Our summer

So, this is what happens when your kid can run and talk and ask 1000 questions and stay up later? You fail to blog his life. I am worried, though, that I will forget some of the shining (and not-so-shining) moments that happen. I simply MUST get some of this in writing.

Just this week, Shepard has thrown over "blue blankie" (of which we own TWO) for "Lovely Carrot." Lovely Carrot is an elephant lovie that was given to us by our friend Sarah DeShields at a shower before Shepard was born. He found her in his stuffed animal bin and named her. She is neither a carrot nor a rabbit. I have no idea where he gets this stuff.

He also threw himself on the floor with a power fake-cry because "I can't smell things the way Regis (the dog) can!!!!!!! Why can't I smell like the dog!?" I think he just wanted something to cry about.

In other news, he might end up on the street with no teeth, since he cannot be bothered to clear his plate from the table, pick up books off his floor, or brush his teeth, since these things are all "too boring." Last week he told me he likes to eat "fun cake" more than "work cake." He asked me a few weeks ago why people have to go to work and do a job. I told him that the Bible says we need to work in order to eat (and have money for things like fun and a home, etc.). He said he would invent a machine that would make food for him (so he doesn't have to work...). I'll just leave that there. Hopefully, he'll go far with his toothless smile and creative spirit.

We had a blast at Edisto with our cousins and Jones family last week. I think Shepard is part fish. He has taken round two of swim lessons this summer, and is getting very, very close to swimming on his own.

Here's a pic from the angel tree near Charleston, SC. He was acting like the opposite of angel on this morning.  ;) 

More to come. I'm getting this thing updated IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!

Being three and stuff

So many fun things going on in life right now. Shepard is increasingly verbal about EVERYTHING. He sorts out life out loud, as most kids his age do.

"Mommy, you have a normal car. If you hit that car in front of you, it will break."

"When I get bigger, I can drive too."
(Yes, but you have to take a very hard test, drive around with a teacher, learn what all the signs mean...and if you try to drive without doing all that, you can go to jail.) This actually happened in the car yesterday. I'm pretty sure he thinks he's qualified to drive a big car now, so I have to do everything in my power to keep him a little fearful of trying it.

I turned off the lamp in his room for night-night.  "How rude. I like it a little bit light. How rude."
He wasn't trying to be sassy. Once we adjusted the light to his liking (what do I care...just go to BED!), he said, "Now, that's just the way I like it."

"Mommy, that's a concrete truck. It pours out...and you can't walk on it because it's sparkly."

So, you see. Sometimes things make the best sense in his head, but if you hang around him long enough, you start to see where he's coming from and the connections he makes. It's like peeking into his brain, because he processes everything through questions and dialogue. I love it. I've made a promise to myself and to Jerod to answer every question. Always. Even when I'd rather just pull out a Jen Hatmaker and say "I don't know. ASK JESUS!" (She's my favorite. That's her blog link back there, but for good fun and frivolity; I like to see what she posts day-to-day on facebook.)

We started a new preschool program this week. He left behind the best day care we could have asked for (he's been there since he was 9 weeks old!), and has moved on to a program that's more structured and very close to my work. As a matter of fact, they were having a picnic on the lawn today; and I got to see him for a few minutes unobserved.

Here are his first day of preschool photos:

No more baby here. Sigh.

 

 

 Oh, and remind me to tell you about the time he called me on his hand (by dialing it like a phone...).

Father's Day fun and fail

Lest you think life with our dear little fellow is all bliss and frolicking through fields of wildflowers...we had the oddest thing happen. Up 'til now, little man did not that the music truck that went by also doled out delightful ice creams. In our new neighborhood, we don't have a regular ride-by, as we have probably pulled the average age of the neighbors down to a sprightly 58 with our presence. We would hear one on the main road outside the neighborhood a lot, but I thought it would be cruel to tell him it was a truck full of treats that was not going to come to our house. So I just called it the music truck.

On Father's Day, we decided to take a trip over to Shepard's favorite local park, the "waterfall park." It's Glencairn Gardens about two miles away.

This kid really loves him some fountains.

It was a nice evening, and we had been strolling around the park for the better part of an hour when we heard the "music truck." Shepard was intrigued and trying to see where it was coming from. We made it up to the top deck of the balcony area and there it was!

We decided to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, and spring for an ice cream for him. Thus, he'd know the secret of the music truck. It doles out magical, sugary goodness.

 We asked him several times what kind of ice cream he'd like. Fruity, chocolate, popsicle? He wouldn't answer...a common occurrence, frankly. He often pretends to ignore our questions as a means of control. Given his usual preferences, I opted for a chocolate-coated ice cream bar for him after explaining that Mommy was going to choose if he didn't. He still didn't.

 We unwrapped it and gave it to him. He nearly knocked it out of my hands. "NO! YUCKY! NO CHOCOLATE!"

What? When have you ever turned down chocolate? "I DON'T WANT ANY!"

Really? I explained that it would start to melt in the heat if he didn't eat it or at least try it. Then Daddy and I took a turn each at taking a bite and telling him how yummy it was. The thing was melting, y'all! We spent several minutes trying to convince our child TO EAT ICE CREAM.

He proceeded to melt too. Loudly. For a long time. Turns out he wanted fruity. When I threw the melty messy rest of it away, he really put on a show for the mosquitoes and park patrons.

Well, I don't read minds. I'm not sure how long it's going to take him to figure that out. His attempts at control and forced mind-reading are not going to end well. And I'm really thinking he's not getting any more ice cream truck surprises anytime soon either.

Just one of those nights, I guess. I didn't get pictures of the meltdown because my camera battery died (darn it!). But after all this fun and a delightful evening...yep. Meltdown. Ah, life with a preschooler. The mood changes on a dime. Or in this case, on a $2 ice cream. God love him.

You cut my French toast! And other calamities.

I just read THIS WONDERFUL LIST, entitled 46 reasons why my three-year-old might be freaking out. (no, really, you should at least browse this.)

So, I'm feeling pretty inspired now. While our little man is only 2 and a half and some change, below are actual moments of freak out from HIS life. In no particular order and grouped by category.

Reasons that Shepard might freak out/melt down: 

(based on actual experiences...could also be titled "reasons that I think sometimes I might be legitimately crazy")

BANANAS:

• Someone peeled the banana. We are only to "open" it.
• The banana "broke." Into pieces. Cannot possibly eat it now. The taste is altered.
• There is a sudden remembrance that we aren't to eat seeds. (i.e. apples) Cannot eat banana.

DOORS:

• He indicates a desire to enter a particular room (usually sunroom) and the door is locked. Person unlocks door to help him enter the room, but carefully refrains from actually opening the door because person knows better.
• However, person unlocked the door of the room he wanted to enter.

BATH:

• Eager to take bath, we ensue ritual of removing clothing items before entering the water.
• While he is not actively participating in removing items that he is able to (i.e. socks), and seems ready to bathe, he is not complying with any sweet requests to assist in clothing removal.
• Socks are removed by an adult.

MERE PRESENCE:

• Mommy walked into the room. A shared room, such as a kitchen.

MILK:

• The sippy cup has suddenly become empty.
• The milk has been lost. (i.e. under the sofa, on a coaster/side table, in the fridge). These locations are all LOST/GONE!!
• Preference is water after asking for milk.

TOYS:

• Person looked at toy.
• Person put away a toy that had not been played with in at least two days.
• Person attempted to engage him in play with toys that seemed age-appropriate and fun.

GENERAL FOOD:

• Stirred yogurt.
• Cut French toast.
• Suggested salad.
• Did or did not put lid on snack-catcher.
• Used a bowl.
• Used a blue bowl.
• Used a red cup.
• Used a blue cup.
• Filled an empty cup.
• Sampled a bite to be sure it wasn't too hot.

DIAPERS/POTTY:

• Adult attempted to assist with sitting on potty after desire to sit on potty expressed and multiple attempts at climbing up unsuccessful. For the record, adult asked, was given permission in advance.
• Adult attempted to change a really wet diaper. "MY WET DIAPER!!!!"
• Adult suggested potty.
• Striped big-boy underwear are unacceptable today.

There are hundreds more, but we'll just leave it there for now.

Holiday Wrap-up, Part One

We were blessed with a glorious two weeks off. Based on several doctor's opinions, we also chose to get Shepard's tonsils out. Ugh.

He wanted to nap in the den on the floor...sweet little thing.

 

Bless his little heart, he most likely caught some kind of "bug" at the same time as the surgery. Without going through a play-by-play, we had a full eight days of Christmas that involved forced medicine (every trick known to man or beast), begging him to eat/drink, a late-night/early-morning trip to the children's ER in Charlotte, begging him to eat or drink some more, fevers, worry, prayer...and Christmas gifts.

That about sums up our vacation.

Nap close-up

We were able to get down to Greenville for the Jones family Christmas, and seeing Grandma, the cousins and the gang did seem to cheer him up.

I think I have some pretty sweet videos of the kiddos opening gifts, but my video camera is currently MIA.

Grandma cuddles

He got some amazing gifts and seems to still like all of them. He hasn't quite taken to the Mr. Potato Head like I thought he would, but perhaps he just needs more eye and funny mouth options.

We were at Grandma's for Christmas morning, so his mommy-and-daddy gifts were ready. By this point, he had "gotten" the idea of ripping open the paper, and was ready to unwrap everything he saw.

He ate a cake pop! We were just excited he ate something.

"My own computer!"

Christmas morning cartoons

"My school bus!"

"Let's have a picnic!" (I was hoping that the plastic food would awaken his hunger...)

Chutes and Ladders!

All this present-opening has made me sleepy.

Can I get a witness!?

Sometimes you just have to testify. When I was growing up, sometimes our Sunday night church services were "testimony services." That was just people in the church getting up and saying what the Lord had done for them lately. I think sometimes we easily attribute big things, blessings, etc. to the Lord; but I also want to be watching for him in the "little" things.
This testimony is about Shepard.
For nearly the entire month of June and the first week of July, Shepard decided that Mommy was no longer awesome. I basically attributed this behavior to some sort of "terrible twos" phase. On vacation, it got even worse, as the grandparents became the center of his universe and both Mommy and Daddy were getting the cold shoulder. He would even scream "NOOOOOO!" when I'd try to pick him up after nap. By the time we got home, Daddy was awesome again, but I was absolute chopped liver. He would often scream if I just entered the room where he was. He would push me away with both hands. He would try to flip food out of my hands as I put it on his tray. About the only thing he would let me do without a huge struggle was give his bath and put him to bed. Jerod even had to talk to him several times about being mean to Mommy. I kept trying to stay upbeat and push through the phase, but it is really difficult to have ANYONE full-on reject you. Especially this little person that you would lie down and die for if needed. Sometimes I just cried.
Then magically, about a week and a half ago, on a Friday, I came home from work, and instead of running away from me, Shepard hugged my legs. I sat on the hearth to watch him play and he came up and crawled in my lap. Then he sat down next to me like a little buddy. I just stared at Jerod as if to ask if he had picked up the correct child from day care. ??? The affection continued. No more screaming NO! DADDY! when I came to get him first thing in the morning. He was holding my hand, climbing in my lap and giving my spontaneous hugs. Hugs had NEVER happened unless I was picking him up at school. The turnaround was actually shocking.
Last week, I took Shepard with me to small group for a little while since Jerod was out of town. My friend Emily asked how Shepard was doing. She mentioned they had prayed for him and our relationship. Jerod had asked for prayer regarding how Shepard was interacting with me. I was able to give her such a good report about how wonderful our last week had been. Now, when I go into his room in the morning, he says, "It's MOMMY!" and starts telling me all about all kinds of things.
His shift literally happened the day after my group prayed for us. We went from a month of heart-breaking rejection to "Mommy is awesome!!" again. And thankfully, not to the exclusion of Daddy. His little heart seems rightly turned toward both of us again.
I have no idea what happened spiritually, and can't begin to explain that.

I just know that I fully believe that they prayers of my community worked in bringing healing to our slightly fractured family. All along the bumpy parts too, the Lord was teaching me about relentless love, patience and gentleness; as I was practicing those things with Shepard no matter what he gave to me. And of course, I could see God's heart in it all too. How, even when we push against Him, run to others instead of Him...He still meets us with relentless love and grace.

Conversations

Little man is getting so conversational these days. Not that he particularly will just sit and chat (unless there's an iPad so he can see himself), but he can finally answer questions. He has definitely learned that NO is a power word and tries to use it to assert his independence at every turn. But sometimes he just can't help telling the truth:

On Friday during the summer, his preschool does snowcones. When I picked him up Friday, here's what we talked about.

Mommy: Hey sweetie. Did you have a fun day today?

Shepard: No.

Mommy: Oh, that's too bad. Did you have a snowcone today?

Shepard: No.

(Mommy, thinking, "well I paid for snowcones...")

Mommy: Hmmm. I was sure they were going to have a snowcone today. Was it yummy?

Shepard: No...yes. (in the same breath)

Mommy: Oh good. Was it cold?

Shepard: No...yes. 

Mommy: Do you want another one?

Shepard: No...yes.

Mommy tickles Shepard and enjoys laughter. Silly Shepard. You are allowed to say YES every now and again without starting it with a NO.

Sometimes Sunday afternoons are just grumpy. Seriously.

The other favorite thing he says right now is "unstuck it." As in...when he wants to get out of the car seat or unlock the door to go outside. He wants you to unstuck it.

Finally, a usual conversation in the car goes something like this...(three minutes into any car ride).

Shepard: ALL DONE!

Mommy: Not yet, honey. We are going to ride in the car for a few minutes.

Shepard: ALL DONE!

Mommy: We're going to ...(wherever it is) I'll tell you when we're almost there. But we're not all done yet.

Shepard: ALMOST?

Mommy: Yes, I'll tell you when we're close. Just a few more minutes.

Shepard: Almost...

(moments later)...TRUCK! BUS! CAR! HOUSE! TREE! (he really likes to identify everything)

Shepard: ALMOST? ALL DONE.

Mommy: Yes, Shepard, we're almost there.

Shepard: Almost.........Almost all done.

Mommy stops car.

Shepard: Unstuck it.

He is currently fascinated with straws and cups...though the drink-to-table ratio is beating the drink-to-mouth ratio in that format. We only do this at restaurants, in a pinch. And a bicycle update: he talks about his "cycle" a lot, but I think he got frustrated with just walking on it. He will NOT let us help him or show him to sit on the seat. We are going to recruit a small child to show him how it works. He also tells me "helmet HOT!" emphatically. Probably because the weekend we got it was about 95 degrees in the shade. Poor little thing was roasting. Oh well. We'll keep at it.

Family photos!

Our great friend Mike is also a great photographer. So, we decided to *attempt some photos to document this stage of life and toddlerhood. And by this stage of toddlerhood, I mean the independent-can't-sit-still-will-run-the-other-direction-at-all-costs stage. Obviously, we needed a patient photographer who would still have to love us when it was all over.  :)

 

Shepard had a blast. Running free on the lawns of Winthrop...and I thought he was going to lay a duck when he saw the very cool water wall/fountain things. We had to drag him away several times, literally kicking and screaming "POND!!!!" We were able to sneak in a few good shots in the rare moments when he was still for 3 seconds. Here's a sneak peek at a few of my favorites.

This Beautiful Mess

Sometimes a picture is really worth a thousand words.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Here's Shepard enjoying his lasagna and green beans recently. We are thankful for our sweet little guy, who really, really loves lasagna. He is very adamant these days about feeding himself with the spoon. Which is great, except most of the time, he turns it upside down before it makes it to his mouth. But he's smart and hungry. I'm guessing he's going to work that out soon. Thank God it was bath night.

Mom's Musings

The more I talk to mommies, the more I realize...it's never really going to get easier. I might get better at something, but there are always new challenges because every day you basically wake up to a NEW kid. They are learning and growing at such rapid rates. This morning, I was groggily lifted from bed by the cries of my little guy. I stumbled to the bathroom, washed hands and made some milk for him, changed his diaper, grabbed his blankie and sat with him in the rocker for a solid 20 minutes. So cute in his little Buzz Lightyear pj's...I was hoping perhaps he would want to drift off to sleep again as he so often does if his soggy diaper wakes him early. I smelled his sweet head under my chin and kissed him  at least five times on the hairline. He is sitting in my lap, but I know he will not fit there forever. I can still hold him and wrap him up in my arms. Wonderful moments of stillness and quiet before his little legs realize that they have places to go today. He very often greets me with a wave from his crib when I enter in the mornings. And I think he's trying to say "Hey there." I love moments like this morning. Half-awake hugs and cuddles are the best.
I often feel overwhelmed by how much there is to teach him. Saying "please" and "thank you." Not throwing his food off the table, how to open the door for people and look them in the eye and smile, how to share and hug and stay still long enough to get clothes on. These days, I'm in a full-blown sweat by the time I get my hair fixed, make-up on, coffee drunk, clothes on me, clothes on wiggly him, find the shoes, pack the lunch, did I remember to eat?, chase him down the hall, feed the dog, clean the tray, find my phone, find my brush (he likes to steal my stuff), keep him from eating the jewelry as I accessorize, marvel at how he approaches the computer and can get a song going before I can turn around--hopping on one foot as I strap on my sandals.
I think he can't hear me yet, or doesn't recognize his name when spoken sharply. It truly doesn't seem to phase him. I try to use it when he's climbing on a chair or about to trip over something in the floor. One of my friends said that since men aren't multi-taskers like women are, they truly can't hear while they're walking/playing/climbing. :)
How I wanted to have a lazy day with him today and just hang out. Sigh.
Somehow, every day he is fed and wearing cute clean clothes. He is hugged and kissed and made to laugh. He stares in wonder as I whistle. He flops about like a trapped crocodile when I change him. He wipes his tired eyes with lasagna-covered hands, and we splash (and SPLASH!!) and lotion up and get the "jammers" on and do it all over again.
This is a great job.

This is a test...

...of the slacker blogging system. Does my password still work? Did my camera stop working? Has my child just been sleeping for the past three weeks?  :)
We're all alive and well. I'm cooking up some posts, I promise! We visited the Main Street Children's Museum in Rock Hill a few weeks ago, went to an ice cream social with Gigi and Pops and miniature horses, sang in the cat microphone (you'll see!) and have generally been POINTING at EVERYTHING saying "...'s that?" It kind of sounds like "DAT?" But occassionally we'll get a "What's dat?" So we tell him. "Truck, clock, pottery, art, clutter, bird, tree, dog, cat, fan, light..." and on and on and on and on. I love it. I love seeing his little eyes spy something the second they fly open in the morning. He's pointing at stuff in his room before he even completely wakes up. He greets me with "Mamamamamamamamamamamamamamamama. S'dat?"
This morning, he toddled into our bedroom where Jerod was getting dressed for work. He loves walking around with Daddy because he gets such a great birds-eye view of the world. Over the long weekend, we celebrated a birthday, rode in the cozy coupe all around the neighborhood and ate snacks and learned about farm animals and balls and trucks and gravity. And even fought off a wee fever. I had to come to work today to get a breather.
Keep your bloggy-eyes peeled. I hope to get a few things up this week!

Hugs,

The Mommy

Adventures in parenting

Shepard has been under the weather, so we've had lots of time to hang out this weekend. We've been giving him several remedies in droppers and plastic syringe style medicine dose things. (my brother is clearly the doctor, not me)
In light of that we've said some pretty funny sentences around here over the past few days. Some are not really sick-related...just part of the package when you raise a curious kid.
File these under sentences we never thought we'd say...

Jerod: "He just gets suspicious of us when we come at him with a syringe."
Me: "Shepard. Stop licking the door!"
Me: "Did my child just lick the carpet?! Jerod get him. He's trying to lick the carpet like Barley!!"

I also managed to dive over the baby gate and land knee-first on the kitchen floor. An umpire would have ruled me "safe!" Let's say that I won't be trying to step over it again any time soon. I was going for Shepard's sippy cup at the time. I laid on the floor for a solid five minutes before I dared to move anything. I'm intact. I just feel like the umpire beat my knees with a bat. And, Shepard was NOT in my arms at the time.

That conversation went something like this:
Me: "AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" slam, kaboosh, pow, bam, bang
Jerod, bursting into the kitchen from outside..."Talk to me. What happened? Are you ok?"
Me: ".............." (silent)
Jerod (freaking out) "Talk to me. Can you move?"
Me: "I think so. I just need to lie here a minute." (on the kitchen floor)

And then, this morning. Shepard is staying home one more day just to get all rested up. I left for work, and he was peacefully sleeping. When I talked to Jerod at 9:15 or so, this is what I heard...
Jerod: "What did you leave me with?"
Me: "Oooh. Is he fussy?"
Jerod: "Oh my God. Nothing is making him happy."
Shepard (in the background): "AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Me (thinking): "Oooh. Bummer."

Shepard has roseola, which is basically a fever-rash virus. He now has the rash portion, which should not be troublesome at all...except that one of the symptoms listed is fussiness. He definitely has THAT.

I am interested to see what else ends up flying out of our mouths. Feel free to pray for patience for us.  :)

Here is yesterday's "sick day" picture. He was watching Thomas and Friends. I promise I'm getting the haircut and great-grandpapa visit up this week as well.