Haircut Woes

So in the last few days I've allowed myself to come to the realization that Adam's hair was in need of a good trim. It was painful and I have been very slow to admit the truth, but there was no denying it anymore. As much as I loved his mess of adorable curls, it was time for a professional to take a stab at the situation. So we went to a kid's hair salon this morning.

The problem is, there is no warning in those parenting books for the amount of irrational emotions that follow when your kid has their first "real" haircut. I had trimmed a little off the sides when I could get him to sit still long enough, and typically I left the situation unhappy with what I had done. But seriously, they should put blinking red lights and sirens on the front of the kid salon doors to warn mothers who are irrationally attached to their babies' (almost) curls and fluffy manes...

Pre-haircut

It's a mess, I know... this is his un-brushed mullet.

At the salon, He sat still (briefly) with a lollipop, in a car, and watching Thomas the Train . . . and he still wanted me to have both hands on him at all times. I didn't mind that part though. It was being covered in trimmings of his beautiful blonde hair as she hacked it off that was killing me.

Post Haircut

Blurry, but was the best picture I was able to get that showed his new haircut.

 

I admit that his new hair cut doesn't look bad. In fact, I know it's an improvement. It's just not what I really wanted, I suppose. I didn't want her to take a lot off the top, but she took off more than I had hoped. I told her we "style" it by brushing it all forward, but now we can't really do that because the bangs are uneven and it looks better brushed to the side.

But if I were being completely honest with myself, I guess I'd have to admit that my real problem is that I took in my adorable little baby...

....and came back with this cute big kid.

It's hard to imagine that these two pictures were taken literally within two hours of each other. They say they grow up fast, but my goodness!

19 (and a half) Months

It feels like ages since I've updated our blog (over a month, in fact). There are many reasons for the delay, but none of them are very good excuses. We've simply found ourselves either feeling sick or traveling for work or bogged down with daily stresses and excitement. As the end of 2011 approaches and 2012 begins, I have a feeling that the excitement and constant rushing will not slow down much.

But I couldn't go much longer without writing about how Adam has grown (and his little 19 1/2 month old quirks).

Adam is perfecting his knack for the dramatic. His real cry is few and far between . . . showing itself mostly when he doesn't get what he wants, is tired, or when he truly hurts himself (like 2 weeks ago when he ran full speed into his slide and gave himself a black eye). His fake, over-dramatic cry is much more common and just drips with Pitiful. And then there's the new "owwwwww!" or "ouch!" which is usually said when Caley comes within a few inches of him or barely touches him. He's not afraid of Caley or even hurt by her, she's the most tame dog you could ever meet. So when he accuses her of biting him (she didn't), it's really out of no where. Poor Caley is the scapegoat.

But the flare for the dramatic is especially cute when he stops in the middle of dinner, points at the previously mentioned black eye, looks at you with squinted eyes, purses his lips and says "owwwww." (and earns a "oh, you poor baby!" from his mom, who is a sucker.)

He pays close attention to people's facial expressions, and truthfully it's just a study for him. He pushes any limits to get in trouble just so he can study and mimic my facial expressions. He'll throw a chicken nugget on the ground (after being told "no" a couple times), grin when I scowl at him and then copy my facial expression. It's hard to stay stern with a little comedian who glares back at you.

He'll climb his short bookshelf (which is okay - trying to stop this kid from climbing is like trying to stop him from breathing, so he has a few "safe" zones), and once at the top of the bookshelf will touch the TV (which is not okay). He knows this. So he'll touch it, look at me, then grin and wag his finger back and forth and sing "no, no, no!" That "no, no, no!" finger wag is cute but oh-so-ornery.

Speaking of climbing... we have apparently told Adam to take it "easy" (as in, "be careful!") so often that when he climbs and waivers... or the toy that he is using to climb shakes and he almost falls... he tells himself, "easy!" So if you're in one part of the house and hear a tiny little voice in another room say, "Eaaasyyyyy..." you can be fairly certain that he's getting into something he probably shouldn't. This means that when you hear kitchen chairs scraping on tile, you should probably go and check that all the scissors and knives are securely put away... or that your wallet is still where you left it. (My wallet is currently his favorite "toy.")

Below is a picture of Adam's bear impression. I was wearing a Baylor sweatshirt at dinner one night, which had a picture of a bear on it, and every so often he would look at the bear and glare back at it. It didn't take me long to realize that was his "bear face" (which surprisingly came with a very quiet and meek growl). Since the Baylor Quarterback this year, Robert Griffin III, won the Heisman, now we just need to teach him the Heisman stance and he'll be all set.

Now that it's winter, of course Adam has learned how to take off his clothes. If he could be naked all day and all night, all year round, that would be perfectly fine with him. So imagine the morning struggles that come with needing to wear (gasp!) sleeves or even a jacket (the horror!). At least he's associated putting shoes on with leaving the house... and since he LOVES to leave the house, shoes are not a struggle anymore. Below are two pictures right after he's taken his shirt off all by himself. He was SO proud.

Around here we are very clear on "YES," and "NO." Adam's "yes" is usually one huge, deliberate head nod and comes most often after the questions: "Do you want more milk?" "Do you need your paci?" (This is usually just before bed.) "Do you want a snack?" and the clear winner, which is bordering on a stupid question... "Would you like a gummy?"

"Would you like a gummy?" is followed with a huge head nod, then he takes off for the the kitchen and stands next to the cabinet where the gummies are kept while he claps and stomps excitedly. Then he stuffs the three that he gets in his mouth and says, "more?!" before he can even taste, chew, or swallow the ones he got. (He doesn't get more, but he always asks). Below are some pictures of the excitement on his face when he waits patiently for his gummies.

Also, we have a pancake lover in the house. He can put down more than 6 mini pancakes (probably even more if we let him) at one sitting. His pancake face is similar to his gummy face.

Last week I spent 4 days in St. Louis for work while Shannon and Adam spent some quality time together. (What I would have done to be home with them though!) I got a few pictures while I was away, the first (the first one) from Ms. Tiffany after Adam had a treat of red velvet cake at school. The second was from Shannon after he informed me that he had a nasty cold (and felt horrid), and that he Adam were going to have a movie and mac and cheese night. Eli apparently needed a hug that night. (And since I was fighting my own cold in St. Louis, I think we all needed a hug that night).

As far as Eli's hugs are concerned, I would say "poor" Eli, but I'm pretty sure Eli knows what he's in for when he walks into the room. The two have a natural attachment to each other. One night Adam and I were cuddling in Shannon and I's bed, watching Little Einstein's, and Eli joined us. Despite my attempts to get Adam to be gentle, after being kicked a few times (actually, so many times I was surprised Eli stuck around at all), Eli gave him a warning nip on the hand. He didn't get him hard and there was no mark, but Adam was surprised. He held up his hand and looked at me and said "BITE?!"

I said, "I know, Eli is telling you he doesn't want to be kicked and you should be gentle with him. Be nice to Eli."

Adam said, "Bite?!" and looked at his hand for a few moments. Then he put his palm flat on Eli's face and said "Back!" Of course, Eli is a 21 pound cat who doesn't move unless he wants to move, so he just sat there and looked at Adam.

A few more moments went by, and then Adam bent down and gave Eli a big hug. I guess all was forgiven... some days I wish I was forgiven that quickly. By Eli or Adam!

This last picture (above) is from Monday when we had a breakfast in bed morning. I was the waitress and I only got 3 grapes out of the deal, but Adam liked it. Our unintentional plan to spoil him rotten is almost complete...

The New Way to Brush Your Teeth

 

I guess if I were being completely honest, if I could fit I would probably sit in the sink to brush my teeth too -- just to mix it up from time to time.

The green stick in his mouth is actually a green bath crayon. The orange, yellow, and red sticks in his hands are also crayons. The blue stick is the actual toothbrush.

At this point he had completely abandoned the facade that he was brushing his teeth at all.

oh wait, there's the blue toothbrush there with the orange crayon.

The Dryer

Playtime tonight consisted of crawling in and banging around the dryer.

18 Months Old

I'm a little behind on the updates on Adam since he hit the 18 month old mark about a week and a half ago. Partly this is from a lack of time and a heightened level of stress. Last week I spent 4 days in Orlando for work while Shannon and Adam weathered real life on their own, and everyone survived.

When I returned, we had a few days before trying to be brave (or maybe just stupid) and take our four-hands-required toddler on a camping trip Saturday morning. We didn't venture far (Denison) and only hoped to stay a day and a half, but on a scale of 1 to 10 of successfulness, I'd probably consider the event a 3.

Adam wasn't interested in breakfast Saturday morning before we left. He complained for a while in the car, and then halfway there, Adam gagged and threw up all over himself. We pulled over to a McDonald's, cleaned him up, looked him over for signs that we should abort the plan, and saw nothing but a happy kid who was feeling fine. So we powered on.

We got there about 30 minutes later, and Adam was thrilled to run around, touch EVERYTHING, and say "hi" to everyone. He happily ate some breakfast sausage, ran around a little more, and when I tried unsuccessfully to put him down for a nap (an hour and half process that really just left ME needing a nap), Shannon took him for a little drive that knocked him out and let him sleep for about 2 hours.

When he woke up, he was miserable because of his teeth, and when he's miserable, he wants to do something to keep his mind off of it. In this case it meant wandering the street, trying to say hello to the family in another campsite who had some dogs, and trying to "help" finish the game of washers. He has developed a method to be able to touch what he wants by alternating so fast you don't even know he's doing it. He'll touch the bowl of chips, and you'll move them. While you're doing that he's back to the thing he really wanted to touch - the scissors. So you grab them, and he's back on the chips that you put down again in the effort to grab the scissors away. It goes on like this for quite some time before you realize you've been dupped. I can't count the number of times I've realized the kid has outsmarted me.

I don't think he sat still for longer than 20 seconds the entire day, until we resorted to Little Einsteins on the iPad in the tent for a while.

What?! I'm camping.

As it got dark, Adam got tired, but he was far too interested in the noise and partying around the fire to have any desire to calm down for sleep. So Shannon and I took him for another midnight drive - he pointed out the moon, he got quiet as we traveled the winding roads, and then he promptly vomited, a lot, for the second time that day. We cleaned him up, we went back to the campsite, we changed his pajamas, we threw our stuff back in the truck (minus the tent, which was gathered for us the next day), and we left the campsite around 9:30 that night. We got home around 11, and Adam slept soundly the rest of the night.

It may be a few years before we go camping again. Adam loved it, but it exhausted Shannon and me.
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Other than roughing it with Dad for 4 days and then roughing it on a campsite for about 12 hours, Adam is booming as an 18 month old.

At 8 months he grew his two bottom teeth. At 16 months his top left tooth started to peek out... and then 2 months later, the other started to show. Neither are even halfway in, and then a few days ago, it was teething chaos in his mouth. Two more are coming in on the bottom front, then some molars are trying to make an appearance, and some random incisors halfway back on the top are sneaking in. The poor boy is miserable and can't keep his hands out of his mouth and is even miserable with a pacifier. We're on a daily regimen of teething tablets and a little advil to dull the pain. It would be one thing if these teeth decided to sprout up quickly, but alas, they are crawling.

He's doing much, much better sleeping in his bed, and in fact almost seems to prefer the bed to the floor now. At least, now we find him on the floor only about half the time instead of all the time. He's also for whatever reason decided that part of his bedtime routine requires that he grab both of my ears and shake my head back and forth. I don't get it, but the first time I was too confused to stop him... the second time, he thought it was too funny.

Adam is going through a second hitting phase. He got over the first one pretty quickly - but now he knows what he's doing. He'll get mad from across the room, wind up his arm, and come at you slowly so you know it's coming. It's not funny, but his seriousness about the most random situation (dad took away that piece of trash I had) makes me hide my smile sometimes. A few weeks ago I was cooking dinner and Shannon denied Adam something that he wanted in the other room. I heard Shannon tell Adam not to hit him, but Adam just HAD to hit something so he came in the kitchen and patted me on the leg. I turned to him and said, "Hey, what did I do?!" It probably wasn't the most appropriate response, but there are only so many hours in the day to be 100% on top of your game.

He can pretty easily use a fork and spoon and would prefer to be able to eat on his own. He will even resist using the toddler fork -- It's a "big person" fork or nothing. But Adam has "All or Nothing" basically tatooed to his forehead so that's no big surprise. He can also point out his eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, teeth, ears, cheeks, chin, head, hair, belly, bellybutton, hands, and feet . . . and QUICK too.

Adam's addictions to gummy bears and Little Einsteins are borderline out of control. He is also determined that he NEEDs to climb on the TV stand and touch the TV, no matter how many times he's told it's not allowed.

But he is sweet and likes to say "hi" and "bye" to everyone. Since I give him sips of my drinks (he's really subtle about it too - when he sees me with a drink he opens his mouth, sticks out his tongue and pants like a dog), he offers me sips from his sippy cup and then he giggles when I "slurp" it (I'm really not drinking it, maybe that's why he keeps offering...) When we were camping, I gave him a cracker and he took it, said "ahhh!" at me (which means I should open my mouth), and then he stuffed the whole cracker in, patted my mouth as I was chewing, grabbed both of my cheeks in his hands and gave me a big kiss on the cheek (mmmmuuaaaaaahhh!). Thanks Adam.

The best part of my days are at the end, when after work/school I have picked him up and put him in the car, and we turn down the alley (sometimes before we even leave the day care parking lot), Adam yells "Home!" It's comforting that he knows where home is.

Professional Trick-or-Treater

On Monday, October 31, Adam dressed in his Dennis the Menace costume in the morning so he could participate in the day care's Halloween parade.

The day's report was that he was the only Dennis the Menace, everyone thought he was cute, he didn't see the need in staying in the line for the parade and had to be reeled back in . . . and in the end, after the parade was over, he refused to let Ms. Tiffany change his clothes, so he wore his costume all day long.

That evening we ate on the couch, and Adam inhaled a big bowl (with a big person fork) of pesto pasta. Around 6 o'clock we made our way out the door and ran into our first trick-or-treater, a 4 year old Spiderman, and his small dog. Yelling "A DOG! A DOG!" and running up and down the front walkway was just what Adam needed to get pumped for the night.

As I suspected, Adam is an expert trick-or-treater. And why not?
1) You get to dress up and people tell you you're cute.
2) You get to go on a walk.
3) You "get" to bang on people's front doors.
4) You get to say "HI!" and "BYE!" to all your neighbors.
5) You get a bunch of candy.

The extrovert in Adam picked up the point of trick-or-treating very quickly. You knock on someone's door, you grin really big, they smile at you, and then they give you treats. What's not to like? By the end (about 10 houses), Adam's excitement was off the chart and he was grinning at every stranger like they were his long lost friends. The only conflict came when we stepped inside the Birds' house to chat with a small party of the neighbors, and Adam didn't understand a) why we had to leave their house, and b) why we couldn't just go into everyone's house.

A quick trip around up the street and back turned into a 45 minute event, but when we got back Adam got to enjoy the other side of Halloween -- the part where you give out candy to other kids at your door. This part, to Adam, was just as spectacular. He even burst out a "Thank you!" when he heard Dad give other kids candy. A little late on the "Thank yous," but I suppose after hearing the word over and over again in one night can really do the trick.

After the trick or treating came to an end, Dennis the Menace got a bath and slept very, very well that night.

Spunk

 My boy...

... Loves the color yellow, and everything he sees is "yellow." (Until it's really yellow, and then he's VERY excited that it's yellow).

... Has more energy than the Energizer Bunny.

... Somehow has figured out how to appropriately use pronouns.
Tiffany: Adam, please put that down. You will hurt one of your friends.
Adam: Nuh uh.
Tiffany: Yes, Adam please put down the sit n' spin. You will hurt one of your friends.
Adam: No I won't.

... Apparently my boy also talks back.

... When you say "Dinner," he yells "BANANA!" (Don't ask me where that came from).

... Is just as good at fist bumps as he is at high fives.

... Gets in trouble on purpose sometimes so that when he gets caught, he can say in a fake surprised voice: "UH OH!"

... When he wants something and doesn't know how to say it or can't find it, says "I dunno!" He broke my heart this morning while he was really upset and wanted his paci, he said through his hysterical sobbing tears, "I DUNNO!"

... Gets upset when you don't let him challenge himself (climbing) or if you treat him like a baby (cutting his toast up into bite sized pieces is a no-no).

... Is obsessed with the MOON and with STARS.

... Is obsessed with Gummy Bears.
Me: "Adam, you won't like these gummy bears, you won't be able to chew them."
Adam insists, sticks one in his mouth, and his eyes light up like it's the best thing he's ever tasted. He takes three more.
Me: "Okay, that's enough, we'll have more later."
30 seconds later.
Adam: "MORE?!"
Me: "More what? You want more gummies?"
Adam nods his head with his whole body, like an excited dog shakes her tail.
I give Adam three more.
Adam stuffs them all in his mouth then signs and says: "MORE?!"

... Says "choo! choo!" every time he sees any truck, car, or train... or if he wants you to go fast.

... Can't resist 3-4 readings a night (each) of Llama Llama Red Pajama and Goodnight Moon. When you ask what he wants to read, his answer is typically "llama" and "moon."

First time biting into a whole slice of pizza (with only 2 bottom teeth and a half top tooth to use) 

Being a "Real" Mom

When I was a child my mom was home with us. She worked as our entertainer, care taker, nurse, feeder, cleaner, and millions of the other tasks required of raising children and maintaining the house - full time. No one could say that that isn't a "working" mother.

I remember going on outings, playing outside, doing crafts, and learning things daily with both of my parents. I remember very well planned out vacations as a family. I remember going to the grocery store with my mom (and driving her crazy in the process), I remember her taking us out to the airport to ride the shuttle around (for free) when there was nothing else to do and we needed to be out of the house. I grew up with a mom who was always around and who creatively and effectively planned activities for us.

Now that I am a mom who has to be at work everyday, I feel no hesitation in fitting in all of those "real" mom moments every second that I am free. It's exhausting, but only if I stop to think about it for too long. I've also learned to fit in the very necessary "me" time more often and very briefly. (And at the risk of sounding sappy, the moment I sit down to have quiet time with a book or to catch up on the DVD, I miss him too much to regret the lack of "me" time).

Perhaps that's why I take so many pictures... I feel like my time with him is so limited.


So for my week of vacation, I pretended I was a "real" mom. I sewed part of Adam's Halloween costume. I ate lunch with him every day. I took him on day trips every day. I took him to the grocery store, the park, and to see Mamie and Grandpa. I read parenting books and read books to him and did puzzles and played with Play-Doh.

The Bed
We worked very diligently on his comfort level in sleeping in his toddler bed. After nearly three weeks of "adjusting" (very poorly, I may add), we got into a routine. We decided that it did none of us any good to spend two hours trying to force him to fall asleep in his bed with one of us sitting by him each night, only to walk out of his room in the end, frustrated and on the verge of tears as he screamed anyway and fell asleep in front of his bedroom door. Instead, we turned on some classical bedtime music, rocked for 4 minutes, put him down with a kiss and walked out at "bedtime" or even earlier so he could scream and cry and fall asleep in front of his bedroom door two hours earlier. Then we move him to bed about 20 minutes later, after he was fully asleep.

Gradually, Adam started to "figure it out." Tuesday afternoon at nap time he cried by the door, then went and got in bed by himself. Tuesday evening he did it again. He got into bed on his own Thursday and Saturday night too. It's not consistent, but it's so much closer than where we were. Saturday and Sunday, he didn't even cry when we put him into bed at bedtime or at naptime. He didn't consistently fall asleep in the bed, but at least he didn't cry.

A month after the toddler bed transition, we're finally starting to get somewhere now that I've been home with him for a week to work on it. I'll remember that for when we are ready for potty training.

Personality
Adam showed me lots of things too. He's a major flirt and the definition of the word extrovert. He thrives in crowds and gets bored easily at home. He has started to like hats now.  He is learning to take off his shirts. He likes cheese . . . a LOT. He doesn't like cereal. He LOVES pancakes and is completely sick of grapes and bananas. He prefers showers over baths. It's a real treat to watch Little Einsteins in Mom and Dad's bed in the mornings before breakfast. The sun in his eyes really bothers him (so we finally turned his car seat around to face the front). Sometimes his socks "bite"  and he just has to take them off. He doesn't like long sleeved shirts.

Health
We nixed the "puffer" meant for babies (he hates to have the thing on his face), and figured out that he does excellently with the straight inhaler and is happy to "puff puff" . . . he even asks for it sometimes, and created his own sign for it (says "puff puff" and puts one finger on a closed mouth). His breathing is considerably better and he seems to be fighting colds a little more effectively.

Development
He can identify on command and very quickly: Nose, Mouth, Tongue, Eyes, Ears, Hair, Head, Hands, Feet, and don't forget . . . Belly! (you get flashed when you ask where his belly is, so that's the best part).

And the real shocker is just how much he really understands. He has a pretty firm grasp of what we're telling him to do, even if the instructions are what I would consider somewhat complicated. In fact, the more complicated the better. He craves a challenge.

He learned today to say "cheese!" for the camera.

More Words Than I Can Count
He can say more words and phrases that we can count, and below are a few of his favorites over the last week (not all of his words, but the ones I heard the most other than Dad, Eat, Night Night, Juice, Apple, Car, Shoes, or his other favorites):

YELLOW!
Hat
Moon, Stars
Train, Choo! Choo!
Run, run, run!
Roll, roll, roll!
All gone!
All Done!
I don't know
Is it? (Where is it?)
Pat pat
Duck (I didn't realize he knew the sign for duck either until he looked at me like I was stupid when I didn't understand him and he signed it at me).
I did it!
In there, Out there
Drink, Cup
Grandpa
A KITTY!
Up, Down
Home ("ohmah!")
Clock
Cheese
Yuck
AGAIN! AGAIN!


So here's what we did this week while I was on vacation (The links below will take you to the blog that has pictures of our outings).

Saturday
Shannon and I did some heavy duty cleaning and laundry and we just hung out around the house. Robin came over and we watched The Chipmunk Adventure (circa mid 1980's classic).

Sunday
My mom and I took Adam to the Dallas Arboretum for some pictures in the pumpkin patch. We got so many great pictures there is even a second blog post with pictures from the day.

Monday

Trying on Mom's headband.

Adam and I went to do some shopping at Walmart, then came back and cleaned a little more in the morning. After his nap, we went to Target and then to the park for a while. Adam is very good at getting out of the carts... even buckled in, with bulky shoes on, he can quickly (turn my back for a second), wiggle free of the straps, pull his feet up, and stand up. So if I'm going to the store for not very much, I sometimes let him sit in the actual cart... and he stands up in there too, but will sit down much more quickly when I tell him to.

That afternoon he was far too excited to sit down for long, and ended up half the time standing up while we strolled through screaming "WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" and stopping only to wave and say "hi!" to every lady that we passed. When he earned an "oh, you're cute!" (he probably got 4 or 5), he would grin his cheesiest (most flirty) grin and wave again. I'm sure he quickly made some of those women quickly forget their judgmental thoughts ("ugh, she can't control her loud child?!") and temptation to roll their eyes. I try to control him, I keep him safe and I am trying already to teach him about manners and respect . . . but he has so much energy, spirit, persistence, and need for noise that I choose my battles. Plain and simple.

After Target we went to the park and played for a while.

Tuesday
Adam and I had a lazy morning (he showed me he could attempt to get out of his shirts) . . .

. . . and then went to go have lunch with Shannon near his work. (Adam was only interested in eating lunch if he could sit in my lap, hold a spoon and a fork in one hand and another fork (my fork) in the other, eat my black eyed peas, and leave immediately after he was finished eating). Needless to say it wasn't the most relaxing lunch.

Adam and I came home for a second nap and then went to my parents house in the evening and stayed way past his bedtime because we were having too much fun. He really enjoyed being the entertainment for the evening, and showed them everything he could do. He also discovered that he LOVES (not likes, LOVES) Chicken and Dumplings.

At the end of the night, he gave everyone two rounds of goodbye kisses.

Wednesday
Another lazy morning. Adam was happily watching Little Einsteins in our bed so I decided to get a shower in. I turned on the water and was in the closet pulling out some clothes and a towel, and came back to discover a little shower thief thoroughly enjoying a full clothed warm shower. I was happy I had my camera handy.

After Adam's nap we picked Shannon up from work and went to the State Fair of Texas for the afternoon. Adam apparently loves funnel cake... and can't get enough corn dogs either. He was well behaved, laid back, and enjoyed the ride and the people to look at.

Thursday
Adam and I went to the Interurban Railway Museum in Historic Downtown Plano. After his nap (a long one that took place on the floor next to his bedroom door), we went the few blocks to the Farmer's Market to take some more pictures and to buy him a pumpkin.

 

Friday
Adam and I had a laid back Friday morning of cleaning out closets (which really means you pull a lot of stuff out of the closet only to rearrange it somewhere else in the house for the purgatory period before it goes into the attic about a month later), and then went to have lunch with Uncle Chris and Mamie at Tupinambas. Adam flirted big time with the waitress, ate a meal primarily consisting of refried beans, then went out to play and take a walk with Mamie while I tried to finish my tortilla soup and catch up with Chris.

Friday evening was the Fall Festival at the day care and Adam got to give his first run with his Dennis the Menace Halloween costume a go... and he fit the part perfectly. 

Saturday
Saturday we cleaned again, although not very vigorously. Adam woke up with an insatiable NEED to climb so Shannon brought his slide inside, which Adam loved.

Adam took a long nap and then we went over to Mamie and Grandpa's house to visit some more with Chris and to have some beef stew.

When we first got there, Adam went straight for their telephone:

Adam ("talking" on the phone): "Hello?! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" (he has added a fake laugh to his phone conversations).
Mamie: "Adam, who are you talking to?"
Adam: "Grandpa."

That's the first time I've heard him say it, and I haven't heard it since, but it was a clear and exact "Grandpa."
Grandpa was actually sitting in the recliner behind him.

His bedtime seems to be getting earlier so we left around 7, and again, everyone got two rounds of goodbye kisses.

Sunday
Sunday is always football day. Robin came over to play and we had a nice relaxing Sunday as Shannon's fantasy football teams did well, as always, and Robin's and mine struggled (as always). Adam snacked and screamed loudly and played . . . and when I asked where Robin was (laying on the floor about 4 feet away), he looked right at her, grinned, and ran and gave her a big hug.

Kisses...

I enjoyed being a "real" mom this week, and realized that is is exhausting but extremely rewarding. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat... who needs trips to the Carribbean? (Right...)

It's amazing that I had a whole week off of work, and it doesn't seem like it's quite time to go back yet. I'm sure this will hurt in the morning.