First Week of December

Another month down
It seems to me like the months have been flying by this year... even though some days crawl. Like snails. Those are usually they days that begin with "Mommy, let's go downstairs. Mommy, you're not gonna take a shower. Mommy you're NOT gonna brush your teeth. No Mommy, don't dry your hair. Mommy, don't do that. Mommy I want breakfast. I need breeeeeeaaaaakfast." and continue with the same sort of whiny demands. Luckily those "I am so very two" days aren't constant!

We've been having a lot of fun recently doing all kinds of themed crafts, lots of coloring, etc. So it's time for my monthly look back at the worm.

The first week in December the year he was born- 2009
This was the first picture I took that you could actually see his two first little teeth. By this time we were so sick of bibs and had just given up hope that we would ever see an actual outfit! He was a boatload of trouble with his moving around and temper tantrums when he couldn't get something just out of his reach. Of course he was sweet but if he was mad he let you know. This kid could seriously cry because he was ticked about not reaching a ball for 10 minutes straight without a breath! Oh yeah, did I ever mention he was a breath holding crier!? He always demonstrated that very well at the doctor.

Here's the Inky the first week in December 2010:This may have been around the time when I really tried using the pantry door lock. One of his favorite pastimes always was emptying the contents of the pantry and rearranging condiments in the refrigerator. The above is him with pantry contraband. Last year he was also very into Christmas lights, called the live reindeer at the tree lighting "Bow Bow" (what he called Bowser at the time), discovered his new love of sugar cookies and loved shuffling around in the snow.

This year 2011:Every morning he gets up, plugs in the stairwell xmas lights and the treelights. He's obsessed with coloring, drawing and writing. He gets super squeaky and says "Awwwww, he's so cute. I love him" when he sees Baz. He loves glue, scissors and pipe-cleaners which he refers to as "dangerous snakes." He frequently puts on rock concerts with his guitar and likes to jam with his Grandpa over video chat. His Disney Cars obsession has reached critical mass and we are doing nothing to stop it! Aaaaand he's two. 'Nuff said!

A Time I Had

Our New Calendar

I think I'm Crafty
Every once in a while I have a good idea. Last year it was to make my own advent calendar. I always loved the advent calendar my parents had where you move a little mouse to the numbered pocket and find a surprise inside. I couldn't seem to find anything similar that I could purchase so I came up with my own. Last year I hit clearance Christmas sales and collected a bunch of different mini stockings. I made a tie "blanket" for the backing, handpainted some little wooden circle tiles I picked up from Hobby Lobby with acrylic paint for the numbers and the "December" heading and added a dowel rod with black and silver ribbon to hang it. I then looked around for a little "mouse mover" to move from stocking to stocking so you could see how many days were left until Christmas. I ended up snagging a cute little Pez penguin that I was confident would stay inside the stocking but not be too big. I am quite pleased with the end product and it adds a lot to the decor of the whole room. Go me!




A Time I Had

You Just Can't See Our Capes

Go Mommies!
Screw superheroes. Mommies are the ones with the super powers. I never knew how amazing my own mommy was until I had a kid. Now to the rest of those moms out there, you are not human and that is cool.

I have a friend who drove through a foot of unplowed snow and had to carry and walk her two young boys through two parking lots to get to where they were going. Move over Superman.

I have another amazing friend who, even though she is 6 months pregnant and already having contractions, offered to come bring us anything we needed when we got sick. Eat your heart out Batman.

Yet another mom I know does everything her poopy husband won't and she rarely complains about anything. She took Link for me once because D was deployed and I was sick. She is constantly willing to do things for others even when she is having a rough day. She gets up with her little girl in the middle of the night and cleans up puke while her hubby snoozes away. Are you taking notes, Spiderman?

Another friend of mine cleaned poop out of her kid's armpit and is still alive. Hey Captain America, how 'bout them apples?

Today my entire household is sick. Link has been throwing up for about 3 days and D is now forbidden to go to work. We have the plague. D keeps telling me he has no energy and I understand because I feel exactly the same way. Yet, despite that fact I call on the forces of the mommy powers and have managed to do the dishes, clean up some of the house (because what is worse than feeling like crap and living in it?!) and take care of two sick and pathetic boys. When we asked Link today if it was nap time he replied (no joking, this really happened) "No. It's energy time." This is what I imagine "energy time" looks like. This was actually the day after he puked 5 times. This was the 2 puke day.

Yeah. So after energy time I put him down for a nap and D went to take one as well. I love this moment in time... or at least I would have in a perfect world. I went in to take a nap as well (in a separate room so as not to disturb my poor hubby). After about half an hour of Link napping (and me not having fallen asleep yet) he starts crying for Mommy.

Being a mommy means even though you have the plague you will go into your kid's room and let them lay on you because it means that, even though you will not sleep at all like you need to, your baby is comfy and getting much needed rest.

Being a Mommy means taking care of yourself just enough so that you can take care of them because when your kid escaped your womb you were blessed (and cursed) with some sort of super powers that you, and everyone else, will never understand.

I expect my cape in the mail in 3-5 days.

A Time I Had

Lovey Takes a Bath

Best Friends
I always suspected that there was a crazy person living inside my son and today I met him. Let me give you a little back story on the events that unfolded this afternoon. I have always been very happy with the fact that Link never depended on a pacifier or cared to suck his thumb. This made parenting much easier on D and I. However, from the get go he was obsessed with blankets and would chew on them instead of using a paci. When he turned one his affections went front and center to a small security blanket we call Lovey.

Lovey is adventurous. He likes to check out the parking lots of stores... up close and personal. He likes rides on stroller wheels. He enjoys being launched into piles of leaves. He likes taking trips atop the dog. Lovey often joins the family for meals and likes to be included in craft time. And most of all, since he's (apparently) pretty kinky, he LOVES to be chewed on.

Needless to say, Lovey needs plenty of washing machine baths. Usually I am able to sneak him in with a load of laundry but this particular time I was unable to manage such a sneaky Mommy move and so I asked Link to help me put Lovey in the "bath." The following then happened:

Link: Lovey's not gonna take a bath!
Me: Yes he is.
L: No he's not gonna take a bath. Nooooo! he begins to jump up and down
M: He's going to get clean.
L: No. He's not gonna get clean. No, Mommy!
M: But he's all dirty and yucky.
L: No he's not dirty and yucky.
M: Yes he is.
L: HE'S NOT. He's nooooooooot he shakes his head violently
It always amazed me how kids can turn a one syllable words into an eight syllable word.
M:Yes he is and he's going to take a bath.
L: Noooooooo this is when the gigantic anime-like tears start to stream down his face Get him ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuutttt! tears roll down his cheeks
M: What's wrong?
L: *incoherent babbling*
M: What?!
L: *says something that sounds like kiss*
M: What? You need a kiss?
L: still crying I need chickens and dip and cheese and apples. runs into the kitchen I need caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaandy. Please I need candy. stops crying
I get a pen to start writing down all the previous events
L: suddenly fine You gonna do that? You do that one? I need to draw. I need that (my pen). It's mine.
M: But Mommy needs it right now.
L: It's Linky's. It's Linky's.
M: Why don't you go play trains?
L: I'm not gonna play trains. tears begin to form and are soon gigantic and streaming again Not gonna play trains. I not gonna play trains. I'm not gonna play trains. I'm not gonna play trains Mommy. No! Not gonna play trains.
----silence----
L: suddenly fine again Draw a dragon Mommy.
-----silence----
L: sudden flowing tears again I'M NOT GONNA PLAY TRAINS!
M: O...K...
L: screams randomly and sees a shirt on the table I need to wear this. I need to wear this shirt. runs off with the shirt
---washer pauses to rinse---
L: Is he all clean?
M: Not yet.
L: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH massive tear flow
L: fine again I'm playing trains.
M: Good job.
----silence----
L: Train tracks. Train tracks. Train tracks. Train tracks. Train tracks.
---another washer pause----
L: It's all clean. It's all clean. It's all clean. It's all clean. It's all clean. It's all clean. It's all clean. like he's freaking rainman or something It's all clean Mommmmmmmmmmmmy. I want a Lovey. I want a Lovey. I waaaaaaaaaaaant a Lovey!
M: Are you OK?
L: I want help the train track.
M: Are you OK?
L: looks up OK. Oh, I am OK like it's a revelation or something!

5 minutes later
Link: Oh, Mommy. I not OK. I need Lovey. and then he runs off

This story has a happy ending in that the damn thing FINALLY got cleaned and dried and my little fruitbat got the beloved Lovey. He squeaked at it for about 10 seconds, threw it at the couch to land on the floor and then left it there while he ran off to play with something else. All that drama for 10 seconds of happy squeaks and then forgotten for an hour. It must be hard being 2. Seriously.


And now, an ode to Lovey:






















If we ever lose that dang piece of headed cloth I'm sure the world will end. You know how most people say "If I get on that plane all I really need is our family, my ID and a credit card?" For us you need to add in Lovey. In fact, it might be more important than the credit card.


A Time I Had

First Week of November

This week in 2009, 2010 and 2011
I did a post like this for the first week of October and it made me happy because I got to go through old pictures. My kid is a goof and it's amazing to see how much he has changed. The last few days have been difficult because he has taken the phrase "terrible twos" to heart. A demon has possessed his tiny little frame and when he doesn't get what he wants his head spins around in circles and he climbs the ceiling while screaming as loud as he can. Sound familiar? I think we need an exorcist. When he's not being evil though he enjoys long walks on stairs, candlelit pumpkins and hanging out with cars. All kidding aside his imagination has blossomed to the extreme and he says the craziest stuff. He has renamed two of the Cars 2 characters. Finn McMissile is now "Lightning Ashaw" and Francesco Bernouli is now "Tianiano." What the? Sure, tiny human, whatever you say. And with that I give you:

The Linkapatomas the first week of November the year he was born 2009:


Wearing my hat and trying to keep warm one evening. He mostly just liked playing with the things that hung down. About this time he was still a water fountain of a kid trying to get more teeth and a smiley little dude who loved to make roaring noises that Daddy taught him. Nevermind the fact that his outfit isn't the best and he has olive green socks!


First week of November 2010:
D was deployed and there was a gigantic snow mountain that accumulated in our cul-de-sac so we bundled up and he was king of the mountain. Around this time he waddled like a penguin in all his snow gear, was quickly falling in love with Ivie, was fascinated by babies and was a bit more stylish than the previous year!


First week of November 2011:
I interrupted his coloring time (which he can't seem to get enough of lately) for a photo op. We aren't even close to wearing snow gear this year. We JUST turned off the AC a week or so ago. Link has made many new friends and loves running around rough housing with all the boys his age that are here. He loves to dance with D and I and make up silly songs and he believes that there are alligators in the sewers that eat his poop (thanks D). It is also a battle to get him to change out of his Super Mario jammies. He's a nerd. We are proud.

Toddler soup has not really been on the menu lately... mostly because it's too much work.

A Time I Had

Happy Halloween 2011

All Hallows Eve
I love Halloween. It's one of my favorite holidays. Usually our house is all decked out. But since it's still hot and sunny and bright here I had a hard time getting in the spirit. We did make our own decor though through crafts and we had fun all month doing that. It's still hard for me to accept that it actually is that time of year!

This year is great since D finally got to take Link trick or treating (last year he was deployed). We were talking with Link again about how you say "trick or treat" when the people open their doors. So we said to Link "So the people will open their doors and they will give you candy but what do you say?" His reply was "Please." He did the same thing when we took him out to trick or treat. So my kid is the kid who you open the door to, he holds up his bucket and says "please!" He's polite!

Here was my little worm on his first Halloween 2009:


He was a cute little dragon and we hit up a Halloween party at our friends house down the street. It was full of friends and fun and everyone loved our tiny dragon.

Here he is last Halloween 2010:


Daddy was deployed but we went all out nerdy and Link was a moogle from the Final Fantasy games. My good friend Caitlin made him the costume. It was super warm for him... fleece lined and such because it was so cold up in Alaska for Halloween. We went with his friends Ivie, Alex and Alivia and he was mostly interested in ringing the doorbells and trying to worm his way into other peoples warm houses.

I was worried his thin costume will be too hot this year! Weird. Luckily it was just fine and as soon as he was distracted by trick or treating he didn't pitch a fit wearing the oversized Jedi robes and the Yoda ear hat (even though his ears flopped and someone referred to him as a "Jedi lamb")

Halloween 2011:
A Time I Had

Cookie Time

It Might Get Messy
One of my fondest memories from my childhood is decorating sugar cookies with my Mommy. She used to bake them for holidays and I would help her cut them out (getting flour EVERYWHERE) and decorate them. It always seemed like a long process but I was little and time seems so long when you are little. I know I always ended up with frosting and things everywhere and quite honestly I'm not sure how my mom kept her sanity with all that crap everywhere. I remember it well so when I saw her picture of Halloween sugar cookies on Facebook the other day I thought to myself "Why haven't we made any this year!?" So I fixed that... and Link helped.

We absolutely LOVE Halloween but since we are in a place where the A/C is still running and the high is still in the mid-80s most days I was hoping that making Halloween sugar cookies would help get us in the spirit!

I'm not going to go into precise detail about the entire process because I don't want to bore anyone. We made the dough, we cut the dough, we baked the dough and then we decorated. Oh boy did we decorate. Last time we made sugar cookies was with Nicky, Alex, Kristina and Ivie last Christmas and the kids could care less... except when it came to eating them.

[this was last year after we made the cookies]
Link, however, made sure he knew where those suckers were and begged like a fiend to eat them. We'll see how this batch treats him and his little begger self!



Here all all the ingredients ready to make some delicious cookies... also as kid-proof as I could manage for help from my sous-chef.

My little sidekick ready to help me out.

Adding a few eggs...

"What the heck is that thing doing Mommy?!"

One of my favorite parts of baking with a small person is that no matter how careful you are they will most likely end up with a bunch of flour on their face, most specifically the nose. Link didn't let me down either. Within two minutes of beginning to mix the cookie dough he had baking powder and flour on his face and he told me it was yummy.

And now for the best part of making cookies... the beater. Yes, I am aware there are raw eggs in there. Guess what? I ate the dough as a kid and I'm alive... just like ALL the rest of you who did the same thing.

Let's get serious about this dough eating.

Next to cut the cookies.



S*** got crazy with the flour! But he was damn good with that rolling pin.

There is no doubt that this kid belongs to me. He was cutting out the cookies and cut off one of the cat's legs. He then said "Oh no, I broke it" and proceeded to eat the "broken" cat dough.

And then the decorating. Oh God the decorating!


Sprinkles are almost as bad as glitter.

This is me laughing it off. Can you SEE all the sprinkles in front of my child. Breathe....


Delicious.

I live with these people. They are cute and cheesy and make me smile.

Again, I live with these people. Here's D feeding Link sprinkles from the jar.

And here's Link with a mouth full of freakin' sprinkles. He was hanging from the ceiling an hour later.

And finally here are our masterpieces. I don't think I have ever had a batch with so many sprinkles on them. Then again I have never had a two year old helping me either! I just gotta say though, they are so gooooooood! Must be the secret ingredient: dirty toddler helping hands!


A Time I Had