Silent

I know I've been silent for a little while around here... lots of stuff going on and I'm just trying to process it all!  Not bad, it's good - just a lot.  This song came on my Pandora station today and it's perfect - 
I'm headed down this narrow road
Chosen by the fewAnd all that I know isYou told me to follow You
I'm taking a risk and leaving it allNot knowing what I'll go throughBut I'm not aloneAs long as I follow You
So when my life's a leap of faithI can hear You say
Well done, well doneI'm gonna chase You, LordI'm gonna show the world Your loveI'll run, I'll runI'm gonna run this raceTo hear You say well done
If people walk with me, talk with me, looking for truthThey're gonna find out soonIf they're following me thenThey're gonna follow You
So let my life speak loud and clearLord, I wanna hear
Well done, well doneI'm gonna chase You, LordI'm gonna show the world Your loveI'll run, I'll runI'm gonna run this raceTo hear You say well done
I'm so glad that I get to serve You, LordYou're the only One I am living forI'm gonna run straight into Your open armsI'm gonna follow You with my all heart
- Moriah Peters "Well Done" 

Remembering

I'm not very good at remembering, every little thing.  I think of it often and hold it close to my heart, but then something new happens and the memory of that other thing drifts apart... so I've been keeping track of all the little things-  the ism's, the noises, the actions you do - so I won't forget when you do something new.

I don't want to forget:

The way you said, "MmmHmmm," to mean yes.  And how now you say "Yeah!" instead.

The way you get so excited about new things - you flap your arms straight up and down while you run and it is the make-me-fall-over-smiling-from-ear-to-ear kind of cute.

The concentration face you make when you're trying really hard

Your appreciation for putting things 'back' where they go...

Even if that means us opening the door and letting you outside because you insisted on putting a special rock that the Fairy (at the Renaissance festival) gave you 'back' outside in the mulch where (duh, momma) rocks belong.

The way you stomp your feet and turn around in little circles grunting when you get mad.

The way you purse your lips together and blow like a motorboat when you get hurt and are trying not to cry.

You sincere affection for music and the pure joy that overcomes you when you get to watch or take part in it.

The way everything (and anything) you touch can turn into a guitar if you just hold it sideways and bounce up and down making the 'neeneenee nee nee nee nee' guitar sounds - including pans, your popcorn popper, spoons, and the broom.

The way you ask me to hold you in my arms while we snuggle in the mornings, rather than just laying next to me.  And the way you cuddle in close and nuzzle my neck when I hold you.

The way you love being outside, and how great you are at throwing a ball.

 

The way you ask to watch "Freppy" (Fresh Beat Band) almost every morning, and how you always without fail, want me to dance with you during the song at the end of the show.

The way you let me hold you in the cradle position like a little baby, and let me sing to you each night - and the way you 'request' certain bedtime songs by saying "no" until I start singing the one you want.

The way you love to dance, bouncing up and down, stomping your feet and clapping your hands while you turn in circles.

dancing to the beat from Bill & Amanda on Vimeo.

The way you love your friends and give them hugs when you see them.

The way you always want to run into church when worship starts so you can sing and dance along.

There are so many things, little bear.  So many -ism's and sounds and actions you do that make you YOU.  And with every one I see and all that I remember it makes me love you that much more.  More than I ever imagined.  I don't want to forget.  I always want to remember, that even though you're growing (much too fast) I will have these memories, these pictures, to help me hold you in my heart as my little baby boy - because that, you will always be, and I will never forget that.

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown !

Little O had his first experience with a pumpkin the night before halloween.  We don't really celebrate Halloween, but we have decided to do pumpkins as a tradition, and let him dress up too.  As he gets older we'll explain it to him, but for now it's just a fun family day. :)
Anyway, it had gotten all-of-a-sudden freezing here so we decided to do it inside on the kitchen floor.  He was very intrigued at me cutting into the top, and a little worried at first.  He'd grown very fond of his pumpkins - even blowing them kisses as we would leave the house sometimes. :)
He was very eager to get in the action and help!

  

 He did NOT love the slimyness of the guts... he was just fine as long as he had his spoon and/or scooper though! :)

   

 In the above shot, he's got the scooper.  Below, we were trying to get him to reach in there with his bare hand... that's as far as he got.  :)

 At a couple different times he got goo on his foot, and he would just hold it up like that until we did something about it.  It was SO stinkin' cute.  If we waited long enough to take the goo off, he would just continue on about whatever he was doing, leaving his foot suspended in mid-air like that.  HIL.AIR.IOUS.

  

 I think he got tired of me taking pictures of his foot rather than cleaning it off - and decided to try himself :)

 Checking out the cleaned-out pumpkin... and banging it like a drum with the spoon.

 He was getting tired and restless by the time I finished carving the face with a steak knife.. cause the carving one broke.  (PSA: It is NOT easy or safe to carve a pumpkin with a steak knife)
But I asked him to show me his teeth and got this oh-so-adorable grin!

Then we took it outside and put a candle in it..

He thought it was very cool, and kept saying "hot, hot hot hot" and trying to blow on it.  Not because he knows to blow out a candle, but because we tell him his food might be hot and to blow on it.  So anything that is "hot" he blows on. (aside: This includes a hot summer day when we would walk outside and it was hot.  He would start blowing.  When the oven is on (or just the oven light) he blows on it.  When he sees coffee in the coffee pot.  It's cute :) )
Anyway, I tried really hard to get him to sit down next to the pumpkin and cheese again, so I could get a pic with the real camera, but couldn't get the smile, he wanted me to come sit next to him (hence the pointing finger).

The next night we were invited to a Halloween party that Bill's co-worker was throwing, so we headed over there and O got to play with some other kids, pet a guinea pig and trick-or-treat to the 5-6 houses that are the cul-de-sac the couple lived in.  He really enjoyed going from house to house, and even started saying "tik-teet" once he started hearing the other kids saying it!  It was SO cute to hear his little voice say "tik-teet" in his cute little lion costume.  And the joy on his face every time he got to get something in his little bucket.  (Not that he knew what was going in there, he was just happy to have it).  Love the simple joys of toddler-hood.

I just love all these 'firsts' that we're getting to experience with our little bear.  This age is just so perfect to explore new things and see how he reacts to them.  I love, love, love it!

"Ano'er One?"

Most kids say, "Trick or treat!" when going from person to person, waiting anxiously to collect their goods.  Some older, clever ones even said "trunk or treat" as they walked from trunk to trunk at the Lake Norman Mommies annual Trunk or Treat event tonight.  But Owen just kept saying "ano'er one?" (another one?) over and over again!  But let me start at the beginning...

We arrive and Owen was immediately enamored with all the kids walking around in costumes.  It's like he couldn't move his head fast enough in all directions around the parking lot to see all of them! He was very excited to see his buds Colin and Caroline though!

 He particularly liked a little girl dressed as a dinosaur!

While we were waiting in line for our family picture at the photo station I snapped this - love the little tail :) (and he's not sad, he's just tired, and also eye-balling a little kid dressed like Sully from Monster's Inc.)

After a little while lion needed to recharge with a snack.  Who knew lions like spinach and kale rice puffs?  I always thought they were carnivores.  Guess that goes to show what I know.  :)

   

After snack we did the costume contest, he didn't win, or even get in the top six, but honestly, I'm not sure what the judging criteria was because a couple of the ones that were chosen weren't all that cute in my (completely unbiased) opinion. :)
After that the trick or treating started.  Everyone was parked in the parking lot and a lot of the trunks were decorated with bowls of candy sitting in them.  Everyone just walked around grabbing a piece of candy.  Once Owen figured out that he could take one out of the trunk bowl and put it in his bucket he was so excited!  He kept saying, "more, more?"  "Ano'er one? Ano'er one?" and clapping his hands excitedly every time he got a new one to put in his bucket.  I don't have any idea what he was getting, and he didn't either, but he just loved it!  He would jump up and down and clap his hands and just keep going from trunk to trunk.
Afterward we got all the kids together for a picture in Becky's trunk.  Her and her kids dressed up as Cinderella, Prince Charming and she was the fairy god mother - hence the castle in the trunk.  And it was quite entertaining trying to get the kids to all look in the same general direction - let alone actually at the camera.  Oh well, the cuteness is still enough to make you wanna reach through your screen and squeeze em - is it not? :)

 

I'm so glad we went to this - we aren't doing trick or treating and this was such a great alternative for him.  He loved every minute of it.  The people watching, dancing to the music the DJ was pumpin' out, eating pizza for dinner outside, hanging out with his friends and of course the trunk or treating part.
Huge thanks to our friend April for letting us borrow her lion costume, and to the Huffs for letting us crash their trunk!  :)

My Little Poser

In jr. high and high school I remember it was bad to be called a 'poser'.  I guess that word is kind of 'out' these days, so it's okay if I call my toddler a poser, right?
Lately whenever he sees me get out my DSLR he wants me to take his picture.  The other morning he had on some hand-me-down pj's that were just too cute to not capture, so I asked him, "Can momma take your picture?" and this is what he did - no prompting, no nothing, he just did this all on his own:

 Then he said, "no-er one?" (another one) and did this:

And then he decided he wanted to take his socks off and give them to me.

 

Today when I was getting my camera ready for a photo shoot he saw me and started saying "dah- dah- dah"  We haven't quite figured out what that means yet, but he says it when he is either giving you something or when he wants something, so we think it might mean 'there'.  Anyway, I asked him, "You want me to take your picture?" and he said "mmm HMMM" really high-pitched as usual.  So I said, "Okay, where do you want me to do it?" and he promptly did this:

And then said, "no-er one?" and did this:

That silly boy.  I love him to pieces.

103.7

The first fever little bear ever had (well, minus when he was born) was this past week.  At it's peak it was 103.7!

Fever Face :(      (this was after two 1.5hr naps that day)

Poor guy.  I thought it was only teething at first (he has three molars coming in at once!), because it was lingering around the 100's-101's, but when it hit 103.7 I ran to the store for some baby Advil.  Also another first - his first medicine.  That took his fever down and it never came back over 101, and eventually puttered out the 4th day.  Not sure what it was but other than tired, fussy and lack of appetite, he didn't have any other symptoms.  Glad it's over now though and he's back to his normal self!
Speaking of firsts, there are so many things I need to record, that I've been keeping a running list on a sticky note so I don't forget!
Sounds
I want to remember how, at this age and for the past several months actually, that he uses sounds to mean words about 50% of the time.  For example, if he sees or hears a bird, he doesn't say bird, he says 'TWEET TWEET" in his loudest, highest-pitch voice possible.  Then I usually say, "You're right, birdies!" and he replies, "Muah- Muah" (kissing them), and I say, "Aw, that's nice, you like birdies?" and he says "mmHMM" in a very high-pitched voice.  Also, if he sees a car (or truck) go by he'll say "vroooooommmm" instead of what it is.  Dog's he barks at, cats he meows at.  Vacuums he "vrmmmvrmms" for and guitars he strums his belly saying 'guit-guit-guit' with every strum.

His vocabulary is increasing though - by leaps and bounds.  He hears a school bus (there are about 328,719,487,983 that go through our neighborhood every day) and says "buh!"  In fact, he says that for anything with a diesel engine or air brakes..  :)  it's cute.  He just recently connected his little tonka toy bus (that we used to call a truck because it looks like a truck more than a bus) to what he was seeing out the window and went and got it and showed it to me, excitedly proclaiming 'buh!' like he just put two and two together - it was so sweet!  He's finally saying "down" to mean down, whereas he would use up to mean either up or down.  He hears/sees and airplane and says "ah-pan" and says "Up, up up!"
He's getting better every day at repeating things too, he can almost say trampoline, we're working on please and thank you, and he knows how to say a few of our closest friends' names too. He's really good at saying "Ardra" (Andrew, our roommate), Addie (a 3yr old friend he LOVES), "Maimee" (Amy, our close friend), "Nina" (Christina, we call her nina, close friend of ours), "Siah" (which he whispers for some reason, for Josiah, his 2yr old friend), "Cayee" (Callie, a 4yr old friend) and "Matt" (the guy I went to Africa with the first time). I could spend all day listing all his words - he's such a good little communicator when he wants to be - which is most of the time.
We've also been working on counting, he can signal 1 and almost 2 with his fingers while I count aloud for him.
He's also recently started putting his finger to his lips and saying 'shhhh'.  I think one day when we walked in the room and the cat was sleeping I did it being a little silly - he picked up on it right away and whenever he sees someone or something sleeping he does it.
Actions
Compassion - he is such a sweet boy, seriously.  He loves to give hugs and snuggles and not just to momma and papa, but to Oliver, to his friends, to his stuffed animals, and he makes 'muah-muah' sounds toward most animals he sees too.  It's so sweet.

He is very into cooking lately - real or pretend!  He's always been allowed to play with the pots and pans, and usually they ended up as drums, but lately he's been asking for big spoons and he'll 'stir it' and give me a 'taste' and pretends and everything.  I'm thinking there's a play kitchen in his future because he never goes a day without pretending to 'make something' using the pots and pans.  He even gives 'tastes' to the cat and says "mmm yumm" for him after he's pretended to eat it (sniffed the spoon in most cases).  He loves to help in the kitchen for real too, and I try to let him whenever it's safe.  He loves helping me make cookies or granola by dumping the ingredients in the bowl after I've measured them, or stirring it for me.  He loves helping me push the toaster down in the morning for his toast or pancakes and he'll push the buttons on the microwave sometimes too.

If there's a way for him to help - he will do it.  He. Loves. to help.  Such a little servant's heart and I love it.  Whenever we're outside he asks if he can sweep with the broom because he saw me sweeping the grass clippings one day.  And then he saw me sweeping the kitchen and asked to help with that broom.  He has a real thing for brooms lately.  I need to find one his size because he's had a ton of close calls winging that thing around unintentionally - think:  3 Stooges.
He also loves to help with laundry - gets kind of upset if he can't help actually.  He saw the basket in our closet today with a couple dirty towels in it and brought them to me asking me to fold them.  Didn't like it very much when I said it wasn't time for laundry yet, and that they were dirty so leave them be.  He even asks our roommate if he can help with his laundry.

Climbing - he loves climbing.  On the furniture, on the baskets, and on his hand-me-down trampoline (we have the best friends, ever!).

He was excitedly jumping up and down as fast as he could and screeching :)

He's getting very good at feeding himself with a spoon these days too.  He can successfully shovel oatmeal, greek yogurt and applesauce into his mouth, and only get a little bit on his face/chin.  And he's all about being independent about it too! He'll point to where he wants the bowl of food put on his tray and will gently remove my hand if I attempt to hold onto it after setting it down.

He's very into exploring new things and textures, so I've been trying to oblige him as much as possible - pipe cleaners, rice crispies, cotton balls, magnets, bathtub paints/crayons, he has a lot of fun with it! He has also been paying more attention to textures outside - like mulch, sticks, dirt and grass.

 

 Discovering the magnets wouldn't just fall off :)

Whew, I think that catches me up for a bit - time to erase the list and start a new one!  This little boy never ceases to amaze me and I thank God every day for giving him to us and for letting me be a stay at home momma to this sweet, precious boy!