Happy Easter

Need I say more about why I didn't get any pictures of Braden in his Easter outfit? And no, your eyes are not deceiving you, that is layers and layers of wet mud and dirt caked on Braden's white shoes...oh, did I mention that he also fell in the dirt so his hands were covered in mud too and then he proceeded to wipe them all over his outfit and down his knee socks? You look away for one minute and this is what happens...

My little helper...

So we decided to plant an azalea bush out in front of our house this year in an attempts to get our house "street pretty" so that we can possibly put it on the market. There has been a naked spot in our landscaping for the past few years and it desperately needed to be filled...so Austin and I decided that a blooming azalea bush would be a nice addition. Now for those of you that don't know Austin and I, we do not have a green thumb anywhere on our body...in fact I would boldly say that we both have a black thumb for that matter. Black symbolizing death...it's a fact of life...everything I plant dies. So in desperate attempt to make this azalea bush grow, I'm following my little instruction book that came with it that says to water this bush daily. So I pull out my hose in hopes to give the azalea a good watering...and who spies it but my little friend who then decides that he wants to have a try at watering. And that was the end of that...keep in mind it's only about 63 degrees outside (not that that ever effected a toddler playing in water) but by the end of it, I had to strip Braden down naked before we even went inside. He was that wet!

"Oh! Where have you been hiding this?" -
No kid's ever died from drinking hose water. It's like American tradition right?
"Let me just let it roll off my chin"
"That's cold" -
"What happens if I let T drink some?"
I love this picture...so sweet!

I am thankful for days like today when I am blessed enough to stay home with a little guy who loves being outside, playing in the water and laughing at T. It truly doesn't get any better than experiencing our world through the eyes of a child.

To train or not to train

So this is what we've been up to lately:
Nothing like relaxing on the potty -
Chilled out on the potty, wondering what the heck you use the toilet paper for -
Not sure what the heck Braden is doing here...but nevertheless it's on the potty -
And vacuuming on the potty...nothing like multi-tasking...

So the question is...do we start the process or not? Braden is definitely showing interest in potty training...and with all the talk he does about "tee tee" "poo" and "potty" it makes me think he may be ready...but as you can see, my little man does everything else but potty on the potty. And to be honest, I feel totally in the dark about this issue. I had some (not much, but some) confidence in most other areas of parenting...okay still lacking confidence in the discipline arena, but that's another post, but I have read nothing about the whole potty training thing. And to be honest, I have no idea where to start. So for now...Braden just plays on the potty and I just continue to be amused at all the different things he does while sitting there. One day we'll be out of diapers...I hope!

Planes, Trains and Anything Else With Wheels

So Braden is talking... a lot...and his newest fascination is with anything that has wheels on it...well that and the trash. He loves to watch the garbage trucks roll through our neighborhood each Wednesday morning, so I think that feeds into his love for trash. But he does like to throw things in the trash (especially his diapers) and he loves wheeling the trash to the curb each week and especially loves picking up, or should I say he loves to watch me pick up everyone else's trash cans as we take our daily strolls down the sidewalks in my neighborhood. On a side note...I love these daily walks. Ever since Braden was newly walking, we would take walks down the sidewalks and talk about cars and birds and leaves in the fall and watch for over passing airplanes in the sky or listen for doggies. I treasure these walks together as I know like all of parenting, this too will pass way too quickly. My little guy isn't too interested in holding hands anymore, but occasionally, he'll reach up and say "momma" and just hold hands for no reason and I find myself smiling inside out of the delight that such a small little person can bring so much joy to my life. Anyway...back to things with wheels, Braden loves his cars and spends a lot of his time driving his cars around. He can say and recognize all modes of transportation...cars, buses, bikes (as he calls motorcycles), tractors, trucks, "guhn guhns" (as he calls trains), boats, airplanes and trash trucks (as he calls both dump trucks and garbage trucks). He loves it...so as you can imagine any car ride is now filled with him pointing and yelling out various names for things he sees on the road....well that and many a round of "If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands" blaring on the radio. Anyway...my little guy is 19 months and besides the early morning wakings (5:15 twice last week - ugh) he is an absolute joy. Here are some pictures of him enjoying his things on wheels:

Playing with his Thomas the Train set:
Running with excitement next to the real train at Centennial park a few weeks ago:
Watching alongside Tyson for the "trash truck" to come pick up our trash:
And here are some pictures of what the rest of our days have looked like around here:
Wanting to be just like "dadda" -
Feeding the ducks at Centennial Park -
And yesterday I bought Braden this little house like thing at a consignment sale and he loves it, so I decided that I had better clean it off for him so he could play in it. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I brought out a mop bucket filled with water around a 19 month old. He ran out of his "house" as he calls it and immediately started playing with the water. Anyway, he had so much fun...my floors and walls were COVERED with water by the time he was finished, but they had needed a good mopping anyway -

Why is it...

that my son only sleeps 9 short hours at night? yes, he goes to bed at 8:30 or 8:40, but wallows in his bed and talks to "puppy" and "moo" until 9, falls asleep, sleeps beautifully thru the night (thank goodness he's done this consistently since he was 3 months old) and then is up at 6 or 6:30 the next morning. Thankfully he will play peacefully in his crib until 7am, but still that means I can't go back to sleep b/c he's in there talking so much. Boo...that means not so much down time for Austin and I if we want to get 8 hours of sleep ourselves.

And why is it that my son has been up since 6:20 this morning and it is now 1:45 and he is still wallowing in his bed, talking, playing and not sleeping????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is truly a mystery to me. Now I've read every baby sleep book, researched all kinds of baby sleep issues on the internet and all I can figure is that my guy doesn't need it. But why? God, you know that I need more sleep than the average person, so how do I manage keeping up with a toddler who needs less, okay, much less than the average kid his age. In fact, if you really want to know, Braden sleeps less than most 3 year olds. We average 11 hours in a 24 hour period, isn't that what most of your kids sleep at night alone?

So here I am complaining that I am tired!!! And a bit frustrated with a kiddo that just doesn't need to sleep. Now you people who have kids that sleep till 8 or 9 and you know who you are, I have to confess that I am envious and jealous. In 18 months, I haven't slept past 7, except for maybe twice. And more than anything, I am envious that you put your kids to bed at 7, have 3 hours to yourself and with your husband and then off you go to bed, knowing you can "sleep in" until at least 7 or 7:30. Oh and don't forget that 2-3 hour afternoon break you get. Now Braden usually takes a good 2 hour nap, sometimes more and sometimes less, but my gosh, for only sleeping 9 hours at night, the boy should be taking a 4-5 hour nap to keep up with the average sleep needs for kids his age. Anyway, God is dealing with these areas of my heart...the envy and jealousy and obsession I have with trying to get Braden to sleep more. I just keep thinking that it is my fault. That I did something wrong. That I could've done something different to make my child sleep 12 hours at night like you did for yours. I know it is wrong and I pray that I can overcome this, because in the end, I wouldn't trade my guy for anything, sleep or no sleep, he is a gift, a blessing and an incredible joy to Austin and I. But if you are out there and reading this, please just say a little prayer that he'll start sleeping a little more :)

The finished product...

So I've been in Boca Grande, Florida on Gasparilla Island the past few days on Austin's incentive trip (more on that later) and have just now sat down to update on some pictures from Braden's first professional haircut. I would say it was a success. We had minimal tears, a cute non-butchered looking haircut and a lollipop that worked wonders. Who ever thought to give a toddler a lollipop...he loved it and was covered in sticky sugar by the time he was finished. I may have to save lollipop's for special occassions around here when my little guy deserves a treat. Anyway, here are the pictures:

"Where the heck am I?"
Braden spotted the scissors and the scary woman approaching him with them and suddenly this place became not so fun -
A little ticked that he can't enjoy his lollipop in peace -
"Wonder if mom will let me have this for dinner too?" -
The finished product, chilling in the chair while i pay. From the size of his stomach you would think he had had 1200 lollipops -

It's time...

for a haircut that is. End of story!!!