greetings from Ohio

We traveled to Ohio over the weekend to visit R's sister Michelle, her boyfriend Bob, and our nephew Spencer.  What. FUN!

It was weird to see Theo going up and down the stairs with no problem.  I was hovering like a helicopter the first few times but tried to back off over the course of the weekend as I realized he's got this.  What I wasn't expecting was to see Dex climbing up the stairs with NO trouble at all.  Yes, I remained hovering helicopter with Dexter.

Theo had the most fun playing in Spencer's room, in Spencer's super cool bed.  I have to admit, I'm a little jealous of this loft bunk from Ikea. All weekend Theo was announcing "I wanna play in Pencer's room!" And play they did!  They were basically adorable in their matching McQueen slippers. 

Dexter took a little snooze on Daddy's shoulder...

then we took a short ride to the local fire station for some exploration. 

still sleepy, mama!

hello, brown eyed boy!

Michelle's neighbor, Chief Tony, welcomed us inside. 

both boys love their Aunt Chelle

jaws of life!

Official Freddie Firefighter badge.  And yes, Theo always wears a band-aid, boo boo or no boo boo.

We had a great, great time. 

There was more playing back at the house (in Pencer's room of course)!

Theo was exhausted, as evidenced by him sucking his thumb for 5 continuous hours or so. 

See?  Coolest bed ever.

Sunday morning it was time to pack it up and head back home. We loved our weekend and spending time with family.  Can't wait to see them again in a couple of weeks for Theo's birthday. 

xo, 

~C~

blooming.

Dexter & Dawson

I gotta give it up to professional photographers.  It is not easy to get 2 babies to look in the same direction and smile simultaneously. 

Aren't these two buddies the most precious little things?

Dawson's mama and I went to college together and stayed in touch off and on through Myspace (oh, remember Myspace?) and Facebook.  We really started talking a lot more after I started my blog and then even more a few months later when she got pregnant. 

She always had questions for me about pregnancy, then labor and delivery, then about having a newborn.  Hey, I'm no expert, but I like feeling like one.  I always take an interest in my friends' pregnancies and babies, that's my thing. That's what I love.  If I have a pregnant friend, you can bet I'll be cheering them along throughout their pregnancy and pep talking them, pumping them up about how childbirth is what their bodies are built to do.  That the female body already knows how to give birth, even when the female mind is scared to death.  If they'd let me, I'd be in the delivery room with pom poms and a megaphone.  Maybe that wouldn't be so helpful.

Alas...

Some friends appreciate it, some friends blow it off.  Dawson's mama, I guess she appreciated it.  And I appreciate that.  And since her sweet little peanut was born last August, we've become pretty good friends.  Almost daily texters.  We went from just talking about babies to a whole lot more.  I like it.

Sometimes friendships bloom where you least expect them.  Sometimes they wilt when you never thought they would.  I'm thankful for my new and blossoming friendship with Dawson's mommy.  Even though we live an hour apart, we've made a point to get together quite a bit.  Every relationship takes a little work, you know.  I guess the ones that were meant to wilt...just wilt.  The ones that are meant to bloom will flourish.

Maybe motherhood bonded us.  Maybe it's what has made other friends of mine drift away.  Maybe some friendships aren't supposed to span lifetimes.  Maybe they're just intended to support you through a particular phase of life.  Maybe that's all this is, but I hope not.

So us two moms, we've decided that our little silly billies will be friends.  We will force their little baby friendship to bloom, whether they like it or not. 

So far?  So good. 

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Happy Tuesday.

~C~





am I the only one?

Am I the only one that has no interest in potty training?  To me, it’s pretty easy to change a diaper on the go and then not worry about it for a couple of hours (unless there’s a poopy of course).  Once they are wearing underwear, you have to worry about accidents.  On the couch.  In their beds.  In the shopping cart.  In the car seat.  Theo is not quite 2 and people have started asking me about it.  He doesn’t seem terribly interested and I’m certainly not going to force it at this age.  He has a potty seat and if and when he asks to use it, I let him try.  But so far, nothing has happened.

Am I the only one that has no interest in putting my kid in a toddler bed?  Theo has never tried to climb out of his crib (knock on wood) and I am not looking forward to the day that he does.  I picture him strolling across the hall to our room all hours of the night.  I picture screaming fits at bedtime because he doesn’t understand that, just because he CAN get out of bed, it doesn’t mean that he SHOULD get out of bed.  When we were at Big Splash, he wanted to sleep in that lower bunk so bad, but he was way too excited.  He couldn’t calm down enough to do it and eventually ended up going to bed in his pack n play. 

Am I the only one that has kept my kid rear-facing all this time?  We’ve bought his next car seat, which is forward facing only.  We haven’t installed it in our vehicle yet and I don’t plan on using it until his 2^nd birthday.  It will be so weird to look in the rearview mirror and see him – not a reflection of him in his mirror.  I hope he enjoys facing forward and being able to see out better.  He’ll be able to see Dexter better (which also means he will be able to throw things at him better…which does sorta worry me).

I remember when Theo was taking itty bitty steps.  It seemed like he would never be able to just walk around the room without thinking about it.  It seemed like such a hurdle.  These developmental milestones are huge at the time and then you almost forget how big they were once they've been conquered.  I know we’ll eventually get on the other side of the potty training and toddler bed hurdles, and (hopefully) look back and appreciate how easy it was.  But right now?  Right now those two things seem just about impossible.  I can’t imagine life without diapers and cribs.

Now I'm asking you, the experts. 

At what age did you potty train your kid?  Was it a nightmare?

At what age did you transition him/her to a toddler bed.  Was it a nightmare?

~C~


**UPDATE!  I wrote this post a couple days before it published and Theo has since taken his first ride in his forward facing seat, which we have installed in R's parents car.  Our babysitter is  having her baby so they are taking over watching the boys for a few weeks while she recuperates.  He loved it and today the first words out of his mouth were "new car seat! Ride to Nanny's house in Pop Pop's car!"  Safe to say he appreciates the change.  

Despite the look on his face, he was very excited!

project 365 (feb 14-21)

Project 365, Days 45-52



45/365: Finally winter.

46/365: The Official "DoodleBopsIsOnDon'tTalkToMe" Face.

47/365: Little Grayson.  Theo's BFF at the babysitter's house.

48/365: My little blonde rooster.

49/365: Baby Dawson is on the move.  One of Dexy's BFFs.

50/365: How 'bout them apples, mama?

51/365: Shark sighting.

52/365: Hello cutie face.

I guess I was all about the baby boys this week.  What can I say? They inspire me.  My favorites this time?  Days 45, 51, and 52.  Which one do you like best? 

~C~

You can see ALL of my Project 365 posts by clicking here.