We love fall

It got really cold, like 60, all of a sudden and we headed to the pumpkin patch for a quick morning school field trip.

Can you see his expression?

He totally dressed the part.  Saving his orange for when we go as a family.

We owned this game, even when I made him back up

Running

Bubble catching

Such a flirt

Also dominated the relay race

 Of course, they didn't keep relay order, but Bobby was the one who at the end decided to carry three pumpkins at a time.  Cheater or clever?

This kid is in Bobbys class

More classmates

I can't get over it.  He's huge (Dec. birthday)

Warts

A few more errands, and wiped out

Nice weekend

We had a practice pumpkin carving here too.  I was glad I did, sort of.  For the first half, Bobby was totally uninterested in it, especially cleaning out the guts, but once he saw he could pop the eyes in and out, he loved the jack o lantern.  Still, I think that might be our only carving session.
 
Ricks work puts on these great events, like the one for Easter.  This was a fall fest/chili cookoff/ beer tent thing. But mostly, free inflatables, pony rides, petting zoo.  So we were sold.  Plus decorating a mini pumpkin.   There is a lot of stuff going on in the next couple weeks and we are just getting started!  Although, it's hard to beat the free one.  Thank you Marine services.

15K in 1:10, 3rd place 30 year old girl

Ran a little race, we all caught up on sleep today, baked some cookies and had a nice family day!

Not the intended place for pumpkins, but he calls them his pumpkins and so they are like a toy.

Needless to say, my mums have been 'pinched' a little earlier than necessary.

Sleeping is going poorly, but everything else is going great.  Going to sleep is the tough part - I have been laying down with him.  Takes about an hour.  I don't really mind, dinner is ready for Rick before (usually) and we can DVR the good tv, but it's still not something I want to be doing at all.  But I do get to hear him talk about the trains and sing songs to himself.  Adoroable.

He really likes school and talks about his buddies and teachers sometimes.  He runs into the classroom by himself.  Teacher says he has a lot of fun and is very smart.  BUT, there is a case of lice in the 3 year old class. Gross.

Kid is a North Carolinian now,  He loves some homemade chips.

He is slowly losing the third person dialect.  About 75% Bobby and 25% me, mine and I.

Halloweeen costume will again wait until the very last minute.  Choices are pirate, fireman, cowboy, spider, bee, and he mentioned rabbit this morning - not that he knows what halloween is, but he'll get several chances.

"Mommy, make a trade"  when he wants a toy (or ipod) that I have. Better than, Bobby want that.  Or just taking it.  Something he picked up from the cousins no doubt.

"Where's my bless you?"  he said after a sneeze that I failed to acknowledge.

So happy for little Jubilee to bring a female touch to the boys team. But I still think there could be a mistake.

First Day Preschool

Not into posing for me

Did get a smile though

He's too young :(

Drop off was almost too easy. No tears - from either of us.  Now the four longest hours of my life.  Wondering if he will poop, or eat anything, or play nicely. or miss me at all.

Sleeping, toddler style

i don't want to be one of those parents, but they're chainsawing a huge tree down right outside of bobbys window (in the vacant lot) while he naps.  i mean, come on.

After a week sleeping on a big bed at the beach, we had serious troubles putting Bobby back in the crib.  So we didn't.  After climbing out of his crib 4-5 times the night before,  one night we just thew the mattress on the floor and he stayed on it.  This worked well for a few more nights, but now he wants to sleep in the big bed.  So we did that too.  Put him in the queen in the guest room, and he whimpers a bit, but stays there too. He does cry for mommy to lay down with him, but I don't want to get into that routine, so we've resisted so far.  I want to get him his own (twin) bed, but don't want all that furniture and bedding that go with it.

he still won't nap in either place, so we take a little walk in the stroller, then i walk the stroller into his room.  not ideal at all.

Testing Us

Bobby has been naked the whole weekend.  If we get clothes on him, it is only with a battle and they don't stay on.  He knows how to take off shirts now, as well as his diaper.  This pleases him a lot.  Then, he gets really panicky and asks for a diaper when he has to pee and will not be put on the potty.  Then he'll fill it up and take it off after a bit.  And we are basically down to about 3 diapers somehow.

"Buzz comes in peace, Mommy"

"turn on bubble maker" (hottub jets) - while in the bathtub at home today

he started calling loudly for "auntie sarah"

bobby broke my camera. so no new photos for a while and i will not be replacing it with anything over 80 bucks.

i feel like he may never sleep again.  put him down for a nap fairly easily. but then i heard some clanking and a door shut and i knew - he always closes doors behind him.  he walks into my room, where i was almost into bed and told me happily, that he climbed out of bed.

it is nice to sleep in a bed that isn't full of sand though.

That took long enough to happen

Bobby got up in the middle of the night (teething? or just too much to think about? trains you know) So I tried to put him in my bed, even though I know so much better - he doesn't cuddle and go back to sleep. So he hit me with his trains a few times (while I was trying to sleep still),  I threatened and eventually put him back in his crib crying and screaming planning to give it 10 minutes.  I went to brush my teeth and give him a minute to think about his actions.

And guess who toddles into the bedroom.

Thunderstorms

"Man angry turn on thunder"

I might have said something like that once a long long time ago, but I hardly even remember it and he pulled it out of thin air.

And when we come inside from the heat, he goes, "aah, cooler, better"

and..

see, reaching to turn it off the camera

Naturally, those are my shorts

and he can count.  sort of.  1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.  how he knows numbers above 10, i haven't a clue. seriously. didn't get it from me.  knows all his letters without confusing E/F, P/R anymore.  won't say the alphabet in order really, but will label things.

Hoarding, and counting, balls

Potty training isn't happening.  He's only 26 months, so it's not that big of a deal.  He does like wearing his undies and won't have any accidents, but he will also not go on the potty.  He was commando for 2 hours today, then started getting panicky and asking for a diaper.  He knows when he has to go, at least, which I think is progress.

Catching up

we are having a good summer and there's some fun stuff to share, but i'm so tired, i never feel like it, but here goes.  He's really funny and silly and talking up a storm.  Seriously, he never shuts up. He narrates every situation and thing he sees.  He doesn't say me or I yet. Just Bobby. He's very goofy and I like that and go with it.

how many times do you think he slipped on the floor in fleece socks?

His idea of recycling

New favorite post bath pose, that or naked

 He put on that brown croc and said, "I'm going to work" I said, okay, get your other shoe. And he came out with the red one.  Then grabbed his boogy board and tried to make me stand on it.  And those are stickers on his shirt, not a cool pattern.  Better there than my walls.

 He is also a total ham for the camera.  that or completely gets mad and turns it off.

cheese

 Such a big helper.  Went and got the gloves himself.

better that tree than my veg

"Bobby under pile"

 Ready for the beach! Very much likes to pull anything with a handle

Frat boy Bobster

And see those flip flops above?  I don't care for them, they rub his foot a bit and I try to put 2 or 3 pairs on him before them, but he asks for them. then one day in the car randomly, he says "bobby shoes like mommy shoes"  so now, I see.

And we are still obsessed with Thomas the train, and now Toy Story.  We have a billion other books, but I hate them all, I've read them so much - every time I would reach for the shelf, it would be, oh not this one, or this one.  But now, we're down to Thomas, and Woody and  Buzz books.  And I have to get some video up, or show you in person, but a lot of the books are the level 1 and 2 readers that have about 50 unique words in the books and he has it completely memorized. Sound effects and all.  It's great, but creepy. It only takes about 2 readings before he starts reading it to me.

Still loving the bike

Bet you thought I was being a good safety parent

But no, the helmet came first

For Kirin

These are our floors.  I think it's an oak/natural wood.  I thought I liked the really dark stains, and I do, but I think they are in themselves like a piece of furniture.  A natural color is sort of just a floor and won't dictate other design decisions.  And is way forgiving of sand and dirt and god knows what else.

or you could go with the blue paint!

I like this age

Terrible twos aren't really evident (yet?)  Bobby has quite the stubborn side and is prone to drama, but it's really fun watching him learn so fast.  He knows about 22 letters and counted to 10 (without 7) for the first time today. Granted I had to do pushups to get him to count, but he knows it more or less.

He also continues to pick up on everything I say and will repeat it.  I talk to myself/others in the car and he knows it.  He also says funny things like: perfect, better and easy.

He has been taking 3-4 hour naps recently, so I guess he's tuckered out well.  He is also barely eating though, so I don't know what he's running on.

I ate these when he wouldn't

Over 4th of July, Grammy put him on the potty and he went.  All weekend, lots and then we kept it up.  I had tried a few months before and while interested in the toilet, he didn't want to sit on it at that point. Well, then he did, but it turned into not wanting to go on it.  I'd sit him up there and he'd shake and say done without even trying.  But today was the best mail day of all.

First we got a big present from Grandma. A table and chair set.  I have been shopping for one forever and just couldn't decide. Pottery barn had cute chairs only that would match our coffee table and were small enough, but then I could do better pricewise and Ikea was out of red sets and whatever, I just never pulled the trigger.  This was great.  So far, just one chair together, but we're on it tomorrow.

Then we got a great book,  (from whom?)  It's really cute and funny about the alphabet.  

And Bobbys birth certificate came back and I got my new license (a day after I had to go to court and prove I changed my address) and Bobby got a package. It was underwear!!!  He loved it...

He insisted on putting all four pairs on at once. I don't think he gets it, but he kept saying Undies!  We then went for a run while he wore them. Later, it took some creative distracting by me to get him not to wear them to bed, over his diaper.  And to bring it back, he peed on the potty twice today.  He had been sitting facing the tank, but he asked to be flipped around and face out.  I'm pretty sure I'm not going to buy a little plastic potty, but don't know really.  He giggles when he toots though, I love it. 

This is not happening

Cleaning up pine needles

First Paid Haircut

And such an infomercial before and after.  Bright eyes and big grin in the after; like they do on diet ads and just happen to get tan, blonde and smile in the after shot.

Keeping it Exciting

AKA: He is proving to be his mothers son after all.  We were bored down on the beach, so decided last minute to come up to Greensboro to see Grammy and the Wilsons and hope to find some more adventure.  Since all the tubing places were booked and the Grasshoppers were out of town over the weekend, we didn't find much more to do at first.  But the shopping, food and company is way better here; plus a great babysitter so we had a great weekend full of lots of playing.  After a great morning and a long nap, we all headed to the Morgans next door to use their pool and enjoy their annual party and some really good hot dogs.  Then the Wilsons rolled into town so we got some more swimming done with them.  It was a really nice time and hard to wrap up, but it was bedtime so we packed up and headed out around 7.  (I know- I'm getting to it already! Just setting the scene)

Sitting on the bike for a close up

Well, Bobby adores Wiley and they started off out the side gate to Grammys with Rick.  They were racing and our normally very fleet footed, coordinated athletic two year old trips.  He goes down often, and we thought this was no big deal, but he was holding some toy in his hands, so didn't put them out to catch himself and ended up kissing the driveway.  It made a nice gash and a bit of blood.  It swelled up right away and scared Bobby a bit. It looked pretty gnarly, but we got some ice on it and he calmed down quickly.  I got on the phone and the pediatric nurse and doctor thought we should go to the hospital since the rule of thumb is that if it passes the pink of the lips, it needs a stitch or some glue.  So instead of bedtime, we went to the ER.  He was upset to have to leave Wiley and Archer and wanted to stay and play.  Luckily, we picked the second hospital in town and on a Sunday night full of at home fireworks, there was no wait.  We fast tracked right through and got seen and advised.

Getting his stats taken

Again, he was a trooper and very calm the whole time.  He never said it hurt and only played with it a bit with his tongue.  The doc said we could leave it alone if we didn't want to go through the stress of closing it, but we knew it would be better to get the stitch even if it would be rough in the meantime.

So, they papoosed him down with a sheet and laid on him and clenched his head down while they stuck a needle into the cut to numb it up.  This was tough because he obviously squirmed anyway.

Not sure if that was worse or the needle and suture going through.  I hope he was numb, because they were both very hard to watch as it took more than one try to get it through cleanly and then pull it out the other side.  I didn't want my baby to be hurting anymore and just wanted it to be over!!!  They got one stitch in and it was obvious it was the right thing to do as it closed up the big gap right away.  Of course, he wanted to put another in above it, but this one was cleaner and quicker.

Getting ready

He definitely cried and called Mommy the whole time, but sort of resigned to it too.  Maybe that was because he literally couldn't move.  It was over soon enough and then we headed out as quick as we came.  Thank god for Tricare, as we had no copay then and probably won't see a bill, or if we do, it's very cheap. 

watching tv afterwards

I think it looks quite good and only time will tell if there'll be a scar.  Maybe a little one, but he's so young and got so much growing to do still.  It has scabbed up a bit by now and he's got a nice bruise, but the swelling has gone down.  And his teeth are fine (phew!)

So the rest of the holiday went on as planned.  We headed downtown for the parade in the morning, along with the festival of bouncy houses and some arcade games and lots of vendors and crappy food.  It was very crowded and hot, but Mimi came down too and we got to play in the firetruck hose and had a pretty good time.  Rick and I got to go out Monday night to, thanks to a rain delay, a movie AND a baseball game and fireworks.  Today we are hitting up the barber and Ghassans before we head back home and have to find someone to take out stitches at the end of the week.

Happy Independence Day!

5 Day weekend

today feels like a Saturday, but it's not, so yay. Today is a travel day for the long weekend, for Rick since he works so hard the rest of the days... We headed down through Carolina Beach to Kure Beach, hit up the Aquarium, had lunch, then took the ferry from Fort Fisher to Southport. 

Fish from the Cape Fear River

Albino alligator, our claim to fame

Way more fun than looking at fish

Obligatory shark mouth photo to add to the collection

  Southport is an adorable little town which has the biggest 4th of July festival in the state - starting tomorrow.  No big deal to miss it though, it's all art and music and who knows what, but 3 long hot days ending in fireworks.  Needless to say there was A LOT of bunting up on the 1800s houses.  Cute town.

Just note his hair; Rick is gonna make me cut it soon

With Daddy

With Mommy, nice try

 We went for a monster long walk, and nobody fell asleep. Oh well,  He was down hard at 6:59pm.  He's been sleeping like a champ. (am i repeating myself?)  He has an off day once every 2-3 weeks, but recently has been having 3 hour naps and 11hour nights.

I thought the mini grocery buggy was the cutest thing ever, but then he put on the backpack. I think he got that for his first birthday, but I just got it out again and it's not as big as I thought it was (a good thing) He has taken to carrying (and sleeping with) so many things, that he and I can't hold them, so I grabbed that and it went to dinner with us full of toys/ipad/sippy cup etc. Then one of us put it on him and the rest was history. He didn't want to take it off to get in his car seat and when we got home he put it on again and ran full speed at me.  Video to follow on flickr.

 

Bobby is getting really good at identifying numbers and letters.  Counting however, goes like this: 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 16.  Seriously.

We spent a good 4 hours at the beach this morning.  Longest trip ever for us, but didn't feel like it and we got our holiday fill and can now avoid it this weekend.  We spent most of the time in the water.

Didn't bother with pics today

This is him pretending to sleep on the car washing sponge.  He says "sleeping" then throws his head back, "wake up"

We got a little plastic basketball hoop and it's a big hit of course. As is stuffing the ball up his shirt.

Having trouble getting up

We're going to the aquarium tomorrow and will probably find a way to take the ferry around down there too. I might have to go buy a camera on the way there.