I've moved!

I took a dip in the deep end of the pool and moved my blog over to Wordpress!

Don't freak out

The whole blog exported over so nothing was lost - Shew!

It's a work in progress as far as the layout bc I miss my owls but I love the functionality of the site and more importantly of the app since that's how about 99% of my blogging comes off of :)

Be sure to sign up for email notifications (top right sidebar) to see when I write a new post if you don't have an rss reader ( mom dad granny grandma ms k I'm talking to you) :)

And again don't freak out (mom dad granny) its something new I've worked hard on and am using it to continue to learn explore and grow from :)

Http://ourgreatadventure13.wordpress.com

Bookmark it

Add it to your RSS feed

Add yourself to the email notification

Enjoy!

Lc says "see ya on the flip side"

When he says I love you without saying a word

I know it sounds like a song right.
But it's not.
It is my little boy crying to be picked up at bedtime
Refusing to listen to a story in his crib, preferring the comfort of his Daddy's lap and read a story to himself in his crib
Squeezing himself up close to the bookshelf to pick out what he wants to read and handing it to one of us.
Crying to be held as soon as he is put in his crib at lights out
Wanting only his Mamma to hold him
Squeezing his hands around my neck, playing with my hair, putting his head on my shoulder
Squeezing my neck tighter as I tell him how much I love him
Looking up at me and puckering his little lips to give me a kiss right on my lips
Still squeezing me tighter, not wanting to be put down
Not being manipulative and trying to get me to keep him up later
But genuinely missing his Mamma
Wanting to be held by nobody but her
It means the world
He is my world

Stream of conscious writing

My little boys vocabulary to date :

Mamma
Dada
Dog/puppy
Ball
Tree

Sounds:

Hoot hoot
Woof woof

Becoming more independent knowing that we need our shoes keys and jackets to go outside handing us these things and bringing us his shoes and jacket then sitting in our laps to put them on him. And zipping up his coat pulling it together to remind us to zip it ;)
Going to his high chair and pulling the tray off and trying to climb in when he's ready for dinner which is usually right when he walks in the door from daycare :)
Helping put Cheerios in his carseat cup holder before he gets in
Reading to himself before bed he won't go down until he's read a book or two a couple of times in his crib.
Favorite books: brown bear what do you see, duck & goose find a pumpkin
Ball! Nothing gets him more excited than playing ball with us after dinner. Inside or outside we throw it back and forth and he giggles and runs and throws with delight
Hugs
Lots of big hugs
Upon request and unprompted :)
It's the best!
A Sunday of no naps = random nap on mommy at target
Playing learning observing at the indoor play area at the mall
No pants for no reason
Bringing us his shoes at 6:54am as soon as he got up
No high chair for breakfast on Monday

An independent learning observing loving sweet toddler

Wow. I still can't believe he's really here.

1 hour

Today lc woke up with a cry at 6:54am. I listened for a minute to see if he was just adjusting in his sleep and he kept crying. I got up and went into his room where he stood up and greeted me with a big hug as I lifted him out of his crib.

J was still sleeping - up late from watching sports on tv :)

We padded into the living room where lc immediately went to his high chair and tried to climb up. Ooh I thought, I guess our early dinner last night meant a rumbly tummy for the wee boy. Yep! Banana, bagel thin & Cheerios & milk for my sweet boy while I sipped my coffee and chatted with him over his breakfast.

Then we retired to the couch where I got my magazine and lc brought me book after book and he cuddled up next to me as we flipped the pages together.

Just an hour we had until j woke up to join us. But that hour I will cherish forever.

Breakfast, coffee, reading & conversation with just me & my sweet sweet boy :)

Pics

I wrote the last 2 posts on my laptop while all of my pics were on the iPhone and you know instead of plugging it in and loading them into the computer and then over to the blog bc let's face it I'm lazy like that and much prefer blogging via the app where all my info is in one spot here I am loading pics separately. Oh well :)

Also considering switching over to the all amazing do all the pretty things master of free blogs : Wordpress (plus the app is more functional meaning I could insert pics within the text ect which I can't do on the blogger app.

But that's beside the point and if that happens ill be sure to let you know - here are some pics from today!! Southern festival of books, dinner and the park at sunset :)

All kinds of out of order bc again, the blogger app leaves something to be desired :/

What A Day

So J and I spent the better part of 2 hours discussing how we could squeeze in ALL THE THINGS this weekend, specifically today, last night.

In the midst of it I had to say "I bet nobody else spends hours dissecting lists and trying to fit things in like this, they just pick stuff and do it"

Riiight, not us. Planning, talking, listening, hearing, writing, listing, doing.

That's how we roll.

We got it figured out.

And boy did we have a great day!

We all slept in til 7:30 -- although I woke up promptly at 5:30 and although I craved my coffee and my book, I also craved the quiet of the morning in my bed, snuggled under the covers next to my love as we all rested.

LC sounded the alarm at 7:30 and we all got up, got the coffee brewing, the bananas chopped, the oatmeal warmed, and breakfast on the table together :)

Family breakfast -- my fave! Even when it's not fancy, in fact, it's the best when it's not fancy. Just us 3, our bowls of cereal and fruit, coffees, and milk, chattering away.

But we were on a deadline, showers had to be taken, clothes had to be put on, and diaper bags and lunches had to be packed for one wee toddler.

We were heading into the big city for the Southern Festival of Books!

Aka: my mecca :)

J dropped me off at the entrance to the festival where I stood and stared up in awe as I felt the electricity of the crowd, and frothed over all of the books on display (hoping for ARCS but all were for sale), and got to business with my agenda.

J and LC were going to get coffee at a local coffee shop he'd been wanting to try and then play at a nearby park while I went to a couple of sessions. However, as life is with a toddler, plans change, and we had to be flexible :)

Almost as soon as they dropped me off, LC fell asleep, detour to J's parents house where he napped for the better part of 3.5 hours(!!!!) while J chatted with his folks and I sat enamoured in a session with Gillian Flynn, author of the summer bestseller (on ALL THE CHARTS), GONE GIRL!

AND, she called on me in the q&a part of the session! ::jaw drops::

I attended one other session about dystopian fiction which I wasn't too impressed with - it wasn't what I was thinking it would be -- and meandered around the tents before J picked me up and we headed back to his folks house.

LC woke up shortly after I got there and we fed him some lunch, played for a bit, then hit the road. J and I hadn't eaten and it was nearing 4pm, so we figured and early dinner would be our best bet -- plus whenever we're in town we can NEVER pass up our fave ice cream shoppe! So we found a local mexican restaurant across the street from the ice cream where we dined on avocado fries, carnitas, soft tacos, rice, and refried beans.

LC dined on chips and salsa -- this kid LOVES dipping! Last weekend he squealed with excitement as he dipped each piece of his grilled cheese sandwich into a little container of ketchup :)

He also had some refried beans and bites of our food, getting his fill.

Ice cream, and then, since the boys missed their coffee, we stopped by on our way out of town, grabbed a couple of lattes, and stopped by the local park that they also missed this morning.

I wore LC as we watched the sunset over the river, strolled along a little path, checked out the playground, sipped on our coffees, and enjoyed the beautifully warm October evening we were so blessed with.

Did you just barf a little....yeah, sorry about that ... but honestly, there is no better way for me to explain it.

The little moments, the full days, the time, I get to spend with my boys is more precious than anything to me.

The days that I have to work on Saturday and Sunday, even though it's only 2 times a month, feel so excruciatingly long when I know that days like today can happen.

Now at 8:35am, I'm on the couch, cuddled up in my fleece pants, bathrobe, and warm socks, with the most recent issue of Parenting magazine on one side, and my book on the other. J listening to the football game in the other room (no cable = streaming on the internet), our sweet boy sleeping down the hall, the night folding in on us, sleep calling, waiting to greet a new day.

Another day together tomorrow - it may be filled with more mundane tasks like the Publix and the Target, but for today, it was worth every second :)

One small boy with a wise old heart

Today my little boy made friends with an elderly neighbor

And elderly man who barely looked at us or even said hello in passing

A neighbor, living just across the hall

We went outside to play ball this morning to burn off some energy before heading out for the day

I threw the ball down the sidewalk

My little boy picked it up, and instead of throwing it back to me

He threw it to the man

The man standing in the shade, in the corner of the sidewalk, up against the building

The man who didn't acknowledge us as we walked by

The man who I could tell had trouble leaning down to get the ball

So I leaned down and  got the ball, gave it to him, and he threw it to LC

Who giggled, and ran after it with glee

And threw it right back at him

We introduced ourselves

LC then became interested in the parking lot, which I was not so interested in and tried to lure him back to the sidewalk.

I threw the ball down the sidewalk

He had no interest, but the man slowly shuffled over from his corner against the building and knelt down, picked up the ball, and handed it to me (who had gone to pick up LC)

LC gave him a big smile as he reached for the ball 

LC reached out his arms to be held by his new friend

I warned him that he was heavy and gently put him into his arms

He held him out in front of him as LC looked at him

He gave him back to me and we went inside to gather our bags to head out for the day

As we passed him as we were leaving LC again reached his arms out for the man, this time the man took him without hesitation

And my dear sweet boy wrapped his little toddler arms around his new friend's neck in the biggest, tightest, sweetest hug I've ever seen. Squeezing and showing him all the love his little body could give

I think that he made the man's day

We have a neighbor

We are now friends

Maybe it's just me, but I don't know many kids who connect with people the way LC does

There is something magical about him that I feel so blessed to witness and to be a part of

I am thankful every day for our sweet boy and all that he gives to the world

Making his little world bigger and bigger every single day

He made this man's world grow by leaps and bounds today and ya know what, I bet he knew it too :)