Valentines Day

The kid has a party at daycare for all sorts of occasions. Seems like there's a Christmas party, a valentine party, a spring party, a first day of summer party, a halloween party, the list goes on. It's a good excuse for the kid to eat junk and dance to music with his friends so they all seem to really enjoy it! For valentines day, we worked on his valentines for his classmates that morning before the party. He enjoyed decorating them with a pen and red crayon.



Not sure if you can see it or not, but the valentines we picked were rainforest themed, very cute, lots of birds. the kid loves to say the word "bird!" over and over. but these valentines came with "stick on tattoos" to go with each valentine. What? Tattoos? really? I don't know. Maybe I'm not with the times but i just found this to be - weird? or - different? stickers would have been nice. but tattoos? hm. we tried a few and to top it off, the tattoos were complete junk! so not only was it weird, but they didn't even work. they went in the trash. But the valentines were made of 100% recycled paper and part of the price went to some sort of 'save the rainforest' foundation. probably about ten cents worth since they only cost like two bucks. ha. so though the tattoos were crappy - some money went to a good cause i guess. you win some. you lose some. and what do you know - abram didn't care about any of this!



Here he is at the party with his two best buds, Ryan and Danny. Yes, the kid's hair is slicked back but hey - he's decked out in red for the party and was feeling all fancy. so we went with a new do!



Last year we went to Lemongrass in King of Prussia for our Valentines dinner out as a family. It's pretty kid friendly for a dinner place and we never get to go there because we rarely go out to dinner anymore. So we decided to make it our valentine tradition and went again this year. Needless to say, Abram was a bit more umm - is tame the word? - last year. This year he was rather um - high maintenance - is that the word. yes those are the words. There are many interesting decorations at this thai restaurant and he was very um - whats the word - inquisitive!! 'WHATS THAT??!?!' was said - A. LOT. we tried to use tour 'whisper voices' to no avail. but we had fun. and didn't disturb too many people. well, we don't think. i didn't notice any evil looks from other patrons so i take that as a good sign.

But boy how things change. One year. Thats all thats passed. Here we are last valentines and then below is this valentines. same table. same restaurant. last year we went with a baby. this year we took a toddler. wow. time flies.

Lying and No

Me: Abram, do you want some breakfast?
Kid: No. (shaking head)

Me: Would you like some banana?
Kid: No. (walking away to play)

Me: You ready for bed?
Kid: No. (no eye contact)

Me: Did you have a good day?
Kid: No (shaking head, smiling)

Me: Abram, will you sit down here?
Kid: No. (wanders away quickly)

Me: Do you need a fresh diaper?
Kid: No. (runs away)

Obviously, we've hit a No Phase. Its rather funny. At least for now. haha.

"I hope he kinda keeps this up," I tell husband.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"Well, saying No. Or rather saying No at the right time. Like when he's 16 and tempted to do really dumb things. stupid stupid things that his friends are doing. I hope he just keeps this right up, and tells them matter of factly "NO" and walks away," I explain. "Don't you remember the Nancy Reagan thing? Just say No?"

On a not so fabulous note, the kid has officially told his first LIE.

After making his noodles and red sauce, I place the delicious looking plate before him.

"There ya go little man!" I grin.

I turn my back and start to clean up.

"HHOOTT!!" He yells! "HOT HOT!!"

Holy crap. I've scorched my childs mouth with too hot pasta and sauce.

"Oh no!" i say, whisking the plate from him. I jab my finger into the pasta, wondering how i could have been so careless. lukewarm. barely even that. much less hot.

"Abram!" I explain. "thats not true! its not hot. its fine. Now eat."

I place it before him again. He grins as if he know he just got me. 'haha' he's thinking. 'she fell for it!'

"I hope his lies stay innocent. If his worst lie is about hot pasta, I can take it. I sure dread the day he considers telling me a lie thats well, a big lie. something serious. or critical. or even scary. something that he should he honest about - but isn't," I tell husband. "I am just not ready for that. I dread it," I sigh.

"He's only 21 months old. Really." he states.

Okay Okay. So the lying and no-phase - cute at 21 months. a lying and no-phase at 16 years old - not cute. but until then - i'll enjoy the Cute.

I wish I had written down the day. The day of the first lie. I think it was friday but i'm not 100%. That way when he's older and telling me lies that he Shouldn't Be - I can say to him, "Well... I remember the day you told me your first lie. It was February 19, 2010...."

Snow Day!!!

I've been praying for a snow day to snow me in with the kid during the week - well - all winter!! and Yes, we've gotten some huge storms but all have hit on the weekend. Great. I do enjoy the snow but enjoy it much more when it gets me out of work!! So finally, last night, a nor'easter hit our area on a thrilling Tuesday night... it started snowing at 10pm and its still snowing now at 10pm tonight. 24 hours of snow and high winds. All Major roadways are closed leading into the city... so not only did i get today, tomorrow seems to be a possibility as well!



This snow is falling on top of our 20 some inches leftover from the weekend so we look like we live in a frozen snowy tundra at this point. Its the craziest winter we've had since we moved here 7 1/2 years ago.

We slept in today and the kid finally decided we'd all get up about 9am. We had our morning time with sesame street - him with his hemp milk and me with my hot cocoa while dad battled the snow, trying to get ahead of the shoveling. Soon enough, we took the kid out to enjoy some snow time! Our snows this seasons have all been big so the kid hasn't really liked the snow much. it's been too overwhelming for him to get into it.





But today the wind wasn't too bad and our neighbors came out with us. Their son is only one month older than Abram. So the boys played ball together, built a snowman, crawled on snowpiles, used Avery's slide, were pulled around on sleds, and even went snow tubing as some other neighbors came out and joined us! Last time we took abram snow tubing, he despised it. But today - he loved it and was yelling "more more!!" as soon as we came to a stop!







He took a long nap this afternoon - i think he was worn out from all the activity! We ventured out once more before dark to stomp around in the street, which was the only place we could even walk around due to the depth of snow. The wind had really picked up at this point so our time out was short, much to the kids dismay! We came in for some dinner, a nice warm bath, and some relaxation with "go Diego go" - which husband and i are sick of, yet somehow the kid isn't. If I have to watch Diego save one more emperor penguin i'm going to vomit lol ...



The kids now in bed and we're about to head that way ourselves. Overall, a great family day, perfect day for making memories. and we loved every minute of it!

Lessons at 20 months

Lessons My 20 month old is Teaching Me:



1. Always Be Willing to Work Really Hard.

example - abram is so diligent and works so hard. If he's learning a new word or a new sign, or even copying what we're teaching him, he's focused! Maybe he's stacking lego's perfectly until they are taller than him (which can take over ten tries), or learning to sign "bedtime" and "store", or stacking and restacking bowls to stand on and open the fridge (which he tries twelve times over and still doesn't get them to stay! also he's not allowed to do this but does!), he is always ON and working hard!

2. When you want something Really Bad, Be Persistent!

example - every morning i'm home with him, when we come down the stairs, he is saying "big bird, big bird, big bird, big bird, big bird". i flip on sesame street. if big bird doesn't happen to appear immediately, he carries me the remote repeating 'big bird', 'big bird', 'big bird' as if i have it on the wrong channel. Well, Now on our 'list of things to buy for Abram' is a video featuring BIG Bird! (hopefully such a video exists!) Also, when he gets home from daycare and walks in the door, he signs "eat" immediately. he wants dinner. He will sign and say eat over and over and over until dinner is served! Slightly exhausting to me, especially if i'm trying to prepare something with the kid clinging to my leg saying "eat eat eat" lol...

3. Don't be Afraid to express your Emotions.

example - abram wears his emotions on his sleeve to say the least. I'm never wondering what he's feeling - he shows it and isn't afraid to do so. When he's sad about going to bed, he cries his eyes out. When he's happy to see us, he runs to us, grinning and calling our names. When he doesn't want to do something, he says "nnnooo...." and resists anything other than what he wants. And when he's happy and cheerful, he is laughing and playing with us and running circles around the house.



4. When you know you're Wrong, be Quick to say You're Sorry.

example - abram knows his time out spot on the bottom step when he's in trouble. he gets a warning and then if theres a repeat offense, he's in timeout. After about one second in time out, he looks over and signs and says to me "sorry" and sits back down... after the minute and a half, i go over to let him out and he tells me again "sorry".

5. When You Hear Music, Dance!

example - it doesn't matter if its music in the car while he's strapped in his car seat, music from a commercial on tv, a cd we're playing or music playing over a store intercom, abram stops everything to dance!! its too cute and so fun:)

6. If you don't like it, Don't Eat It. and get it Far Far away!

example - if abram doesn't want a certain food at the time its offered, he won't even entertain me by trying a bite. He doesn't want it and that moment or day, doesn't even like it. He hands me the plate politely and says "done". I put it back. He hands it back repeating "done!" and sometimes he'll resort to carrying the plate to the kitchen or even throwing the food completely out of his site.

7. Sometimes, you just need your Mom.

example - he rarely wakes at night anymore these days (thankfully!) but when he does, he's calling for me right away. When i go in, he takes my hands and puts them around him for a hug. Its like he just needed his mom. During the week mornings I'm gone and working by the time he wakes up, so when husband goes in, he says each morning abram says "Mama?!?" all hopeful... makes me sad i'm not there to hug him every single morning...

Mr. Potato Head

The kid received a Mr. Potato Head from his cousin for Christmas and boy oh boy does he love him! He likes putting the arms and ears and other pieces into the potato - BUT what he REALLY loves doing is - all kinds of other stuff w/ the pieces... like, hanging Mr. Potato Head's arms out of his own nose (meaning abrams!) or trying to put Mr. Potato Head's ear in his own ear, and well ... just see for yourself.







and even mom is expected to wear the hat and KEEP it on for an extended period of time... lol...


didn't catch any pictures of abram shoving items in his own ears and nose because i'm way too busy snatching the stuff away and telling him "no we don't shove pieces of anything up our noses or in our ears!" ... I think he's now taken it on as a challenge. He sneezed while eating lunch yesterday and a piece of green bean flew out. sigh...

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone ... I seem to not be able to catch up on my posts! The holidays were finally over but getting back into the usual routine proves to be tough! but we're getting there! The kid had a great christmas! We traveled to Pittsburgh PA for a few days with husbands family and then onto East TN for a few days with mine. Lots of highway time but very well worth it! So after much travel, we decided NY Eve would be just us 3 relaxing at home ...

we ran some errands during the day...



and spent our evening relaxing, watching a couple new movies:)



Happy New Year to you all!! I'm sure 2010 will bring some wonderful things and i can't wait to see what they are!

Merry Christmas from Us!

Merry Christmas to everyone! We hope you have a very Merry one and enjoy a special holiday with family and friends. We are spending the holidays with both husbands family and my own, hitting up southwestern PA and northeastern TN! Here's our Christmas family pic for this year! It's so amazing to me to compare last year's with this year's - the kid was a baby last year. This year - He's a little boy!