on spoiling

Sometimes, I just feel like spoiling my boy (and myself). I try to keep to the rules most of the time, but then other days I just feel like making him (and me) happy and taking a day off from what we're "supposed" to do.

It all started early this morning when Kyle climbed into bed with me at 5 a.m. I tried to put him back down in his crib like we planned, but when he came climbing back to me the third time I figured maybe we both just needed some snuggles. Once he settled in, we both passed out and didn't even open our eyes once until 9:45 a.m. WHAT A TREAT FOR MOM! A nice change from our daily 6:30 a.m. wake up.

Then, we went to our weekly play workshop at the library and afterwards stopped at the bakery for a muffin, some coffee (for mom) and chocolate milk (for Kyle). He only took a couple of sips, but WHAT A TREAT FOR KYLE!

He was being such a good boy that I let him watch Curious George on my iPhone while we got gas, stopped at the bank and then drove home. We definitely don't want to get in the habit of this, but today seemed special so what the heck. Sometimes you just need to have some fun.

lucky #13

Yesterday, we continued our tradition of celebrating our date-a-versary at Knott's Berry Farm. We spent most of the day at Camp Snoopy, and the only rides Brian and I went on had a 32" height requirement, but we both agreed it was our favorite year yet. Kyle loves driving the cars and trucks, and we had a blast taking turns riding alongside him.

For the past two years we didn't even go inside the park, just ate and walked around the shops (2012 I was pregnant and 2013 Kyle was just a baby), so to get back inside for some fun and reminisce about years' past was just what we needed. Such a fun family day!

20 months

My big boy is 20 months tomorrow! He said his first 2-word sentence this morning: "bye daddy!" You could see his little wheels turning as he put the 2 words together! He said it a few times with a big smile on his face, like he knew he just did something really cool.

I always say Kyle is 20 months going on 3. He jumps in the bounce house with the big kids and does a great job, climbs like crazy and has great balance. He's really tough, but also loves a good cuddle with mommy or daddy. To my dismay, he thinks it's hilarious to wipe off every single one of my kisses, but does give up sweet kisses to mom & dad before bed.

He's been having a really hard time falling asleep at night, but once he's out, he's out. When he wakes up, he climbs out of his crib to come find us, so it's probably time to transition to a big boy toddler bed pretty soon. He has his escape method down so I'm not too concerned that he'll hurt himself, but if he can climb out then what's the point, right? He just seems so young to say farewell to the crib forever! I was hoping to make it to at least 2...

I love so much about my boy, but it really makes my heart smile to see the way he treats other people and animals. He's had his going-on-2-year-old moments where he doesn't want to share his stuff, but he's generally very sweet and gentle to his friends. He loves to hold hands and give hugs, and today he pet a goat very gently and helped wipe some hay off of his friend's pants when she stood up :)  I hope he holds on to that sweetness as he enters his crazy toddler years!

Happy 20 months to my big boy!

CHOC Walk

My mom invited us to walk with her at the 2014 CHOC Walk in the Park - the hospital's annual fundraiser. I woke Kyle up at 5:30 a.m. and we headed over to Disneyland for some family time. There are SO MANY people who do this walk (more than 16,000!!!) and it raised over $2 million for the hospital. We got to walk through Disneyland and California Adventure before they opened, which was pretty fun. Kyle and his cousin Harlow liked seeing all the characters out and about and some of the rides, like the teacups and Dumbo, were running (with no one on them, of course). Our pace was about a 30 min/mile since there's barely any room to move, but overall it was a fun morning for a good cause! I just wish I would have remembered how to get to my car afterwards :)

workshoppin

Kyle and I signed up to participate in a six-week (free!) "play" workshop through the local library and this morning was our first session. There were various stations throughout the room with different types of activities for the kids, and they were free to roam about and explore their interests. A few library staff were there to help out and share tips on how to incorporate play and learning into our daily lives.

There were toys, books, puzzles, tunnels, cars & trucks, baby dolls, arts & crafts, little bikes to ride and big blocks to climb on. When we first arrived, I thought Kyle would run straight to the cars and bikes, but I was surprised that he stopped first at the toy station to stack some shapes. Then he decided he wanted to run around for a bit, until he discovered the arts & crafts station. For most of the hour, Kyle sat down and used the "bingo blotter" type of marker to make dots on his paper. He would unscrew the cap himself (see below), do one or two dots, and then screw the cap back on and go to the next color. We spent about 20 minutes out of the hour here, and he probably would have stayed longer if I didn't encourage him to try something else.

What shocked me the most from this workshop was much interest Kyle showed for the baby dolls. He sat there for a bit and fed them bottles, pointed to their eyes and ears and gave them a couple of hugs, which melted my heart! I was also a little surprised by how much he wanted me to pick him up and hold him. He usually loves running around and playing, but he woke up extra early today (5:50 a.m., really dude???) so I think by the middle of the workshop he was ready for a nap, and he knocked out hard on the way home.

I'm excited to go back each week and see what types of activities he's drawn to, and the different things he'll learn!

19 months

Saturdays are the best because Brian and I are typically together with Kyle all day long. It's the only day out of the week that we're both off, and I can tell that Kyle loves having us all in one place. This morning was the cutest  - the 3 of us were playing in his room with cars admiring his sound effects, then the kitchen with his train set, then back to his room to drill things. Then we had lunch together at the table and when we were done he grabbed Brian's hand, then grabbed my hand and led us both together into the living room, where he jumped up on the couch and told us to sit on either side of him, and then asked to watch a Mickey. How do you say no to that? So we all sat on the couch together to watch a show as a family and he had the biggest smile on his face the whole time.

Kyle is only 19 months but in a lot of ways he seems much older. He likes to do things on his own, like carry his stuff out to the car, get the milk out of the fridge, put his dishes in the sink, put lotion on his body, open the door with keys. When we go to the park he likes to play by himself, which makes me super nervous so I still hover over him within arm's reach. He's talking up a storm and probably says about 30-40 words. My favorites are "toodles" "bagel" and "blanket" (which sounds kind of like a two-syllable "bit") and he says "ya" when people ask him questions. He's starting to have strong opinions about who holds his bottle/cup or snack when he's taking a break from eating/drinking (it's usually me and NOT dad), and really likes to boss me around by pulling me off the couch and pushing me on the ground so he can climb up my legs/sit on my stomach/dive over me (the joys of being a boy mom).

He loves being chased and rough housing. His favorite thing is being tickled/running around the house like a crazy person and throwing himself on the ground. Everywhere we go he likes to fall on purpose, which I'm totally used to now but makes my friends a fam a little nervous.

Sometimes I miss my tiny baby so much it hurts, like when I stumble upon this picture when I'm stalking my friend's instagram, or when I read articles like this and unexpectedly bawl my eyes out. But most days I just watch him in awe because he is really turning into this amazing, smart, adventurous little boy who is always thinking and exploring. I just wish he'd get over his intense obsession with opening the fridge and touching everything in sight sooner than later.