Right?

I gave Bobby a high five this morning after he hit the ball really hard and half way through going to get the ball, he ran back to me and asked for 'nuckle' with his fist up

His hair got seriously wavy this morning after running in the humidity.

22 Months

22 months.  how did that happen?  And why don't I have another baby yet? :(  Bobby is a trip as always.  He took a monster nap today 1-4:30 so I don't have the heart to enforce 7pm bedtime.  Soon though!  He loves his daddy and loves playing baseball with him.  He is a maniac hitting and throwing the ball hard!
I am trying to discipline him more if he bites or wants to play with scissors etc, but it doesn't really work.
Rick has his first baseball game tomorrow.  I'm trying to decide if Bobby can sit through the circus.  The Azalea festival is going on - street fairs, parade, air show, etc.
I do believe it's strawberry picking season.  This is why I'm glad Bobby is growing up.  Lots of fun things to do with him now.
We are super excited for our west coast trip.  Looking forward to seeing almost everyone, and getting out to California for some time alone - Thanks to all in advance!
I am a total slack at parenting and home duties during the weekend.  Rick is such a champ as I shirk all responsibility.

Look what I did!

Not too shabby if I do say so myself.  Wet the hair this time.  I was really timid with the front, but then had to go back and get it after all since it was too long.  Around the ears is really short and crisp, but i like it.  I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Bobby was diagnosed with croup.  He definitely had a croup cough, but I was also told he would have 2-3 bad nights and it would last up to a week.  He had one really bad night, then I took him to the doctor, then he was a little more wheezy the next day, but never had extended coughing and I never had to give him the medicine (steroids) that I picked up just in case.  He slept good 8 hour chunks even with the cough (until 5 am) which was at that point an improvement.  Then it sort of faded and he's just a bit snotty now, but has slept 11 and 12 hours the last two nights and is currently napping, so whatever it all was, I think we're past it and back to our routine.  Just in time to travel in two weeks!

It is hot and super windy right now, but I think we're going to get on the bike this afternoon because I found some horses a few miles away!

Books

So we go to the library every week and get 5-7 new, seemingly interesting books (you know on trucks probably), Roseann has sent us a lot of old ones,  I bought 20 or so from a library sale (50 cents each or less).  And yet, Bobby makes me read the same 10 over and over and over.  I can read them with my eyes closed.  I hate curious george, froggy and dora's eggs right now. I don't know what his aversion is to new stories, I can get a couple pages in and then he chucks them on the floor.

Also, note to self, don't buy used books in bulk. There's a reason the library discards them, they are beat up or just stupid stories.  I thought I did well considering the selection and the pressure of Bobby being with me, but upon closer inspection, they're not all great stories. oh well.  I will stick to Ed McKay and consignment sales though. $2-3 is the max one should pay for a kids book with 15 pages.

Aside: Ugh, it's raining buckets and i just turned up the heat. phooey.

Wahhhhhhhh

One size fits all does not fit me!!!  I want a big floppy beach hat.  Poop.

That was a cruel joke, body

File under TMI, but for the last two weeks my boobs were really tender and i was secretly crossing my fingers, but alas I am still not pregnant.  And I'm really sad because this 99% means I won't have a 2011 baby and that sucks.  Frowny face emoticon.

Oh yah

Right, in case you were curious.  I gave up canned diet coke when I moved here and only had fountain cokes when we went out to eat (which is never)  But the Exxon does sell about 300 ounces for 44 cents, so I still indulged.  But then we all went cold turkey on everything but water for Lent.  Rick is really suffering iced tea withdrawal.  I also think Bobby drinks a lot of juice, so I tried to cut back, and he will drink water from a bottle directly, but now we're back on the juice for him.

Lord, I can ramble.  I need friends.

Sunday night

So, Bobby is not sleeping and it stresses me out.  Like stayed up through a 45 minute run at noon on Friday,  then chatted to himself for an hour in his crib before he cried a ton and I got him up.  The last 3 nights have been lousy too.  Waking at 3am or so.  I can put him down again easily, but he won't fall asleep and ends up crying out after 10 minutes. I've let him cry then for 20minutes and it only gets worse.  I wish I knew what was going on.  He had a few naps last week where I heard him talking to himself for a long time before conking out.  And tonight he never went down at 7pm - a first, although he had a good nap at naptime. He got a little sniffle, so I think that's it, but it started before that.  And he always dupes me, as soon as I get him, he says "eat" so  I get him milk and sometimes a snack, which he never touches.  He just wants to get out of his room.  I wonder if he's not had enough activity (probably not) Like we did Lowes and more inside play today...Or is is teething? who knows.  What's also funny is that I'm the mean one, totally cold and serious about getting back to sleep, yet he wants only me and nothing to do with Rick.  He does seem to want to cuddle a lot, (Bobby, not Rick) so I indulge, but at 5am, my patience is thin.  So I would totally plop him down in front of Elmo and be up for the day, except we really had gotten up at 2:30am.  And oddest of all, he never seems phased by sleeping 8 hours instead of 12.  And totally selfishly, it totally ruins my plans for the day.  He may go back to sleep 6-8am, but I planned on running at 8 and leaving the house to be somehwere at 10.  But then breakfast gets pushed back, blah blah blah.  Whine. There, that helped.  Not really. sigh.

So, you see that I've joined twitter.  Not sure if it's here to stay though.  Probably because I don't get to talk to adults during the day, I have all these thoughts that I want to share.  Yet, I don't think I'm special enough to broadcast them through Facebook and subject everyone to them.  But I can subject you all to them.  And even then, all the stuff I want to say, I can usually discount it by the time I actually get to the phone or computer.  And even if I were witty and all that, I only have like 5 followers, most of who I don't even know,  (not you, Emily) just some strangers who like the same things I do.  Or who knows how they found me.  I am supposedly following all these other people/companies, but basically this is a one way push for me so far.  Every time I want to read other tweets, it's packed full of play by play Giants tweets, so I get nowhere.  Does that help, Elizabeth? (Not at all I'm sure)  It's a good outlet, as this has been tonight as I deal with my new life in cheery Hampstead, NC.

090 a photo by sld78 on Flickr.

He's my kid!

So we were making grilled cheese for lunch and Bobby had a little bit of cheese and then he pointed to the counter, saying "eat, eat"  then he reached for the other piece of bread and put 2 pats of butter in his mouth.  And didn't spit them out.  Hungry, or starting his love of butter early?

So you want a blog

I haven't been blogging much because my life is boring. And I think I could use a twitter account and pass on little snippets of Bobbys funniness throughout the day, but then I'd have to be glued to my phone or something and not with my kid.  We did have a good weekend though.  It was super warm, high 70s here, so we went out to lunch then drove to Wrightsville Beach, but Bobby didn't manage to stay awake to enjoy the sand - another day perhaps.  It was pretty crowded, even in February, so I can only see how bad it would be in summer.  Its location is so prime that it would be all college kids anyway.  So we went to Toys R Us and got a sweet new t ball stand.  Bobby became obsessed with baseball after finding Grammys wiffleball bat before we left. You can't really pitch to him, and he got fustrated at a swinging ball, but he does love to pitch to you, then field the ball.  He will shag the ball so fast, even if I miss the ball, he'll run behind me to get it.  The set up we got actually has a swinging ball off a stick, but once he saw the ball on the tee, he didn't use it anymore.  The bat is a slightly better size too, but still probably too heavy for a 1 year old. So, with no beach time, we headed to Harris Teeter.  The Food Lion is really close and this is like 6 miles past that, so it's a treat.  And it's a nice new one.  Didn't get much, it was more the principal of it, just big fat blueberries, yum - even at $5 a pint. ouch.  But the Food Lion does have mini Chobani yogurt cups, which the Teeter doesn't.  (now you see why I don't blog; no one's paying to advertise on here!)

Bobby is quite the chatter bug, noisy without really saying much,  Rick is worried, but I'm waiting until he's 2.   He really doesn't put even simple 2 word sentences together (I want, Bobby eat)  I think it's because he's so good at communicating with his grunts and signs....

When he gets hurt, even a fake hurt, he wants a kiss and rub on his ow-ee.  But I also see him kissing his own finger where he has a cut.  It's pretty cute.

Tuesday

Sweet new shovel

My one reservation about this house was that it's on a busier road.  It really isn't a main road, or even that busy, but it's sort of on the way to a lot more houses, so people go too fast. But, it finally stopped raining enough to go outside and play, so of course we did and what I figured out is that if we go out back, we can run across the fairway, cut through someones yard (or walk to the opening) and get to another quieter street.  We also found a sand bunker 4 or 5 houses down, which is practically a huge sandbox. Woohoo.  So we took our new awesome shovel out ($3 or 4 at Target) and had a nice afternoon. Also very nice from Target, the California Chicken Salad.  TONS of dried cherry, goat cheese, walnuts on top of salad with a good poppyseed dressing.  You wouldn't think I'd like eating at a snack bar, but it's perfect to kill time after a shopping trip and make sure Bobby gets fed before he inevitably falls asleep in the car on the way home.  It's about a bit of a hike to Target so we combine all our shopping together and won't go very often at all.

Now when Bobby sees Cookie Monster, he puts his hand to his mouth and waves it about and goes arghh.

We made a flower out of playdough today and he sniffed it.

exhausted

phew! unloading, unpacking and chasing a toddler.  and it's barely 6pm.   we're settling in now to watch some football and wind down.  tomorrow will be interesting w/o daddy, i doubt I'll get much unpacking done. got the important things out, plates and such, my slippers! and my great long underwear.  i hope it gets really cold and snowy again b/c now i have my boots and parkas and warm clothes, but of course it probably won't. we moved about a month too late for all that.  The excitement of getting my stuff back was quickly tempered by the realization that all the clothes are two sizes too small, but I also have tons of great workout clothes and new adidas in there, so one will motivate for the other.  POD is leaving tomorrow morning and our washer/dryer better come soon (as soon as i buy them)  And I am rescinding my invitations and reissuing them as a cleaning party invitation. So much dust in wrapped items, how does that happen?

Made it

We moved down to Hampstead today (15 miles north of Wilmington) Since the computer is our only source of entertainment, I won't blog too long.  The house is great, way more than we need and were we to stay longer, it would be tempting to really decorate and furnish it (entry way, mud hallway off garage etc) I hope everyone can come visit us. The closets are huge and there's a sink in the laundry room.  Aah, little joys.  Bobby had a great time running the empty rooms.  Unfortunately, the handles are all latches (not knobs) which he can reach and loves to, so the doors will have to be locked.  We got a mattress and a few things out of the POD and besides my jackets, I'm really excited to have my alarm clock back.  It's the best.

First thing we unpacked (a giant puzzle too)

Too tall to hang from, much to his dismay

Misses his Grammy :(

Moving

I hope this move isn't too traumatic for Bobby, he has slept just under 12 hours for the last two nights.  (usually it's 11-11.5)  We'll see, he's a trooper, but when we moved to Michigan, I thought he was teething the way he was waking up, then no teeth ever showed up.  (when they did, he doesn't bat an eye).  We will drive down tomorrow, then come back to Greensboro to get the big stuff in a few weeks.

I am excited to move, but not excited to leave Loch Ridge ct or Grammy.  We just have such a good thing going.  But I am so pumped to get my jackets and shoes out of storage! And who knows what else will be waiting for me that I have forgotten about, hopefully no bugs or animals though!

We had two nice days (over 60) here and we spend all afternoon outside, he loves to "pick up" leaves and break sticks.  We'll have to have a fire tonight just to use all the kindling up.

And, Auntie Elizabeth, thank you for Goodnight Gorilla, Bobby and Grammy read it all the time, sometimes twice a night!

And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLYN!

Hard Work

This kid, like all toddlers I'm sure, is hard work.  This has been a long week for some reason.  Trying to keep busy inside I guess.  I look forward to and create errands.  Storytime was moved up a day b/c Tuesday was so boring, but it did get above 45 for a bit so we went for a walk and to the playground.  Wednesday, we went to a bouncey house while it rained, which he loves. Today, I tried to go to Walmart at 10am and he fell asleep about 2 minutes away from the house.  It was a rough night last night, waking at 2, 3, and finally up for the day at 4am.  Inexplicably too.  So that's why he's in bed now already.

We did get outside and run around today.  He's been asking for snow, but I can't produce.  There was a cement truck in the neighborhood which we had to stare at forever.  He's really regimented now and makes sure I put a hat on him when we have to go out.  He also love his gloves, not mittens though. His new obsession is scissors, I'm mean seriously, he's not even 2.  He is a sponge I guess. Still likes to cook and clean.  Also obsessed with Elbo.  If you sit near the computer or tv, he tries to make you turn it on.  And today, when we tried to have some quiet time, he wasn't even interested in the rest of Sesame street, just wanted Elbo.  But he does love his 6 inch, 5 dollar grover doll.  He is really into Elmo and I guess it's from our books and coloring books, and he's just put it all together, that now he talks and is on tv. woohoo.

He will, however, drop everything and have you read to him.  but he is picky about books and knows which ones he wants to hear.  He has been doing this strange thing, where it seems like he wants to pick up things in the books.  He is also quite the chatterbox and still running everywhere.  And he can jump like a frog, it's the cutest.

His real obsession though, is Grammy.  He runs around the house looking for her, throwing his palms up in the air when she isn't home.  When he hears a cough or sneeze or the door open, he bolts to her.  He will push me away and tell me no if I try to get near him.  He will only jump to her.  He cuddles with her like I never get.  I wonder if it stemmed from me leaving last week and them having a good 24 hours alone together where he didn't miss me then either.

We are moving so soon, and hope to really shore up a lease tomorrow finally.  Then we'll get our stuff down in the next two weeks, so plan your weekends at the beach with us!  Then I will really have a rude awakening, having Grammy here as a backup and Rick home has made me spoiled; it will be even harder with no breather until after bedtime.  I'd like to think I didn't rely on Grammy to do that much, but when I wanted to read the paper or make a meal or just put away clothes, it was so great to have her be able to play with him. I know I was so lucky these last 18 months!

First Haircut

Don't have good before/after pics, but Bobby got his first haircut in Greenville from Aunt Mary Beth.  He was perfect.  Minimal squirming and no crying.  and he looks so much better than his long baby hair shag.

2010 Holidays

We had a super great Christmas.  I loved having everyone here and all the chaos it brought.  Bobby liked all his presents and all the events, baking, playing and decorations that came with the holidays.  We went to Memphis for six days and had a nice, relaxing time there.  We went to the zoo and the childrens museum, and some playgrounds.  We weren't really used to so much downtime and watched a lot of tv, but Bobby really took to his Grandpa (after a few days of warm up) and it was a good visit.  He slept on a matress on the floor in his own room and bedtime wasn't a nightmare.  It is hard to have a toddler in your lap, even for that short of a flight. Next week, Grandma Roseann comes and then shortly after that we move down to Camp LeJeune, so it will be a busy busy month.