Hockey Returns

Time moves fast. So fast that it seems like yesterday I was telling you about our vacation to Walt Disney World (again). Then I look at it has been a month since Little Guy took his first international flight - to Cabo of course. And now, hockey season is in full swing. Here's the evidence. (ok, look for a real video soon. Apparently I need a you tube account, which I don't have. Instead here's a photo taken seconds ago.)


Have patience with me. My patience with outside forces is gone. This means I will be posting again. See, I have even embraced technology and will post from either my phone or, as is the case tonight, Big Poppy's phone, from time to time. Now I must work on getting a driver (Bentley with a driver is this gals dream) all the time. I feel like such a power player "working" while on the our way to...you guessed it, the hockey game. Any bets on how long into the game before Little Guy asks for ice cream? - Posted using BlogPress from Big Poppy's iPhone

I'm Taking A Shower

Last weekend Little Guy and I went to SD to visit my side of the family and watch SoyBoy play in the state baseball tournament (more to come later on that). We were staying with Ranger and FavoriteAunt and I was a little nervous about the bathroom situation. You see, their kids are almost fully grown and no one takes baths. When they redid their bathroom a couple years ago instead of putting in a tub they opted for a shower only instead of stepping over the tub to get into the shower (the shower is huge and I love that!). However, the only time Little Guy has been in the shower was a few months back. He was playing in the bathroom while I was showering. The next thing I know, the shower curtain is moving and Little Guy is crawling into the shower - fully clothed. After he felt the water splashing on him and it not stopping, Little Guy let me know his displeasure. I had visions of tears and sadness while forcing him to shower.

Friday night got to be too late and Little Guy fell asleep without getting cleaned up. That had to be wonderful sleeping for him. I mean, have you ever started watching baseball at noon with high humidity? Napping in the shade of the grand stands because you were so upset to go home for a few minutes because Mommy wanted you to nap in the air conditioned home? Making it home around 10 pm? But he did fall straight asleep despite my poor parenting skills. :)

On Saturday morning, I re-introduced the shower to Little Guy.

There were tears alright. Tears when it was time to turn the shower off. He was not a happy boy.

Saturday was much of the same. Baseball. Hot. High humidity. Napping in the grand stands. However, Little Guy was a little wiser. At about 7:30 he looked to me and said. "Hot. Go home." I asked him, "You want to go home?" "YES!"

And so we went home and he was able to shower again and I took these three quick video clips with my phone. I watch them now and still laugh. 

When we got home on Sunday, Big Poppy was holding Little Guy. All of a sudden Little Guy looked dead serious.

LG: I showered!

BP: You took a shower?

LG: Yeah. Little Guy showered!

He is too flipping cute!

Birthday Fun

This past weekend was GrandC's birthday and today is FavoriteNiece's birthday (a new niece will be appearing soon, I may need to rethink this name). For a low-key celebration, we went a few rides and had a little lunch. Of course there were presents and cake (or key lime pie)! I truly believe the reason why some people do not like getting older has everything to do with how we celebrate birthdays.

When we are first beginning to celebrate our birthday, family and close friends come over to eat cake and ice cream. A lot of the time those that love us spoil us with presents. SIDEBAR: Spoiling is ok, in moderation. Spoiling to the point of rottenness, not ok.

As our birthday draw nears, we sit in anticipation, not quite sure what will happen this year. Will the cake be chocolate? Will our favorite food be served? It is all so very exciting, waiting to see is going to happen. 

Then, on the day, THE DAY, things really start to look up.

Before we know it, our heart is racing. The thrill of our birthday brings so many smiles.

I understand why some may not like getting older. The slice of cake we eat gets smaller. The number of people who see or call you or send a card on your birthday reduces dramatically. Suddenly, telling someone "Happy Birthday" on Facebook is socially acceptable. The personal connection is gone.

It's time to treat every one's birthday like a special day. I challenge you for the next year to send a card. Use the phone as a phone (i.e. don't text or Facebook). Eat a big slice of cake. Celebrate those you care about. Reconnect. And above all, have fun. Have a happy birthday. Help someone else have a happy birthday.

Happy Birthday to our FavoriteNiece!

I Know

I know I am not always the best at keeping things updated.

I know that I have many areas to improve myself.

I know that despite my many flaws I have a beautiful family, both here and far away.

I know that these blue eyes see the best in everyone, including me.

I know our love and happiness is real.

I know that we open our arms love everyone, furry or not.

I know this Little Guy is learning from the best man I know.

I know having a best friend helps you jump feet first.

I know having some you trust, respect and love is vital.

I know that power of flying on your own.

I know the power of keeping people close.

I know I have a wonderful family.

I know how truely lucky I am.

NOTE: These are a few of the pictures from Little Guys two year photos. I know - we look good. :)

I Understand

Do you see these beautiful blue eyes?



I understand. I get it. Little Guy is easy to fall in love with.

I also understand that I may have played a role in our current situation. After all it was I that taught him:

ME: What do you give the girls?

LG: *** Wink, Wink - as in both eyes close for a quick wink*** A wink and smile

I may have also contributed by this:

ME: Where are your biceps?

LG: ***Rolls up the right arm sleeve and kisses the bicep, rolls up the left arm sleeve and kisses the bicep. ***

I do understand it is hard to resist these smiles.

However, I do not understand this change.

The game is suppose to go like this:

ME: Who loves you?

LG: MOMMY!

ME: Who else loves you?

LG: DADDY!

ME: Who else loves you?

LG: JETER!

Sometimes the game goes like this:

ME: Who loves you?

LG: DADDY!

ME: Who else loves you?

LG: MOMMY!

ME: Who else loves you?

LG: JETER!

Ok, not as much fun for me but it is acceptable.

However, there have been a couple times where it went like this:

ME: Who loves you?

LG: EMILY! (not her real name)

ME: ***Excuse me? When did this little hussy show up in the picture? The last time I knew, Emily was the school "friend" biter on the incident report. When did the little hussy trump me? This will never do. ***

I understand this little hussy friend becoming smitten by Little Guy.

I do not understand this little hussy friend out-ranking me.

I might need to have a talk with the little hussy friend's parents to ensure she watches herself.

Big Poppy

There is no doubt how much Big Poppy loves Little Guy nor that Little Guy thinks Big Poppy is the greatest.

The love between these two boys is indescribable. At the baseball game yesterday, the guest service attendant commented over and over again about the two of the them (and this lady takes her job very (VERY!) seriously, do not try to do anything without her permission).

Whether Little Guy wants to borrow Big Poppy's sunglasses, even though the sun was not shining (yet again)

or if he just needs someone to catch him humpty dumpty-ing into the pool

or making sure foul balls do not land on his head

Big Poppy is always going to be there.

In a few years, when you are unhappy with Big Poppy telling you no to car keys or weekend trips, don't forget how much you love him Little Guy and know, without a doubt, he thinks the world of you.

***NOTE: Did you hear a scream of "Noooooo. F----------." this morning? Not to worry, it was just me finishing up an original posting and then watching my computer shut down, without warning unless you count the pop-up that told me it would be happening in 15 minutes which was like 2 minutes before the shut down occurred. Or at least it seemed like 2 minutes and I thought I was finishing up instead of halfway through. Things seem to take me longer than I think they should.***

Growing Boy, Jumping Boy

Last month was Little Guy's birthday. It also means it was time to check in the doctor and see how he compares to other little boys in terms of growth. As expected, he is a tall little guy (I am starting to get looks from people that don't understand he isn't as old has his height makes him appear. You know the looks, why isn't he potty trained - more on that to come - or he should be speaking better by now.)

Vitals at Twenty-four Months

Height: 35 1/2" (90 percentile)
Weight: 28 lbs 7.5 oz (50-75 percentile)
Head: 49.8 cm (50-75 percentile)
Click here for vitals at eighteen months.

Two year pictures are on the way. From the sneak peak, I am very pleased. It helps to have such a handsome family.

*** Can I tell you how annoying it is to have program updates running in the background while I am trying to do this update. Things are running very slow and I need to leave in a few minutes. Sometimes, I think computers are meant to irritate me. ***

Along with being a growing boy, Little Guy is also a jumping boy. He finds anything and everything to use as his launching pad, including yoga blocks.

Prior to jumping, one must count to three.

After reaching three, bend the knees, put a smile on your face and prepare for blast off.

Now it is time to enjoy the flight.

A safe landing is desirable, however, tumbling to the ground also offers up loads of fun.

And if you are lucky Little Guy, I will soon be able to hide the shirt you are wearing so Big Poppy cannot put it on you ever again. When you look back to pictures and it looks like you wore the same shirt every day please know that was not the case, however Big Poppy put it on you once a week and let other shirts gather dust in your drawer (Big Poppy helps him get ready in the morning most of the time).

Biceps?

Big Poppy and I like to be active. No surprise to anyone that knows us.

Admitly, I lost a bit of myself this past year while I was trying to be the perfect Happy Mom. Do you know what I realized? This Mommy is a lot happier when she has sweated out the stress of the day. Those quick workouts that barely cause a blimp on the heart rate monitor and the attitude "at least I did something" do not help me on my quest to being the perfect Wife and Mommy to Big Poppy and Little Guy.

This gal needs a good old fashion, sweating like a pig while breathing so hard it might wake a sleeping child.

And some mornings, it does wake a sleeping child.

At that point, the treadmill is stopped and it is on to weights - which I despise unless I'm strong and therefore avoid at all possible costs. Yes, I do realize to get strong I need to lift the weights. I said I was on the quest to be the perfect Wife and Mommy to my family, not the perfect workout parnter.

On this particular morning, Little Guy rolled out of bed and was ready to show me how to create biceps.

He has very good form, for a two year old.

He is also very good at counting to ten.

The only issue we have when Little Guy rolls out of bed to be my personal trainer is the weight size. I like him to stick to his one pounders. He is not always a fan of pink and wants to pick up the heavier, gray weights I use. (Notice I said "I use" - feel free to kindly remind Big Poppy we have an adequate workout room or that the weather is pretty nice outside these days. Is it shameful to enlist your help in getting Big Poppy back on the workout trail? You can also kindly remind Big Poppy that workout endorphines are a good thing and have him look to me as an example.)

Anyways, Little Guy is very good at bicep curls. He must get that from me.

Those are Stickers

We do are best to keep Little Guy clean. Sometimes it is difficult because he is an active little boy. I promise, his shirt is not dirty here. He is just really into stickers.

Stickers can be used a bribe or a reward or, if I'm feeling naughty, torture (as you keep the stickers just out of reach but within eye sight but are unable to hear "sticker, sticker, sticker" - which is said in an increasingly whiny voice).

What I like to do sometimes is time Little Guy's reaction time. You ask him polite to come see you. No response. You may tell him to come see you in a little more authoritative tone. No response. You ask if he would like a sticker.

And in true fashion, as soon as Little Guy sees the camera, the smile brightens his face.

He also moves quicker when there is a camera around.

A camera could likely make Little Guy move quicker than stickers do.

And he just cannot wait to see his face on the camera's display.



Birthday Fun

Did you think I had forgotten how to post a blog? Not at all. I was just trying to get caught up in life and then would update my friends and family on the exciting life and times of a Happy Mom. Alas, I have come to the realization that catching up is not in the cards for this gal. Instead, I just will keep playing along and do my best. From now on, my best will include blog posts. If for no other reason, I really enjoy it.

Despite how this first picture may look, Little Guy had a wonderful birthday. His actual birthday was on Thursday and a few close friends and family joined us on Saturday. I took both Thursday and Friday off from work...sorta, I rebelled and wore jeans to the office on Thursday morning and then picked up Little Guy early from school. Big Poppy, Little Guy and I had a relaxing afternoon and enjoyed homemade mac-n-cheese and a little cupcake for desert. When asked, Little Guy would proudly declare it his birthday and let us know he was TWO, just in case we had forgotten.

On Friday, Little Guy headed back to school and I focused on party prep. Mainly baking and frosting (more on this on a later date). A Mickey Mouse pound cake was baked and then some carrot cake cupcakes hit the oven. Lot's of frosting was whipped up, plenty of it sampled (I still have a tummy ache) and coloring added. All in all, I think my first venture into the world of cake decorating went rather well. Little Guy was very excited to see the Mickey cake. If nothing else, I got to see lots of smiles and more than one "MICKEY". 

Little Guy has a little friend in BabyMack. Although I'm not sure if BabyMack was all too thrilled to be hugged so tightly but my blue babe.

As per the norm, Little Guy was spoiled. Water toys are always a big hit with him. Dancing Mickey found his way back into our home - thanks GrandB - and his songs and dance are filling up my head.

No party is complete without ballons. You cannot imagine how much fun it is to take the weight off a helium ballon and watch it dance on the ceiling. Little Guy would "jump" to try to grab the ballon string, however this boy cannot jump to save his life - the 1/2 inch vertical just does not help you get things up high.

Little Guy had two of his favorite play mates to help him.

After everyone left, Little Guy proudly declared:

"It as a party for me!"

Yes it was.

Weekend Ice

Little Guy is waaaaay into hockey. He likes other things but loves hockey...and Mickey and Nemo. A perfect day for Little Guy right now is one spent watching hockey (or shooting the puck in the house) with Mickey and Nemo at his side.

Earlier this year Big Poppy and Little Guy went skating for the first time. There were big grins as Big Poppy hunched over and helped Little Guy along. Needless to say, it didn't take long before Big Poppy's back was sore and he needed a break. However, Little Guy wanted none of that. He carefully made his way out to the ice.

Yesterday we all went skating together. Let me point I grew up in state where hockey was only seen on tv. People who skated did so on 4 wheels and may or may not have had a big old round break on the front of the skate. (In college I did purchase my first pair of roller blades and a few summers ago I got a second pair. Big Poppy and I would skate the bike trails and he will do circles around me - literally. The showoff also likes to skate backwards much faster and safer than I do facing forward. This has a point - maybe.)

As I was saying, yesterday we all went skating together. We brought the camera to capture the fun times. And it was fun. But I learned that I need to take some skating lessons if I am going to be out on the ice. Little Guy prefers to have Big Poppy hold him while going really fast than to sit around and wait for a normal speed with Mommy. I will be purchasing a helmet for Little Guy before we go out on the ice again. The visions of him slipping and Big Poppy not catching him where too much for me. No pictures will be taken when I cannot trust my skating skills with camera - there was no way I was going to be helping Little Guy.

And I do find it odd that I wanted to go skating as the season is changing to spring.

Happy -

We've been busy - aren't we all.

We have a happy Little Guy who is getting big.

We have happy boys that love to play together.

We have a happy couple to rely on one another. 

We have a happy family that loves deeply and laughs often.

We've been busy but more importantly, we are extremely happy. 

He Does Get Groomed

He does get clean.

He likes to take baths.

Althought more and more it appears we have forgotten basic cleanning habits.

And sometimes it just looks like we don't own a brush.

But Little Guy does get groomed.

Sometimes he is just cuter with a little mess.

Wishing You A Magical Christmas

Baby, It's Cold Outside - I

Big Poppy and I like to go on vacation. I cannot think of very many people who do not like vacation but I'm sure there are some out there. Living in the Frozen Tundra, when winter comes or after it has been dragging on a little too long we like to head to Cabo for a few days of S&R (sun and relaxing). While I am a big believer in trying new things, going to different places and having new experiences we fell in love with Cabo and decided if we could only vacation one place a year Cabo really isn't that bad of a place to be.

In reality, we normally have a couple mini-vacations (think long weekends) and a one week long vacation. I cannot wait to introduce Little Guy to Cabo but it just did not work out to fly off to Mexico this year. Yes, I am sad about this but poor us, instead of vacationing in Cabo for a week we decided to visit the Orlando, Florida area. We are fortunate and if at any time I sound a little whining about our vacation, I am not. What I may be is a little upset with a few things that have happened. However, rest assured, there are more smiles and laughs than anything else. I know we are blessed on so many levels... it all comes down to Little Guy.

Big Poppy, Little Guy and I were picked up by GrandB and GrandC on December 4 to head to the airport. The night before it had snowed. Alot. After Little Guy went to bed Big Poppy shoveled the driveway while I snoozed on the couch (Hey, at least I am honest about what I was doing and, in my defense, I had traveled for work Thursday morning and returned home on Friday. Traveling can be very tiring.). The snow was still falling as Big Poppy shoveled although it had slowed down quite a bit. By morning there was a fine layer of snow on the driveway but we had other items to attend to. Mainly getting to the airport.

We traveled to the main hub without incident and made it through security after a short wait or at least a short wait by today's security standards. There is this wonderful little thing with having a young child, sometimes the airport personnel pull you out of line and have you go through a separate line because they understand it takes longer to do things with a stroller, toddler and a carry on bag for his entertainment pleasure. Lucky us, we had one of those kind airport personnel pulled us aside. For anyone screaming unfair treatment, I have a few stories where we were not so lucky. This just helped even out some of the not-so-nice treatment's I have received (Lincoln, NE - you know who you are and that I can point a finger at one person in particular on more than one occasion -- yes, that does mean I have flown to Lincoln, NE more than once in my life -- but I digress).

The airport music is filled with holiday cheer and one of the songs I heard has been stuck in my head ever since - Baby, It's Cold Outside. The Frozen Tundra was just that as we left - Frozen. As a text message I received from a friend said:

It's freezing cold. FREEZING. COLD.

And so, as I boarded the plane I am thinking a little smugly to myself "in a few short hours I will be in Florida, the sunshine state." As I was seated on the plane, talking to Big Poppy and entertaining Little Guy I was under the illusion that while Orlando has off season and winter months that low 70's would feel like a little piece of heaven (more to come on this false illusion). After all, Baby, It's Cold Outside here in the Frozen Tundra not the sunshine state which will give us the warmth and sun we desire.

The ice was so thick at the airport we were delayed, after everyone had boarded, 15 minutes in order for a larger truck to make it's way over to our plane to help push us back from the gate. Then it was time to de-ice the plane which was another 45 minutes, again after everyone had boarded the plane. Then we were off! (QUESTION: Does anyone else find it humorous and frustrating that even though our flight took off just about exactly one hour after the scheduled departure time the flight was considered an on-time departure because the airplane door was pushed away from the gate on-time? I wonder if I could pass that kind of customer service onto my clients and set my own prices.)

We landed safely, always a good thing, collected our bags and retrieved our car rental with ease. Finding our hotel was also relatively painless and our vacation had started.

Sunday (December 5) brought a new day. Big Poppy made us breakfast (tasty!) and Big T and AuntJ drove over for the day. After a bite to eat for lunch we headed over to Sea World. Fantastic! Little Guy was so excited to see everything....stay tuned...I have to get dressed to start our next day. The boys are waiting on me. :)

18 Months & Growing

Last Friday Big Poppy, Little Guy and I spent the morning together - at the doctor's office. It was Little Guy's 18-month appointment. It use to be going to the doctor was uneventful but not, Little Guy is showing he is 18 months and is not a fan of strangers. Even when a cute nurse looks at him Little Guy was about ready to burst into tears and needed a great big hug from Mommy or Daddy (which I was more than willing to take...hmmm, maybe we should go to the doctor's office more often).

At each check-up visit we are sent home with sheets of paper that help Big Poppy and I evaluate if Little Guy is on track. There are some items that seem fairly standard such as:

• Walks fast
• Throws a ball
• Stacks blocks

Check, check, check.

Then we notice some gray areas or maybe I should say, some areas that make me wonder.

• Guard against falls - Does this mean I should put rubber foam on all of our floors?
• Supervise all play near street - Does that mean if it is in the backyard I don't need to supervise?
• Don't share cups - Are water bottles ok? Do they not realize how much Little Guy wants to drink from whatever Big Poppy and I are drinking from, especially our refillable water bottles?

I guess, it could just be me. While it might seem like common sense to me not to let Little Guy play in or near the street, it might seem perfectly logic to the next person which is why we have the oddest warnings are items.

All in all, Little Guy is a healthy, normal little boy. At one time he had four to ten words but these days he pretty much says three words.

1. Ball - at all times he wants a ball
2. Jtr - he still loves his puppy however the "e's" in Jeter don't quite make it out of Little Guy's mouth
3. Peese - this word is spoken after several (think double digit) reminders when he wants more of something ("What do you say?" times 15) and is of course followed with a cute little smile letting you know he knew what to say but really did not want to

Little Guy is still growing which is a good thing. I do not think he would like to have stopped growing so young.

Vitals at Eighteen Months
Height: 33 3/4" (90 percentile)
Weight: 26 lbs 9.5 oz (50-75 percentile)
Head: 47.5 cm (50 percentile)
Click here for the vitals at fifteen months.

Insert picture here - well, for some reason I cannot upload pictures right now. I'll be back soon.

Little Big Poppy

Little Guy really loves his daddy and must be next to him (ok, on some occasions Little Guy does want his mommy). This past weekend we had the first snow fall of the year. Big Poppy went out to shovel. Of course that means Little Guy needed to go out and shovel.

We were not ready for such a helper in the snow and did not have a shovel Little Guy size. In case you were wondering, a broom ball stick works just fine. It is a slow process but the snow will move.

However, when the cheeks and nose are red and snot is running into his mouth, Little Guy still is not ready to come inside.

My Little Big Poppy wants to be out with Big Poppy.

Once he determines the tears are not going to let him back outside, Little Big Poppy will wait right by the door. I guess he is hoping Big Poppy will sneak him out to help again.