Uh-Oh

Two year olds are quirky little people.  Don't get me wrong--it is incredibly endearing and I daily am laughing at the new expressions this child is coming up with the navigate through life with a fairly limited vocabulary.  Uh-Oh is a staple for sure.  'All better' and 'all clean' are definitely a necessity for survival as is 'boosch' which means fork in David lingo.  He refuses to eat with his hands most days and requires a boosch for each of his meals.  'Monk' means milk, 'My' is what he has named his blankies and 'Padi or Patti' is his little name for his pacifier.  And the list goes on--you get the idea.  It is funny how living with this little guy has allowed me to interpret these various phrases no matter the context or inflection of his voice--it's just his language and I guess we get it.  For example, uh-oh is used in a repetitive fashion and can mean any of the following:

-my hand is dirty

-my clothes are falling off

-my shoe feels funny

-there is a piece of carrot on my pasta.  please dispose of this immediately.

-why can I not pick up 2 dimensional trucks from the pages of my book

-marley is whining

-the motorcycle man won't stay on the horse's back

-i found a vegetable you were trying to sneak into my food

-my water gun is empty

-the paper on my crayon is peeling off

It amazes me how seamlessly our days seem to flow because of the gift of one simple word/phrase.  It also makes me sad to think that children probably are frustrated through most of their days before they are able to speak---this boy has a lot of preferences to say the least.  It has shown up especially this summer as we have been on the road a good bit for various family getaways.  He refuses to allow me to put my hand on the back of my headrest while we are driving.  Apparently, it is his seat...not sure.  This response is also elicited if Grant and I show any affection just about anyplace or anytime, most especially in the car.  Gone are neck rubs, hand holding, etc--he will not stand for it.  Oddly, my Mom says I was just the same way as a child and would have a meltdown if I found my parents hugging or holding hands--most especially on car trips.  Genetics are scary.

Speaking of roadtrips--we have been on quite a few this month.  We spent 2 weekends at the beach with different sides of the family and were at the lake for the 4th of July.  To say the least--David has gotten a lot of wear out of his Target swim suits, crocs, and sun hat.  I have been a delinquent blogger, yet again, and hope to make up for it with an array of photos from the past month or so.  You probably get the general idea of what we have been up to given David's wardrobe.

Smile for the Camera

David loves to smile for the camera.  It is super cute to see him completely freeze flashing his precious smile while waiting for his picture to be taken.  

He has changed so much over the last month.  We have definitely hit the terrible 2s, but I must say he is an incredible listener and is very responsive to correction.  He even went to the grocery and toy store with me today and was able to walk around without holding my hand for quite awhile.  I was impressed by how well he heeded verbal direction.  We shall see how long this lasts. :)  

In other David news, he has finally learned to say "no-no".  He has been able to express 'no' by shaking his head for quite some time now, but I was very thankful he was not responding with a toddler like NO all throughout the day.   However, 

I thought his use of the word 'no' was very appropriate for a toddler going through some growing pains with this Mama.  To the question, 'What does Mama say?' David said, 'No-No'.  I couldn't help but laugh out loud.  

He is obsessed with blessing his food.  He usually is the first to initiate praying before dinner by holding out his arms and saying 'Amen' over and over again.  It is hilarious because I will ask him to close his eyes and bow his head.  Apparently, he does not understand that his eyelids work without much effort.  He usually takes his finger and manually closes his right eye for prayer.  Pretty cute.  If you eat with the little man, do not be surprised to find that he prefers to bless the food continually throughout the meal.  He probably requests a prayer 3 or 4 times in one sitting--not sure what that is about--just thankful he is learning.

The child actually ate some peas today.  It absolutely amazed me.  I am going to try and present them again and see how it goes!  It will be nice to add some other foods to his diet considering he basically lives off of tons of fruit and pasta.  I guess it could be worse.

Things for me are going fairly well.  I have turned the corner and feel like a normal functioning human being again.  It is nice to feel like I can contribute around here as opposed to wallowing in the land of nausea and puny coma-like existence.  However, I still am feeling fairly emotional.  It probably was a bad idea that I did not consider my hormonal situation and decided to make a toast at a rehearsal dinner.  I also regret not bringing a handful of tissue down the aisle with me as I stood and choked back real tears during my cousin's wedding ceremony.  I guess I just don't consider myself someone who tears up easily and I definitely was caught off guard to find my nose running for the entire 20 minute ceremony.  Lovely.  Catherine, let me warn you in advance---I may be pretty teary on your big day!!  I apologize in advance. :)

Please excuse the excessively wordy post.  I am trying to get back into blogging.  Trying!!

Back in Business

It appears my blogging skills have seriously declined since Christmas.  I am sorry I have not been more entertaining.  I guess 15 months of committed blogging burned me out for a bit.  However, I am trying to pull it together and continue documenting life with little Daveman---who isn't so little anymore really.  He is nearing 20 months, aah!!  Cannot BELIEVE I just typed the number 20 in relation to our little guy.  He is a hefty 28 pounds and his Momma requires he walk a whole lot more these days as result of his growth spurt.  We are just up to the same ole thing really---parks, lake, playdates, and lots of playing outside.  Despite the gloomy weather, it has been unseasonably cool and so nice to not be sweating to death in May.

Sadly, my Mom's father passed away this week.  All of the cousins rushed down Friday to say our goodbyes because we could tell the time would be soon.  It was a bittersweet weekend for sure, but turned out to be a special time with family.  We were able to spend some time at the pool and beach with David and he loved it for the most part.  You could tell he did not remember the beach from last year---there were tears when it came to walking on sand, but he overcame his fears once he discovered he could collect sea shells and sticks.  He had a blast and enjoyed lots of special attention from his grandparents and great-aunts and uncles.

Easter Extravaganza

It is amazing how much can change in one year for one little guy!  This time last year, David couldn't walk, was still drinking out of a bottle, and was completely unaware that Easter was a day different than any other.  Maybe another year of change will lend itself to some version of understanding that Easter is the celebration of Christ's resurrection.  We can only hope!  Even though his little mind couldn't grasp why Easter Sunday is special, he certainly enjoyed himself.  His egg hunting skills dramatically increased from his first to this third Easter egg hunt.  He absolutely LOVED it and clearly understood the objective.  He was scurrying as quickly as his  chubby little legs could scurry from one egg to another.  It was certainly progress considering the neighborhood egg hunt consisted of David running around with an egg clutched in each hand completely unaware of his basket or the idea of collecting anymore eggs.  The first few photos are from an Easter egg hunt on Saturday afternoon and the last few are from Easter Sunday itself.  He definitely enjoyed all the family attention and discovered a love for M&Ms.  I apologize for the absurd amount of pictures, but Nanny needs her photo fix.  Hope you enjoy these Mom!!! 

The boy hearts sticks.

I find myself laughing out loud as I straighten up during David's naps.  I find sticks ALL over the house....in the bathroom, toy chest, living room, pantry, etc.  I know there will be a day that I wish I had sticks littering my floors, so I am trying to just enjoy these little quirks about Daveman that I know will pass on as soon as they came.  For now though---he loves himself some sticks--and I mean plural.  Most afternoons we spend in the front yard playing out all our napped energy waiting for Daddy to get home.  By the end of the couple of hours there is a nice sized pile of sticks in my lap that David has carefully collected from all over the yard.  Pretty cute.

Happy Easter!

David didn't know what to think about hunting for Easter eggs.  In fact, he was too excited about the 2 eggs clutched in his little hands to care about finding any others.  This is the little man's first year to participate in various Easter festivities and once he realized we were at "his" park, he was more interested in running to the slides.  Either way, he looked super cute in his little smocked Easter outfit made by his Gran.  

What are our thoughts on forcing chubby legged boys to wear knee high socks to Easter Sunday church???  

Playing Catch Up

I hope you enjoy the photo montage capturing the past month of Little Man's activities. 

We've been doing some mad spring cleaning around here and I am flat worn out.  Blogging has fallen off my radar and I am behind on finishing 2 knitting projects for some friends of mine.  However, fall clothes are packed away and my spring wardrobe is brightening up my closet as I type.  We live in a older home and the closet space is a constant reminder that our generation is covered up with entirely too much stuff.  I am confident that people in the 50s did not own 2 different wardrobes based on the seasons of the year.  Thus, spring cleaning has taken over our home as I attempt to purge us of this awful disease I like to call collection-itus.  I have an aversion to hoarding and honestly if we do not purge twice a year, we might could qualify for Hoarder's Anonymous.  Ugh.  I am over it.  I need to simplify.  Maybe that's why I have been so uninterested in blogging.  I think I just needed a break from being so connected to internet activities.  Regardless, Daveman is growing and changing and I have no documentation to show for it.  I know I will have regrets later if I do not stay current on how quickly he is becoming a little person.  I swear time shifts into fast forward once you have children.  These past 6 months of David's second year of life has felt like 2 months of his first year.  It's madness and I can't seem to soak it all up fast enough embetween the clutter, cleaning, and new found need for disciplining our sweet child.  :)  Yes,  we have hit what some people would call the 'terrible twos.'  Thankfully, he is still very mild tempered and responds well to correction---but he has definitely woken up drastically in the last month.  Hitting, tantrums, defiance, hyperactivity, and physical aggression have found their way to our little family.  Lucky for David, he is cute. :)

Pray that the Lord would equip us with wisdom and knowledge to train this little boy up in righteousness and truth---and just good ole respectful obedience.  Oh, and while you are at it--ask for patience as well.  K, thanks!