{this moment} All Dressed Up and Ready to Go

 

{this moment} A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

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Philip Funnies VI

Suddenly Philip is acting like he is hard of hearing and constantly asking me to repeat myself over and over again. Here is how a conversation played out recently.
Me: Blah blah blah
Philip: What Mommy?
Me: Blah blah blah
Philip: What Mommy?
Me: Blah blah blah
Philip: What Mommy?
Me: Blah blah blah (said loudly and in a slightly exasperated tone)
Philip: That's too loud for me, Mommy!
Me: Sorry, I thought you couldn't hear me.
Philip: What Mommy?

"I was timing out!" (in time out)

"Reading" the book The Fox and the Hound. "Once upon a time there was a fox. Bye-bye foxies!" Tosses book aside.

After watching several flocks of geese flying overhead.
Me: Where do you think they are going?
Philip: They going to the beach house.

 

After I called Julia a baby.
Philip: No, he's not a baby. He's a gaaaarl (girl).

"You can't trust baby."

"You've got to be kidding me, Mama!"

Andy: Who is your godfather?
Philip: Jesus

Getting ready for naptime one day, I was telling him that he was sick and needed to get some rest. "No, I not sick!," he repeated over and over. After having his pre-nap snack he said, "Okay, I ready to be sick now!"

Philip's profound thoughts:
Philip: If it's pink, it's pink.
Me: The sky? (It was sunset)
Philip: No the leaves. And if they are yellow, they are yellow.
Later:
"If Herbie can't bite, he can't bite."
Still later:
"If I don't have to, I don't have to."

{this moment} Littlest Firefighter

{this moment} A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Visit Soulemama to share your "moment."

A Look at September

September started off with a bang! Andy's Mom and I used a little peer pressure to convince Andy that we should all go to the beach - the week before he had some big meetings at work. We promised that he could use their empty condo during the day and he would be able to get full work days in. We had a wonderful time with Andy's parents, his Aunt and Uncle. My parents and Andy's brother and sister-in-law joined us for a long weekend.

Trains on the beach

 

The kids are too scared to go in the ocean, so we made a baby pool inside our tent

 

 

The shower area is always a huge draw for Philip

 

 

Unfortunately, on our trip to the beach Julia must have licked something at one of the children's play areas where we stopped. Towards the end of the trip she came down with a fever and then started drooling like crazy. Philip and Andy got fevers the following week. After Andy started getting some other symptoms we figured out that they all had a case of the lovely sounding Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. Andy got the worst of it - we probably wouldn't have even realized that the kids had it if Andy did not come down with it. Luckily my immune system held out so I could take care of the others.

 

Sickos

 

Since the kids were quarantined for two weeks, it was a good time to start potty training Philip. I had been trying to wait through the summer when we would have a long stretch of time without travel or visitors. Philip is using the potty daily, but still has a ways to go before he is fully trained. I was hoping that the "Boys train later, but faster" adage would hold true, but it doesn't seem that way.

 

My little girl loves all toilets and garbage cans - sigh

With all the excitement of our summer birthdays, Philip has gotten used to having regular parties in our house. He has been itching for another one and keeps planning for Andy's birthday which isn't for a few months. One day he decided that it was Herbie's birthday and since Herbie was adopted in September, we decided to have a birthday party for him. While running errands, we let Philip pick out a couple presents (a new toy and treats) for the cat and later in the day we stopped at a cupcake shop to get dessert. Philip could hardly wait for the party!

Presenting Herbie with his gifts

The kids had their annual doctors' appointment and all is great. The doctor said that Julia is following the Julia growth curve (30% for height and weight) and Philip is following his. It is so sweet to watch Philip at the doctor's office now. He used to scream anytime a doctor or nurse touched him, but over the past year he has learned to sit quietly and follow their directions. He is really growing up! Julia on the other hand, is a screamer.

Another big event this month is that Philip started his first day of "school." We aren't doing preschool this year, but we did enroll him in a Montessori based religious education program called Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. I think this will be a great way to transition my shy little boy into being in a class without Mommy and I am excited about all the things he will be learning. We are hoping he will become more engaged in Mass once he understands what is going on. A parent can dream!

 

First day of school

 

Andy and I had a big night out this month. We went to see some of his favorite performers, The Steve Morse Band and Professor Satchafunkilus himself, Joe Satriani. What, you haven't heard of them? Neither had I until I met Andy. They are both masters of electric guitar, so it was a "cultural" experience for me.

 

Our little rock star

 

 

Julia is always on the move! She loves shoes and is constantly bringing me a pair to put on her feet. Sometimes as soon as I put one pair on she goes and finds another pair that she wants instead. She learned to say hi, bye, and no. When she sees an image of Jesus she will say "sus." She loves the Last Supper picture that sits above her high chair and will often turn to look at the image. One day as I was pulling her out of her chair she turned, waved to the image and said, "Bye-bye." Anytime Julia sees an animal in a book, she leans over to give them a kiss. She has learned that in addition to walking behind her school bus push toy, she can sit on it. She hasn't learned how to make it move on her own yet, so you often find her sitting on it and squawking for someone to give her a push. One bad habit she has is doing raspberries with her lips if she is unhappy about something. Of course Philip likes to imitate all the things that she does, so now we have two kids spitting their disapproval at us. I'm afraid we also have a biter on our hands! Philip is usually the victim when he is refusing to share or is taking toys away from his sister. Hoping this is a short-lived phase!

 

 

 

Philip's phrases that he kept repeating this month were:
"Oh, that not feel real good." and "That will be amazing!"
One night I was leaving the house and he came into the hallway to tell me, "Be careful out there, Mommy. There are a lot of people out on the road. Be real careful." And in melting my heart news, for the first time ever when I told Philip I loved him, he told me, "I love you too, Mommy" unprompted. Music to my ears!

A couple other photos of our fun:

 

Julia really started something by putting raspberries on her fingers one day

 

 

 

 

Playing in the hose has been a huge hit this summer.

Philip always begs to go out front to make a puddle.

 

Volcano!

 

 

Philip Funnies V

Philip: Can we go outside and play in the water table?
Me: We don't have enough time right now. Maybe after [your nap].
Philip knowing what I meant by saying "after": Noooo! But it's summertime!

Another maneuver to try to weasel out of naptime:
Philip: Is the sun up?
Me: Yes.
Philip: We no sleep when the sun is up. We no nap today.

After spending his whole hour rest time calling out for me to come get him, I go into his room.
Philip: I'm not sleeping real well.

Another time when he was supposed to be napping: "I'm waking my eyes up, Mommy!"

 

At bathtime:
Me: I'm going to get you all clean first and then when I am done you can play with your toys while I bathe Julia.
Philip: That is going to be amazing!

One day I was working on a painting project and Philip wanted to paint too. After unsuccessfully trying to teach him how to wash his paintbrush before using a new color, I finally decided to squirt a bunch of colors on a piece of newspaper for him to mix up however he liked. While painting, this conversation unfolded.
Philip: You be careful, Mommy.
Me: Okay Philip, you be careful too.
Philip: No, I not be careful.
Me: What are you going to be?
Philip:
Me: Are you going to be wild?
Philip: Yeah! I'm going to be wild! You be careful with your paints, Mommy and I'm going to be wild!

"I want they're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight." (Thomas theme song)

Philip: I want to nap in Mommy Daddy's room. My little bed is scary.
Me: What is scary about your bed?
Philip: There are monkeys in it.
This conversation played out again later in the naptime routine.
Philip: There is an elephant in my bed.

After closing the door when leaving for a Mom's night out, Andy said Philip told me, "Take it easy, Mommy."

Philip: Where's Daddy?
Me: In Philadelphia.
Philip: Oh, I can't see that far.

"Look at the paterkiller!" (caterpillar)

"Mommy, I potty trained!" (used the potty)

Bonus Julia funny:
One morning Philip threw a minor fit. Afterwards, Julia, Philip and I were silent for a moment just staring at one another. Then Julia broke into applause. Even she knows when he is putting on a show!

August - The Best Month of the Year

I've always thought August was the best month of the year. My sister and I were both born in August, so there was a lot to celebrate. I've now narrowed things down further to having a favorite week of the year. In one week's time we celebrate our anniversary, Julia's birthday, and my birthday. That is one incredible week!

 

This month we enjoyed a visit from Andy's parents. The kids had a great time with their grandparents, they helped us out so much around the house, and Andy and I got to enjoy their baby-sitting services.

We celebrated our 11th Anniversary this year. My in-laws watched the kids while we went to a Japanese hibachi grill. Afterwards we got coffee and enjoyed a band playing outdoors in a new shopping area. I am amazed at how far our little town has come over the last few years.

 

When we returned home, we found Philip snuggled up
with Grandma, playing a rollicking game of Angry Birds

For Julia's birthday, Andy's Mom made manicotti, which Julia loved. She also made a homemade cake and Julia spent a good amount of time eating her piece.

Good Morning Birthday Girl!

Since Julia was on the verge of taking her first steps during their visit, my mother-in-law and I went out to get Julia's first shoes.

Andy had a day off in the middle of the week, so we took a trip to Annapolis. It was a beautiful day. We visited the City Dock and had lunch out. Of course, no visit to Annapolis is complete without visiting an ice cream shop!

On my birthday, Andy's parents watched the kids for awhile while I went out shopping and running lots of small errands that are hard to do with the kids. My mother-in-law made dinner for us and we got a couple Smith Island Cakes to share. It was so fun to have a small crowd to celebrate with!

That weekend we all went down to North Carolina to celebrate the baptism of our niece and nephews. It was a wonderful time! I was thinking back to just a little over a year ago when we first learned that these beautiful children would become a part of our family. Now it is hard to remember life without them!

Other fun times this month included celebrating a first birthday and a baptism with friends, and going out to a minor league baseball game. We took the kids to their first ball game earlier in the summer. Julia had a great time sitting in my lap and munching on Cheerios, but Philip was scared of all the loud noises. We got free tickets to a game in August and decided to try it out again. When we drove into the parking lot and Philip already had his hands over his ears we were expecting to have a very short-lived evening out. But he pulled through and we stayed for a couple hours. Philip had fun in the kid's area, playing several games and going on a carousel ride for the first time. He had his head buried in Andy's chest for the whole ride, so I figured we wouldn't be going on any carousel rides anytime soon. But as soon as we got off, he asked to ride again. He was still bundled up with Andy during his ride, but towards the end of it he started softly saying, "Wheee! Wheee!"

  

Philip got really into feeding Julia for about a week

Gummy worm (normally not a baby-approved food, but this was too cute)

 

Philip goes through phases of things he says. This month's antics included:
Asking if the sun was out and then telling me that we don't sleep when the sun is up (trying to send subliminal messages that he didn't need a nap).
When I would tell him it was naptime he would say, "Nooo, but it's summertime!"
Any time I told him we needed to change his diaper, "Nooo, Daddy changed it last night!"

Julia started saying "What's that?" She is constantly pointing to things throughout the day and asking, "What's that?" I am amazed by her limitless curiosity. She also got her 6th tooth and started walking! What an amazing month August was!