Something to Aim For....

Ready? Set? PEE!

People keep asking me when I'm going to start potty training AJ. Or, have I given it any thought. Well, of course I have. He's 2.5 years old. But, I've also decided that 1) I can't force this child to do anything and 2) if I'm being honest, I'm just not up for it right now. I keep telling myself that he won't be in diapers forever and once he goes to preschool or daycare, peer pressure is going to get him potty trained quickly. Perhaps I'm lazy. Think what you will.


In the past week or so, AJ has started to ask to use the "big boy potty". It's great and I'm so happy when he wants to, but typically he asks just after he's pooped! It's a start I guess :)

Tonight, he wanted to use the potty and all of the sudden, I remembered other moms of boys talking about using Cheerios to get them excited about peeing in the potty. So, I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a few. I tossed them in the toilet. At first, when I explained that he could aim for them and try to pee on them he was a little confused. He wanted to eat the Cheerios :) But then...He Did It! And boy, did we throw a little potty party! I was so proud!

Wake Up Call

Lately, for some reason, AJ wakes up pretty early when he's with me (5am or so) so I quickly change his diaper, grab him, puppy and bear and we all go to my bed. I PRAY for another hour of sleep or so.

This morning was the same. When I got us all in bed (plus refilled his milk sippy cup) he did fall asleep. We were holding hands and it was so sweet. I actually wasn't able to fall back to sleep, but I loved being able to cuddle with and hold him. About 30 minutes or so later, he sits up and sees my eyes are closed and he decides to "wake me up" but ticking my arm! He said, "tickle, tickle, tickle!" (sounds more like tittle, tittle, tittle) How can I not wake up laughing at that?

He's the sweetest, nicest, most caring and loving boy :) And he is a GREAT snuggler!

Future Baseballer

I have no idea where he learned to slide- like he's sliding into home base- but he's very good at it! He can throw back his leg and give it his all! Check it out!

He's Playing Us!

Today, I went to Jason's to pick up AJ and this was our conversation when I arrived:

Me: AJ! You're getting too big! Can you please stop growing up and stay my little boy?
AJ: No mom. I want to get REALLY REALLY REALLY tall!
Me: No!! Pleeeease, stay little! I love my little boy!
AJ: NO! Daddy, can I get really tall?
Jason: Yep
AJ: Mom, Daddy said I can get really tall!

It was pretty funny. I realized this was the first time he played Jason and I against each other :)

Oh Puppy....Where Are You???

AJ is addicted to Puppy and Bear. They go everywhere with us. To Daddy's. To Jamie's. In the car. Sometimes to the store. They are part of our family. And I didn't realize until tonight just how much I am addicted to them. Tonight, when we first got back to Grandma and Papa's house, AJ went straight downstairs to see Papa. I had bags of stuff in my hands along with dinner so I was busy unloading and getting things done. A few hours had past- we had dinner, watched a movie and played outside- and it was time to read stories before bed, like we always do. I put AJ in his pajamas and as I was putting him in his bed, I said to him "Here's Bear.... where's Puppy??" I knew we got him from Jamie's this afternoon, but where was he? I didn't panic yet, but I wondered where he could be. AJ didn't seem too concerned at that point, but I went out to my car to see if by chance I'd left him in there. Nope- not there. I checked the kitchen again. Nope. So, I went back to AJ and said, "I don't know where he is honey, but I'll find him later". I knew that wouldn't last very long, but we got thru the stories and I got time to think about where Puppy might be. Then, after stories, he asked me. "Mom, where's Pup?" And I suddenly had this fear. Had I left him in the store? (No, because we only brought Bear in the store) Was he somewhere in the house lost all night and Lexi had eaten Puppy as a snack? (Thank God, no.... this was a huge fear tho!) Then....I remembered! When we first got here, AJ went directly downstairs to see Papa! And I remember he was holding Puppy because my hands were so full. DING DING DING!!! He was in the basement! So, I ran down there to get him and even I was beyond thrilled to see this guy. At this point, I realized how much I love good ole' Pup! As I walked back upstairs, I heard AJ calling for me. I said, "I'm coming honey- I found Puppy" He responded "YEAH!!". So, I gave Puppy to AJ and he giggled with excitement and told me "I'm SUPER happy you found Puppy". I love him :)

Pizza! Pizza!

Today was the one year anniversary of our favorite pizza joint here in Castle Rock- Boulevard Pizza. We're regulars... In fact, we go there so much that I'm getting a little tired of the pizza. But it's such a family friendly hang out and their food is sooo good!

The owners put on this great little anniversary party complete with face painting and a huge bounce house! A lot of our friends went too, which made it even better.

Here's a few pictures:

Climbing up the ladder...

Down the slide!

Taking a raisin break :)

Ready to go again!

Stupid...

Ok, I'm sure the title of this post got your attention, right? It's certainly not my favorite word and it's becoming one I dislike more and more. Why, you ask? Because it's become AJ's new favorite word. I don't know where he learned it- daycare, TV, me (i hope not!), Jason (doubt that too), friends...- who knows? But he says it and he knows he shouldn't.

The past few days he'll just be sitting in the car with me or in the grocery store, or somewhere totally normal and I'll hear him say "Soup, Stupe, Cupid is a reindeer mom, STUPID" and ever so quickly, he'll say "I sorry mom, I not say the bad word anymore". However, he just keeps doing it! I know he's testing me. And I know he's 2 and this is what he's supposed to do. Part of me thinks I should just ignore it because he knows that otherwise he gets my attention and the other part of me is not ok with him saying it and therefore I should tell him. Last night he said it 5 or 6 times and each time I told him it was a bad word and please don't say it. (I felt like a broken record!) Finally, I warned him. If you say it again, you're going to time out. (Which we very rarely ever use) Well, he said it again while we were playing Legos. And off to time out he went. I just made him sit in a corner and it was sad because we were really having a good time and I don't think he even said it because he was mad or frustrated. So, he cried for a few minutes and then I walked over to him and told him (AGAIN) that it's a bad word and please do not say it. He told me he was "really sorry" (which by the way he has no idea what sorry really means obviously because he keeps on doing it!) and I kissed him and we moved on.

I know I'm going to reread this in a few years (or less) and wonder why I was so concerned with the word "stupid" because I know the words are just going to get worse and worse...