Foto Reel-Our week recapped

This past week has been filled with moments to stop and cherish as our little guy becomes more like a little person each day.  
We spent time cuddling as a family and reading books in bed before naptime which resulted in a dozen unsolicited kisses (rare) that we quickly absorbed to the depths of our soul.  Instant happy.

We watched countless runs up and down the hall, jumping and dashing as fast as he could as he would yell "Wahhhhppppooooooo"!  aka Yahhooo!  :)  One of his favorites when he's excited lately.

We were blessed with a few warm days and he was so happy to get outdoors to play; enjoying a picnic at the park with his friends, and playtime outdoors at Gran and Pops.

He built a fort with his Daddy, these boxes are coming in awful handy these days.

Singing constantly, little serenades of Mary had a little lamb, The sun will come out Tomorrow, Old McDonald, and singing/saying saying our ABC's start to finish on repeat. 

Our favorite singing moment came when he grabbed both of our hands and started singing "Ring Around the Rosie."

One of my quirky sayings is "shoot a monkey"  when something happens I'm frustrated with.  So when Henry saw Barry pracitcing a golf swing and make a divet in the yard his reaction was......"Whoaaahhhhh shoot a Mooonnnkkeeeyy!"  in amazement.  Followed by us in hysterical laughter.

The arrival of warmer temperatures have brought more birds out to play than weeks past, and little man has taken notice.  While playing outside he began shouting "Birrrrddds where ARE yooouuuu? "

His sweet little voice and brain that's in constant motion are entertaining on a minute by minute basis. 

Love his guts!!!!

A look at love. Vday recap

Enjoying his Valentine's day gift; a new set of clubs. 

Chocolate doughnut face, after his Valentine's date with some of his buds. 

Taking over the doughnut shop. 

Our Valentine's Day couldn't have been better this year.  We made messes throughout the week as we painted Valentine's for our loved ones, then enjoyed going around town to deliver them to family.  (So blessed we live close.)  He enjoyed his Valentine's day gift that morning and met up with some of his buddy's for doughnuts.  We had a wonderful day together and this lucky girl spent her evening staring at my two favorites over some yummy sushi!!!  What more could you ask for?!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful mommy.  

I'm so thannkful we were able to spend time together with the whole family.  It doesn't happen often enough and what a special time gathering around to sing in celebration of another year.  Love you Momma Duck.  

 

the day Paci visited the landfill.

Though I know we were doing the right thing by taking it away.  It felt more like self induced family torture.  I can't help but wonder if leaving them to cry over something your causing doesn't plant that first seed of teenage rebellion.

 Three weeks ago Henry awoke early in the morning crying and looking for his paci for the second morning in a row.  I decided at almost 2 years old we can no longer be reliant upon something to make him sleep soundly. 

So, I cut a whole in his paci and that afternoon gave it to him for his nap.  (I saw this tip on instagram a few months ago from our friend Busy and the Beans, and knew I needed to remember it for the future)  “It’s boken mommy, paci broken.”  Oh goodness!  That’s not good!  *wink wink  Well you try and get some sleep. 

I made sure he had his trusted “banky” and left him to fall asleep; which happened after about 15 minutes of him talking to himself about broken paci and then fell asleep with it out of his mouth. 

When he woke up we talked about what happens to things when they are broken.  I showed him a broken cup, a broken lotion bottle, and straw and we through them all away.  So I asked him what we should do with paci, and he replied after a long pause “throw it away.”

And he did.

That night he went to sleep in the same way he did for nap, we talked about it, acknowledged it and then off to sleep he went. 

*Could it really be that easy?

 

Day 2 -He awoke earlier than normal asking about paci’s whereabouts.   I reminded him that it broke and that we threw it away.  We did our usual Wednesday morning ritual of watching the garbage trucks in all their glory, only this time we talked about what was in our trash cans.  Bye Bye paci, he waved as the garbage truck rolled on.  It was almost sad as if he was saying goodbye to a good friend.

Nap- he fought but eventually went down.

Night- unadulterated torture.  For 40 minutes he cried and screamed.  I knew that he was safe, and that he was literally just mourning the loss of his beloved paci  but oh how sad and awful it made me feel.

Day 3- “Where’s paci?”  “It boken, garbage truck mommy.”  Yep, yep your right.  It’s gone. 

Nap- went well.

Night- Cried for 20 min and then fell soundly to sleep

Day 4- Same old broken paci conversations but a great easy nap and 5 min of night time crying, however he awoke twice in the night and cried a few min and went back to sleep. 

Day 5 – All was well other than a few night wakings.

I’m so glad that we did it, and although he still asks about paci from time to time when he wakes up in the mornings we are completely over the loss.  Yes, gone are the baby days of a paci; and we are simply one step deeper into having a little boy.  My baby boy.  Always.

the Little things the cold brings.

Call me crazy but I have actually enjoyed being wrapped in a this crazy cold winter weather.  Much of the country now has a new weather term added to their memory bank known as the polar vortex.  Sounds crazy right?  Well the sub zero temperatures, ice on your windows, snow that won't melt, and water pipes that freeze have caused many to grumble; and rightfully so I feel so blessed negative temperatures didn't bust any of our pipes this year. 

 Most Kentucky winter's are cold, but not cold enough for snow leaving us to be in a constant bundled up state of umbrella's and muddy yards.  SNOW is what I want if it's going to be cold.  It's the prettiest part of winter and I love watching it magically blanket all the winter drabness in a coat of silent white wonder.
 
The little things the cold brings. 
Instead of grumbling about how we are in a crazy state of cabin fever I've tried to focus on the little things I'm so thankful for.  In this crazy cold weather so many people would love to experience the luxury of a steamy hot shower, to hear the warm heat kick on through the vents of their insulated walls, to rush have a choice of which coat your going to wear that day, to watch the roar of a fire in their fireplace, to clean up a messy kitchen brought to them by the prep of making a pot of chili. We are blessed. 

The past couple of weeks have had us cuddled up inside rocking our fleece sweatpants, fuzzy socks and trying to avoid outside at all costs.  Of course there has been a day or two where we braved the cold to have some great wintery fun; but for the most part we are layered up and cozy making hot chocolate or playing with trains.  We have had snow on the ground, covering the grass and trees for over a week now, with each day bringing a few more flurries.  The promise of more snow in our forecast next week....makes me smile.  Bring on the snow until the sun is ready to shine and flowers are ready to be picked!  I've never met a more perfect winter. 

 

A shot of our trees as they take a wintery bow. 

22 Months of Knowing Heaven on Earth

When asked who ate all the blueberries, staring at his empty bowl he said " Henry Cooper at all duh booberries."  Really!?  These are the types of things that come out of his mouth.  Asking questions and repeating sentences we say.  I feel like he's a little tiny adult except for the occasional fits over random and weird things like not being able to clip himself into his high chair. 

Favorite things we've heard this month:  "What's uh Mommy/Daddy doin?"
Exclaiming that people or things are silly.  "Kie silly puppy." , "Mommy so silly."  "I'm a silly boy."
"Ohhhhhhh a siren!"  (points to his ear) "I hear it!"
After taking him to the game he now tells us he's a "Wildcat baketball payer"
Loves the tradition of playing in the snow and coming inside for "hot choco-et and farshfellows".
"I'm so fast" running down the hallway.
Golf club in hand, pointing to a spot on the floor to tell us to "put it right here", referring to his golf ball.
"Yeah" with a slight elevation at the end.  This is how he answers us instead of MMMMhmmmm now.  Do you want a bannanna?  "Um Yeah"!
Singing songs to himself like Happy and Ya Know It, and helping us sing some of his favorites like The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow, Jingle Bells, Twinkle Twinkle, Old McDonald, and him and his Daddy's Fruit of the Spirit.

Favorite books to read this month: (on repeat)
The Fuzzy Duckling
All three of the Knuffle Bunny stories.
Where the Wild Things Are
Little Blue Truck

His eating has been hit or miss, with more misses than hits.  He in general will eat blueberries/apples/halos/salmon/yogurt any time it's given.

We have had our challenges this month as we battled giving up the Paci, fighting a double ear infection, and finding his inner almost 2 year old.   On the whole the more he develops the more amazed I am at how special it is to be a mommy.  He is constant entertainment and sure makes us laugh from the depths of our gut!  So thankful for another month of moments with this guy.