Saturday 11: Spring Break

This week was Spring Break for both Little Buddy and I.  Well, it was more of a break for Little Buddy and more like double duty for me!  Even though I didn't have class, I still had work to do, but without Little Buddy having school, my work wasn't really happening.  That's ok.  I had a great time with my little guy, but I know that I will be paying for it next week!

Blowing kisses while riding the carousel with Daddy.

Daddy got Little Buddy a miniature volcano set.  A little baking soda, a little vinegar, and voila!  Instant science fun!

Besides Spring Break, this was also Daddy's birthday week!  We had a nice celebration for him.  On Tuesday, Miss Ariel came to watch Little Buddy while Daddy and I went to see Kenny Chesney at the Rodeo.

Fun time at the Kenny Chesney concert for Daddy's birthday!

Wednesday was Daddy's actual birthday.  Because he had to work, Little Buddy and I took him to lunch at his favorite restaurant, Grimaldi's.

Chowing down on some tasty pizza.

Happy birthday, Daddy!

Then Little Buddy and I went home to make some birthday cake for Daddy.  The favorite part of any birthday is the cake for Little Buddy!  Daddy chose chocolate marble with dark chocolate fudge frosting.

Looks yummy!

On Friday, we decided to take a family date day down to the Rodeo!  It was Little Buddy's first time there and Daddy and I's first time to go down during the day and see the farming and animal attractions.  It was like a whole new rodeo to us!  We had a fun day together, but I think Little Buddy's favorite part was when he got to ride a pony.

Taking Daddy for a ride in the tractor.

Just so much to see at the petting zoo!

Feeding the goats.

 

Hugging the donkeys.  We also got to see pigs, sheep, llamas, chickens, baby turkey's, and deer.  The deer kept trying to eat Momma's sweater.

All saddled up for his first pony ride!

So excited!

A quick visit with Miss Moo to round out the day.

We also had several big accomplishments this week.  Little Buddy's been doing a great job trying new foods, working his potty training, and helping in the garden.  He also started at My Gym, a kid's program that includes beginning gymnastics, stories, song, dance, and play.  We're hoping that his coordination and balance improve and aid him in not getting so many head bumps!

Actually eating some macaroni and cheese!  Little Buddy has yet to enjoy any type of noodles, so this willingness to actually try some mac and cheese (which he has previously rejected on every offering) was pretty amazing.

I really work to limit TV for Little Buddy, but he LOVES the Charlie Brown specials, so we've made them rewards for potty success.  While he is still not aware enough to tell us that he needs to go, if we put him on the potty at certain opportune times (such as after breakfast), we get success!  It's building into a good routine and getting us one step closer to diaper independence. 

We also planted our garden this week.  Little Buddy and I look forward to harvesting tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, pumpkins, and strawberries together!

Walking the low beam at My Gym.  He had to take big steps so as to not step on the "cookies" (beanbags).

Hanging from the rings.  He really enjoyed his first class!

I had so much fun with my little guy this week, and I am definitely going to miss him when he goes back to school on Monday.  At least I will get to catch up on school work though!

Good night, 

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma

Saturday 10: Crib Break!

It's certainly been a week of growing up for out little guy!  We started the week with a new potty because he'd grown out of his old toddler potty and was still not too sturdy climbing up on the big boy potty yet.  He seems very excited about it, and about the prospect of earning some Daniel Tiger or Charlie Brown viewing if he successfully uses the potty.  Again, we're not exactly potty training right now, per se, just trying to encourage potty awareness and give him opportunities to practice.  He still seems unable to anticipate needing to use the bathroom, so I know it will be some time before we have full potty training success, but any positive associations will help us along the way. 

  

A little concerned that he's already taking his "phone" and "computer" to the bathroom with him!

Already reading books to his stuffed animals.  Storytime with Elmo Bones and Dundee!

On Monday, we hit another milestone.  Little Buddy climbed out of his crib once he woke up!  He's known how to climb in and out of his crib for awhile in order to get his stuffed animals, but he hadn't realized he could get out after sleeping and didn't have to wait for Momma or Daddy to come get him.  *Sigh*  I'm glad he's growing up, but I will miss the convenience the crib provided.  It is going to take some work to get him to stay in his newly modified bed at night and to not get up to early in the morning!

Unfortunately, because of the craziness of the morning, I missed taking a picture of Little Buddy in his outfit for school.  They were working on letter "P" this week and they got to wear their pajamas to school.  Little Buddy picked his Elmo PJs, which are getting a bit too snug around his belly, along with his Elmo bathrobe.  He was so cute!  I may have to restage the outfit in order to get the picture.

Daddy had to work late, so we ended up taking a jog down to the park and playing for a bit before dinner.  His happiness is contagious!

Taking some light reading on the jog with us.

 My favorite smile!

Settling in for the night in his modified crib.  Toddler rails are not my favorite!  He's started getting up much earlier now that he can get himself out of bed.  We hope he settles into a more manageable routine soon.

Now that he can get out of bed, the new video monitor is a necessity.  It actually feels a little creepy watching him with night vision while he sleeps!

We enjoyed the rest of our week.  Little Buddy is really enjoying watching his flowers grow!  He loves giving them water and then letting me put them in the window for "sun-sine."

Two shoots coming up so far!

Wednesday was Rodeo Day at school.  Love my little cowboy!

 Zonked out after boot camp, a picnic, and playing with friends in the park on Friday.

Playing with T at Bouncing Bears on Saturday.  Daddy was at Habitat for Humanity for most of the day, so Little Buddy and I decided to go play with friends!

 

At Little C's birthday party at the Little Gym.  Such a fun time!

It felt like this week just went by in a blur.  Next week is Spring Break for both Little Buddy and I.  I hope we can have a fun week full of adventures together!


Good night,

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma

Saturday 9: All Fired Up

Alright, so it is amazing to me that a weekly blog seems to be harder to maintain than a daily blog.  Oh well, I'll keep plugging away for now until I think of something that works better for us.  That probably won't be until after school is over for the semester, since I find my brain has limited resources to expend right now.  :)

Oh goodness, has it been a week!  While we had some fun for the first part of the week (getting Little Buddy to actually try some lettuce, tomato, and green pepper for the first time--smothered in ranch, of course, but he ate them!) and learning about plants, Momma also had to combat a bad 24 hour stomach bug.  No fun at all!

Checking out our new flower pot.  We are going to water it every day and check for any changes!

We going to be impatient for our impatiens to grow!  Haha, see what I did there? ;)

Thankfully, I was all better by Monday, so Little Buddy and I decided to join our friends at My Gym for a playdate on Tuesday.  Little Buddy had a great time, so we decided to sign him up for a few classes to try it out.  Hopefully he likes it as much as he did this week!

Playing with friends.

Enjoying the trampoline.  Maybe he'll finally learn how to jump on his own!

Ball pit!

Eating some nuggets after play time.  He did a great job sitting in a big boy chair!  He's really starting to grow up.  I even let him "walk" next to me in Target today, instead of putting him in the cart.  Slowly but surely, he's starting to get the "stay with Momma" concept.

On Wednesday, Little Buddy told me he wasn't feeling well, so I kept him home from school , worried he had caught something from me.  Thankfully some snuggles and some Elmo watching rejuvenated him and he was bouncing off the walls by lunch time!

I'm not going to lie, letting him sleep on me was one of the highlights of my week.  This so rarely happens anymore.  I am glad, though, that he just needed some extra rest.

Elmo has magic healing powers.

And all smiles again!

We spent the rest of the week playing together and on Friday we took a trip to a fire station!  The fire fighters gave us a great tour and all the kids had a blast!  We then had a picnic lunch at a local park afterwards.  All was well until Little Buddy tripped on some stone stairs and gave himself a big head bump!  Oh how I hate it when he gets these goose eggs!  My poor boy!  Thankfully, after a good cry and some cuddles, he was ready to play again, but that bump is going to be there for weeks!

 

Momma felt brave, so we painted inside.  It didn't go too badly!

Newly painted kitty and puppy!

"Would you like to wear a hat today?"  "No!" Pauses, reconsiders, and the refuses to leave the house without his chosen hat.

I was impressed; he kept it on at the park, during errands, and through lunch. He was committed!

Very intent on his first Light Brite project! 

Pretty impressed with the glowing ice cream cone!

Making his own ball pit!

Loving the fire trucks!

All the kids had a great time with the hose! 

"Uh, Momma, why do I have this big coat on?"

 All the kiddos!

Lots of space to let our wild animals run free at the park!

My poor baby and his newest goose egg!  Ouchie!

Our week finished up with me running in my second half marathon.  After the month of school fatigue, travel, no training time, and then a severe stomach bug, I really wasn't sure if I was going to run it.  I woke up on Saturday morning and decided that I would regret not trying and that if I felt terrible, I could always stop.  Miraculously, I made it all 13.1 miles, running!  It wasn't my fastest time, but I was proud that I did it.  Having Daddy and Little Buddy cheer for me at three spots on the course and at the finish made it all the sweeter.  Love my cheerleaders!

My running group.

"Momma run fast!" 

Hopefully this coming week will have a little more down time for all of us!  We do hope to get Little Buddy down to the rodeo sometime this month, so that is something to look forward to!

Night all, 

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma