B-Boy is so tired, He's Dragon!

I appologize in advance for the length and number of photos in this post. I just could not help myself!!!

As Halloween approached, I made a decision. This would most probably be the last Halloween that B-Boy would let me dress him up "Cute". So I decided that instead of making his costume, I would go get one that I thought was cute.

Face it, from here on out, B-Boy is probably going to want to be something cool, or heroic, or scary... and "cute" most definately does not fall into any of those categories. I know this because many of my friends have older kids and talk about the costumes they want to wear. Many lament how they miss when they looked so cute... Ah, free will- it's gonna get us.

So, I told Neb that I was buying B-Boy's costume, and that I would be picking it out. Neb decided he should probably meet us at the store to be sure B-Boy would not be embarrased by what I picked out. There was lots to choose from... one Mom was dressing her daughter in a cupcake costume, while putting her son in an adorable chicken costume.

"Absolutely not!" Neb said. "No chicken! How about this shark costume? It's cool!"

"Uh no. Next year he might WANT to be a shark. Sharks aren't cute. I want cute!", I replied.

And then I saw it. An adorable green dragon costume, with the cutest shiney wings you ever did see. Neb agreed that it wasn't an embarassing costume, and so we purchased it. We tried several times to get B-Boy to try it on, but to no avail. So we just hoped it fit... and that he would let us put it on him come October 31st!

Fast forward to Halloween Day.

It was to be B-Boy's first trick-or-treat Halloween. Last year, we did take him in his costume next door to trick-or-treat our neighbors, but he was not walking much then, and more rolled in his stroller than walked to the door. So this was to be his first one where he walked to the door. We all were really looking forward to it.

So much so that we invited Mema to some stay the night and hand out candy while we went out with B-Boy. Since it was also our first Halloween in the new house, we didn't know how many trick-or-treaters to expect. Rather than one of us miss B-Boy's first experience, we thought it might be fun for Mema to hand out the candy.

B-Boy went to daycare, not knowing what was in store for the big day. After he took his afternoon nap, I picked him up and took him to Neb's work for some indoor trick-or-treating. Since Neb had started a new job at a new company, this was also our first chance to get a tour of the place.

Why does my backside feel funny?

Daddy said I am supposed to say Trick or Treat!

But I don't know why!

B-Boy was shy at first, but then he got into trying to get as much candy from folks as possible! So much so, that neither Neb nor I could carry his bag for him.

That was FUN!

My favorite part was that every time he bent down to pick up a piece of candy, the tail on the back of his costume would point up to the ceiling. It was adorable... oh, and every time he took a step the tail would swing side to side. That was fun to watch. Sadly, I don't have any video to share of that, which is probably a good thing!

Once B-Boy finished making the rounds at Neb's work, he and I headed back to his daycare. They had hosted an indoor trick-or-treating in the halls of the daycare, and I had hoped to get back in time for the event.

Sadly, we missed all the fun, but we were able to run into my friend Cat and her son Jambuca, who is in B-Boy's class- and is becoming one of B-Boy's best buddies. Jambuca had been eating some Blueberry Cranraisins and so his lips were all blue... which is definately a requirement to be Spiderman, don't you think?

Wait, you mean I could have dressed as something COOL?

No way Mom!

We went back to his classroom so his teachers could see his costume...

Cheese!

Am I lucky or what?

My teachers are smart, beautiful

AND they LOVE me!

Then we headed down the hall to his old classrooms to see his former teachers. The one year old room was empty, so we walked down to his old infant room. One of his frist teachers was there, and so we waited while the last of the babies in her care was picked up so that we could see her. While we waited, B-Boy played with the infant toys he enjoyed when he was there.

I remember this toy!

The fake crayons were so much fun to play with.

How come it's so tiny now? It used to be a lot BIGGER!

Oh, the BALL pit! I used to love this!

Wait, it is a lot smaller too!

Wait a minute... ALL these toys are tiny!

What happened?

And then we headed home... in the pouring rain.

Sadly, there was not a single trick-or-treater at our door! B-Boy was unable to go out in the rain, it was too heavy. So, instead, he showed Mema the art he brought home from school

And then he sat down to eat his favorite candy...

Apples! :)

Who is the Great Pumpkin Mema?

Of course, I had to get a photo with my cute dragon...

Mommy, you're sqeezing me too tight!!!

Being a dragon was fun Mommy!

We hope you all had a great Halloween!

Counting to ten!

When I returned from my business trip, Neb told me B-Boy had something new to show me.

While I was gone, B-Boy learned how to count! Neb figure it out when he was rocking B-Boy before he went to sleep. Neb started counting to three to let B-Boy know it was soon time to get in his crib. After he said three, B-Boy took up with the next number...

Four!
Five!
Six!
Seven!
Eight!
Nine!
Ten!

Neb said he kept rocking him just to see how many times he would count to ten.

Sure enough, when I rocked him to go to sleep, he started counting... when he got to ten he kept going all the way to fourteen! Since then, he has counted pretty well, but sometimes he forgets the number ten...

But my favorite is now when you say "One... two...", he will enthusiastically exclaim "Eight!".

Too cute.

Mommy takes a trip to Florida

If you recall, I changed jobs this summer. My old role involved a lot of travel, and my new role has had measureably less trips. I had my first trip for a conference, and was lucky enough to have it be a trip to Orlando!

One perk was that I was able to meet Patrick Ewing...

Yeah, I pretty much came up to the man's elbow...

But the best perk was that I was able to have lunch with GatorGrandpa, GatorGrandma, GatorGirl and AuntSly.

It was so good to see them again... we don't all end up in the same place at the same time, so it is always a treat when we can get together. Having all his girls in one spot always does my Dad's heart good. GatorGirl looks so grown up now, I can't believe it has been a year since we saw her last at her graduation from the University of Florida.

After we ate, we headed outside to take some pictures.

Me, GatorGrandpa, GatorGirl and AuntSly

We found someone to take the photo of all of us...

Yep, we look a LOT alike!

Of course, we always have to have some silly ones!

After photos and hugs, GatorGirl was kind enough to drive me to the airport.

See, didn't I tell you she looks FANTASTIC?

Daddy has big shoes to fill

B-Boy loves putting on Mommy and Daddy's shoes. He especially likes wearing my bright pink fuzzy slippers, but for the sake of his future reading, I didn't take any photos of those... although the image is quite cute and will be cherished in my mind for many years.

So when he put on Neb's shoes, I just had to snap these photos.

Cheese!

The really odd thing is that from afar, the shoes didn't look THAT big. This boy is TALL!
Daddy sat down and they played with flash cards. B-Boy does great with colors, and knows lots of words to identify objects!

Twinkle Twinkle... E-I-E-I-O...Sunny days!

B-Boy has always loved music... it's in his DNA... but MusicLady brings it out of him.

B-Boy has started singing.. and his first song was "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". He starts the song on point, but the words get a bit garbled after the first line. He does realy well after that with the last word of each line.

Occasionally, he will mix other songs he likes to sing into his rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He also likes to sing Old MacDonald had a Farm (his favorite part is the E-I-E-I-O part which he will sing entusiastically at the top of his lungs). He also likes to sing part of the Sesame Street theme song, although the only part he really knows is the phrase SUNNY DAYS!

Often the song will go like this:

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
How I wah wah wha wha AH
Up abah the wah wah HIGH
E-I-E-I-O!
E-I-E-I-O!

Sunny Days!

He loves singing Old MacDonald had a Farm with Neb. Neb will ask him "What was on his Farm, B-Boy?" B-Boy will then select the animal of choice so that Daddy can make the animal noise. What is funny about this is that his top choice of animal varies with who is singing with him.

If it is Neb, Old MacDonald has a chicken... actually, MANY chickens... it is the only animal he will say and he will get very upset if Neb tries to pick another one. When it is Mommy singing with him, Old MacDonald has a cow... and sometimes brocolli.

:)

B-Boy's first State Fair!

Neb and I adore the NC State Fair. We have been to other state fairs, but none of them compare to the NC State Fair - they do it up right.

And Neb and I have gone EVERY year except for the year B-Boy was born (he was two weeks old when it came)... we just love it that much. If you haven't been to the NC State Fair but have been to others, you still have  no clue. They just do it up that well. Trust me.

Neb and I have our set path and agenda for the fair too.

First, we hit the old grist mill, and get a free hushpuppy- and watch how water is harnessed to grind the cornmeal into flour for the hushpuppy.

We then hit the grilled corn dipped in butter. YUM!

When that is done, off to get the giant turkey leg, which has been really salty the last two years, so will probably come out of rotation.

Then we head to the exhibits... first to see the antique police cars, and then the other art exhibits in the hall. One game we play is how many stickers can we have on us at the end of the day.

Then we head to the other exhibit hall to see the quilts, get a pickle, get some chocolate covered peanuts, get some political stickers and to see the decorated cakes. At this point, I uually go get a fried snickers bar. YUM. But i was "sweeted" out, so I decided to forgo it this year.

We check out the giant produce, the animals and then go get some hot apple cider to warm us up before we leave.

This year, we did all that while B-Boy was at daycare, and then we went to get him. We ate dinner first, and then headed to the fair. Since Neb and I got all we wanted to see out of our system, it was all about what B-Boy would enjoy.

When we got to the fair, we took him to the animal barn for kids. The animals were in pens, but at a height that would be easy for kids to see the animals. The look on B-Boy's face when he realized there were GOATS next to him was priceless.

Hey, there's goats in there!

Then B-Boy saw the CHICKENS!

Then we headed to B-Boy's favorite part of the fair... the WUNC TV tent. They had lots of activities for the kids, and cutouts of the characters that are on the channel. B-Boy could not wait to get out of his stroller and run over to...

COOKIE MONSTER and ELMO!!!!

COOKIE!!!!

Which is when he saw...

BIG BIRD!!!!

Hi Big Bird!

Once pictures were taken, (B-Boy grinning, looking up and saying CHEESE still makes me giggle) we headed into the tent to get some stickers. They had a ring toss on rubber dinosaurs that B-Boy had a blast playing with...

and then Neb showed him how to BANG! on a hammer toy...

Finally, heading out of the tent, we see Clifford the Big Red Dog.

B-Boy enjoyed watching the other kids meet Clifford, but he got scared everytime he got too close. So, we admired him from afar... and used some photo trickery to capture a photo with Clifford.

Then we headed to see some more animals. B-Boy got to see a PIG....

and then MOO at a COW....

and finally, we stopped to watch the SHEEP judging contest. I had never seen that at the fair before, and it was really interesting to watch. B-Boy munched on his apple slices the whole time.

When we got back to the car, I asked him "B-Boy, did you have fun?".

He nodded his head and said "YES!". Me too B-Boy, me too.

Me!

B-Boy has reached a new milestone. He now gets the concept of "ME!".

At first he didn't know his name. We started playing a game a long long time ago- called "Where's ___". The blank would be whomevers name we wanted him to point to. "Where's Daddy?" I would ask. He would point to Neb. "Where's Mommy?" I would ask. He would point to me. "Where's Mango?" I would ask. He would point to the correct cat (most of the time!). "Where's B-Boy?" I would ask. Eventually, he got to a point where he would point to himself.

He then progressed so that when you pointed to him in a mirror or photo and ask "Who is that?" he would reply with his name.

But now, he has moved on to a new phase. When he sees a picture of himself, he will point to himself and say "ME!".

Tonight, he picked up his play mirror, looked at his reflection and said "ME!".

A new concept for him, but a big one for self-awareness!

Last Day and First Day of Class

B-Boy has started in a new class, and he just loves it.

The daycare does a great job in phasing the kids in to the new room, taking them over for short periods during the day the week before the big first day. The visits go longer and longer, until they only arrive in the old room to be walked down to the new.

Neb and I are thrilled with his new teachers, and he seems to really respond to them. It did help that the little girl he had a crush on is in there, as well as my friend Cat's son Jambuca. B-Boy will miss Kid'N who moved into the room across the hall, but they will still see each other on the playground.

We noticed his language errupted the week he was spending time in the new room. He was using new words, speaking more often and really expressing himself and his preferences. For example, we were in my closet as I was getting ready for work. I asked "B-Boy, what shirt should I wear today?".

He cocked his head to one side, crossed his arms and then tapped his chin with his index finger. Then he said... "How about....." Now at this point I am giggling at the mannerism, and am flabbergasted that he know about "how about". Where did he get that?

So he says "How about..." and reaches to grab the sleeve of a shirt. He finishes with "Green one!" as he pulls on the green sleeve.

What? When did he get the concept that a shirt could be green??? I knew he knew what a shirt was, and what the color green is... but I did not know he knew those could be put together.

"NEB! GET IN HERE!!!", I said.

When Neb came in, I asked B-Boy what OTHER shirt I should wear.

Again, he crossed his arms and tapped his chin... "How about..."

To which Neb said "How does he know about how about????"

B-Boy reached for another shirt sleeve... "White one!"

We stood there shocked. Amazing, truely.

He really likes going to the new room now. As we drive to the daycare, when he sees the entrance to my work he will say Jambuca's name over and over as he bounces in his seat.

Before we moved out of the new room, we got to participate in an ice cream social. B-Boy doesn't like ice cream, so we brought him apple sauce.

All Done!

Yep, Baby boy. You are all done with the 1 year old room!

Celebrating 2!

B-Boy's birthday celebrations continued into the weekend. I had told Neb that I wanted to celebrate with family in a small way, since we have many years to do birthday craziness ahead. Keeping it small, meaningful and fun was how I thought we should celebrate B-Boy's new number.

B-Boy gets a bit anxious when a lot of people are around, so we decided to just have the MacFamily, my Mom, and the three of us.

We met the MacFamily (MacDaddy, MacMommy, ChiggerButt and Dash) at Chick-Fil-A where we bought everyone lunch- that way they could eat what they wanted. We then took our lunch to a nearby park, where we covered two picnic tables with bright red tablecloths. The weather was perfect, and I was so glad we decided to take advantage of the great temperature!

Once we ate our lunch, we went to play on the swings. ChiggerButt captured this photo of B-Boy and I swinging... which he just adored.

Wheeee Mommy!

Faster Mommy Faster!

While we swung, Neb made REALLY big bubbles with a giant bubble wand.

Which made B-Boy want to play with bubbles! We had bought lots of bubbles so each person could play with their own. B-Boy walked away with his own bottle, and surprised us with blowing tons of his own bubbles! It was hard to capture in a photo, but we were all really surprised to see him blow so many. They really captured his attention, and when we brought out the play-dough, all the adults palyed with it, but B-Boy did not want to stop blowing bubbles.

Bubbles!!!

We then had cupcakes, yum- and of course B-Boy mostly ate APPLES!

Finally, we opened presents. Or, I should say, ChiggerButt helped B-Boy open presents. He wanted to keep blowing bubbles... so he got a bit upset until he saw what was behind the paper. Then he started to get into opening his gifts.

The MacFamily got him a glow-in-the-dark Thomas Train set with an extra train. Too cute!

Mema got him a new red hoodie coat (did I mention how much he adores carrying a coat?!), a flower growing kit and an Elmo book that plays music. The book quickly replaced the bubbles as the best - birthday - thing- ever. The music goes along with the book, and you can dial the player to match the page in the book. Only, it is not Elmo singing, it is a bunch of kids... with an annoying set of sickly sweet voices.

Oooh. Bubbles and a Book... Score!

He adores the book, and Neb and I tolerate it. The book will definitely accompany us EVERY time we will go to visit Mema. Yeah, you give us something that irritating, it will come back to haunt you. :)

Keep reading Daddy!

All in all a great day, and we were so happy to have everyone there!

Cheese!!!!

I adore you ChiggerButt...

But let's read this book again!