Eat Dirt...and Everything Else

It has been sooooo beautiful lately that all I want to do is lay on my deck and work on my tan. But, I must fulfill my motherly duties first, so why not combine the two and bring the boys outside WHILE I tan. Sounds like a simple solution, right?? Yeeeeeeaaaaahhhh, not so much!! Wyatt LOVES dirt, and I mean he would eat it all day long if I let him- seriously disgusting!! For the first few days I tried this "tanning while parenting" technique, Wyatt just camped out at the water table and ran circles around it while Grant happily played with his trucks elsewhere in the yard. Pure bliss! After a few days, Wyatt started to explore more on his own, and that's when I started rethinking my plan. It is waaaaay more work than it is relaxing. Seriously- everything Wyatt touches goes in his mouth- acorns, leaves, shreds of grass, sticks, mulch, bugs, DIRT (which then turns to mud!), rocks!! It's just gross! It's becoming more of a hassle and a health hazard to go outside than it is fun!! I guess I'm going to need to figure out a new technique. Too bad playpens are frowned upon these days!

And there he goes for another scoop!

Grant's idea- get a bucket of soapy water and follow Wyatt, cleaning up his messes!

Boy or Girl?

Does this look like a face of a girl??? Apparently so, because on this very day, wearing this very outfit, Wyatt was called a "she"......twice!! Really people- you don't notice that he's wearing a blue shirt with a baseball on it that says, "All Star?" Come on!! Granted, Wyatt is a very "pretty" boy- I like to say that its because he looks just like me. I mean his eyelashes are a mile long, his cheeks are always rosy, his hair is smooth and silky- what girl wouldn't want those features (even though he looks like me, I don't really have those features, darn it!)?? I guess I should just take it as a compliment that my baby is just so beautiful!!

Although in this picture, he looks a little raggedy around the edges!! 

Beach Babies

One of my dear friends, Christine, came to visit me and the boys last week! I couldn't let her leave without taking a quick trip to the beach! It was a chilly 55 degrees, and the sky was about as white as the sand, making it almost seem like snow!! We had the entire beach to ourselves and we enjoyed every minute of it! Here are some of my favorite pics:

Forward Facing

We made the switch to forward facing! At Wyatt's 9 month checkup, his doctor said we could turn him forward in the car. I thought it seemed early, but he said he had amazing muscle control and would be just fine. We still waited two more months, but just last week I turned his seat around. He's not the best traveler, so I had high hopes that this might ease some of the car tantrums. I think it has. He's able to watch DVD's with big brother. And the best part- a full view of Mommy the entire ride!! What more could a kid ask for?

Hairscut

Before

After

 Wyatt has been mistaken for a girl. A lot. More than I would like. I know, he's just a beautiful boy- he takes after me, what can I say? But the kid's a boy and he should look like a boy. So to prepare for our family pictures (FINALLY!), we gave Wyatt a little trim around the ears.  It wasn't much but I can't believe what a difference it made in him looking not only like a boy, but like a toddler boy. It stung me a little bit watching Levi take the scissors to his few golden, silky hairs. But my goodness- if this kid isn't going to be a knockout!! Watch out ladies!!!

Brotherly Crib Fun

Grant has been wanting to go into Wyatt's room when he wakes up from a nap. At first, I thought he just wanted to say hi to Wyatt, but really he just wanted to play in his crib. I don't know why, he just did- which is usually the way Grant does anything. So, I put Grant in the crib and Wyatt smiled, wondering what the heck was going on. Wyatt's not usually a happy camper when he wakes up, but this perked him right up!! 

Let me explain the reason Wyatt has so much stuff in his crib- he always wakes up screaming crying and I was just hoping if he had enough distractions, he might stop crying and start playing. It was also wishful thinking by me that if he woke up in the middle of the night (as he still does) that he might play for a few minutes, then just fall back to sleep on his own. Well, that was a good theory til the past few nights, when he decided to wake up at 3:30am and just play for an hour!! Oh well, I digress...

So, Grant and Wyatt were playing in the crib and here is the series of events:

 Grant plays peekaboo and wants me to take his picture.

 Grant jumps up and down a million times. Wyatt's baffled.

 Grant sits on Wyatt while Wyatt snuggles with his lovey and sucks his thumb. Story of Wyatt's life. Poor big brother is always abusing him!

 Wyatt chews on his lovey a little more. Grant throws all the animals out of the crib. I throw them back. He throws them. I throw them. Fun game!

 Wyatt plays peekaboo.

Grant snuggles Wyatt while Wyatt tries to escape. Then Grant sits on him again.

Oh, brotherly love is fun!

Secret Thumbsucker

You'd never know that Wyatt sucks his thumb, unless you saw him with his lovey or you put him to bed.   He's kind of like Pavlov's dog- the lovey comes out and the thumb goes in without even a second thought. He also starts sucking his thumb as soon as I walk over to his crib and turn on his fan- seriously, he's conditioned!  One day, he was being kind of fussy, so I brought his lovey out from his bed, which is something we never do- it always just stays there. It was so cute to see him just snuggle up to his lovey and his "friends" and just cuddle with them while sucking away on his thumb! He just rolled around the floor with his lovey in had and thumb in mouth.

Two of Wyatt's favorite "friends" are his bear Lubie and his gloworm, which we refer to as "baby."  He loves to hug them and kiss them, which is so super cute!

This is something I used to do as a baby- take my satin lovey and put it over my face. I know I have a picture of me in my baby book that looks exactly like this.  That picture was the whole inspiration for my mom making him the satin lovey.  He's always loved having a blanket over face while he drinks his bottle and he covers his own face when he lays down in bed to go to sleep.

The secret is out Wyatt!! You're a thumbsucker and that's ok by me...for now!!

Friday Flashback

October 8, 2005

Levi and I took this picture of ourselves one night when I went out to visit him in Pensacola. He'd already graduated from OCS and was doing his instructional flight school. I was still teaching at Good Shepherd and only visited him every 2 months or so. Levi said he had planned a special night for us during my visit, so I was very intrigued to find out what we would be doing. I was kind of expecting him to propose, since we had gone to look at rings that last time I went to visit him. So, we went to this beautiful steakhouse overlooking the ocean, he bought tickets to a theater show downtown, then we went to IHOP after the show for apple pie. It was such a fun and romantic night...but no proposal. So I thought, ok- maybe during my next visit!

Well, the next day about 2 hours before I left for the airport, Levi proposed. He wasn't planning on doing it that weekend, but he said he just couldn't wait any longer. So, it turned out, instead of have one special night during my visit, I got two! 

I love you Levi, and I'm so happy I said, "Are you serious?"

A Florida Snow Day

We did the best we could under our current weather conditions- rainy and 50 degrees- but we had our own snow day, complete with homemade snow!!!!

Grant has been begging to go to Mimi and PawPaw's house the past few days and "make snow angels, and throw snowballs, and eat snow."  I wish I could make that happen as well, but we had to make do with what we have...and that means no snow!!

Grant has this little harp seal figure he got in Sea World that he absolutely adores. Last night, we went to go for a walk in the stroller and he always brings "Harpy" with us. But last night, we couldn't find him. After tearing the whole house apart, we decided to head to Michaels to pick up a new "toob" of creatures, which included a new "Harpy." He's been lugging them around all day, so he was extremely excited to use his Arctic Animals in the snow "just like they like it."

Of course, what snow day would be complete without a little snow ball fight! And a little taste!!

All the Arctic Animals are enjoying their new home! 

 Grant's snowballs he made

 "Shamu has a snowy nose!"

 "Look that beluga whale all snowy!"

He asked if he could "sprinkle" some in his mouth!! But of course, my dear!!!

This is the Face

 This is the face of a little boy who hates being contained, but will tolerate it if he's outside!

 This is the face of a little boy who will put ANYTHING into his mouth and enjoy it!

 This is the face of a little boy who hates crawling in leaves, but likes eating them!

 This is the upside down face of a little boy who loves tickle fights with his mommy!

 This is the face of a little boy and his best friend, Cuddles!

 This is the face of a little boy who likes to eat....everything!

 This is the face of a little boy who loves living life outside!!

 This is the face of a little boy who stole his big brother's powdered donut.

 This is the face of a little boy enjoying a lollipop at 7:30 in the morning, thanks to his mom ignoring her better judgement.

 This is the face of a mommy who loves snuggling her little boy, even though he's almost 3 years old!

 This is the face of a little boy who could walk if he'd just let go!

 This is the face of a little boy who actually posed for pictures, just so he could see his face in the camera!

 This is the face of pure joy!

This is the face of a little boy who's mommy hopes he never grows an actual one of these!!