Lollisicle Anyone?

Having My Cake & Eating It Too

I have a new friend to get coffee with - he's a fabulous companion! We sit together on the sofa in the corner of Starbuck's with our beverages, and sometimes a treat, both reading the books we brought with us. Often we will sit quietly for up to 15 minutes without talking - just reading & enjoying our afternoon.

Would you believe me if I told you he was 18 months old?! I wouldn't believe me either, until it happened one day a few weeks ago. I was in the mood for coffee (when am I not?) and it was a cold, rainy day outside. I decided to load up Wyatt's library tote bag with some of his favorite books & a recent magazine I got in the mail. We headed to the local Starbuck's where I ordered my usual overpriced hot beverage & Wyatt picked out a milk. After settling down on the sofa together in the corner I noticed that Wyatt was content to people watch & flip through his favorite books, with me chiming in to read every few minutes.

So, we have an agreement now. At least once a week Wyatt will join me for some "we" time. We both get to enjoy our favorite beverages & books...and each other's company!

One of Those Days

Yup...they happen to the best of us - those days. Today was one for me - PMO cancelled this morning without me knowing, no plans, no nap, screaming toddler, won't eat dinner, throwing food - you get the idea. Now that I am settled in with a glass of wine & some good Thursday night TV, I can laugh about it.

The highlight of my day though, was coming across this comic strip book at Barnes & Noble. Wyatt was occupying himself with the train table, while I sipped a Starbucks & peeped at my watch to make sure time was still passing normally on this day that was lasting f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I was literally belly laughing out loud at some of these - if you are a mother, or know a mother, I strongly suggest you look through a few.

Comic strips courtesy of www.babyblues.com

Wish Granted

One More Saturday Night

A few pics from our adventures this evening - Wyatt's first time at the Mardi Gras! As soon as we walked in the door, Wyatt spotted the candy machines, although I can't think of a time he has ever tried candy, he just LOVES these things & shouts "Candy! Candy!" Imagine his surprise (and mine) when he found a Mike & Ike still in the machine that some poor soul had left behind when they purchased their quarters worth. Without skipping a beat, Wyatt popped it into his mouth & his eyes lit up with delight...I am beginning to think he is taking after his mom, whose own mother has some great "candy isle horror stories" from my childhood! (Love you, Mom) After that, Wyatt spotted another candy machine by the exit - this one a bubble gum machine that spits the gumballs into a mini "arena" where you then use a lever on the outside of the machine to try to "shoot" the gumball into a basket. I turn my head for one split second, and the next thing I know Wyatt is calling out to me "Whistle, whistle" and he has his mouth (yes, during flu season) wrapped around the lever on the outside of the machine - the lever that every grubby thumb in the area has been on. In his defense, it really did look like a whistle.

The bowling was a lot of fun though, and then we headed out for some Mexican food. Seth & I were delighted that Wyatt enjoyed dinner with us like a real adult - serving himself with his spoon & even making the casual observation into conversations at nearby tables. We thought that deserved a little fried ice cream, don't you?

Last Trip Down Memory Lane

For a while anyway. These were sent to me last night though & I just love the look on Wyatt's face. (Much better than the look on his face when Jean & I hopped in the photo booth with him afterwards...might have to post that pic at some point for a good laugh)

Feeling Nostalgic

Because I never really got good about posting on here until Wyatt was almost a year old, I forgot about all the great pictures I took of him during his first year & how many wonderful memories we made. I came across these pictures tonight & smiled to myself. Seth was in Las Vegas for work for a week, so Wyatt & I decided to head down to the beach house by ourselves for a week. We had a great time - I know I will always remember it & he was only 10 months old!

When Did You Get So Big

Found this photo from June 28, 2008 tonight & couldn't believe how little he looks...

Must Love Dogs

My post is prompted by my recent return from the new movie 'Marley & Me.' I don't think I'm giving too much away by saying that it is a sweet & sad movie about the story of a dog's life, but also the family that owns him - I'll leave it at that. It got me thinking about my own dogs though, and how they have really taken the backseat in my life since Wyatt came along. I realized that not unlike a child, they simply would do anything to please.

Seth & I agreed, as sort of a New Year's Resolution (although I HATE those) to spend more time with the dogs, and try to incorporate them more into our lives. Milo, our beagle, will be 9 years old this May & although we often joke that he will live to be 18, blind, deaf & crippled, you never know how much time you will have with a family pet. Scout, our yellow lab, will turn 5 in just a few months, and it is hard to believe how time has really flown since he was a puppy. Just a few years ago we would spend our weekends taking the dogs on trips & searching the city for dog-friendly places for the boys to run leash-free. Now, it seems we debate over who will feed them each morning & evening, let them in after Wyatt has gone to bed & plenty of days go by where I wonder to myself if I had even pet them both. For this, I am not proud - but that is why we have decided to turn over a new leaf. That, and we have a new helper in their caretaking...

Lately I have been keeping the dogs inside in the mornings & letting them play with Wyatt in the den. It used to be that he paid them no attention, but recently he has really enjoyed petting them and "getting cozy" with them on their giant dog nest, ("Eeks!" says Dad - "it's SO dirty!!" "He's a kid", I say). The other morning I even caught him trying to get them to read a book with him - I didn't have the heart to tell him that they probably wouldn't join in, but at least he chose Clifford as his book to share with the dogs :)

Seeing this compassion, combined with my resolution, has made me realize that there will be a time when Seth & I won't be the only ones who really miss the dogs - can you remember your favorite childhood dog? I can think of a few...and I want to make sure that Wyatt looks back on all the fun times he shared with his family - dogs & all!

Two Words...Sounds Like

Happy (Almost) New Year! It has been a while since I last posted, but I thought I would get in a quick one before 2009. We had a wonderful Christmas - certainly much more exciting than last year, when Wyatt wasn't even sitting up. This year he learned the word "gift" and was a pro at tearing into things! Santa brought Wyatt a train table this year, complete with track & wooden trains. We have been playing with the ones at Barnes & Noble for months now & finally broke down to get Wyatt his own. The only drawback is that Mom was enjoying a regular Starbucks fix while Wyatt played with the trains. (Yes, Wyatt began to scare me - every time we passed the shopping center with B&N he would say "coffee - train, coffee - train")

Wyatt surprised us all by waking up at 8:45 on Christmas morning. We actually ended up waking him up, so the video of him coming down to see the train table was not as exciting as I had hoped...lol. Here are a few pics from our festivities though:

Go Duke! (Shh, don't tell Dad)

Opening gifts with Papa

Merry Christmas! (Dad, Wyatt, Uncle Johnny & Papa)

Wyatt learning the harmonica (a gift from Daddy)

Wyatt & his new train table! (And Mom looking a little haggard, despite getting to sleep in!)

We made it through all the festivities of the holidays without any trouble sleeping, which is pretty amazing considering we have four molars coming in!! Wyatt even managed to entertain at a few "late night"(translation = after 7:00 PM) holiday parties by showing off his new skills on the harmonica, and assisting with pumping the keg at the Haber's Christmas Party! :)

And finally, (hence the title of the post) just a few short weeks ago Wyatt started using some 2-3 word phrases! It has just been so much fun to listen to what he comes up with next. It all started with a sea horse ornament on our tree - one morning caught him by the tree saying "Sea...(wait for it)...Horse" My favorite part was the long pause between words. He has managed to perfect this in the past few weeks, saying all kinds of things like hot dog & graham cracker. My two favorites so far though are the following:

1) While heading down to Dunn, NC to visit with Seth's paternal side of the family, Wyatt started saying something in the car & we couldn't quite understand it. After repeating it several times we realized he was saying "Fire...place...Santa..." I had told him a few days prior that Santa would come through the fireplace. (For those of you that know him well, you can guess that he was of course concerned about the heat of the fireplace & Santa coming through there "No, no! Hot! Ouch!")

2) Today we were walking through a parking lot & this woman almost ran us down. Under my breath, I said "That lady is driving like a maniac!" Just a few seconds later, Wyatt starts repeating "Mainy - ack, mainy - ack"

Okay - all of the updates so far & my fingers are tired of typing...Happy New Year to you all, and we'll touch base again in 2009!

I'm a Loser Baby

I am now home from my whirlwind trip to LA & what a ride it was! As most of you know by now, Heba won the $100,000 & I couldn't be more proud of her. I have dubbed her "The REAL Biggest Loser," considering she would have won, had she gotten the votes from America. At any rate, what she & Ed both accomplished was amazing! I am so incredibly proud of them both, and hope that you all have a chance to see them soon.

Being the huge fan of the show that I am, I was totally psyched to get to meet this season's contestants as well as previous season's contestants. We had a great time, and it was a pleasure to get to actually talk to these people in person about their experiences with The Biggest Loser. With the help of my friend Laura & my trusty Canon camera here are some of my favorite shots of the weekend:

Goofball

Both myself & Wyatt were feeling a bit wacky this morning - maybe it was the 22 degree weather that got to our brains after our morning walk...

Hide & Seek

In a 6,000 square foot rental home, this is where the kids decide to spend the afternoon playing!

Sunset at Emerald Isle

Somebody Has a Case of the Mondays

Mondays are usually one of our longer days, but being on vacation with 2 cousins & plenty of family sure made this one fly by! Here are some photos from our adventures today!

I Never Go Anywhere Without My Handbag

Jam on Baby

Familiar Places

I knew that Wyatt & I had a problem when we pulled into the Eastgate Shopping Center the other day in Chapel Hill & from the back seat I heard "Ooooooooooooooooo!!! CONE!!!!"

First , you must understand that my family loves ice cream, and it's a wonder why we don't all weigh more than we do, given the amount we can put back in a week's worth of family vacation - I'm talking several, several half gallons... But lately, we have been letting Wyatt eat soft serve ice cream & especially TCBY. So, naturally I suppose, when we pulled in near TCBY he assumed we were getting ice cream. He was quite disappointed to find out that we were only swinging into Great Outdoor Provision Co to look at gifts for Daddy for Christmas. Last week I think there were 2-3 cones eaten, which I have a feeling my pediatrician might shake her head at, but Wyatt does get plenty of veggies & fruits, as well as exercise. For now, I am enjoying having a new friend who's always up for eating ice cream :)

Can I Have a Hug?

By now, you have all seen & heard what a talker Wyatt has become. Seth & I love to try out new words with him & see which ones he will notice & repeat.

But my new favorite thing is that lately he has come up with words & actions that seem quite caring. Now, whether or not he really knows what all of this means yet - who knows - but for now I have really enjoyed the following moments:

• Someone sneezes, and Wyatt responds with "Bless You" every time. This even happens in public with strangers who are totally taken back by this little person saying it!


• When Seth & I laugh about something together, Wyatt watches both of us, pauses & then roars with laughter himself.


• When Wyatt sees a Band-Aid on me (usually on a leg after shaving) he says "Boo-boo?" If he ever bumps anything or falls, he also says "Ouch! Hurts..."


• If he hits me (which we have been working on lately) whether intentionally or accidentally, he always seems to follow it up with a "Sorry, sorry, sorry"


• Finally, when Wyatt really desires something (usually the first glass of milk in the morning) he says "Please, please, oh nice..." - this is because when we first started learning please, when he would say it, I would say "That's so nice." Now, he just says it all together, possibly thinking that he will get what he wants faster!

We'll see what he comes up with next, but this truly has been the "fun age." Granted it has its daily challenges, I have really enjoyed these past few weeks/months. I have spent all this time waiting for him to do this & do that, and suddenly I wish I could just stop time & enjoy these moments just a bit longer...

Monkey Man

Monkey Man got to wear his costume to school today, which was a real treat! When he got to school, they had decorated everywhere (even the banisters outside had webs & spiders, which got him very excited!) - they had a Halloween parade, followed by a trip to the "pumpkin patch" that had been created in the playground area. Happy Halloween!

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Okay, so it's a crisp Fall day, not quite "frightful" but I'll tell you what is - Waking up in the morning at 7:00 AM with a 15 month old & thinking about being contained to our house all day because it is so cold out!

My challenge to myself this Fall & Winter is going to be to find more fun things to do with Wyatt, that don't cost a lot of money & involve being somewhat indoors. Over the course of the Spring, Summer & even so far the Fall, we have really been doing a lot outdoors. I love this time of year, but in a way I hate it because it starts to get dark a lot earlier, knocking out our after dinner trips to the park, and then colder, making it hard to eat a picnic lunch in Duke Gardens on any given day.

Yes, we will still go to the playground & for walks & will just bundle up (we just bought a new winter coat & hat!), but if anyone has great cold weather ideas, I would love to hear them!

Take Time for a Great Time

After a two year hiatus, our little family decided to make a trip to the North Carolina State Fair this evening. We beat most of the traffic by arriving at a little before 5:00 PM, armed with our B.O.B. jogger & plenty of snacks for the little guy. We had a great time just watching Wyatt take it all in, and were able to leave at a decent hour before all the crazies arrived :) Here are some of my favorite snapshots of the evening:

I knew Wyatt would help me eat one of my favorite fair foods!

When we got into the building with the cows, Wyatt literally took off running towards them yelling "Hi! Hi! MOOO! MOOO!"

Wyatt meets Roo from PBS Kids - he said "eyeball" to him & was wanting to poke his eye - don't think Roo was interested in letting him follow through...

Wyatt (and Mom) mesmerized by all the lights & rides once it started to get dark