Start him young...

When i was younger my mom knew as soon as we could reach the kitchen sink we were washing dishes, and as soon as we could see the knobs on the washing machine it was time to learn how to do laundry!

Proverbs 22:6

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

I get it! SO the other night i was washing dishes and the Bug came in the kitchen whining about something so we got a stool and i put him to work!   I washed a bowl and he rinsed it.  Granted it took him about 10 minutes to "rinse" (fill it up play in water and fill it up three times to play and dumb water in the sink) a bowl he did it.  and then he put it off on the side. 

He was so proud of him self when he was done.  He signed all done, and then got off the stool and went to play.  I was happy and yet i couldn't stop laughing, he rinsed ONE bowl and said ummm ok thats enough.  I can tell this is gonna be a life long journey of fighting to get chores done...

Little Bug??

So My bug is about 26 months old now.  He weighs 30 lbs, stands 31.5 inches tall and his head is 19.5 cm.

He wears all sorts of different sizes in clothes...no really he does. His shirt sizes are 2T/3Tfor the most part (except with target shirts the seem to run small), and he wears 24 month/2T bottoms. He is in a size 9 shoe and has about a quarter of an inch to go before we get to a size 10.  Bad thing is i just bought the nines this weekend and i can almost bet by Halloween we will be in a 10. 

• According to his doctor he is petite.  He is healthy, but short, and could be more plump but his head holds a lot of knowledge AKA she think he has a big head.
• According to Babycenter.com he is under the percentiles! 

Length = below percentile 5
Weight = between percentile 50 and 75
Head Circumference = below percentile 5 

• According to the chart that's in his file he is short but ok in the weight class. 

• According to his teachers...he is a big boy and they think he will be be a linebacker sort of big boy. 
• According to me...he is healthy, happy and has a GREAT smile everyday so we are golden!

 All we do now is keep pushing forward excited to see what God already knows!

Cute Pictures

I have cute pictures but nothing really to say so enjoy the pics!

Grape Harvest Festival

This weekend we saw Auntie KC at church and she invited us to the Grape Harvest Festival in our town.  I had never heard of it before and it was pretty fun.  Rides, games, vendors and FOOD.   I think next year the Bug will really enjoy it a bit more as this year he was a little too little for the rides and games...so i made him stay in his stroller just about the entire time so i didn't have to chase him.

I had garlic potatoes fries, The bug got a Kettle corn with he shared with his God-Grammy and he drank my lemonade.  So it wasnt even a terrible costly outing.  The bug also got to see a fire truck and fire fighters. 

That was his highlight.  As we walked up to the truck he gasped and said "OOOH WOW".  The fire fighters loved his excitement and gave him a hat, stickers, a coloring book, a pencil...and way to much extra stuff.

It was a fun impromptu day hopefully we remember them next year when it rolls around!

Cars Everywhere!

My Bug still LOVES trains but now he is into Cars.  He loves to play with cars, Hot Wheels to be exact, but any car will do.

Over the last 24 hours i have found cars EVERYWHERE...literally everywhere.
I have found cars:

• in the car under my seats
• in the car seat
• in the cup holders 
• in my bed under my pillows when i was going to bed  

He even lines cars up to watch movies with him.  Falls asleep holding them and when he wakes up to turn over he grabs the car and snuggles up.  
My niece has her "Baby" (a stuffed teddy bear).  I guess cars will just be is thing.  I thank God for my little boy.  I truly believe he knew what i could handle with ease when he gave me my Bug, a boys boys.  Cars under my pillow, in my couch, and on his feet amuse me...don't think i would feel the same right now about finding Barbie accessories around the house.  YET at the same time it makes me smile when my niece leaves princess stickers, or paper dolls after she comes to visit.  Contradictory and weird i know but true.

Uh Oh Cheerio's

The Bug eats cereal at school,with milk in a bowl.  SO i thought ok lets keep these eating habits going and i served him cereal at home this weekend in a bowl.  I do not know if he has the same issues at school he had with me, but i can tell you we will only be doing cereal once a week if that at my house!

Oh Oh Cheerios...NOM NOM NOM!

Cant cry over spilled milk

 

There's still milk in this bowl mom!!

1st attempt drinking out the bowl

 I gave him his cereal in a bowl and had the milk on the side in a cup.  He saw the milk and got excited i wanted him to be apart of "making" his breakfast so he would be more interested to eat what he helped create...baby steps i know.  Everything went as planed he poured his milk in his bowl and he started eating his cereal with his spoon.  Then i guess he wanted to feel the cereal or he figured his hands would get the job done faster so he ditched the spoon and started shoveling Cheerios in with his hands.  Once he had eaten enough to where he could see milk floating in the bowl he started to drink the milk out of the bowl.   Which normally would not be a problem BUT he started to drink with out using his hands and he had not finished his cereal.  So in short it was one big mess. Which he loved.  He played in it and he ate the cereal that had fallen out of his bowl sitting on the table.

I guess you have to learn somehow right?

Mommas Chili

This weekend i made chili.  I do not care if its hot or cold out chili is a comfort food for me.

I do not know how to cook in small portions either so i had a big pot of chili for just me and the baby bug, and he actually ended up eating some.  I also made cornbread, yes real cornbread not jiff hahah. 

I think chili and cornbread are good hearty meals to make, that are cost efficient and the chili freezes well.  Pluses all around in my book. I never have to freeze the cornbread because between my Bug and my Brother the skillet of cornbread doesn't last past day two.

My J, My Bug and My Skyy

My sister has two girls and i have my Baby bug.  These kids are so great, they are all three at stair step levels in their development and its is so funny to watch them all interact.  










 


My J is 3, speaks fluently and loves to apply the answers to her daily 3 thousand "Why" questions.  


My Bug is 2, does not use words to talk, signs a few words to communicate, and is in the just learning to listen and respond accordingly phase.  


My little mama is 1, she is a bow legged pigeon toe walker who is bossy with her three words she does know "Hi, Hey and Eat" we are gonna be roll dogs especially in the food category.

I love my sister for making sure that we start these play dates so they get to know each other, and they do.  When J and my Bug realized they are together they get all excited and rambunctious...unless J's older cousin is around then she wants to hang with the big kids.  Its so fun to see them get close like we did when we were little around each other everyday and every weekend of our child hood.

Prape or Grum

Random, i am still trying to get My bug to eats fruits and veggies...no success on a consistent basis yet though.  I bought grapes last week and came to the conclusion i did not buy grapes i bought baby plums that taste like grapes and with the help of my friend Ariel i am calling them PRAPES. So i had to show you what one of these things looks like!

Really the grape the size of a house key and bigger than a normal paper clip!!

Lasagna

The Bugs God mommy bought him a great book, Charlie the Ranch Dog and he reads it ALL the time.  Well one Saturday he let me read it to him, instead of our normal routine of him flipping the pages and reading to him self Mr. Independent. It was that day i found the best lasagna recipe i have had to date! In the book charlie ate lasagna and she included the recipe, and when i read it my stomach began to want a piece. So i made it!

I despise ricotta cheese and this didn't have it, plus all the ingredients were fresh, and it made a pan for me to freeze and pan for us to eat.  The only thing i changed was i used fresh parsley, fresh basil, and grated fresh parmesean. So i have to share in hopes that others will make it and enjoy it too! my bug and he lactose intolerant self even enjoyed a few cheese-less bites!

Here is the link to her recipe with pictures too!!  

Best LASAGNA. Ever.

Bounce House

A few short months ago we went to Irvine regional park and my bug was terrified of the bounce house.

This weekend we went to my nieces birthday party and he stayed in the bounce house.  I had to toss him in  to get him to try.  He was skeptical and then my sisters boyfriends son jumped in to help show him how it was done then he was hooked! He had his Uncle's in with him bouncing up a storm! Even Auntie Grammy Nita got in on the action...but i wont post her video...lol

People were tired from jumping and my bug was pulling people into the bouncer to jump and bounce with him..  He had a blast and slept SO WELL after...so birthday party at age 3 bounce house will be rented/purchased.

Uncle Tre' did it i know i can!

The Bugs Uncle is an incredible soccer player. He does things around us that he doesn't even realize at times because they are normal to him. For example he came over and was passing a ball back and forth in between his feet, then pops the ball up with one foot into the air and catches it with his hand. That's just how he picks up the ball some times. Well last night he did that with out thinking of it and i watched my Bug watch him intensely! Then when he left my bug was determined to try and do it.  SO CUTE!!

It didn't work out the same and the ball just spun when my bug tried it but then he figured he could just kick it up and down the hall instead.  One day little Bug you will be be able to practice makes perfect!

Random Bug

This guy is TWO! Is he suppose to be trying to rock climb?! 

Maybe its equaled out with his love for relaxing with cookies...

Rain Forest Cafe and the Gorilla

This weekend i thought it would be fun to take my Bug to Rain Forest cafe.  He likes the zoo and all the animals there so i thought he might enjoy this place.  Auntie April came down and away we went to the restaurant.

When we got the to the restaurant he was so intrigued. He was looking at the tree's the fish and the birds saying OOOOHHHH.  Then we were getting seated and his eyes got big, he smiled and OOOOOOO'd some more at the elephants.  He watched them move and make noises and LOVED it.  THEN the gorilla started moving, he didn't like that to much and his hands went straight up over his face to cover his eyes.  He was sitting in his high chair with his eyes covered and then he put his hands down after they stopped moving and he started to color on his menu. 

THEN the lighting storm started and ALL the animals started moving and he had enough.  He was trying to jump out of his high chair and get in my arms.  When he got in my arms his hands stayed GLUED to his eye lids so he was covered.  I guess he figured if he couldn't see the gorilla the gorilla couldn't get him. 

My bug spent the entire meal covering his eyes.  i finally got him to uncover his eyes but then his face was glued on my chest.  He was not budging from some kind of shelter until we left. He was smiling and nibbling on food but i know he was starving.  He just decided to be safe rather than let the gorilla get him! 

April and i finished eatting and she got up to go to the restroom.  My bug lifted his head pointed at her and said "OOOH NO!" while lifiting his hand in the air pointing to her and CRYING.  I mean tears falling from his eyes.  I do not know if he thought she was going deeper into the jungle and the gorilla was gonna get her or if he thought she was leaving him in the jungle and he had to stay.  I do know he didn't like it one bit and cried until she came back to the table. 

I packed his food up to go because i knew he was starving and as soon as we got in the car he was his normal self talking up a storm and eating his meal. 

This is FOR SURE a moment that will be forever recorded in my memory book as the meal i got to eat in silence because my Bug was scared of the gorilla.

The best change i have seen in my Bug since he started going to pre pre school has to be his interests in reading. 



He grabs books at my house now, when he is not playing with cars, and sits down to read to himself.  I still try every day to read to him but he would rather sit on the couch, in his glider or in his chair and read to himself. I think its hilarious b/c he doesn't even spend enough time on one page to look at the page.  He just flips talking or "reading" to himself.




Every day at school they have circle time reading and they read before nap time, so he is being exposed to books more than just me trying to read to him at least once a day. We are getting there one step at a time i guess, i am just glad he is expressing some kind of interest in books.

House Shoes

When i was a kid we had house shoes.  Shoes that were only meant to be worn in the house. The had little plastic dots on the bottom to serve as grips and they were comfy shoes.  They were always of what ever cartoon or animal we were into at that time.  I have looked for house shoes for so long for my Bug and always ended up short.

My dad did find some "Yoga slippers" when star wars seemed to be big, but since then nothing. During my search i ask "do you sell house shoes for toddlers?" seems like a simple questions right. If only that were the case, every time i asked people took me to the crocks!  Crocks are not house shoes they are crocks! and if the crocks don't have lining my bugs feet get all sweaty...gross.  WHO wants to see a toddler with smelly athletes feet?!?

Well this weekend i feel i came up on the come up and found some!

They are everything i wanted them to be, small enough for him to slid on, and intriguing to him so he puts them on.  My only problem is that he thinks they are portable toys and pulls them off to play with them...Oh well we will work on it!

Im On a BOAT

This summer my lil Bug took his first ever boat ride! He went onto the lake in granpa's boat with 4 generations of the men in my family.  Great Grandpa, Grandpa, Uncle and Baby Bug all doing "Men Stuff" as they put it when i asked what their plan was.

The guys tried to fish and relax but my Bug went into normal busy mode and wanted to drive the boat. 

Then he discovered the well in the back of the boat.  When the boat is on the water the well fills up with water so the fish that are caught can be kept fresh until the day is done. Well it filled up with water and the Bug put his toys inside.  He had rubber ducks and little floaty men swiming in the well. 
Then fish were caught and put in the well and he had a new challenge catch the fish. Needless to say he was intrigued. 


All though his Grandpa said it was an exhausting day on the water keeping up with him, i know they had a great day all together doing "Men Stuff".  SO it can only get better in the future!

Faces and Places

We have a lot of family and friends that love my Bug.  Seeing as how everyone does not live within driving distance, I wanted to make sure he gets this name recognition thing down with our family who live all over.

I found a wall map of each individual state online for $1.36 total! So i bought it, wrote each state name and the states capital on all the states and then colored them all.  With no preplanned coloring pattern i have to say i did good as none of the states touch a color that has the same except Louisiana and Arkansas. Then i made some doughnut holes using scotch tape and stuck them all up.  Then i realized i am missing one state. So if my Bug every fails geography because he doesn't know where Connecticut is it's not his fault his map was just missing that state!

Once the map was up i could start the next phase...adding faces to places. I used a piece of yarn and attached to a push pin next to a picture to show who lives where.  For example Grammie is in another state so her push pin is in the state she lives in and a piece of yarn serves a straight line running off the map connecting to her picture.  This way i can put up multiple faces! I am still missing pictures of A LOT of family members so when i get them all its gonna look AMAZING, but for now it's a work in progress. OOH and i am gonna place push pins in every state that he has been too!

In a couple months time this project should take an amazing sort of shape, but here is a preview...when it's done ill have a better picture too.

ADHD as a plus in Motherhood

I have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) have since forever but got diagnosed in college.  I took all this special classes on how to do things to play to my strengths to make me a star and they have helped me immensely in life, but the great thing i have done catering to my strengths is being a mom.

No joke, being a mom with ADD is so satisfying.  I can multi task and do three things at one time yet feel so accomplished. Playing with my Bug, while managing multiple loads of laundry, a sink of dirty dishes to clean ones, and cooking dinner while getting diaper bags and lunches ready for the next day all in a 2 hour period...that's normal and feels so good as an ADHD kid.  That's my every day being an unattached mom and i LOVE my life.

This weekend i really saw some of the things i find in my own ADHD in my Bug.  Don't know if i passed down something to him because to me it just looks as if he is being two, but if he does have it i am grateful ill have the skills to help me succeed and play to his strengths to be a star!

Ear Infections

I know i am blessed with ONLY having to deal with ear infections when so many parents have so much worst to send their little ones up in prayer about...yet if we do not see another ear infection or hear the word ear infection again in this lifetime i would not be upset!

Teething ear infections were bad, and scary.  I was up multiple times at night with him screaming and then i would have to be at work the next day bright eyed and bushy tailed for a ten hour day. We were on five million anti biotics all that did different things to his tummy and his poo.  All with all food restrictions and refridgertaing limits.  It was just  a hassle. 

I know this is something he gets from me too, because ear infections where the only things that were wrong with me as a child.  I stayed in the water and the water stayed in me. I think i had 2 a year and 4 in summer for the better part of my junior high school years.  Yet at the same time i am not complaining because i know that ear infections are probably what a handful of parents wish they had to deal with instead of what ever illness, or sickness their little ones have at the moment. 

Yet still if we never have an ear infection again i will not be upset!

New Allergies

Remember when i blogged last week after My Bug had to give a million tubes of blood for his 2 year test?  Well the results are in. 

I love his doctor too by the way.  She called me personally to let me know the results this afternoon and i have to say i am a bit shocked.  He still has a slight allergy to Milk which looks like he might be growing out of his Milk allergy.  Along with our milk allergy we are allergic to Dogs and Walnuts.  So random but with my moms blood running through my veins and his i am NOT surprised. 

My moms family is allergic to everything.  It skipped her and it skipped me, but everyone else OH MY WOW.  Not exaggerating when i was smaller if you would have put my brother and my cousins in one room i could guaranteed that someone in that room would have an allergy to everything your mind could imagine.  Growing up with this awareness i was ready when i had my Bug! Blood test, inhalers, epi pens, creams and vitamins i grew up administering it and educated on it all and i was ready Now i am a bit relieved to know his list is so little.

I know these allergies are all things he can grow out of but i am kinda excited that he is officially allergic to dogs.  Now everyone who keeps asking me to get a dog can stop with the side hints etc because we are allergic! SWEEEEEEEET lol

I do hope these allergies all pass with time, but i cant complain we are blessed and living in the overflow so we will keep pushing forward to what God has in store for us next!