God! My friend and another female guest were right there, handing me napkins and ice to put on it, but Christian fought that. Eventually he calmed down enough for us to get some ice on it for a minute or so and then we wanted down to run and play again. Amazing! I was shaken up but tried to remain calm and put out of my mind how much worse that fall could have been.
I've been told I am too smothering and should let him just run and play, which I have been trying to do. But I don't want him to get hurt and then this happens. It's a delicate balance to find, wanting them to learn and be independent but at the same time anticipating those moments to intervene BEFORE the hurt happens. It wasn't his first "owie" and won't be his last but that doesn't make it any less scary for me.
So he played some more and then started to get too rowdy and then came the not minding, being sassy which meant the naptime tired fit was going to make an appearance any minute. And it did. So we packed up to leave but I was so happy we got to go to the game and he did so good up until the top of the 8th inning. The Cardinals were playing the Cubs, and managed to pull out a win at the bottom of the 9th, which we missed. Darn! But we had a great time anyway.
~Amy
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Eckert's Orchard Field Trip
Christian's preschool had a field trip yesterday to Eckert's Orchard. This place is unbelieveable! It started as a self-picking orchard and pumpkin patch that grew into an "event place." They have carnival rides, pony rides, petting zoo, corn maze, climbing forts, a tube slide buried inside a hill, pig races, huge jumping pillow, plus much more! The kids had a blast!
We started off playing on the wooden fort which consisted of ramps, steps and cross walks. It had rained a bit before, so the ramps were a little slippery so some of the littler kids were scooting down them on their bottoms. I let Christian go onto the fort by himself, but of course kept a close eye on him. At one point, when the ramp was crowded with kids going and down at the same time, he got overwhelmed, started to cry and called out for me. I couldn't get through the wall of kids so I had to talk him down. He made it down, got a hug and then went right back to it. A few minutes later a group of older kids took over the fort. They were pushing and shoving past the smaller kids. Christian got very overwhelmed this time, started really crying, calling out for me. In the crowd of kids I lost sight of him but could hear him so I knew he was in the middle somewhere. One of the teachers could see him from the other side and was trying to console him because we couldn't actually get to him. I saw her so I knew where he was. I managed to catch his eye and talk him into weaving his way through the kids to me so I could lift him up and over the railing. He was so done with the fort after that!
We moved on to ride the airplane ride then set off toward the petting zoo. He walked right up to the fence, stuck his hand through and petted a goat. I was so surprised after his incident at Grant's Farm with the crazy goats. Then we moved on down the line to pet the camel. It wouldn't cooperate and come close, so Christian decided to climb the fence to get closer. I reached down to get my camera, looked up and saw him going up the fence and raced over to get him down before either the camel took a bite out of him or we got evicted from the place. We then headed to see the pig races but they were in between races, so we moved on to the "Mine Slide."
This slide was awesome! I wish adults could have gone down it because I would have been all over that. It was a tube built inside a hill that dumped out at the bottom. I waited in line with Christian and made sure he didn't freak out and actually went down. He did so then I had to race through the people around the hill and down to get to him at the bottom. He was standing there, looking around, and calling out, "Mommy, mommy." I got him and then we hiked up the hill which took the breath out of me. Yes I need to get on the exercise train again.
We hussled to our scheduled time for the wagon ride out to the orchard. We headed for the Jonathan apple section and after going past four rows, found some trees with apples still left on them. The first few apples I had to lift Christian up to get them, which he thought was fun. Then another row over we found alot on lower limbs that he picked all by himself. The first one he pulled off, he got part of the branch with leaves still on it. He turned toward me with a huge grin on his face. Of course when I wanted him to stay there so I could get a photo, he wouldn't smile. After we filled up our bag, we dug one out and started chomping away. They are SO delicious!!!! Back on the wagon we went for the ride back to the main area.
By now it was noon and he was hungry. He ate the apple like he hadn't eaten for days. When we finished the first one, he wanted another one and wasn't too happy with me when I wouldn't give it to him. We had to wait for the others to get back from the orchard and to eat lunch, so we wandered around a little more. Christian wanted to go down the slide again, which was by the pig races that I wanted to see, so we headed off in that direction. They were in between pig races, again, so I guess I wasn't meant to see them. I have never seen a pig race and was just imagining how funny it would be.
The second slide run was just as successful, he went down and loved it. When I made it to the bottom of the hill, he was squatted down watching the other kids pop out. A little girl came out and then who I am assuming was her mother, came next. (Darn! I didn't think adults were supposed to go down the slide or I would have!) She was having a difficult time getting up so the little girl took her arm and was trying to help pull her up. Well Christian loves to help, so he promptly took the woman's other arm and started pulling to. The lady started giggling, managed to get up with the "assistance" just seconds before another kid came sailing out of the slide tube. A few kids came out in close succession so Christian turned and started toward me. One bigger boy pushed Christian to the side pretty rough and the another bigger boy pushed him again the other way. Christian was fine, but tired, so the crying began. Now I was not happy about this situation, and the two boys had to get past big momma to get out of the fenced area. So when they got to me, I leaned down, eye to eye with me, and told them that it's not nice to shove smaller kids and to apologize. With eyes round as saucers, they threw a nervous quick apology over their shoulders to Christian, darted around me and up the hill. With Christian being upset, he wanted me to carry him....UP the huge hill. I was so out of breath by the time I got to the top lugging this 30 pound kid, I had to stop for a minute to catch my breath and get my heart rate down. Pathetic I know.
We ate lunch, played on the John Deere tractor tire playground and started packing up to head home. Now remember, Christian is tired, it's 1:00 and it's nap time, so when he was told he couldn't go on the airplane ride again, the "TT" (aka tired tantrum) began. He cried all the way out of the place and across the huge grass parking lot to the car. As expected, he fell immediately asleep when we started driving. He had the time of his life, heck so did I, that place is great! I'd love to go back closer to Halloween to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. I've never done that, I've always bought mine at a store. We'll see if we can get back there before the end of the season (and you can bet I'll be going down that slide!) :)
~Amy
We started off playing on the wooden fort which consisted of ramps, steps and cross walks. It had rained a bit before, so the ramps were a little slippery so some of the littler kids were scooting down them on their bottoms. I let Christian go onto the fort by himself, but of course kept a close eye on him. At one point, when the ramp was crowded with kids going and down at the same time, he got overwhelmed, started to cry and called out for me. I couldn't get through the wall of kids so I had to talk him down. He made it down, got a hug and then went right back to it. A few minutes later a group of older kids took over the fort. They were pushing and shoving past the smaller kids. Christian got very overwhelmed this time, started really crying, calling out for me. In the crowd of kids I lost sight of him but could hear him so I knew he was in the middle somewhere. One of the teachers could see him from the other side and was trying to console him because we couldn't actually get to him. I saw her so I knew where he was. I managed to catch his eye and talk him into weaving his way through the kids to me so I could lift him up and over the railing. He was so done with the fort after that!
We moved on to ride the airplane ride then set off toward the petting zoo. He walked right up to the fence, stuck his hand through and petted a goat. I was so surprised after his incident at Grant's Farm with the crazy goats. Then we moved on down the line to pet the camel. It wouldn't cooperate and come close, so Christian decided to climb the fence to get closer. I reached down to get my camera, looked up and saw him going up the fence and raced over to get him down before either the camel took a bite out of him or we got evicted from the place. We then headed to see the pig races but they were in between races, so we moved on to the "Mine Slide."
This slide was awesome! I wish adults could have gone down it because I would have been all over that. It was a tube built inside a hill that dumped out at the bottom. I waited in line with Christian and made sure he didn't freak out and actually went down. He did so then I had to race through the people around the hill and down to get to him at the bottom. He was standing there, looking around, and calling out, "Mommy, mommy." I got him and then we hiked up the hill which took the breath out of me. Yes I need to get on the exercise train again.
We hussled to our scheduled time for the wagon ride out to the orchard. We headed for the Jonathan apple section and after going past four rows, found some trees with apples still left on them. The first few apples I had to lift Christian up to get them, which he thought was fun. Then another row over we found alot on lower limbs that he picked all by himself. The first one he pulled off, he got part of the branch with leaves still on it. He turned toward me with a huge grin on his face. Of course when I wanted him to stay there so I could get a photo, he wouldn't smile. After we filled up our bag, we dug one out and started chomping away. They are SO delicious!!!! Back on the wagon we went for the ride back to the main area.
By now it was noon and he was hungry. He ate the apple like he hadn't eaten for days. When we finished the first one, he wanted another one and wasn't too happy with me when I wouldn't give it to him. We had to wait for the others to get back from the orchard and to eat lunch, so we wandered around a little more. Christian wanted to go down the slide again, which was by the pig races that I wanted to see, so we headed off in that direction. They were in between pig races, again, so I guess I wasn't meant to see them. I have never seen a pig race and was just imagining how funny it would be.
The second slide run was just as successful, he went down and loved it. When I made it to the bottom of the hill, he was squatted down watching the other kids pop out. A little girl came out and then who I am assuming was her mother, came next. (Darn! I didn't think adults were supposed to go down the slide or I would have!) She was having a difficult time getting up so the little girl took her arm and was trying to help pull her up. Well Christian loves to help, so he promptly took the woman's other arm and started pulling to. The lady started giggling, managed to get up with the "assistance" just seconds before another kid came sailing out of the slide tube. A few kids came out in close succession so Christian turned and started toward me. One bigger boy pushed Christian to the side pretty rough and the another bigger boy pushed him again the other way. Christian was fine, but tired, so the crying began. Now I was not happy about this situation, and the two boys had to get past big momma to get out of the fenced area. So when they got to me, I leaned down, eye to eye with me, and told them that it's not nice to shove smaller kids and to apologize. With eyes round as saucers, they threw a nervous quick apology over their shoulders to Christian, darted around me and up the hill. With Christian being upset, he wanted me to carry him....UP the huge hill. I was so out of breath by the time I got to the top lugging this 30 pound kid, I had to stop for a minute to catch my breath and get my heart rate down. Pathetic I know.
We ate lunch, played on the John Deere tractor tire playground and started packing up to head home. Now remember, Christian is tired, it's 1:00 and it's nap time, so when he was told he couldn't go on the airplane ride again, the "TT" (aka tired tantrum) began. He cried all the way out of the place and across the huge grass parking lot to the car. As expected, he fell immediately asleep when we started driving. He had the time of his life, heck so did I, that place is great! I'd love to go back closer to Halloween to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. I've never done that, I've always bought mine at a store. We'll see if we can get back there before the end of the season (and you can bet I'll be going down that slide!) :)
~Amy
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Loving Fall
Fall is my favorite season, although if it could stay lighter longer, that would be a bonus!
Every morning Christian as we go to the car, Christian has been saying, "cooler, cooler." Yep it's cooler and we're loving it! I am eagerly waiting for the leaves to change so we can take Sunday afternoon drives to enjoy them.
I bought his Halloween costume online, ordered the 2T and received a 12-18 month size. Even though the website had both sizes to select, they now tell me that they've never had the toddler size. I sent it back, find the same one on another costume website. This site only had the 2T-4T size to pick, so I did......and I received another 12-18 month size today. I am not happy. I just sent an email inquiring if they have the 2T-4T size so I can exchange it. Oh, I forgot to mention that the confirmation email and shipping email both stated the size was a 2T. Of course I have fallen in love with this costume and won't really be satisfied with a different one.
The first costume I got I tried on Christian anyway to see how "too small" it really was. It was too small, not terribly so, but was visually obvious, plus I wouldn't be able to get a layer of clothes on underneath to keep him warm. If the company says it's only available in the smaller size, then I'm going to keep it and see if I can modify it to fit him. I know a few people that can sew so that's a plus. Sort of annoyed that I have to alter a new costume when I am lean on free time these days. Oh well, it's all worth it because he looks adorable in it:) Yikes! I guess I could tell you all that it's a tree frog costume! I figure next year he'll be 4 yrs old and then starts the, "I want to be Superman, Spider Man, etc..." and my days of "cute costumes" will be over. So I've got this one year to dress him in a costume that will embarass him years later :)
We got the all clear from the doctor this afternoon at his post surgery appointment. YAY!
Then he rode his scooter this evening and wrapped it up with some swinging time with me at the controls.
I have the day off of work on Friday, which I definitely need after all that's been happening, so tomorrow is my virtual Friday. Yay for me :)
~Amy
Every morning Christian as we go to the car, Christian has been saying, "cooler, cooler." Yep it's cooler and we're loving it! I am eagerly waiting for the leaves to change so we can take Sunday afternoon drives to enjoy them.
I bought his Halloween costume online, ordered the 2T and received a 12-18 month size. Even though the website had both sizes to select, they now tell me that they've never had the toddler size. I sent it back, find the same one on another costume website. This site only had the 2T-4T size to pick, so I did......and I received another 12-18 month size today. I am not happy. I just sent an email inquiring if they have the 2T-4T size so I can exchange it. Oh, I forgot to mention that the confirmation email and shipping email both stated the size was a 2T. Of course I have fallen in love with this costume and won't really be satisfied with a different one.
The first costume I got I tried on Christian anyway to see how "too small" it really was. It was too small, not terribly so, but was visually obvious, plus I wouldn't be able to get a layer of clothes on underneath to keep him warm. If the company says it's only available in the smaller size, then I'm going to keep it and see if I can modify it to fit him. I know a few people that can sew so that's a plus. Sort of annoyed that I have to alter a new costume when I am lean on free time these days. Oh well, it's all worth it because he looks adorable in it:) Yikes! I guess I could tell you all that it's a tree frog costume! I figure next year he'll be 4 yrs old and then starts the, "I want to be Superman, Spider Man, etc..." and my days of "cute costumes" will be over. So I've got this one year to dress him in a costume that will embarass him years later :)
We got the all clear from the doctor this afternoon at his post surgery appointment. YAY!
Then he rode his scooter this evening and wrapped it up with some swinging time with me at the controls.
I have the day off of work on Friday, which I definitely need after all that's been happening, so tomorrow is my virtual Friday. Yay for me :)
~Amy
Monday, September 19, 2011
Balloons, Zoo, Wedding, Birthday Party
Whew! We were busy this weekend!
My sister called on Wednesday and said her daughter and she were coming to town to see the Forest Park hot air balloon glow and then wanted to go to the Zoo on Saturday morning. So we trekked to the balloon glow and luckily enough the rain held off. Beth and Abby absolutely loved the balloons and Christian eventually liked them. As expected he wanted out of the stroller and in the balloon baskets! He finally understood what I was saying that when the horn blows, all the balloons fire up at the same time, creating an amazing sight. His favorite was the Wells Fargo balloon, which had a team of horses on it :) Of course he also like the popcorn bag and the Energizer bunny balloons.
We treated ourselves to an ice cream, sat on a blanket and waited for the fireworks. It started sprinkling rain when the fireworks started and I had to wake up Christian because he fell asleep in my lap. The fireworks were good and the hike back to the Hardee's parking lot, where I took the chance to park, didn't seem that far. As we walked up to the Hardees, we see a tow truck with two cars on it, drive by. I had a sick feeling that my car was going to be gone and here I was with a sleeping child in a stroller, my sister and niece. Abby ran ahead, around the corner and gave a shout out that my car was still there! Whew! I don't think I'll park there again :)
Saturday morning we headed to the Zoo and it was a beautiful day. Christian and I had been there the Sunday before but missed a few animals, which we saw this time. We also decided to visit the stingray exhibit. I laid Christian on his belly so he could lean over and reach the water. The stingray swam by and swam by and swam by, none of them close enough to the top for him to reach them. I tried to get him to reach down farther but he felt like he was going to fall in so he wouldn't. My sister spotted a group along a farther wall where it curved in making a more narrow pass for them to swim through. This made the stingray push each other close to the surface, totally within reach. So we squeezed in between a couple of kids and within 15 seconds, we had both touched a stingray. Christian looked up at me with a huge surprised smile on his face. Then when he was looking the other way, a stingray swam under his hands that he had dangling in the water, causing him to jump so big, and then laugh. My sister snapped some photos of us and I can't wait to see them. I am so happy I was able to give him that experience!
Home we went for a nap and my sister and niece headed back to their house. The babysitter arrived and I went to a friend's wedding. He did a great job, didn't get upset when I left and the sitter said he was fine the entire night. I had a good time at the wedding but kept checking my phone, but everything went fine. When he woke up Sunday morning, he smiled huge at me, reached for me and said, "Mommy's back!" I always say, "Mommy will be back," whenever I leave him, whether it be at school or wherever. I think he finally understands and believes that I will be back. I am so happy about that!
Then we went to a 3 yr old's birthday party that is the son of one of my good friends. There were some other small kids there too and Christian had a good time. He actually petted their little dog so I think he's getting more comfortable. At first he thought the presents were for him and I was worried we would make a scene. But I calmly whispered to him that his birthday is over and now it's this little boy's turn to have a birthday. He said, "ok," and sat calmly in my lap and watched the present opening. I was so proud of him.
We had a very busy, but fun weekend! We go to swim lessons again on Saturday morning and I hope he likes it as much as he did the first time. Off to do laundry....
~Amy
My sister called on Wednesday and said her daughter and she were coming to town to see the Forest Park hot air balloon glow and then wanted to go to the Zoo on Saturday morning. So we trekked to the balloon glow and luckily enough the rain held off. Beth and Abby absolutely loved the balloons and Christian eventually liked them. As expected he wanted out of the stroller and in the balloon baskets! He finally understood what I was saying that when the horn blows, all the balloons fire up at the same time, creating an amazing sight. His favorite was the Wells Fargo balloon, which had a team of horses on it :) Of course he also like the popcorn bag and the Energizer bunny balloons.
We treated ourselves to an ice cream, sat on a blanket and waited for the fireworks. It started sprinkling rain when the fireworks started and I had to wake up Christian because he fell asleep in my lap. The fireworks were good and the hike back to the Hardee's parking lot, where I took the chance to park, didn't seem that far. As we walked up to the Hardees, we see a tow truck with two cars on it, drive by. I had a sick feeling that my car was going to be gone and here I was with a sleeping child in a stroller, my sister and niece. Abby ran ahead, around the corner and gave a shout out that my car was still there! Whew! I don't think I'll park there again :)
Saturday morning we headed to the Zoo and it was a beautiful day. Christian and I had been there the Sunday before but missed a few animals, which we saw this time. We also decided to visit the stingray exhibit. I laid Christian on his belly so he could lean over and reach the water. The stingray swam by and swam by and swam by, none of them close enough to the top for him to reach them. I tried to get him to reach down farther but he felt like he was going to fall in so he wouldn't. My sister spotted a group along a farther wall where it curved in making a more narrow pass for them to swim through. This made the stingray push each other close to the surface, totally within reach. So we squeezed in between a couple of kids and within 15 seconds, we had both touched a stingray. Christian looked up at me with a huge surprised smile on his face. Then when he was looking the other way, a stingray swam under his hands that he had dangling in the water, causing him to jump so big, and then laugh. My sister snapped some photos of us and I can't wait to see them. I am so happy I was able to give him that experience!
Home we went for a nap and my sister and niece headed back to their house. The babysitter arrived and I went to a friend's wedding. He did a great job, didn't get upset when I left and the sitter said he was fine the entire night. I had a good time at the wedding but kept checking my phone, but everything went fine. When he woke up Sunday morning, he smiled huge at me, reached for me and said, "Mommy's back!" I always say, "Mommy will be back," whenever I leave him, whether it be at school or wherever. I think he finally understands and believes that I will be back. I am so happy about that!
Then we went to a 3 yr old's birthday party that is the son of one of my good friends. There were some other small kids there too and Christian had a good time. He actually petted their little dog so I think he's getting more comfortable. At first he thought the presents were for him and I was worried we would make a scene. But I calmly whispered to him that his birthday is over and now it's this little boy's turn to have a birthday. He said, "ok," and sat calmly in my lap and watched the present opening. I was so proud of him.
We had a very busy, but fun weekend! We go to swim lessons again on Saturday morning and I hope he likes it as much as he did the first time. Off to do laundry....
~Amy
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Pizza, Dog and Toys
Last night we had dinner with an good friend of mine and her 11 yr old son. We made plans to go to Dewey's Pizza and when I told Christian this when I picked him up at school, he squealed and was saying, "pizza, pizza, pizza," as he was running out the door to the car. Everyone at school laughed, including me.
I was in a rush that morning and completely forgot his diaper bag that is my survival kit for him. It was the obvious diaper bag contents, along with crackers, fruit chews, extra napkins, bib, change of clothes, to name a few things. Typically when I pick him from school he's absolutely filthy, but we keep a couple of changes of clothes there for "accidents". I figured my forgetting the survival kit would qualify as an accident, so I planned to rob his bag for a change of clean clothes.
I get to school and he's in one of the changes of clothes, not a good sign. He had a potty accident, twice, along with some juice spills, so there was only the pair of red sweat pants and a white undershirt. Now I do not like these red sweats pants at all, thus why they were in the school bag plus I had alot of plain white Tshirts, so I tossed them in there too. This was all I had, which was bearable, except for the fact that I hadn't recycled the bag yet and these clothes are now too small. So here he comes with bright red sweat pants that are about two inches too short, and a tight (not super white) Tshirt that is stretched over his little protruding belly. If he was 40 yrs older, he could have passed for a bum guy sitting in a beat up recliner in the front yard drinking a beer. You have the visual now don't you!
Keeping him entertained while we wanted for the pizza was going to be a challenge without the survival kit items. But my friend Kim and her son Ben saved us, they brought him two little cars to play with, which worked for a while. He got a burst of energy and was in the high chair, out of the high chair, rolling the cars across the table, around the plate, busy, busy, busy. After we ate the pizza, which was SOOOO good, Ben took Christian over to the window that looks into the kitchen. You can watch the people making the pizza and the one guy by the window threw flour at the window like it was going to hit them in the face. Christian thought this was funny! We were leaving and Christian decided to run a sprint, full circle, around all the tables in the place, with me chasing him and hoping I wouldn't fall down. He was laughing, people were laughing and I finally managed to snag him before he found his way into the kitchen area, which believe me, if any kid could, it would be him :)
We went over to Kim's house after and played in the yard. They have a little black dog, which I was wondering how Christian would react to. He always says, "pet the doggie," but when he gets close, he freaks out and wants "up". Kim calmed the dog down and after a few minutes, Christian was on the floor petting him! I was so surprised and thrilled!!! He likes dogs but I think because they move fast, that's what freaks him out because when they sit still, he is fine with them. Of course when the dog barked or did the little growl before they bark, the made Christian anxious but he didn't freak out. YAY, we're making progress in the dog category. Ben was so good playing with Christian. Sometimes kids that age aren't interest in playing with little kids, but Ben was right there, showing him things and talking to him. Christian loved it and kept saying over and over on the way home, "where's more Ben?" Now "more Ben" means that Christian knows two Bens now, a 3 yr old at school and this new Ben. I told him that one Ben was little and one Ben was big. On the way to meet them, he was saying, "I meet big Ben." It made me chuckle because I was thinking of the clock tower, Big Ben, in London when he would say it. Then he switched to saying "more Bens" and that's what stuck. So Ben, you now have a nickname from Christian, "more Ben." :)
After having fat free brownies with ice cream and chocolate sauce (come on, if you know me this isn't a shock), we headed to the "toy store" in the basement. Christian was in heaven, all these new boy toys, he was picking up everything and couldn't decide what to play with. Before I knew it, Kim was loading us up with some toys they no longer play with, which was awesome! She gave us books (which I have already read three times now) , a Hot Wheels Halloween house (which I like playing with as much as Christian), a big easel, two kiddie folding chairs, board games, a HUGE space ship thing (that now has every small animal and person toy in it going to the moon), and a bug vacuum. Now I had never seen this bug vacuum but Christian loves it! Luckily I had batteries for it and we fired it up when we got home. He wanted to sleep with it but I could just see him rolling over on the lever, it going off and scaring the crap out of both of us. He was insistent on taking it to school today for Show-N-Share day. The teacher told me it was a big hit and every kid wanted to play with it. It was like Christmas last night at Kim's house! Thanks Kim and Ben!!!!
I have to go check on Christian right now. I put the space ship thing in his room because I have no room in my living room. I'm sure he's out of bed playing on it....we'll see :)
~Amy
I was in a rush that morning and completely forgot his diaper bag that is my survival kit for him. It was the obvious diaper bag contents, along with crackers, fruit chews, extra napkins, bib, change of clothes, to name a few things. Typically when I pick him from school he's absolutely filthy, but we keep a couple of changes of clothes there for "accidents". I figured my forgetting the survival kit would qualify as an accident, so I planned to rob his bag for a change of clean clothes.
I get to school and he's in one of the changes of clothes, not a good sign. He had a potty accident, twice, along with some juice spills, so there was only the pair of red sweat pants and a white undershirt. Now I do not like these red sweats pants at all, thus why they were in the school bag plus I had alot of plain white Tshirts, so I tossed them in there too. This was all I had, which was bearable, except for the fact that I hadn't recycled the bag yet and these clothes are now too small. So here he comes with bright red sweat pants that are about two inches too short, and a tight (not super white) Tshirt that is stretched over his little protruding belly. If he was 40 yrs older, he could have passed for a bum guy sitting in a beat up recliner in the front yard drinking a beer. You have the visual now don't you!
Keeping him entertained while we wanted for the pizza was going to be a challenge without the survival kit items. But my friend Kim and her son Ben saved us, they brought him two little cars to play with, which worked for a while. He got a burst of energy and was in the high chair, out of the high chair, rolling the cars across the table, around the plate, busy, busy, busy. After we ate the pizza, which was SOOOO good, Ben took Christian over to the window that looks into the kitchen. You can watch the people making the pizza and the one guy by the window threw flour at the window like it was going to hit them in the face. Christian thought this was funny! We were leaving and Christian decided to run a sprint, full circle, around all the tables in the place, with me chasing him and hoping I wouldn't fall down. He was laughing, people were laughing and I finally managed to snag him before he found his way into the kitchen area, which believe me, if any kid could, it would be him :)
We went over to Kim's house after and played in the yard. They have a little black dog, which I was wondering how Christian would react to. He always says, "pet the doggie," but when he gets close, he freaks out and wants "up". Kim calmed the dog down and after a few minutes, Christian was on the floor petting him! I was so surprised and thrilled!!! He likes dogs but I think because they move fast, that's what freaks him out because when they sit still, he is fine with them. Of course when the dog barked or did the little growl before they bark, the made Christian anxious but he didn't freak out. YAY, we're making progress in the dog category. Ben was so good playing with Christian. Sometimes kids that age aren't interest in playing with little kids, but Ben was right there, showing him things and talking to him. Christian loved it and kept saying over and over on the way home, "where's more Ben?" Now "more Ben" means that Christian knows two Bens now, a 3 yr old at school and this new Ben. I told him that one Ben was little and one Ben was big. On the way to meet them, he was saying, "I meet big Ben." It made me chuckle because I was thinking of the clock tower, Big Ben, in London when he would say it. Then he switched to saying "more Bens" and that's what stuck. So Ben, you now have a nickname from Christian, "more Ben." :)
After having fat free brownies with ice cream and chocolate sauce (come on, if you know me this isn't a shock), we headed to the "toy store" in the basement. Christian was in heaven, all these new boy toys, he was picking up everything and couldn't decide what to play with. Before I knew it, Kim was loading us up with some toys they no longer play with, which was awesome! She gave us books (which I have already read three times now) , a Hot Wheels Halloween house (which I like playing with as much as Christian), a big easel, two kiddie folding chairs, board games, a HUGE space ship thing (that now has every small animal and person toy in it going to the moon), and a bug vacuum. Now I had never seen this bug vacuum but Christian loves it! Luckily I had batteries for it and we fired it up when we got home. He wanted to sleep with it but I could just see him rolling over on the lever, it going off and scaring the crap out of both of us. He was insistent on taking it to school today for Show-N-Share day. The teacher told me it was a big hit and every kid wanted to play with it. It was like Christmas last night at Kim's house! Thanks Kim and Ben!!!!
I have to go check on Christian right now. I put the space ship thing in his room because I have no room in my living room. I'm sure he's out of bed playing on it....we'll see :)
~Amy
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Swim Lessons and the Zoo
Christian did GREAT in his swimming lessons on Saturday morning. He loved it and did what the teacher told him to. Surprisingly, he had trouble blowing bubbles and I realized that we've never really done that. He loved every other part of the class, except when we got out and it was COLD! Each child got a water toy, threw it out across the water and then swam to it. After I showed him, Christian was the only one that used both his arms and kicking his legs to get to the toy. Yes I was so proud :) We sang songs and did motions to them, like stroke your arms out front and kicking your legs. One song has us puting them on their backs but Christian wasn't too fond of this position because he couldn't see anything. Then they put their feet against the wall and pushed off backwards, of course they were partly rested against the parents. They had us put them up on the wall and jump to us, which is great. However, they need to explain to the kids that they do not jump unless the adult says ready and is looking at the child. Christian jumped once when I wasn't ready and I was just lucky that he overshot the jump and his feet hit my chest or I would have had to scoop him up from under the water. Then I would be worried he wouldn't want to swim anymore. I might mention this to the teacher but I don't want to seem bossy. Of course I did fully and seriously explain to Christian that he does not jump unless I say, "ready."
Then there was a song about popcorn, where we jiggled them around, back and forth and then tossed them in the air, keeping contact at all times. Christian LOVED this and the concept of popcorn. He has asked for popcorn all weekend and of course I don't have any and didn't have time to go the grocery store. The things that stick in their little minds fascinates me.
Sunday we went to early mass so we could get to the Zoo when it opened at 9:00. The first hour the Zoo is opened, it is free to get into the Children's Zoo area. We walked through the River's Edge area, that's like walking through a tropical rainforest, very cool! Christian wanted to play in the waterfalls and couldn't understand why he couldn't pet the elephant. I think going to Grant's Farm first and getting to pet the goats has confused him and he thought we would get to pet the animals at the zoo. I tried to explain it but it didn't register to him but he got over it pretty quickly.
We sat on statues for photos, saw a Sea Lion show that he could sit half way through, saw bears, penguins, puffins, etc. We rode the train, which thrilled Christian. Whenever we would stop at each train station to let people on or off, he would say quietly to himself, "come on, go." Ummm, wonder where he's picked that phrase up :) He sat like a big boy, didn't need to hold my hand, until we went through some dark tunnels and then I felt his little hand on my leg. Yes Mommy is still here, crammed into this hard little umcomfortable seat. I really need to lose some weight!
After a small snack I brought with us, we made our way to the Big Cats area, my favorite part. Christian kept saying, "pet the kitty." Yes they do look like REALLY big kittys but we can't pet these either. He was ok with that. I was a little disappointed because most of the big cats were hiding in the shady areas so we didn't get to see them very well. Then off to the monkey building. Monkey's creep me out, they are too human like for me. Christian loved how they were jumping and swinging around, I was glad they were active for him to see. We walked right past the snake house, I just cannot go in there. I felt bad because I want him to see everything he can, so when Aunt B and Abigail come to visit to go to the Zoo with us, they can take him inside.
I wanted his photo on the big gorilla statue (everyone who's been to this Zoo, knows what I'm talking about) but I couldn't find it. There is construction in a couple of areas and detours, so I missed it somehow and was too tired to go back and try to find it. We'll be back to the Zoo again in the next couple of months, and I'll get our photo with the infamous gorilla then :)
~Amy
Then there was a song about popcorn, where we jiggled them around, back and forth and then tossed them in the air, keeping contact at all times. Christian LOVED this and the concept of popcorn. He has asked for popcorn all weekend and of course I don't have any and didn't have time to go the grocery store. The things that stick in their little minds fascinates me.
Sunday we went to early mass so we could get to the Zoo when it opened at 9:00. The first hour the Zoo is opened, it is free to get into the Children's Zoo area. We walked through the River's Edge area, that's like walking through a tropical rainforest, very cool! Christian wanted to play in the waterfalls and couldn't understand why he couldn't pet the elephant. I think going to Grant's Farm first and getting to pet the goats has confused him and he thought we would get to pet the animals at the zoo. I tried to explain it but it didn't register to him but he got over it pretty quickly.
We sat on statues for photos, saw a Sea Lion show that he could sit half way through, saw bears, penguins, puffins, etc. We rode the train, which thrilled Christian. Whenever we would stop at each train station to let people on or off, he would say quietly to himself, "come on, go." Ummm, wonder where he's picked that phrase up :) He sat like a big boy, didn't need to hold my hand, until we went through some dark tunnels and then I felt his little hand on my leg. Yes Mommy is still here, crammed into this hard little umcomfortable seat. I really need to lose some weight!
After a small snack I brought with us, we made our way to the Big Cats area, my favorite part. Christian kept saying, "pet the kitty." Yes they do look like REALLY big kittys but we can't pet these either. He was ok with that. I was a little disappointed because most of the big cats were hiding in the shady areas so we didn't get to see them very well. Then off to the monkey building. Monkey's creep me out, they are too human like for me. Christian loved how they were jumping and swinging around, I was glad they were active for him to see. We walked right past the snake house, I just cannot go in there. I felt bad because I want him to see everything he can, so when Aunt B and Abigail come to visit to go to the Zoo with us, they can take him inside.
I wanted his photo on the big gorilla statue (everyone who's been to this Zoo, knows what I'm talking about) but I couldn't find it. There is construction in a couple of areas and detours, so I missed it somehow and was too tired to go back and try to find it. We'll be back to the Zoo again in the next couple of months, and I'll get our photo with the infamous gorilla then :)
~Amy
Friday, September 9, 2011
Long Short Week
For this week being short due to Labor Day, it sure seemed long to me!
Monday we did alot of yard work, alternated with swinging. I would trim the bushes and toss the branches on the ground. Christian would pick them up and put them in the wheel barrow....well at least most of the time. When the new fun of this little task wore off, he would go play, only to return and toss a few more branches into the wheel barrow. When the wheel barrow was full, he would "help" me push it to the dumpster and then bummed a ride back to the yard in the wheel barrow. Of course I was "sooo tired" that I couldn't drive straight, and was weaving all over the alley. He loved it!
When he was bored, I would stop and swing him for awhile. This became our game: yard work for a little bit, swing for a little bit. Worked out great for both of us plus I got a little break here and there. Then lunch, nap and off to the park. Now I know I am biased, but I think he does an exceptional job on the rock climbing wall thing that is attached to the playground unit. He scrambles up it like a monkey while I stand behind him with my hands up ready to catch him. Of course he wanted to swing and I talked him into using the "big kids swing", not the baby bucket swing, and he did great. After he gets comfortable with it, I'll teach him to pump his legs to keep himself going.
A girl about 10 yrs old was on the teeter totter with her Dad, horsing around making it go high and jerky, trying to make each other fall off. Well it worked, except not as they wanted. The girl flew over the handle, landed on her face on the middle metal support rail. When she came up she was holding her mouth. Her Dad pulled her hand away to see and it was full of blood and some missing teeth. Now I was about 15 feet away but that was close enough for me to gag when I saw the blood. Yes I am a huge sissy.
Tuesday night was preschool "Dinosaur room" orientation. Christian is transitioning from the 2 yr old Dinosaur room to the 3 yr old Butterfly room. They reviewed the policies and Yay, I'm doing everything right!
Thursday was a bad allergy day for Christian, he was miserable and grumpy. He was ready for bed at 7:30, so with the extra time I surfed the internet for Halloween costumes. OMG! There are SOOOO many adorable costumes I thought I was going to have a hard time deciding....well the prices helped me decide real fast! Holy cow, some of them are expensive if you ask me. Don't get me wrong, they are adorable and look like they are made very well, but $50 for a Halloween costume they will only wear for a couple of hours???? Sorry, not in my budget. Of course I found the most adorable tree frog costume that I fell in love with, but at $45, it will not be purchased. I looked for others similar, but when I get one in my head, all the others paled in comparison. I did find one that was sort of close in appearance, and much cheaper, so I ordered that one. I figure I can add a few things to it and printed off the costume I really wanted for ideas. We'll see if I can do it :)
Tomorrow morning is our first swim lesson. He has been doing well with water, so I decided to go ahead and give it a try. As we move into fall/winter, rainy colder weather, he will be staying indoors at school more and more. I thought the swim lessons would give him some activity and work on his large motor skills. It's a beginning class for kids that have never been in a swimming pool (he's been in one time) and a parent has to be in the water with them. Now my very pale lumpy body is going to be in a swimsuit with people I don't know! I apoligize to those people in advance :) I hope Christian likes it and has fun. I'll keep you posted.
~Amy
Monday we did alot of yard work, alternated with swinging. I would trim the bushes and toss the branches on the ground. Christian would pick them up and put them in the wheel barrow....well at least most of the time. When the new fun of this little task wore off, he would go play, only to return and toss a few more branches into the wheel barrow. When the wheel barrow was full, he would "help" me push it to the dumpster and then bummed a ride back to the yard in the wheel barrow. Of course I was "sooo tired" that I couldn't drive straight, and was weaving all over the alley. He loved it!
When he was bored, I would stop and swing him for awhile. This became our game: yard work for a little bit, swing for a little bit. Worked out great for both of us plus I got a little break here and there. Then lunch, nap and off to the park. Now I know I am biased, but I think he does an exceptional job on the rock climbing wall thing that is attached to the playground unit. He scrambles up it like a monkey while I stand behind him with my hands up ready to catch him. Of course he wanted to swing and I talked him into using the "big kids swing", not the baby bucket swing, and he did great. After he gets comfortable with it, I'll teach him to pump his legs to keep himself going.
A girl about 10 yrs old was on the teeter totter with her Dad, horsing around making it go high and jerky, trying to make each other fall off. Well it worked, except not as they wanted. The girl flew over the handle, landed on her face on the middle metal support rail. When she came up she was holding her mouth. Her Dad pulled her hand away to see and it was full of blood and some missing teeth. Now I was about 15 feet away but that was close enough for me to gag when I saw the blood. Yes I am a huge sissy.
Tuesday night was preschool "Dinosaur room" orientation. Christian is transitioning from the 2 yr old Dinosaur room to the 3 yr old Butterfly room. They reviewed the policies and Yay, I'm doing everything right!
Thursday was a bad allergy day for Christian, he was miserable and grumpy. He was ready for bed at 7:30, so with the extra time I surfed the internet for Halloween costumes. OMG! There are SOOOO many adorable costumes I thought I was going to have a hard time deciding....well the prices helped me decide real fast! Holy cow, some of them are expensive if you ask me. Don't get me wrong, they are adorable and look like they are made very well, but $50 for a Halloween costume they will only wear for a couple of hours???? Sorry, not in my budget. Of course I found the most adorable tree frog costume that I fell in love with, but at $45, it will not be purchased. I looked for others similar, but when I get one in my head, all the others paled in comparison. I did find one that was sort of close in appearance, and much cheaper, so I ordered that one. I figure I can add a few things to it and printed off the costume I really wanted for ideas. We'll see if I can do it :)
Tomorrow morning is our first swim lesson. He has been doing well with water, so I decided to go ahead and give it a try. As we move into fall/winter, rainy colder weather, he will be staying indoors at school more and more. I thought the swim lessons would give him some activity and work on his large motor skills. It's a beginning class for kids that have never been in a swimming pool (he's been in one time) and a parent has to be in the water with them. Now my very pale lumpy body is going to be in a swimsuit with people I don't know! I apoligize to those people in advance :) I hope Christian likes it and has fun. I'll keep you posted.
~Amy
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Labor Day Weekend
We got up early Saturday morning and headed back to my parent's house for the weekend. My sister has an annual friends and family Fall Party at her house on Labor Day weekend. It typically ends up being around seven families and lots of kids. Christian has a blast playing with everyone!
The party starts around 3:00 Saturday afternoon, with lots of activities, with everyone spending the night and heading back out after breakfast. The families come from Chicago to St. Louis and this was the 11th year in a row for the party. After we spent time with Aunt Lisa, cousin Alaina, Grandma and Grandpa, we made it to the party about 4:00. There were kids in the pool, kids on the trampoline and the adults were sitting outside on the patio. It was so unbearably hot, the adults kept making trips back into the air conditioning, but of course the kids were fine. Christian was everywhere doing everything.
We played with the new baby kitten in the garage, then off to the slide, then back to the kitten. When the big kids abandoned the trampoline for round two in the pool, Christian and I claimed the trampoline. He had the best time ever, couldn't stop smiling and was making me laugh so hard!!! A potential storm looked like it was rolling in, wind came up, sky got dark and the temperature dropped, so we all headed into the house. We had a wonderful dinner and by the time we were done, the bad weather had passed, so the kids headed back outside.
My brother-in-law Bob got out the four wheeler and gave each kid a short ride around the yard. Then around 8:00, the tractor and hay wagon appeared from out of the barn. This sent all the kids running into the house to change their clothes. Earlier we were sweating terribly because it was so hot, and we had to put on sweatshirts for the hay ride! Christian was cautiously excited, having to sit on my lap, and held onto my hand. Off we went and part way through the ride, my nephew and one of the Dad's had gone ahead on the four wheeler, to hide and jump out and scare the crap out of us! Christian didn't cry, but he was terrified. We made them come into the light so the kids could see who it was and then Christian was fine. Later in the ride, Bob stopped the tractor, turned off the lights and pretended it broke down. By now Christian had gained the courage to sit on the hay bale by himself, but the "broken tractor" had him scrambling back into my lap. I whispered to him that Uncle Bob was playing a game, would fix the tractor, and it will all be fine. He relaxed but kept hold of my hand for the rest of the ride. Now most of these kids are from the city and we were in the country, no street lights, and let me tell you, it's pretty dark. They were a little nervous but excited at the same time. Thankfully when the nervousness started to gain ground, one of the other parents flipped on the flashlight they had brought. Smart thinking!
We made it home, safe and sound, kids put to bed so the parent's could have an "adult hayride." It turned out to be a beautiful night and another weekend of watching Christian experience and thoroughly enjoy some of the same things that I did as a child. He makes everything new and exciting again. So what to do tomorrow.....?
~Amy
The party starts around 3:00 Saturday afternoon, with lots of activities, with everyone spending the night and heading back out after breakfast. The families come from Chicago to St. Louis and this was the 11th year in a row for the party. After we spent time with Aunt Lisa, cousin Alaina, Grandma and Grandpa, we made it to the party about 4:00. There were kids in the pool, kids on the trampoline and the adults were sitting outside on the patio. It was so unbearably hot, the adults kept making trips back into the air conditioning, but of course the kids were fine. Christian was everywhere doing everything.
We played with the new baby kitten in the garage, then off to the slide, then back to the kitten. When the big kids abandoned the trampoline for round two in the pool, Christian and I claimed the trampoline. He had the best time ever, couldn't stop smiling and was making me laugh so hard!!! A potential storm looked like it was rolling in, wind came up, sky got dark and the temperature dropped, so we all headed into the house. We had a wonderful dinner and by the time we were done, the bad weather had passed, so the kids headed back outside.
My brother-in-law Bob got out the four wheeler and gave each kid a short ride around the yard. Then around 8:00, the tractor and hay wagon appeared from out of the barn. This sent all the kids running into the house to change their clothes. Earlier we were sweating terribly because it was so hot, and we had to put on sweatshirts for the hay ride! Christian was cautiously excited, having to sit on my lap, and held onto my hand. Off we went and part way through the ride, my nephew and one of the Dad's had gone ahead on the four wheeler, to hide and jump out and scare the crap out of us! Christian didn't cry, but he was terrified. We made them come into the light so the kids could see who it was and then Christian was fine. Later in the ride, Bob stopped the tractor, turned off the lights and pretended it broke down. By now Christian had gained the courage to sit on the hay bale by himself, but the "broken tractor" had him scrambling back into my lap. I whispered to him that Uncle Bob was playing a game, would fix the tractor, and it will all be fine. He relaxed but kept hold of my hand for the rest of the ride. Now most of these kids are from the city and we were in the country, no street lights, and let me tell you, it's pretty dark. They were a little nervous but excited at the same time. Thankfully when the nervousness started to gain ground, one of the other parents flipped on the flashlight they had brought. Smart thinking!
We made it home, safe and sound, kids put to bed so the parent's could have an "adult hayride." It turned out to be a beautiful night and another weekend of watching Christian experience and thoroughly enjoy some of the same things that I did as a child. He makes everything new and exciting again. So what to do tomorrow.....?
~Amy
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Christian's Birthday Extravaganza
This past weekend was full of exciting things, topped off with Christian's third birthday party. It was his third birthday, but actually his first, because he'd never had a birthday party before, and it was our first birthday together. All the more special.
We drove to my parents house Friday late afternoon, just in time for Uncle Larry and Aunt Lisa to give Christian a ride in Uncle Larry's police car. We grew up in a small town, 1350 pop., so the town police officer giving his nephew a ride isn't a big deal. They drove out into the country where deer usually roam that time of the evening, trying to find one to show Christian. Then my sister calls, and in an excited, but serious voice, to tell me that Larry got a call about a house fire. They would drive by my parent's house (where we stay when we visit) and I was to stand on the street corner so they could pull up, open the door and hand him off to me. They didn't want to waste time pulling into the drive and taking him in the house to me. So out the door I go, standing on the street corner waiting for my son to be tossed to me like a football....just kidding.
They did come roaring down the street, lights flashing and came to a hard stop by me. My sister opened the door, I grabbed Christian, the door slammed and they flew off. Christian looked a little stunned but quickly recovered to point at the flashing lights and say, "Oooo, Oooo." What an exciting ride for a little boy!
The next morning we ran last minute birthday errands with my sister. She was buying him pants for his birthday and we had to try them on. Another little boy in the department was running around and through the clothes racks. You guessed it, it gave Christian some ideas.....ideas that led to him getting into trouble. We had just tag teamed him from changing back into his own shorts when he made a break for it. He's pretty good at dodging and weaving, it took both adults to catch him. We plopped him back in the stroller, turned to get more clothes off the rack to try on and in that mere 15 seconds, he bailed out of the stroller and was on the run again. This time Aunt Lisa caught him and gave him a firm talking to, which hurt his feelings and the loud crying began. Thank goodness we were done shopping and I'm sure the people in the store were glad we were leaving too!
Back to my parent's for Christian's nap and my cupcake baking spree. Then off for a going away dinner for our local student seminarian and later to hear my nephew (Christian's cousin) sing with his band at a nearby small town summer festival. The band sounded great, but of course I am a little biased. Christian did pretty good, but as it neared his bedtime, the grumpiness began. We managed to last for an hour and a half before it was just plain over for Christian, so home to bed we went.
The next day after church, I scrambled around doing final decorations, icing cupcakes, blowing up balloons and helping cook lunch for the family. Everyone was able to attend the party which thrilled Christian. He ran from person to person, playing, laughing and wanting to "help" with whatever anyone was doing.
He blew out his cupcake candle like a pro! This was a dual party as my Dad has the same birthdate as Christian. After we sang Happy Birthday to Christian and he blew out the candle, he handed the cupcake to Dad and said, "Papaw's turn." So we sang again and Dad blew out a number 3 birthday candle :)
Christian loved opening his gifts but wanted to open the toy box and play with it right then. It was tough getting him to put the toy down to open the rest of the gifts, but we got it done. I think he had a great birthday. I know I had a wonderful time planning it.
Tuesday Aug. 30th is Christian's official birthdate, and we can take treats to preschool. I went to Schnucks grocery store to buy one of those large chocolate chip cookies you can have a message put on with icing. My guardian angel nudged me to read the ingredients and it read that "this product may contain peanuts or tree nuts." He's allergic to tree nuts, so I put it back and looked for something else. After literally 15 minutes of looking at almost every item in the bakery department, I couldn't find one thing that didn't have that statement on the label. I asked the bakery worker what it really meant. She told me that all their bakery items are made in the same plant with items that have peanute or tree nuts and some contamination is possible. Well due to the fact that I don't know how severe an allergic reaction Christian might have, I didn't want to take a chance. So I ended up buying popsicles, a helium balloon and "Cars" stickers.
He had a blast at preschool telling everyone it was his birthday and he was THREE YEARS OLD! The teachers do a wonderful job of celebrating with the kids to make them feel special on their special day. The next morning he woke up and told me it was his birthday :) I told him his birthday was yesterday, he wanted another party, and I told him it was over. Then today was another little boy's birthday and when I picked Christian up from preschool, he told me it was his birthday again today. It made me laugh, he thinks every day is his birthday now! I wonder how long this idea will last, he does have a good memory :)
I've posted some photos of the big "Hot Wheels" birthday bash. Enjoy!
~Amy
We drove to my parents house Friday late afternoon, just in time for Uncle Larry and Aunt Lisa to give Christian a ride in Uncle Larry's police car. We grew up in a small town, 1350 pop., so the town police officer giving his nephew a ride isn't a big deal. They drove out into the country where deer usually roam that time of the evening, trying to find one to show Christian. Then my sister calls, and in an excited, but serious voice, to tell me that Larry got a call about a house fire. They would drive by my parent's house (where we stay when we visit) and I was to stand on the street corner so they could pull up, open the door and hand him off to me. They didn't want to waste time pulling into the drive and taking him in the house to me. So out the door I go, standing on the street corner waiting for my son to be tossed to me like a football....just kidding.
They did come roaring down the street, lights flashing and came to a hard stop by me. My sister opened the door, I grabbed Christian, the door slammed and they flew off. Christian looked a little stunned but quickly recovered to point at the flashing lights and say, "Oooo, Oooo." What an exciting ride for a little boy!
The next morning we ran last minute birthday errands with my sister. She was buying him pants for his birthday and we had to try them on. Another little boy in the department was running around and through the clothes racks. You guessed it, it gave Christian some ideas.....ideas that led to him getting into trouble. We had just tag teamed him from changing back into his own shorts when he made a break for it. He's pretty good at dodging and weaving, it took both adults to catch him. We plopped him back in the stroller, turned to get more clothes off the rack to try on and in that mere 15 seconds, he bailed out of the stroller and was on the run again. This time Aunt Lisa caught him and gave him a firm talking to, which hurt his feelings and the loud crying began. Thank goodness we were done shopping and I'm sure the people in the store were glad we were leaving too!
Back to my parent's for Christian's nap and my cupcake baking spree. Then off for a going away dinner for our local student seminarian and later to hear my nephew (Christian's cousin) sing with his band at a nearby small town summer festival. The band sounded great, but of course I am a little biased. Christian did pretty good, but as it neared his bedtime, the grumpiness began. We managed to last for an hour and a half before it was just plain over for Christian, so home to bed we went.
The next day after church, I scrambled around doing final decorations, icing cupcakes, blowing up balloons and helping cook lunch for the family. Everyone was able to attend the party which thrilled Christian. He ran from person to person, playing, laughing and wanting to "help" with whatever anyone was doing.
He blew out his cupcake candle like a pro! This was a dual party as my Dad has the same birthdate as Christian. After we sang Happy Birthday to Christian and he blew out the candle, he handed the cupcake to Dad and said, "Papaw's turn." So we sang again and Dad blew out a number 3 birthday candle :)
Christian loved opening his gifts but wanted to open the toy box and play with it right then. It was tough getting him to put the toy down to open the rest of the gifts, but we got it done. I think he had a great birthday. I know I had a wonderful time planning it.
Tuesday Aug. 30th is Christian's official birthdate, and we can take treats to preschool. I went to Schnucks grocery store to buy one of those large chocolate chip cookies you can have a message put on with icing. My guardian angel nudged me to read the ingredients and it read that "this product may contain peanuts or tree nuts." He's allergic to tree nuts, so I put it back and looked for something else. After literally 15 minutes of looking at almost every item in the bakery department, I couldn't find one thing that didn't have that statement on the label. I asked the bakery worker what it really meant. She told me that all their bakery items are made in the same plant with items that have peanute or tree nuts and some contamination is possible. Well due to the fact that I don't know how severe an allergic reaction Christian might have, I didn't want to take a chance. So I ended up buying popsicles, a helium balloon and "Cars" stickers.
He had a blast at preschool telling everyone it was his birthday and he was THREE YEARS OLD! The teachers do a wonderful job of celebrating with the kids to make them feel special on their special day. The next morning he woke up and told me it was his birthday :) I told him his birthday was yesterday, he wanted another party, and I told him it was over. Then today was another little boy's birthday and when I picked Christian up from preschool, he told me it was his birthday again today. It made me laugh, he thinks every day is his birthday now! I wonder how long this idea will last, he does have a good memory :)
I've posted some photos of the big "Hot Wheels" birthday bash. Enjoy!
~Amy
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