Hide Your Rolls...

After seeing that title written out, I realize it could have a variety of meanings.  Do not worry.  This is not a tirade against people wearing too little clothing too early in the season.  It is, however, a warning to those of you who might be around my child while eating a roll...or carbs of any type for that matter.

 So in this context, I will say it again.  Hide your rolls.

The kid loves rolls.  

Case in point:  the other night (which was when I took this picture) we had pasta for dinner, and we each had a roll.  We have wised up to the fact that if we want to get more than 1/3 of a roll of our own, we need to give the kid his own.  So we do.  P quickly eats his roll first. Mommy eats hers relatively quickly as well since I sit right next to P and my roll would the next one on his hit list.  P finishes his roll and continues on with the rest of his dinner (thankfully he will eat some fruits and veggies, too).  But then, towards the end of our meal, P looks across the table at J, who saved his roll for last, sees him enjoying it, and begins to strongly request that J turn his roll over to him. (You can imagine this scenario however you wish.  I would prefer that you imagine it with my child politely requesting to have a tiny bite of his dad's roll.  Whether or not you believe that's how it actually went is up to you).  I believe my exact words to P were, "Sorry, bubba.  I know you love rolls.  But you chose to eat yours first before all your other food, and Daddy, for whatever reason, decided to save his until the end so we could all watch him eat it."  :) And just so you know - we held our ground and were good parents.  We did not let our child eat another roll.  However, J evened that our by lying to the child that the roll was "all gone" while hiding the remaining portion under the table. :)

So you're hearing it here first...there's a new rule in our house.  When you eat your roll is no longer up to you.  It is absolutely determined by when the child decides to eat his roll.  All rolls will be eaten at the same time by all parties during a meal.  Failure to follow this suggested protocol may result in crying, whining, and pouting - by the adults when the child gets the rest of your uneaten roll.  Consider yourself warned.

PB & J

It's a childhood milestone...the first PB & J.  Because P had an egg allergy early on, I went ahead and avoided peanut butter until he was 2.  When I let him take some bites of my breakfast English muffin with PB after his second birthday, I felt like he got some little red splotches around his mouth, so I continued to avoid peanut butter.  Then the other day my friend suggested that I let P try some almond butter.  I did...and he loved it....and there were no red splotches. :)  Here's some photographic evidence of our first PB (or make that AB) & J experience...

I present to you, the first peanut butter sandwich:

 This is pretty good, mom.

 Hmmmm.....

 Just a little nibble.

 Almost done.

This is awesome!

 Only one more bite.

Speech Update

First of all, let me say THANK YOU for all of the kind e-mails, notes, and comments that I got in response to the "Delayed" post.  I was overwhelmed by everyone's support and love! :) 

Now for the fun part! :)  A report of ALL the words that P is using consistently!!! :)

Again, as of December 20, the only word that P used was "Mama."  No animal sounds, no imitation, no nothing.  My how things have changed! :)  We started weekly therapy sessions with an SST (specialized skills training) therapist on January 18th.  While I do think I'm learning a lot of good stuff about how to encourage language with P, as well as more "effective" ways of playing with him that foster and encourage creativity and problem solving, I also don't think that the therapy was the "magic key" that opened up the flood gates for P.  I really just think that it was "his time" to start talking...and go figure, just like everything else in his life, it was a little behind the curve, but he seems to be trying to make up for lost time. :)

Names: P loves to look at pictures of family members and even better - spend quality time with the real deal!  Recently he has been rattling off names of everyone he knows. :) (Please don't be hurt if your name isn't on here...we're working on adding to the list!)

1) Mama
2) Mommy (which started this weekend while I was out of town!  He sounds so big saying it!!!)
3) Daddy
4) Share Share
5) Papa
6) KiKi
7) B
8) u-dy (from Grandma Judy)
9) Pops
10) GiGi
11) -amps (for Gramps)
12) A-yee (for Ellie the cat)
13) A-kee (for Jakie the cat)
14) Elmo
15) Abby
16) Ernie (when he sees him in a book or on TV)
17) Bert (when he sees him in a book or on TV)
18) Jay - friend from church

Animals and Animal Sounds:  At times it feels like we're a walking zoo. :) P loves to mimic and identify animals.  I don't know if sounds should count as their own word or not...but he sure is good at making them!

19) Cow (his favorite)...Moo
20) Horse...neigh, neigh
21) Duck...quack, quack
22) Pig...(he does this precious snorting sound)
23) Cat...a high-pitched nee-ow
24) Dog...woof, woof
25) Shish (fish)...makes a fish face
26) El-phant...raises his arm and makes a trumpeting sound
27) Bear...roar!
28) Sheep (which was fr-eep for a while)...Baa, baa
29) Mouse...squeak, squeak
30) -affe (giraffe)...sticks out his tongue :)
31) -abbit (rabbit)...quickly breathes in and out of his nose
32) Frog (which currently sounds like another "f" word :/ )...(inconsistent with the sound)
33) Bird...tweet, tweet
34) Monkey...ooh, ooh, ahh, ahh
35) Goat...maa, maa
36) Owl...who, who

Food and Drink:
37) Wah-wah (water)
38) Apple
39) Na-nuh (banana)
40) Buburry (blueberry)
41) Ca-cker (cracker)
42) Peas
43) Cheese

Expressions/ Exclamations:
44) Boom!
45) Oh no!
46) Ow!
47) Whoops!
48) Oops!
49) Hi.
50) Buh-bye (high-pitched)
51) (Ready), set, go!
52) Up
53) Help
54) Peace (Please)
55) Achoo!/ Kerchoo!
56) Ni, ni (night, night)
57) Amen (P insists to pray before every meal :))
58) (One), two, hee! (beginning to count)
59) -ank ooh (thank you)
60) Hot! (like when I'm cooking)
61) Eat
62) Bible (he says this when singing Jesus Loves Me)

Around the house:
63) Shoes
64) Clothes
65) Tunes (music)
66) Ball
67) Phone
68) D.D. (TV)
69) Baby (no, we don't have another baby around the house :), but we do have lots of books with pictures of babies in them!)
70) Hat
71) -aci (paci...and yes, it sounds like he's cursing)
72) -ankie (blankie)
73) Bath
74) Bubbles/ Pop!
75) Headband (he likes me to put on multiple ones)

Transportation:
76) Car
77) Bus
78) Plane
79) Train
80) Bike
81) Truck
82) Boat

Oops, words I forgot, but I don't want to renumber the list :)
83) Fruit
84) Beez, beez (used to request Flight of the Bumble Bees)
85) Beep, beep (used to request Driving in My Car)
86) Cookies (used when we read the book The Cow Loves Cookies)
87) All done.
88) No.
89) -esh! (Yes)
90) Play.
91) -ay dough (play dough)
92) Dunk! (while playing basketball)
93) Shirt
94) Socks
95) Pants
97) Squirrel...chee, chee (according to the book The Cow That Clucked)
98) Snake...sssssssssss

Body Parts:
99) Nose
100) Eyes
101) Ears
102) Hair
103) Toes
104) Mouth 

The great part is, I'm sure I'm forgetting some!  In addition to adding new words almost daily, P is also imitating words and sounds left and right (although he doesn't always get them right, and he sometimes puts the end sound of a word at the beginning - like "pup" for "cup").

We had three goals for P after his first evaluation:

1)  To imitate sounds and simple words and utilize spontaneously in 6/8 opportunities during play activity. - WE TOTALLY DO THIS, NOW! :)

2) To attend and follow 1-2 step directions during an adult-led task for 10  minutes. - He improves on this every week and has grown leaps and bounds from where he was in January.

3) To utilize 25 simple words to express wants/ needs 75% of the time during structured play. - Do you see our list??? :)  Although I don't know that saying the word "elephant" really expresses a want or a need.  "Yogurt" or "carrot" might be more helpful. :)

It looks like we'll meet with a speech pathologist in a couple of weeks to see what our next step should be since he's making so much progress.  He does seem to have a hard time saying some words with "s" in them, and you can see his little tongue kind of turn to the side when he says those words, so that's something we'll need to watch...but overall, we just couldn't be more ecstatic at the progress he has made. :)

We'll keep you updated! :)

Wedding Weekend

Last weekend I turned J into a single parent and took off for north-west Arkansas with some great friends to attend my dear friend, Beth's, wedding.  We had a wonderful time celebrating her and her hubby-to-be, and it was a blessing to be able to be a part of their special day.  I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was busy being an outstanding house party of one. :)

 Here is a long-ago picture of Beth and me.  We taught together for 5 years at PC and commiserated while getting our Masters in Ed. Admin.  We also share a love of science and math, music, and Jesus. :)

 

 Here's another pic of us together at our friend's wedding a year ago...in fact, it's the same friend that drove me to Beth's wedding. :)

A funny story...on the drive up we used the "Road Ninja" app to try to find where we could eat in McAllister, OK.  When I searched nearby locations, it listed gas stations, eating establishments, attractions, etc.  Turns out we were only 1.65 miles away from an unexpected attraction: Hell, as can be seen in the screen shot below. :/

Wanna get pasta?  Visit Choctaw Casino?  Hell?...anyone?

 As you can see, there were no ratings for "hell," but I will assume that they were not favorable.  Needless to say, we chose Wendy's instead.

The ceremony was in a beautiful little chapel and was SO personalized.  I LOVE going to weddings where the ceremonies fit the bride and groom and aren't just an "insert bride and groom here" sort of thing.  My favorite part was a time of prayer where the attendants circled around Beth and Adam and prayed over them while the congregation was invited to pray for their marriage as well.  They also had beautiful piano and flute (and go figure - the flautist, who was related to the bride, took lessons from my grandma!  Small world!!!) during this part...brought me to tears.  Such a cool moment.

 Here's the happy couple. :)

 Wedding cake (although they had yummy cupcakes for everybody).

Me and my teaching buddies!

Pretty flowers...calla lilies are the bride's favorite.

 

 They had a photo booth, which is, of course, fun and entertaining...thankfully E and J didn't make me feel like a third wheel, which can be hard to do while the couple you're with is smooching in the photo booth. ;)



Close up 1.  Cheese!



 Close up 2.  Hey! :)

 Close up 3.  Look what they're doing! :)

 Close up 4.  Looking as normal as we can while wearing boas, Hawaiian leis, sombreros, and large glasses. :)

It was a great weekend.  J and P survived (and thrived), and I admittedly enjoyed some alone time.  It's amazing how much more you appreciate being able to do things like get up when you want, exercise alone, and get ready at your own pace when you have a 2 year old. :)

2 other things to note:

1)  I had my first taste of Dan Dan Noodles from P.F. Chang's on this trip, and although I never go eat there, I would TOTALLY go back to eat those again. :)  Yum.

2)  Even MORE important, I FINALLY registered my Starbucks card to start earning "stars" so I can get a GOLD card.  That's right.  I'm on the road to gold.  Only 29 more card swipes before every 13th beverage is free. :)  Not to worry, you also get a free beverage on your birthday and free coffee refills while "in house."  I know what you're thinking, "How did you not sign up for this before!?!?"  The sad part is, the number of free drinks I could have had over the past 5 years is sickening.  Sigh.  Better late than never.

 

Happy Wedding, Beth and Adam!  I'm so excited for y'all and appreciate getting to be a part of your big day!

GiGi is 82! :)

It's birthday month around here...and this week we got to celebrate GiGi's (aka Grammy Sue's) 82nd birthday!  We had a fun "ladies' lunch" at my mom's house, complete with lunch from Chocolate Angel and to-die-for coconut cream pie. :)  The only thing missing was the other ladies in the family who don't live in town!

 Making a wish.

 Beautiful flowers from Aunt Jan.

 Pretty.

 Family pic 1. :)

 Family pic 2. :)

 Family pic. 3. :)

Birthday pie.

 YUM! :)

Happy Birthday, Grammy!  We love you!

Dallas Blooms

We headed out to the Arboretum with some friends from church the other week to enjoy the beautiful weather, stunning flowers, and fun activities for the kids.  With the help of some other mamas acting like goofballs in the background, I was even able to get a couple of smiling pictures of the Peanut!  Thanks, ladies! :)

  

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The Arboretum really is unbelievably stunning during Dallas Blooms.

P and his buddy, Jay.

"Wait, P!" :)

 Checking out some flowers.

 Hi guys.

 Sweet boy.

 And this is what the "behind the scenes" looks like. :)

Hooray for photographic evidence that I was there!

 I love this picture!  Thanks, Jen! :)

 While my favorite part was the flowers, P's favorite part was by-far the petting zoo. :)  If you were to ask him what we saw, he would have told you:

Horse.

Freep. (Sheep)

Bock, bock (Chickens)

Goat.

But of course, he would have LOVED to see a cow!  Turns out the cow made its appearance the day before...shhh...don't tell P! :)

How you know your 2 year old is tired...

Today is Pizza Thursday.  Every week we go to visit GiGi and Gramps (along with Share Share) to eat pizza and hang out for a couple of hours.  We really look forward to it and enjoy spending time with family...and eating pizza, of course.

Today around 1:20, P went and stood next to the sliding glass door that looks onto the patio and said, "Home."  My mom said, "P, are you ready to go home?"  He replied with, "Home.  Ni-Ni." And then proceeded to make a snoring noise. :)

I told my grandparents that when a two year old requests to go home and take a nap, you gotta honor that request.

Guess the kid was tired. :)

Here's a picture I took today.  Love those baby blues. :)

Papa is 60!

Up until recently, my dad didn't have a legit grandparent name.  Nothing sounded right...nothing seemed to fit...and goodness knows that anything we had come up with, P was unable to repeat.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, we went over to my parents' house for dinner, and P decided that that would be the day he would start naming all his family members.  He had Share-Share and B down, but Aunt KiKi was waiting on pins and needles to hear her name, and I'm sure my dad had given up hope.  Well, P shocked us all by finally saying "KiKi" loud and proud before dinner.  We were all thrilled!  Then, while sitting around the dinner table, we were trying to get P to say every one's names...

Me:  P, can you say Share-Share?

P:  Share-Share.

Me:  P, can you say Daddy?

P:  Da-dee!

Me:  P, can you say KiKi?

P:  KiKi.

Me:  P, can you say B?

P:  B!

Share-Share:  P, can you say grandpa?

P:  Papa.

We all freaked out, and P got this huge smile on his face.  We egged him on..."Is that Papa???"  And precious P looked straight into my dad's eyes and said, "Papa,"  with such clarity and conviction.  And at that moment I turned to my dad and said, "I think your grandchild just gave you a name."  And based on the smile on my dad's face, I think he accepted the name that had been bestowed upon him by the Peanut.

(As a side note, we already have a Papa in the family...and quite a wonderful Papa at that...J's grandpa. :)  But what are you going to do when your kid names a family member?  You just go with it...and I guess, get creative.)

Well, the name "Papa" has definitely stuck.  P asks about him almost daily...it's SO FUN to hear him call his family members by their names!

We celebrated Papa's 60th birthday last weekend.  My mom had been out of town, so K and I took care of everything except the main course...which the birthday boy willingly prepared for us: filet Parmesan (which is an ode to a favorite dish from an Italian restaurant we go to in downtown Springfield every year on the way to Michigan).  It's ridiculously good.

 Here's P before dinner wearing his new blanket/Elmo cape :) from Cousin Whit.

And here he is helping Papa blow out his candles.

Happy Birthday, Papa! :)  We love you!

February from my phone

Here's what P did during the month of February...

 

Ate inappropriate amounts of Mexican rice.

 Went to Becks Prime.  You should, too.

Got a big boy haircut.:)

 Started helping sort the silverware.

 Gave away some big 'ole smooches.

 Laughed.

 Played with the Elmo App...he especially loves the one where Elmo wants to pretend your cows together, as well as the one where Elmo sneezes. :)

 Played at the park.

 Went back to Cabela's to check out the fish situation.

 Turns out they're still mesmerizing.

 Learned to use a party blower.

 Made a valentine for his dad using Elmo stickers and some crayons.

(Sorry it's sideways.)

 Treated his Ironman training dad like a salt lick.  Gross and funny all at the same time.

 Rocked a Kansas Jayhawk-blue tracksuit, courtesy of Cousin Whit.

 Fed Elmo graham crackers.

 Fed Abby graham crackers.

Loved his Elmo, Abby, blankie, and paci.