random mama ponderings

potty time?

2012-01-07T18:33:00.000-05:00

Okay, Max is two years, five months old. I think I'll wait another month but I did try the potty game today. Ended up washing about 8 pairs of training pants! The first time, Max went to the potty, places his tiny fingers on his wee-wee, stretches it out as he is looking over his little pot belly and says, "PeeeeeeePeeeee, coooooooome ooooooooooout." Then, he looks up at me and whispers, "mama, it not coming out yet. I done."

Nice. He had several tries but failed miserably. Oh well.

Today my boxes of Keurig coffee were delivered. It is so yummy....and I'm glad to have this new one-cup device to fancy my travel cup on my long commutes. 65 miles for one way? What am I thinking?

Happy 2012

2012-01-04T21:24:00.006-05:00

The year my boy starts big boy school! That's on my mind now. I have to say I'm excited and sad. My baby is not a baby anymore. Okay, on to other topics...
It was a great Christmas. The best yet for the boys. They had a lot of fun opening presents and I really enjoyed spending time with the family. That is the best part for me. I'm blessed to live so close to my family!
Today, Thadeus helped with chores. Today's first real Chore was to load up the washing machine. We sorted the clothes and he put the clothes, detergent and slammed the door shut. Thadeus was very excited which made me happy. He then enjoyed placing the clothes into the dryer. I made him do it all, and he really enjoyed it--which I will hold over his little head for a life time....ha!

Bath Time Fun

2011-12-28T20:10:00.003-05:00

Max stayed in the tub so long tonight that his little hands pruned up...I did not notice until I was putting his diaper on and he started screaming, "mommy, mommy, dirty, dirty, dirty. Not clean." I looked down at his hands to find that they were very clean and pruned up. He had to show Daddy his wrinkly little hands!

Christmas...this year

2011-12-11T22:12:00.002-05:00

Wow, so my tree is still drinking water. I spent 20 bucks on the fir and she is still soft and not dead as a wedge. Yeah, mama and my sisters called my tree--wimpy but I don't care--she is a beaut to me! The boys enjoy taking of its ornaments and placing them back on--I'll take a more picture of her later. My camera battery needs charging.

Thadeus has mentioned several times that he hopes Santa will bring a skateboard. Now we have no idea really where he is getting this idea of a skateboard from--and quite frankly, I'm afraid, very afraid...but I feel very confident that Santa will bring him one. Helmet not included. hmmm.

anyway, we were sitting at the table eating our dinner and Max was misbehaving at the dinner table....Jerime said, "now Max, you better behave because Santa is watching and he just may not bring your any toys." Thadeus says, "yeah, or me a skate board." and then looks to his dad and says, "any daddy a boat!" That was hilarious because Jerime has been thinking of getting a boat and talked a good bit about it...and so I guess Thadeus has been listening afterall.

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So Max is not eating..and I finally discover he has just gotten in his bottom 2yr molars...
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We were going to ride to the Rock, GA to see the pretty lights but after Max gagged twice and almost threw up...I thought it was not a good idea to get into the new Enclave for a throw up session. He never did throw up...but that sure was weird.
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I'm nervous about taking Thadeus by the school tomorrow so that he gets evaluated by the public school system but after he has been getting frownie faces at preschool-(preK in daycare) I've decided to take action. I'm placing him on the waiting list for Georgia PreK tomorrow. I'm just so upset with this daycare...they cannot give him the attention he needs. I think I'm more angry at myself for deciding not to move forward with the public school system afterall. When he gets into school, I have no idea how our family will juggle getting Max to Griffin for daycare and Thadeus to Lamar County for school...I'm supposed to be at work by 7:30 in WARNER ROBINS every morning. But daggum it, my kids come first. It is so hard being a working mom and trying to do it all. I know deep down this is the best decision for my boys and I hope they will understand...I will just have to manipulate my schedule so that I can be with them more. I pray every day..but I really do think that this God's plan for me is on track. I will know eventually why things have happened the way that they have. "Dear God, bless this family and lead me to be the best working mother I can be. Thank you for blessing my life with the most wonderful husband in the world and the two bestest boys one could ever have."
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money and lipstick

2011-07-07T20:49:00.002-04:00

As we are back on our way home after dropping off Max to swim lessons, Thadeus says, "mama, I got some money for my bank."
"Thadeus!!!" I said. You cannot go through my purse.
Later, I turned back and saw scribble mark all around his mouth. "Thadeus, what is on your mouth...is that lipstick," I asked.
"Yes," he said.
"Where did you get it?"
"From your bag."

LOL

Cars 2 (3d)

2011-06-26T18:42:00.004-04:00

We took the boys to watch Cars2 in 3D. What fun it was. Both of them fell asleep about half way through during the matinee showing. Max had fun eating popcorn. We may not go for the 3D next time...the glasses were not well received. At one point Max was seen watching the movie with his glasses sitting on top of his head--I guess he sees me with my sun glasses on my head like that often and decided that's where they should go. And at the beginning of the movie I heard Jerime whisper, "Thadeus put on your glasses so you can see the movie." Thadeus said, "I promise I can see it Daddy. I can see it good."

LOL

go-cart fun (sort of)

2011-06-23T21:11:00.007-04:00

So, my dad (thanks PawPaw) bought Thadeus a go-cart. Yes, yes, I am so thankful that my dad is so happy to finally have a BOY (now two thanks to those awesome Buffington genes) but I am not so happy to see this go-cart.
We purchased a helmet--so he will probably be rocking that out soon...but this past weekend for Father's Day, we went to my Dad's house...and there was that go-cart. Instantly, Thadeus said, "Mama, did PawPaw get that for me?" Now believe me when I say this--I DID NOT tell him about the go cart. My dad doesn't believe me I don't think..
We left the helmet at the house--(Thadeus still hasn't seen it) but decided he just had to ride it anyway. I really think he likes it. The photo I took with my phone is a great Father's Day memory. Jerime rode him slowly--then I did...It is very shaky and VERY hard to steer which gives me a very better feeling because I don't want him driving that thing any time soon.
That night, it was late, Thadeus and I were snuggling on the couch before bedtime and Thadeus says, "mama, thank you for letting me ride that go-cart." I said, "you're welcome baby." He says, "but we didn't bring it here." I said, "I know baby. That go-cart is for PawPaw's." He said, "Well, I wanna bring it here." and I just had to tell him that this was something special for PawPaw's only....

Max also did something out of the ordinary this weekend. We also celebrated Father's Day with Jerime's parents. We ate supper (fish and fries and coleslaw), and the boys got wound up after eating, like always...Max balled up both fists, looked at me, gritted his teeth and said "wapeemee? wapeemee?" which we deciphered as "you want a piece of me?" What the heck...? These boys never cease to amaze me.

Family Vacation

2011-06-19T09:02:00.011-04:00

I've been pretty slack on posting! I wish I could write an entry every day...my exhaustion just won't let me. Today's saying would be this, at 8:30 in the morning: "mama," says Thadeus, "can I go outside? You all can go outside if you want to." "Not yet, Thadeus, it is only 8:30--let me finish my coffee." "okay."

So family vacation was a lot of fun. Jerime bought this really cool wagon. It is great, if you have kids and stuff to take with you from the room to the beach and back. You have to have muscles. I am okay carrying both kids on a hard surface but as soon as the wagon hit the soft sand....it was nearly impossible for me. Dads are awesome for this though.

We were on Tybee for our family vacation this year, May 7-14. We stayed at the Tybrisa and it was a nice older unit. We were glad to be able to book it with our time share points. So Jerime had seven days of wagon wheeling, pool filling, and trips back and forth to the public bathroom. We were exhausted. Buying a kiddie pool for the beach is a must. For what ever reason, our kids LOVED it. This is the second year we've taken a pool along. The first time in 2008 we took the small plastic kiddie pool. This year it was a blow up pool. It took several buckets of ocean water to fill it up but it was worth it. By our last day on the beach--we had several kids hanging at the Buff's pool! It was really fun to see Thadeus have so much fun with all the kids too.

We had a two bedroom condo and the living room had a pull out. One room had a queen size bed, and the other room had two twin beds. Sleeping was tough. Just getting the boogers to sleep was a challenge...then when they were asleep, Jerime and I enjoyed the silence by sitting in the dark! LOL.

Max would take naps on the beach. That was pretty cool. We had a really big umbrella and he would sleep so well on his beach blanket in the shade.

On the second day of our trip, Thadeus looked up with me with a big smile and said, "mama, we have just enough sand."

Two days later we were eating our sandwich on the beach and the sea gulls were watching us closely. Those birds can be scary. Thadeus is watching these crazy birds then says, "mama, that bird just laughed at you." I laughed so hard. They do kind of sound like they are laughing.

We ate at Bubbas one night with some of my family and it was yummy. Another fantastic restaurant on Tybee is AJ's--you gotta go!

We got home that Saturday and I swear Max was pooping sand. I promise he was....

Love you.

2011-05-26T21:26:00.001-04:00

Tonight.

Thadeus: "I love you mama." "I love you too Thadeus," said mama.
Thadeus: "I love you Max." "I wubu," said Max.

My goodness. I love these little boys.

February-valentine sickness and teeth (max)

2011-02-25T16:46:00.011-05:00

Now that I have the photos up on here--maybe I can find time to blog later. ha!

Memorable sentences

2011-01-16T18:58:00.009-05:00

mini-me

This morning...it is a rare event that they sit together to watch cartoons.

January ice storm. Next time I am stuck at home for THREE days with two active children due to weather, we better get snow!

Max got into the Bakers Chocolate!

One morning after Christmas, we missed Max. Where in the world could he be? Well, we searched in all the rooms. Nothing. He was quiet as a mouse and if you are a mama, you know what that means. I saw that the pantry was slightly cracked. What did I find? A little mouse had gotten into the Bakers Chocolate. That mouse had a name: Max. He squealed like a pig when I took that chocolate away.

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Daddy went fishing today...so it was just me and my boys. I didn't do any cleaning! Ok, well I did wipe down all of the cabinets.

Some memorable baby and toddler moments from today:

Toward the end of the day, I told Thadeus we would go grocery shopping. He looked at me with excitement..."um, mama, mama, mama, can we, can we, can we get in the little cart," he says. I said, "what little cart?" Really though, I knew what he meant...he has seen the grocery carts with the little car in the front...he wanted to ride it. I said, "you mean the little car-cart?" He smiled so big. "YES." "Well," I said, "it depends on if there is one left. There are only two so if we can get one we will, but if we get there and someone else has them, then we cannot ride one." He thought hard for a minute, then said, "I wanna beat them mama!" ha! I said, "well, we will try our best to get to them first, okay."

We were able to get a car-cart. He drove that thing, or so he pretended. After we got all of our groceries, I put him in his booster seat, and he said, "mama, that was sooooooo cool!" Ha. I buckled Max in, then walked back over to Thadeus to buckle him in--he said, "well, you gonna get gas?" I told him, "Thadeus, we already got gas before we went into the grocery store." He said in a matter-of-fact expression with his hands swaying from side to side--"well, we can get some more." Um, no thanks. With gas 2.59 per gallon, I don't want some more please! HA!

Tonight for dinner we had nachos. Tostitos, cheese, beans, ground beef, baked at 350 for ten or so minutes. We had guacomole and homemade salsa. I made Max a soft shell taco. The first one went to the floor--it may have been an accident...however, I'm not all too sure. After that happened, I made him the soft shell taco--with all the fixin's minus the taco shell....He picked at it a while...then he picked up his plate and looked at me. I said, "Max, do you not like the taco." He looked at me, shook his head from side to side and said, "no." hahaha Alrighty then.

Happy New Year (2011)!

Max and the fly swatter...

2010-11-19T23:15:00.002-05:00

For hours of fun, all we have to do is give Max the fly swatter. He will attempt to get things off the counter, swat the walls, chase his brother and more recently:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1J19sWPVK0

Sincerely,
The Buffs

October Fun

2010-10-23T21:36:00.030-04:00

In October, the weather finally starts to get cooler in Georgia, well sort of... Some parts of the U.S., are already receiving temperatures of 32 degrees and even snow. Here, you might have to wear a sweater when you leave the house in the morning and by afternoon, it's time for short sleeves! Still I love Georgia, and October is a good month because the days start getting shorter (ew) and the weather starts getting cooler (yay!)
Thadeus and Max having fun riding the "big green tractor" as Thadeus calls it.

Max's first ear of corn....and I had a hard time prying it from his hands!

Yes, there's Jerime and Thadeus in a FERRIS WHEEL. I could not believe it. This was the very first time Jerime and I had taken a trip to the Georgia National Fair. It's kinda funny to me because our Health District (Houston County Environmental Health is included) regulates all the food booths among other sanitary requirements for the event. In the almost six years I've worked for the North Central Health District, I've been invited to assist or observe the food booth permitting and inspections, and always opted out. This year I did not visit as an inspector either. Since Thadeus was finally old enough to handle a long HOT day, we decided to go. It was a LOT of fun. We did, in fact, dress Thadeus in a long sleeved shirt and before we got into the park all the way, had to roll his sleeves up. It was so hot. He saw the Ferris Wheel and was ready to go. Jerime and I took turns riding rides with Thadeus. I could handle that--as I really never liked all the adult rides....

There they are...my goodness.

Here we are waiting on the "roller coaster." P.S. I never rode a real roller coaster until I met Jerime. The summer of 2005 was the first time I ever rode a roller coaster. I really don't care for them...but this one, I could handle.

An exotic petting zoo was at the Georgia National Fair. He loved the giraffes!

The next weekend, GeeGee and I took the kids to The Rock Ranch. It was pretty awesome. The best time to go is when they have the balloon glow. During the day you can ride the hot air balloons. Don't worry, they are tethered to the ground. At night they have the balloon glow--I can't wait to experience that. This is a great place for children. Ages 3 and under get in free. For $14 per person, it really can be an all day event. There are a lot of fun things to do...a must see. Here is a photo of Thadeus and Maximillion at The Rock Ranch pumpkin patch!

Pony Rides!

Time for snacks.

At 3pm the balloons were up. No rides for us this year...

GeeGee and the kids.

Pretty.

This weekend mama and I visited Twin Oaks. It's off Johnsonville Road. A little less exciting than the Rock Ranch but there is a stellar play ground there. Here are the long stemmed pumpkins they picked out for themselves....

The baby pumpkin patch.

Max can pick these up!

Meme and the kids.

Tomorrow we hope to carve our pumpkins....then next weekend we get to play dress up in our costumes as we go trick or treating at family homes ....a blast. A great way to enjoy family and be thankful.

Another tooth

2010-09-21T07:12:00.000-04:00

Max got a third tooth today! A top one! (top left) or the left maxillary central incisor, to be exact. Anyway, it is awesome!

Prayer

2010-09-02T21:26:00.002-04:00

So, our routine right before bed with Thadeus is to read a book, then a bible story and then we pray.
Tonight, I started prayer as usual with, "Dear Jesus, Thank you for..."

I didn't even get to finish the sentence...as Thadeus completed it with "...sandwiches."

I thought that was the cutest thing ever.

Oh, and I might add that...just because we tell him it is bed time and have this routine--bedtime may actually be two hours later. So, even though I tuck him in at 8 or 8:30--some nights he fights and fights it...up and down...can I go pee-pee mama.....up again down again...and by 10:30 we are nodding off and are awaken by his clunking around in his room....but never the less--he does go to sleep eventually.

There is a really good article on this subject from Baby Center:

Why preschoolers resist bedtime:
If you're like most parents, you're all too familiar with this scenario: You put your preschooler to bed at 8:30 at night, hugging and kissing her and wishing her sweet dreams. It's been a long day, but still the dinner dishes await, you have bills to pay, the dog needs to be walked and the cat fed, and you haven't had a spare moment to put your feet up. But instead of spending the rest of the evening catching up on your chores and clocking some precious time with your partner, you're in and out of your child's room, cajoling her to sleep. She finally nods off — about three hours after she first went to bed.Take heart: Bedtime can be rough for a preschooler. On the one hand, she's learning to assert herself and her newfound independence (hence the jack-in-the-box action on her bed). On the other hand, she's fearful of what it means to be on her own. "Fighting sleep is a way to take control, but it's also a way to stave off fears that come with the night," says Jodi A. Mindell, associate professor of psychology at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia and the author of Sleeping Through the Night. Monsters under the bed, boogiemen in the closet, thunderstorms, bugs — those are pretty scary things to deal with when you're all alone in the dark!

What you can do about bedtime battles
Set aside some time to talk to your child about her day. Your preschooler may be fighting sleep simply because she needs time to check in with you at the end of her day. Especially if you work long hours yourself, allot some time before bed to chat with her about goings-on at preschool and to get the scoop on the latest dramas in her social life. You may find that she's more amenable to sleep if she's had a chance to unburden herself.Stick to a bedtime routine. Make a pictorial chart for your preschooler to follow — including her bath, teeth brushing, bedtime story, and goodnight kiss. Also include her usual (and reasonable) requests — like that second sip of water or a peek at the moon. Give her some notice before it's time to start the routine each night ("Sophie, five minutes before bath time!"). Try not to let her dawdle, or drag things out with activities that aren't part of the ritual — no third glass of water or round of "Baby Beluga," for instance.Motivate her. When your preschooler goes to bed on time, the rewards for you are obvious. Make it clear what's in it for her too. The morning after she sticks with the routine, praise her and give her a sticker to put on a special chart. Offer her a reward — like a new book or a visit to her favorite playground — once she stays in bed three nights in a row. (Start small — for a preschooler, a few days is a long time to hang in there!)Offer choices. Refusing to go to bed is a powerful way for your child to assert herself. So it might help to find an acceptable means of allowing her to be assertive. Let her decide whether she wants to hear Silverstein poems or a Ranger Rick story before lights-out, for instance, or ask her if she'd like a sip of water before or after she climbs into bed. Be careful to offer only choices you can live with; if you ask "Want to go to bed now?" you probably won't like the answer you get.Be calm but firm. Even if your preschooler cries or pleads for an exception to the going-to-bed rule, stand your ground. If you're frustrated, don't engage in a power struggle. Speak calmly and quietly but insist that when time's up, time's up. If you give in to her request for "five more minutes, please," you'll only hear it again tomorrow night.Teach your preschooler to fall asleep alone. If your child depends on you to stay with her while she falls asleep, now's a good time to encourage her to doze off on her own. You might give her some incentive by promising to check on her in five minutes. Reassure her that she's safe and that you're nearby.Take the stepladder to success. You can't expect your child to learn, in one fell swoop, how to go to bed and sleep all night according to your perfect scenario. Take it one step at a time: If your preschooler's used to falling asleep in your bed, maybe her first step is to fall asleep in her own. Her second step could be learning to limit her nocturnal "escapes" to one per night, or calling for you only once without actually getting up. Build your way to the ultimate goal (sleeping through the night without a peep) in successive, successful steps.Problem solve. Figure out why your preschooler finds it tough to keep her head on the pillow at night. Ask about her specific objections to bedtime — is it because she's not tired? Scared? It's too quiet? Offer her a flashlight if she's afraid of the dark. Eliminate nighttime TV if the shows make her jumpy. Let her drift off to recorded lullabies if the quiet is too much. And be sure to listen to her ideas about what might be helpful. After all, a plan that she helps devise has a better chance of succeeding.Make sure your preschooler's getting lots of fresh air and exercise during the day too. If she still has a very early bedtime, it might be contributing to her lack of sleepiness at night (at this age, kids need a total of 10 to 12 hours of sleep), so you might consider moving bedtime back an hour. Some physical activity and a slight schedule change may be all it takes to ensure that your child is good and tired when bedtime rolls around.

Maximillion-one year checkup

2010-08-21T20:21:00.007-04:00

You can see his first bottom two teeth...love this.

Look at me....here I come.

Thadeus love his books.

This past Friday was Max's one year checkup...yes, the pediatrician was soooo booked it took over a month to see him. Apparantly, July marks a very busy time of year for school vaccinations so we were put off...I'll remember that in another three years!!!! I hope.

All and all Max did very well. Found out that his little man area had to be tackled a little bit and that was not comfortable for him...but he is doing well now. I feel so horrible. I had let his "mushroom" close up a little bit. I guess Jerime never noticed it either. Now I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate this post but I just felt so bad. I mean, the first thing I thought when I was told I was having a boy the first time was...what in the heck am I going to do with that extra part? And it is funny looking back because when Thadeus was born, my mama looked at Thadeus all naked and said, "what in the world are we going to do with that little thing?" And hey, she had a point...she had had three girls. My sister had a girl. My cousin had a girl so we had no clue. But you definitely get schooled before you leave the hospital. Thanks goodness. But how in the world did I let this happen to poor Max? I dunno. But it is all fixed now. Geez, that nurse did her thing to fix it and I was like, "wow, what a woman!" I told her that I was sooo sorry and I didn't know how I let that happen. She explained that it is very common and not to worry and just to make sure he always has that mushroom and the mushroom has a top! LOL

He had four shots, two in each leg. It was so hard to have him happy one minute and then the next, looking at me like, "mama, what in the world did you let her do that for?" Poor baby. But once all in and out, he was fine. He is a whopping 21 lbs 11 oz; but I think he lost weight since he's been walking. I thought they would tell me he was average weight and height but come to find out he is a little below average in height at 30 inches and in the 17 percentile for weight... Now, I looked at the doc and said, "what, how can it be that he is in the 17th percentile? What does this mean?" My first pediatricain never talked percentile terms so these statistics have baffled me. It means he is way below average, duh, for weight. AND I thought he was a CHUNK myself. I mean, if Max is in the 17th percentile then Thadeus must have been in the 2nd percentile!! I love Uncle Kirby's description of Thadeus. One day he was watching Thadeus run around the room like crazy and Thadeus came up to Uncle Kirby wanting to wrestle and he was a tough little two and a half year old then. Kirby said, "man, this kid is a piece of grissle. I would be a nervous wreck and need anxiety medicine if I had to take care of him!!! You see, they have a girl. She is just a sweet little petite princess. Calm and cool. Anyway, the doc categorized my Max a lean baby??? What??? He is healthy and doing well. EXCEPT...

Well, except that at his one year "well-check" visit, he was not well. He had been cranky for three or four days and when I say cranky, I mean, lay-himself-in-the-kitchen-floor-screaming-the-whole-time-I-made-dinner cranky. I mean you really should not cook and hold a baby even if you are tempted when he is flinging about on the floor like crazy, wanting you to hold him...just not safe. And because I know this, I let him twitch on the floor--I mean, Mama has to do what mama has to do. Which brings me to this funny story...

When Max was born, well several weeks afterward, I found myself wanting to hold this precious thing ALL the time. My sister, Heather, and I rode to Target in hopes to find a nice baby sling. I found one and just loved it. It was cloth and very comfortable for mama. Baby fits in and lays almost like in mommy's tummy--they sleep so well in them while you go shopping or clean house or whatever. Well, the first thing my sister says to me is--"now Christine, you cannot wear this while cooking." "What," I said, "what do you mean??? I would never do that!!!!" Well she knew me all too well....but I didn't wear it while cooking...I was good.

Anyway, so yes, he had been cranky. I said, "can you look in his throat to make sure he looks alright...I mean, since he has been cranky and all." I thought it was related to the fact that he was teething. I mean he is trying to get four of them boogers at one time... and come to find out the poor thing has TWO EAR INFECTIONS. Now, wierd. I mean I bet I took Thadeus to the pediatrician at least once per month the whole first year of his life, and Max...almost never. I had no idea that he had that dang ear infection, or should I say ear infectionS. Ugh. No mother award for me this month. So, left the pediatrician with four shots, antibiotic for ten days, decongestant, and ear drops for pain. So much for the well-visit! Oh, and thank you, Tylenol, for RECALLING ALL OF THE INFANTS TYLENOL AND MOTRIN. Ok, glad I got that off my chest. There are some things you just don't want to buy generic and infant tylenol is one of them. I have no reason, it's just for some reason I feel like a better mom for spending the extra money on medicine if I don't buy off brand. EXCEPT that all of the infant's tylenol and motrin has been on recall. And, you are required to give them the meds every four hours for the first 24 hours after shots to reduce fever...so I had to buy, ugh, yes, generic. I bought the Little Fevers brand. It has worked great and I may buy it from now on...lol.

We are officially moving the baby seats out now. Max is too heavy for the infant travel seat so Max is getting Thadeus' seat and now Thadeus gets an awesome booster seat. He is such a big boy!!! He just smiles everytime you put him in that seat. The thing is, with two working parents, you buy two...yep, two infant seats, and two booster seats. Totally worth it but just a thought.

Wow, you know, my car used to be big. Now, I look at it and it is soooo weird. In a matter of only 34 months, I went from big clean car to unclean non-roomy-mommy car. We waited five years before having children and we went from it is all about me (us) to.....
BETTER.

And I must say this. There is nothing in the world better than the love of these little people. I thought I loved until I had my children and now I know how much my mama loves me.

More teething, really?

2010-07-26T21:05:00.001-04:00

Can it be possible that more teeth are coming??? Well probably so when you are one year old and only have two teeth...
The nights have been rough lately..then come to find out all the Infant's Motrin and Infant's Tylenol have been recalled!
Maybe he will sleep through the night tonight.

Mama be so tired!

Second Tooth-Max

2010-07-19T21:27:00.001-04:00

Max's second tooth popped through! So cute!
He's been quite irritable. LOL

sleeping baby/pool fun

2010-07-17T21:06:00.002-04:00

Have you ever wondered....what makes a baby sleep through the night?

That is a crazy question, no doubt...but when Max started sleeping through the night at six weeks, I used to sit there and just watch him breathe and think...hmmm, what makes him sleep through the night just like an adult? I mean, he is, afterall, only six WEEKS old....what????

okay, I must be tired.

Today Jerime went fishing with Uncle Kirby, Melissa's hubby. I met up with her and we took the kids swimming.

It was soooo much fun. Thadeus got so brave and was jumping in with just the swimmies. Then we took rides on the golf cart...as Makinzie and Thadeus referred to the woods as THE JUNGLE! LOL So stinking cute!

Mama, or Meme, had to paint a room in her house since the twins moved off to college... she has decided to move into what used to be my old room...it is bigger and all... Makinzie said, You can do that later meme! OMG, so funny. She is 3 and so cute when her words come out. She calls me Critine. So cute. She just loved playing with me and Thadeus was so funny b/c he would say, MY MAMA! LOL...just cracks me up.

Rough week...

2010-07-16T22:16:00.002-04:00

What can I say? A LOT! What a rough week! Yes, yes, I would love to have the patience and ability to be a stay at home mom or even a part time worker but with the career I have, that is almost impossible and with the economy the way it is, geez, who knows, I could be the primary bread winner. I hope it doesn't come to that but who knows what the good Lord has in store for us and one cannot assume anything so, I work hard, live life in the fast line and just try to survive. You know what makes it better? Being able to pray, meditate, talk to my besties and see my sweet babies at the end of the day--and it's even more better when the weekend gets here.
As a working mom, life sucks sometimes. I LOVE my job. I feel like I help protect the life of the Public through education and regulation. I love the way I have problem solving and have the knowledge of environment protection. Then there are days when I'm like...um, can I pleeeze stay home? It is a catch 22. By working I am providing more money for the future--and not for myself but for my children. At the same time, I am sacrificing that time with them....however, please note that by not having that all day contact with them, I REALLY enjoy the time I have with them when I do get home too....hmm, I'm using this blog as therapy today. I am thankful I have the gift of being able to multi-task...
Why did this week suck, you may ask? Well for starters....let me say this....
My boss retired in December 2009; therefore I have been given the task of not only doing my job (which is really slow) but also covering for the Director's position. I was solo for about four weeks but the State finally approved a temporary position for my boss to come back and help which has been just awesome. It is always good to be able to bounce your ideas off someone who has been doing the job for 30 years! There are good days and bad days and I don't know what to call the following--maybe just call me crazy. I decided, when his old position opened and was listed on the job market, to apply! Yep, I actually applied for the position. It is an opportunity for advancement but also a greater challenge professionally. With it comes the extra resposibilites but I must love stress, time managment, prioritization and blah, blah, blah.
The interview was today....but boy what a week it has been.
First of all, Monday started with a bang. Several projects going on--beginning with a conference call regarding a well water study that began in 2009. The conference call, you guessed it, ended up with some work that would be great but time consuming as I am a perfectionist--probably more of a weakness than a strength. Among other items, finished the day--with the background duties going on, the whole time I'm worrying about the interview.
Tuesday-car breaks down on I75. Yep, nice eh. I actually thought, what is happening, discovered that, yes, the car is no longer able to accelerate and um, yeah time to pull over across the one lane of passers by that apparently did not care if they died or not....get a grip people--you are in a car that is somewhat but not totally in your control ....I pulled over. I have wonderful co-workers....thank you guys. Two, then three, folks came to help me out. The timing belt went stripped. Yep, that involved a tow, and parts and labor. $480 bucks later, I am the proud owner of a car with a new timing belt, water pump, A/C belt, and P/S belt. I can handle that--heck, the car was manufactured in 2002--she was due.
Wednedsay involved some crazy work stuff, more interview prep and worrying, bla bla bla. Thursday--hell day. Still trying to finish my well water letters, due yesterday, but still had other stuff just getting in my way--however, still fun, exciting, etc. Finally Friday came; interview at 2pm. I almost made it to the interstate about 11 miles from home when spash, water coming out from the hood....oh, no! The temp gage sky rocketed and yep, ended up on the side of High Falls Park Road in the parking lot of an abandoned church yard. Busted radiator. Here I am decked out in my black dress, heels, etc...lifting the hood to find out what the heck was going on....my ex-boss was a life saver...took me to work and so here I was....Jerime was there the whole time too--just remotely as he had a meeting himself and had to get the kids to daycare...
Interview time came and went. It was a wonderful experience and who knows what their selection will be--but what a crazy week. I was so tired that the hair appointment I made for a cut and color ended up being just a quick cut--I was just too exhausted to sit in that chair a whole hour for the color....hair dresser was ok with my decision...I don't think I let her down too bad. So I get home to my family after hell week. Then, what bad timing for me, but I could tell that the grandparents wanted little Thadeus to spend the night and I don't think he has spent the night since 2007 or so...wow. I cannot help that I am that way. I am though. I love my precious children so much...they are, after all, my life. I cried for about 30 minutes after he left, smiling as he left. I thought, is he missing me? Does he love me? Why was he so willing to leave me, when I have worked so hard all week just to be there long enough for short play time, meal time. I don't think some mothers go through the same withdrawal that I do. I hate feeling that way. But, I love them soooooo much. I am glad I let him go though. All I do is think of my little Thadeus. What did I gain out of the sleepover situation? I got to spend precious one on one time with my little Max. He is learning so much still and growing so fast. He is my little snuggle bug. We played, walked with his walker and then came bath time. He was so cute and I actually got him on video telling me "bye, bye"--such a blessing. I still think about Thadeus as he sleeps about four miles from me--and cannot wait until I see him in the morning. He is after all my first born. I could not imagine losing a child...b/c when he left to spend the night, my heart hurt so bad. I love that little booger so much.
Sweet dreams Thadeus, mommy loves you.

There is a new fan!

2010-07-04T22:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, Okay...now I think this is the most hilarious thing ever. Am I getting old??? I remember sitting around the dinner table when I was like 8 or 9 and hearing my mom, grand-mother, great-grandmother and aunts talking about..."you know, I remember when..."
It really used to trip me out. I was like, well, I will never be that old that I will say, I remember when...
Now I have a few and most recently while watching my MOST FAV channel ever, the food network...found a new one. Here are some... and I feel like there must be much more!
1) I remember when my mom's car had an 8 track!
2) I remember slap wrist bracelets and tight roll jeans!
3) I remember NKOTB and Vanilla Ice! LOL and when my older friends gave me the MilliVanilli tape after the infamous lip synching tradedy...
4) I remember tape and getting my first cd's.
5) I remember when tye dye was actually sooo cool.
6) I remember VHS tapes!
7) I remember when my mom had a bag mobile phone in the minivan.
8) I remember getting my first cell phone in college.
9) I remember buying our first dvd player!
10) I remember dial up internet and taking and exam at UGA--and failing because the line kicked me off.
11) And what will be my newest addition to this list...I remember when fan blades existed on fans!
Have you seen the new dyson fan? I think the designer says something a foil the air travels over so that you don't get the disturbance the other design created! I'm going to have to get me one of those!!!! LOL
Happy Fourth!

Max's First Tooth

2010-06-30T20:43:00.000-04:00

Work has been hell this week but do you know what is like the most awesomest thing ever???? I get home and Jerime says, why don't you take a look inside Max's mouth. "WHAT, I said...WHAT, WHAT, WHAT????" I look at Max and he smiled so big at me. I felt in there and he knew it was such a big deal! I held him and jumped up and down and said, "Max, you have a toothie!" I said it over and over, tears streaming, and he knew it was such an accomplishment because he laughed and laughed.

I think it is so amazing. This little fella is just growing up! I mean, I realize most kids have their first teeth by four or six months, and I know my little boy is almost a year old, but I still think it so amazing.

I thank God everyday for my babies and my sweet hubby.

Leaping Lizards

2010-03-13T14:32:00.006-05:00

"So, come on Thadeus. Mom and Daddy are going to take you to Leaping Lizards", says mama.

We just about walked out the door when seconds before, CRACK! Yep, our first broken window! Nice.

As we ride in the car...

"Where we going mama?"

"Leaping Lizards, Thadeus."

"Where we going daddy?"

"Leaping Lizards, son."

"Where we going mama?"

"Leaping lizards..."

"Where we going, mama...."

I looked at Daddy and said,

"Thadeus, where are we going?"

Thadeus looked at me and said...

"The Aligator Store?"

Yes, Thad that's close enough....

Last weekend was a blast. So much that, we took him there today too. It's a great place for a kid to blow off some steam when the weather has been as raunchy as it has been....

nothing sweeter....

2010-01-13T11:00:00.002-05:00

There is nothing sweeter than when you drive home after a long day at work, pick up the kids, look in the rear-view mirror to find your sweet little three year old holding the hand of his baby brother.

six months old...

2010-01-08T21:37:00.002-05:00

Today, daycare closed due to the snow. Yes, the daycare director told me they would post if it closed on the local news...I checked all night and early in the morning. Nothing. So I decided to leave the house when Jerime did, just in case. I mean, I'd rather be late to work than go all the way to Macon and have to turn around. I got half-way to the interstate and he called. They are closed. Ugh. So I got some time with my children as I worked from home....nice, eh? I love every precious minute I get to spend with them.

Thadeus decided to smear poo in his room while I was feeding Max this morning. I walked in and was blown away with the smell. I look at him and he as naked..? Then I notice about 10 pairs of little boy underwear all over the place. Yep, okay. So, he pulled off the pullup full of poo and then decided he would try all of his underwear on--it was a stinky mess and I think my washing machine is cursing me from the wash.

Thadeus got a hair cut and it is so cute.

Max is six months old today. Mom was holding him as I walked in--Tiffany and Mom watched Max while Heather and I took Thadeus to get a hair cut. It took 40 minutes!!! Well, so I walked in and Meme was holding Max. He saw me and just started squeeling. Then he lunged for me! Yes, he reached out for me today. And when I took him, he grabbed me around my head and started gumming my cheek...aw, he's giving me kisses.

That was the sweetest thing ever.

Thadeus was standing in his chair at the table....we asked several times for him to be seated. So Jerime started counting..."Thadeus, you better sit down....ONE, ........., TWO............Alright Thad--you better sit down......THREE......" and then Thad goes, "FOUR..." Okay, that didn't work like it was supposed to and...it was hard not to laugh....I had to turn my head when I was smiling.

What do you do when a toddler just won't sleep?

2009-12-30T21:42:00.002-05:00

Hmmm, so yes, we are in the big boy bed. Now what? Will this get any better? How do parents deal with big boy beds if the big boys won't stay in them?

I have a very active little boy...I realize he was in a crib until after his third birthday but he was willing to sleep there and we were willing to let him.

Our normal ritual consists of prayers followed by kissing and tucking Thadeus into bed. Around two weeks before Christmas, I started the potty talk again. Our pediatrician had advised me that Thad just didn't seem ready for pottying and maybe to lay off for a couple of months. So that would put us at January for starting the potty time again.

Mid-December I started suggesting to Thadeus that if he would start using the big boy potty then he would be rewarded with a big boy bed. I was thinking...it is time to move on to this big bed but what a great way to "reward" him--if he used the potty. Well, it was that same weekend that he figured out how to get out of his bed. I knew it was only a matter of time. It is one of the convertable beds, meaning, it's a crib, converts to a toddler bed and finally can be converted into a double bed...pretty neat. The crib had tall sides, so he never tried to crawl out, until about two weeks ago.

It was a Saturday. We are both in our living room and out comes Thadeus--Jerime and I both looked up with bewilderment on our faces. "Hello Thad", Jerime said. "What are you doing? Did you figure out how to get out of your bed?" "Uh, huh," Thadeus said with this HUGE smile on his face.

So we tried putting him back in his crib and he just wouldn't have it....nice. Nap time has been non-existant. Yep...nada. No naps. This means that by 5pm, Thadeus is just the most wonderful kiddo to be around. Melt downs occur, yelling, throwing; and all of this because he is tired and won't take a nap. This is not from lack of trying though. We kept putting him in the bed...out he came. I think I even threatened to duct-tape him to the bed....of course, this was not good because he believed me and began crying....so not such a good idea....

Night time has been an issue too. Sometimes we've let him stay up....falling asleep next to us and we just take him to his new bed. Other times, we let him play in his room...until finally we have to make him go to sleep which involves a "YOU BETTER NOT GET OUT OF THIS BED AGAIN" speech--he will cry and we feel bad but once it is 10 pm you just have to draw the line! I mean I was falling asleep before him!!!!

I've done a spanking technique once and that was not fun so haven't done that again. So I guess there is no really right way but we are continuing to work on it and maybe he will eventually cooperate.

and two weeks later...

2009-12-28T14:14:00.002-05:00

Well, golly bum. I am so excited to have reached my blog page....now, what to write? Facebook has taken over my strength to blog...but I must....
You see, I forgot my password? How did this happen....? I'm not sure, except that I kept trying to follow the prompts to reset it and I couldn't get it to happen....two weeks later, I FINALLY receive the e-mail I need to really reset this thing! Ah, atlast!
Now, off to decide what to write about...my last blog was on July 4th!!!!! Pre-second baby....a LOT has happened since then.
AND Christmas.

Happy Fourth! (oh, and happy due date or not-due date!)

2009-07-04T21:15:00.015-04:00

Happy Fourth! We are thankful for all of those who have served and died for our country and are continuing to serve our country. Yesterday, we hung out with the Buffington's side. It was a beautiful hot day and thank goodness for the breeze. GeeGee enjoyed watching Thadeus while I sat, sat, and sat some more. It is tough being so big right now but I know I will have a baby before next Saturday, according to the doctor who will not let me go to 41 weeks. Yikes.

Here are some photos of our fabulous day! We miss you Jonathan; we'll be glad when you come home from Afghanistan.

First, here is a photo of Thadeus playing with Daddy. He is really getting into his train set. He's getting where he will actually let you play with it...and let is stay on the track.

Jerime bought his Dad a smoker for Father's Day. He has used it quite a bit. Jerime brought his smoker over and here they are "smokin." For starters we had lunch--smoked hot dogs with chili. Yummy. And yes, those are the baby-backs--dinner for later.

Thadeus is really trying to potty like a big boy. This is a great (yeah) stage. It is the hardest stage ever. I mean I hope this kid is potty trained before Kindergarten. LOL He thinks it is more fun to put the potty insert over his head. This is a only a slightly new potty insert so don't think Granddaddy and Jerime have lost their minds...if this potty wasn't nearly new, they would not be puttin' this potty on their heads!!!

Thadeus and his mommy took a trip to Wal-mart before heading to GeeGee's. I just had to buy the flower sprinkler. Thad loved it!!!

Below is a photo of the new calf. You can see the mama to the left. She was a little cow to be having a baby. I don't know about you but I'm thinking GeeGee and Granddaddy better watch that bull. LOL Just kidding!

Ah, the ribs. Don't they look great. And Jerime's sauce is just awesome. They were great. Thadeus had a great time eating the ribs, tomatoes, butter peas, bread and enjoyed some strawberry short cake. We left around 9pm or so and Thadeus was a tired boy. Below is a great photo of his bed head the next morning. Thadeus and I are both morning persons! I wake up singing and so does he. Gotta love that hair!

Love,

Christine and Jerime

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-06-02T21:59:00.009-04:00

This is a great shot of Thad's pearly whites! Bathtime is the best time--he loves getting into the water and splashing around.

Ingles had a great sale on bananas during the Memorial Day Weekend. One bag for $0.99!!! There were 15 bananas in that bag. We couldn't eat them fast enough so I decided to make banana pudding and banana bread! I had enough for two batches each. Thadeus had fun helping his mama, as you can see.

Here I am at 34 weeks. I finally removed my naval ring which you can spot in the photo below.

Jerime and I went fishing at Lake Juliette over the holiday. The two of us had not been in the new boat together since the time we took Thadeus with us. A two year old in a boat is not that good an idea if your two year old likes to climb and jump. The weekend, as you may remember, was a rainy one. It didn't rain on us much but it was very overcast. Jerime only caught one fish. It was a keeper that we took to Cliff and Rhonda's pond. I didn't catch a single fish. GeeGee and Mimi split babysitting duty that Saturday as we fished. It was good to get out but I was happy to see my little boy. I can't believe I still have the withdrawal symptoms from being away from my 2.5 year old son-- I love my little man.

Thadeus got a new toy over the weekend also. All of his toys are "outdated" meaning boring! He doesn't really play with his toys anymore and he needed an interactive toy for the indoors, especially on rainy days. Jerime and I decided to take Thad to town. We ate Mexican first. Thadeus loves Mexican food. We gave him salsa and chips to start off with--the salsa was spicy and Thad just ate it up...I can't believe he likes spicy food the way he does but I ate a lot of spicy food when I was pregnant with him. Afterward we went to Walmart. This experience wasn't a good one because Thadeus wanted every toy he could see. After a bunch of screaming in the toy section, we loaded up a toy kitchen. Thadeus calls this is "kinchen" and absolutely loves it. When I pick him up from daycare, he will say, I want my kinchen.

I think this photo is so cute. Today when we got home he was cooking with his kinchen. He will sip on his juice and stir up his play food. Sometimes when I can't find his sippy cup, I can take a peek in one of the compartments and find the cup. Usually I find it in the Microwave! Today I asked him what he was making and he replied with "apple juice." So I asked him, what else will you make and he said "chocolate." I laughed at him so hard.

My sister Tiffany got married this weekend. I worried about Thadeus but he did really well. Daddy took snacks for the ceremony which turned out to be beautiful. My parents decorated the lake and it was just beautiful. I hate I didn't take any photos but I couldn't do much since I was helping direct the wedding. Tiffany looked beautiful. Thad stayed up the entire time. GeeGee help tremendously by keeping an eye on him as he was running all over the place. I was getting sharp pains in my abdomen the whole weekend so I just couldn't keep up with him. Together, Jerime, GeeGee and Granddaddy kept him at bay. He had a good time dancing the night away. Toward the end of the night we could tell he was tired as he sat in my lap as we watched some of the last dances before Tiff and Taylor left the reception. I just know Thadeus would fall asleep on the way home. Can you believe this kid didn't wind down until well after 12:30 a.m. He kept talking while in his bed. We stayed awake until he fell asleep. I was pooped. The next day Jerime watched Thad as I helped Mom clean up some at the lake. It was sad to see all of the decorations and flowers come down...I can't believe one of my baby sisters is married.

Last molar! Full head of teeth

2009-05-20T20:44:00.003-04:00

Well, we've finished getting in his last molar! His left one. I guess now we wait for them all to fall out before getting the wisdom ones!!! Brushing a toddler's teeth is definitely a task. He hates it when I help but I know dental hygiene is a very important thing.

Today I bought Thadeus some new jammies. He loves them. There are bugs all over the pants and there is a fuzzy bug on the shirt. He looked so cute before bedtime.

I also bought him a three piece set for the wedding. It is a cute little vest in yellow with kakhi pants and the neatest little roll up polo shirt. It was on the clearance rack and very cute. Then I paid entirely too much for a polo shirt for a two year old! I got it on sale too--it is green with a light blue polo logo. I got some navy pants to go with it...so I have two outfits to choose from for my sister's, Tiffany, wedding in two weeks!!!

I have seven weeks left of the pregnancy. I just love the lady, Fran, at my son's daycare that tells me EVERY day how large I am! It's like the movie, "Groundhog Day." She asks me every day how much farther I have to go and tells me how big I look. Thanks Fran. There's nothing like working your butt off all day long to come to that in the afternoon! LOL

Poor little Mica is a sweet little pup! She lets Thad lay on her, pull her tail, drag her upside-down, etc. I'm trying to teach him the importance of being sweet and gentle to our seven year old, five pound dog. When it gets too bad, she goes onto my bed until Thad goes to bed. She has bitten him a couple of times but I know it was when she could take it no longer. They are not serious bites, just the kind that say "back off bud." She really deals with it well and with Thad getting stronger, I rescue her before she has a chance to react to him, just in case.

I've been an emotional basket case lately. I cry at the drop of a hat. Little Thad is so sweet. He will come up to me and say, "I sorry, mama." I give him hugs and tell him I love him and tell him that it is okay and he is not the reason mommy is crying! It is really quite humorous. I think it is so sweet that he is so concerned. Sometimes he will come up to me and rub my leg and look at me with those beautiful big brown eyes and say "sorry." I could just eat that kid up.

Another molar, twins and falling asleep

2009-05-06T21:02:00.002-04:00

Well, I know I still have not posted my Hawaii photos. I think I have this dream to have the coolest blog entry of our trip with photos and captions and everything...that is a lot of work! I will do it though, all in due time.

Here are some other cute things that have happened...

We are almost done with the new baby's room. I have hung curtains, painted the chair rail, brought home the furniture, Jerime put the furniture together...it is almost complete. I bought some wall letters and we plan to hang them. I also plan on buying some art work for the new room...mice and boats, a real cute piece of work.

I had confederate memorial day off of work so I decided to take the day for myself. I let Thad continue to daycare to be with his friends and I completed some house chores and left off to pick up the baby furniture from Babies R Us.

I pick up a few needed items from Babies R Us and mosey my way to Customer Service to pick up my order. It took a little while but they brought two of the three pieces out. I think we ordered the largest pieces of furniture that they had because the two ladies running the show were not sure that all three pieces would fit in the Ford F150. Ridiculous, I explained. We bought the very same furniture (different wood finish) two years ago and brought it home then...in that very truck...
Well, the two ladies had to find a male helper who happened to be a scrawny man... about an hour later and after help from some big muscular stranger (thank you Jesus), we got the furniture loaded. I had to go to Home Depot to get some tie downs, and finally started home! I was quite proud of myself and it was a fun adventure.

The room looks great so far, but I can't wait to make the finishing touches.

Twins:
Thadeus has three aunts, two of which are twins. Tiffany took to Thad much more than Heather. Heather is uncomfortable around small babies but Tiffany just grabbed Thad up and baby sat often. So Thad calls Tiffany, "TT," and we refer to her as Aunt TT. Heather came over one night last week to eat dinner since she was by herself and hungry. Mom and Dad were out of town. I said, come on by... Thadeus kept calling her TT and I kept informing him that this was his Aunt Heather, or Heaha. He would say Heaher but a few minutes would go by and it was back to TT. Tiffany works in Barnesville so she stopped by on her way home. I told her that he kept calling Heather TT, which TT just loved. I said, I really don't think he understands that he has twin aunts...because you are never together with him...and let's face it, you look very similar. So, right before bedtime whenTiffany arrived at my house, I asked Tiffany and Heather to stand together so Thad could see. I held him and he looked at them, from one to the other and then he'd look at me. He look back at each one and looked back at me. With the most bewildered look on his face, he looked back at me after looking at both of them again and said, "two" and smiled. It was the cutest thing ever.

We finally have second year molar number three. One more molar to go before we are done.

I wore my stilletto heels to work...not a good idea. My toes look like little smokies, as Jerime would say...or did say. Only 9 weeks to go.

Swine flu or H1N1 is wrapping up at work too. It has been crazy with all the conference calls and updates. I'm ready for that to be over.

And to close, for the first time in his toddler life, Thadeus fell asleep in my arms. It was so great. He has taken a liking to Blues Clues. I could tell he was tired but normally he keeps himself awake and we have to force him to bed; otherwise, he simply would NEVER go to bed. But, tonight he cuddled with his mommy, daddy beside mommy, and he fell asleep. It was so sweet and I wouldn't mind that if it happened every night. I love that little boy. He has no idea how much I love him.

Parenting Little Boys, article that hit close to my heart.

2009-03-27T18:44:00.002-04:00

Parenting Toddlers:It's all about Action and Independence!

What is it about parenting toddlers? If you thought your baby boy kept you busy, then you ain't seen nothing yet!
Toddlers can be challenging for sure! Just listen to moms talking about their toddlers to get a glimpse of the challenges ahead: "He never stops! He is Mr Independent! He keeps me on my toes with his antics!" and so on and so forth. Some go as far as talking about their "little devils". Parenting toddlers is sometimes described as a nightmare. And I'm sure you've heard the "terrible twos" expression...
As soon as your little boy can walk with confidence and run, he is all movement! You have to keep your eyes on him all the time. Who said parenting toddlers was easy?!
What you need to understand is that boys this age have their own agenda. They are focused only on their own needs. And the agenda is action and independence.
I have mentioned the so-called terrible twos earlier. The term is a little bit misleading because that phase actually usually starts around 2 1/2. It's a time of opposition, aggression and anger that appears to be deliberate and willful. Between 18 months and 2 1/2 toddler boys still appear mostly loving and affectionate. They are also very active and searching autonomy but it is usually better perceived by parents than the later phase.
Yes, parenting toddlers is challenging some days, but the way you react to your boy's search for autonomy and high level of activity is very important!

Research has shown that boys are more active than girls and are usually behind in terms of language development. They also tend to get frustrated more easily than girls, probably because of their less developed language abilities. They don't seem to be as interested in the reactions of the adults around them. All this leads to stronger reactions from parents in response. They are parenting toddler boys differently from the way they are parenting toddler girls.
In babies, gender doesn't seem to be important for the level of activity. Individual temperament seems to be more important. The differences by gender start to appear around 10 months. Boys become less compliant than girls. This difference between genders will increase between 1 and 2 and keep doing so until school age. At that stage, the majority of boys are more active than girls, regardless of their temperament. Because of this main difference, parents need to manage their boys' activity levels.
One important thing you need to keep in mind when parenting toddler boys: they do not understand the link between cause and effect. Because of this and his activity level, your toddler can turn into a tornado! You need to anticipate and keep an eye for "problem situations". This is important to protect your house from destruction and to keep your boy safe. ;)
Toddlers cannot control their impulses. If your toddler boy kicks or punches just after you told him explicitly not to and looks at you straight in the eyes while doing so, it does not mean he does it to provoke you. He is just acting in an age appropriate way and you should not tell him he is a bad boy. It is better to tell him "No", "Stop", "We do not do that", etc.
Don't get me wrong, they DO need discipline, but NOT retaliation such as corporal punishment. It is always important to keep age appropriate behaviors in mind when parenting toddler boys. By the time your toddler is 3, he should start to be in better control of his impulses. After reading all this, you are probably wondering what has become of the close bond that once existed between mother/father and baby boy. Well, the bond is still here, it's just different! In this time of action, it's more of an "on and off" thing. What is important for your toddler is to know that you are here "in case".
This is where boys differ from girls. Research has shown that boys don't check their moms so much when playing. Little girls tend to make eye contact with them often and search their approval. Boys still need their mom as much as girls do, it's just less obvious.
The challenge in parenting toddler boys is finding the right balance between allowing them to assert their independence and being present to support them emotionally. It's a fine line and nobody gets it right 100% of the time! Trust me, there is no specialist at parenting toddlers, they make sure to keep us on our toes! ;)
Let's look at the development of your toddler now, because knowledge of age appropriate behaviors is a useful tool when parenting toddlers.

Second Year Molars

2009-03-23T22:18:00.003-04:00

After two weeks of horrible poo episodes, Thadeus has finally cut two molars. Yep. We have sure had a time with this teething episode. This has been the worst experience of all the teething so far. Now, we only have two more teeth (top molars) to go! Yay. Thad's little booty is so raw right now. We've been lubing that little butt up on a regular basis to keep it from getting too bad.
We took Thad to Bass Pro Shops this past Saturday. He loved looking at the boats and trying on the baby sunglasses. He was so cute. I love my little cutie pie.

Six Month Checkup

2009-03-17T21:08:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm on my last week of my sixth month! Next week will be the beginning of my last trimester! Where did the time go? I'm growing by leaps and bounds. Gained six lbs since my last appointment. I've been putting on the stretch cream like crazy. Haven't taken out the navel ring yet...so you can imagine how humorous that must be!
The baby boy was moving all over in my tummy so she had a hard time finding the heartbeat initially but finally did! Next month, I get to do the glucose test...yuck...but at least I get to do it in the Dr. Office instead of the lab, like last time.
We moved Thadeus into his new room and he loves it. He rarely goes into his old room. We are ready to paint the trim in the new baby's room, still have to order baby furniture...and what else? I seem to be pretty calm about this so far....I will probably freak out a little closer to July.
Thadeus pee-peed in the potty at school yesterday once. I was so happy for him. No dice today though. I'm amazed at how much he can eat.
Yesterday we were all playing on the floor. Thad hit his daddy and his daddy made him go to time out. He kept crying and crying and finally I asked him, "Thadeus, are you really crying?" and he responded honestly, "no." Oh my gosh...we died laughing. He is a smart little booger.

It's a boy

2009-02-22T15:10:00.005-05:00

So how could I have guessed? In 22 family members in four generations, there are 3 girls. Until Lillie was born in 2007, the last girl was born 59 years ago. So, the odds were very low for a girl. I was prepared. I asked Jerime not to go to the doctor with me. Now that he works in Griffin and I in Macon, I decided I could handle this and he can use that extra day after the baby is born. So I asked the Ultrasound Technician to write it down for me and not tell me the sex of the baby during the appointment. I got to watch that pretty little baby stretch its arms and legs on the monitor and I saw the little heart beating away. It really is a miracle. The tech wrote the sex down on a piece of paper, and I sealed the envelope. I could hardly stand it but I was strong and did not look. The doctor said all looks healthy! This is all that matters! That afternoon, after Jerime got off work, he was smiling as he saw me parked just outside his office. He got into the car with me and I know he could see the suspense on my face. He slowly opened the envelope...looked at me and smiled. He tilted the little piece of paper toward me. "It's a boy!!!"

We are so excited. We're getting Thad's new big boy room ready now. Jerime and his dad have been constructing a closet....a fun little project!!!

I'm 21 weeks today! In the not so distant future we will be welcoming that precious little boy into our family. I can hardly wait.

'Possom

2009-02-16T09:22:00.003-05:00

Oh my goodness. Last night we were leaving from our really good friends' house (after some dang good fixins) and I saw the most horrible sight. I know it happens everyday but I witnessed it...and my heart just broke.
We pulled down our street and this car was flying down our road. It is a small road and no one should go that fast. And, somehow, a possom became the poor little victim of road kill. I saw it happen and I screamed when I saw it.
We pulled into the carport and I immediately walked to the edge of the drive way. He wasn't moving and as I watched his lifeless little body, I saw his little friend walk up and stiff him. I felt so badly for that little ugly creature. He had lost his companion.
Ironically we had venison for dinner....hmmmm.

The Two-Dollar Bill Lady

2009-02-09T18:37:00.002-05:00

So, did you know that Truetts Restaurant in Griffin has buffet breakfast on Saturdays? We didn't but found out and this pregnant lady got her money's worth!!! We got up early to go shopping at Walmart for some fishing gear. Since Jerime bought David's John Boat, we've been getting ready to go out...which involved me getting a fishing pole! But, anyway...we decided to eat at Truetts (aka ChicFilA) for breakfast. We sat down with Thadeus and wondered how well he'd do. When the lady told us there was a buffet, we hopped to it, as any parents would who had a two year old. The quicker the better. We got Thadeus his own plate and enjoyed watching him use his "poon" to gobble down his food. We ate too. It was actually a pretty good buffet. The bacon was great and all you can eat chicken--which you can load onto their mini prepared bisquits. There was also scrambled eggs, gravy, hash brown with onions, and sausage. Thadeus enjoyed watching the choo-choo train go round and round the dining room. Before Thadeus got ill, the sweet little old lady came up to him and said, "Hi, I'm known around here as the Two Dollar Bill Lady." We said hey and sure enough, she gave Thadeus a two dollar bill. Pretty cool. She was sweet. The fun came to an abrupt stop as Thadeus was ready to go. We got all our gear and headed out the door. I thanked the Two Dollar Bill Lady as we left. Now, it's off to Walmart!

Pop Goes the Weasel

2008-12-22T21:15:00.002-05:00

Have you ever read these words?

Well, Jerime and I have this cute kiddie CD that Thadeus just loves and is a real lifesaver when we're on the road. We could not understand the words to the song...probably because there are a bunch of kids singing it. So, here they are. It is pretty funny to me. Enjoy. And maybe I'm a sucky mom for NOT knowing the words. I know a lot of kid's songs but this one I had to look up:

Pop Goes The Weasel
All around the mulberry bush,
The monkey chased the weasel.
The monkey thought twas all in fun.
Pop goes the weasel!
Penny for a spool of thread.Penny for a needle.
That's the way the money goes.
Pop goes the weasel!
The painter needs a ladder and brush.
The artist needs an easel.
The dancer needs a fiddler's two.
Pop goes the weasel!
I've no time to wait and sigh. I've no time to wheedle.
Kiss me quick. I'm off, good bye
Pop goes the weasel!

Since my last blog...Thanksgiving and cravings

2008-12-08T20:43:00.004-05:00

Well, seems like so much has happened since my last blog. Thanksgiving was a great time. Although we didn't get to be with Jerime's family, I did enjoy it with my side. My aunt and cousins couldn't make it which made it a smaller event than usual but it was still great. Mama made Thanksgiving fixins, like Dressing, Giblet Gravy, deviled eggs, green beans, rutabagas, etc. This year Jerime smoked the turkey. It turned out really well! He brined it the night before. We cooked it Thanksgiving day and everyone thought it was great. The flavor of the Turkey was so good--very moist. In fact, I have a Turkey thawing in the refrigerator now so we can smoke another this weekend. I already can't wait....must be that "eating for two" thing.
Thadeus has gotten all of his eye teeth within a two week period. He did much better cutting these teeth. This child has had the most interesting time getting his teeth. He got them in backwards--he could have been a vampire last Halloween because he got his lateral incisors before his front incisors (wow, I'm using the proper name for the teeth!) Shana would be proud. Anyway, as far as I can tell we are waiting on those two year molars now before we are done with that fantastic phase.
Mom, Tiffany, Melissa and I did the Black Friday Christmas shopping thing. We had a really good time and I got most of my Christmas shopping done. It wouldn't be the same if I didn't wait until two or three days before Christmas to get a couple of items. So I'm sure this will happen.
Thadeus decided to change Mama's name from Grammy to Mimi. So I think this will be something that Makinzie will adjust to easily especially since she had not said Grammy yet. It is so sweet that he just decided to call her that and my mama is just beside herself.

Today was a great day because I heard punkin's heart beat! Today was my 10 week appointment. I couldn't remember what to expect but they put the cool gel on my tummy and that little booger was just a beatin'. The rate was 170 and the nurse swears I'm having a girl. We will see. I did smile deep inside when she said that. Of course, I would be just as happy with a boy. I just want this to be a healthy baby no matter what. Jerime and I decided not to get the first round of genetic testing done, as we didn't get testing with Thadeus either. It's funny--some doctor's offices just do it as part of your regular routine but here they give the option. I've gained six pounds so far. I wasn't too happy with that but this pregnancy has been totally different from the first. Up until the past couple of days, I've had the all day sickness (without the vomiting); and just felt the need to eat all. I have even wanted to eat unhealthy stuff. This aggravates me the most--I'm usually somewhat health conscience. I mean one morning, all I could think about was eating french fries. So I finally left work, got an order of french fries and ate them with my half-caff coffee. Geez. Why are pickles and orange juice so good together? Why can I eat a whole grab bag of crunchy cheetos? Needless to say, this is why I have GAINED SIX POUNDS ALREADY!!!
I need to get my hair trimmed as it is looking shabby and I'd love to get a color....but I should probably wait four more weeks.
Thadeus has enjoyed saying baby and looking under mommy's shirt. He has really started talking now too. He is saying phrases and repeating words. I find myself saying, "Aw, Man" a lot and finally Thadeus has said it...so cute. He has also tried to repeat the word Shoot and it didn't come out the right way so I will try to limit that word now!
How will I balance two babies? I do not want Thadeus to get jealous. I love him so much and feel I cannot love another as much. He is after all my first. How can I love another baby without hurting his feelings?
I think we've decided to move his room into the side room/office room and give the baby the smaller room. This will allow me to be closer to the baby for night time nursing and will give Thadeus the Big Boy room. It is much larger than his room and he is the big brother.

"Night, night cheese."

2008-11-19T21:24:00.004-05:00

So Thadeus is talking more and more every day. He's been so quiet up until now. I have friends with children who started talking earlier than Thad but I know each kid learns at his own pace too. Last weekend he started saying cheese for the camera. It is cute but we are lucky if we can get a smile on the camera before he starts going again. Even more recently he has started saying "night night" when going to bed.

Tonight was too funny. Jerime took him to bed so I gave him a kiss and hug. As he was leaving the room with Daddy, I said, "night night Thadeus," and he said, "night night cheese."

HA!

New Baby!

2008-11-17T21:34:00.003-05:00

Here is a photo of our newest little Buffington.

We are very excited.

This is our "lil punkin" at 7 weeks 1 day.

Happy Thanksgiving...

We are thankful for our little miracle.

Thadeus' First Hair cut--the real one!

2008-11-15T21:56:00.010-05:00

Okay, so this first photo is not of a hair cut. But I thought it was really cute. This was before bedtime last night.

Here is Thadeus getting his first hair cut. He wouldn't sit in the barber's chair (with booster) but he did just fine when he sat in mommy's lap. He was pretty wiggly but Tara did a really good job for what she had to deal with. Don't you just love the animal print?

It was hard to get photos of him tonight so that you can really see the cut...

Here is another view. He is reading a book with his Uncle Jonathan (Jerime's big brother).

Fun at the Farm

2008-11-12T21:12:00.023-05:00

Thadeus picked his pumpkin

Anna like all the pumpkins

Dave didn't fit in the slide!

I didn't fit either, but it was fun!

Cute!

Awww!

What's this mama?

Anna having fun on the hay ride (mommy too)

One of my favorites!

This is a sweet photo! Thad looks really happy!

It has been a couple of weeks since our visit to the "farm" off Johnstonville Road in Forsyth but I'm finally ready to post some photos. We needed a pumpkin for Halloween and in the town I live now, pumpkin patches are hard to come by. But we found a place that "had a patch" which was the smallest patch I've ever seen. However, it was the last weekend we had to get a pumpkin anyway so I can't really complain. I think I will make it a tradition to find a new pumpkin patch every year...we'll see. This was a pretty cool farm. We only had to pay $10 per child but if you have more than one (esp. you Dana) this would be pretty darn expensive. In fact, if Chelle had taken all three of hers, it just would have been too much. It wasn't exactly what I expected but we had a fantastic time! It was great to get out with Thad and Anna (and her parents!) and let him run like the wind....until we MADE him get into the car to go home. He loved the huge playground. I enjoyed feeding the animals after I got over the ick factor. Working for public health all I could think about is what if one of the animals had rabies....In fact, I know entirely too much about this because the more I think about it now, I think....geez, what was I thinking.... Ok, I'm over that thought now.

Stinkin' blog

2008-11-05T21:49:00.004-05:00

So here I am again trying to update my blog page. This stinks! I lost my list of friends! Now, I only have three or four but I want them to show. So if you don't mind, please send me your blog url so I can TRY to figure this daggum thing out! I think I go to edit within my layout and pick Blog List and add list....but I won't know until I know your url again. Geez.....

Talk Thadeus

2008-09-25T22:02:00.004-04:00

Yesterday:
So, little one won't talk.
I said Thadeus, talk to mama.
He says, "No"

ok, enough said.

He whines and takes me to the refrigerator.
"What do you want," I ask.
He whines again...
He wouldn't say milk.
Then, Daddy gets home and he says it. ugh.

Today, same thing.
He takes me to the fridge and places my hand on it.
"What do you want, Thadeus," I ask. He refuses to say milk.
So after pressuring him, I give in.
"Say please," I say. He looks at me. "say please," I say again.
So I hand the milk to him.
You know what he says?
"tank you"

OMG,
I think that was the sweetest thing ever.

Thadeus is Two!

2008-09-09T22:00:00.059-04:00

Thadeus' Birthday Table!

Shana and Peyton

Jerime, are you getting dizzy....balloon number 3!

Anna Gravitt

Heather and Josh-Thanks for videoing!

Grammy and Makinzie

Papa and Thad

Peyton playing with her toys!

A cute pic! Josh working the yo-yo.

Ryan loved Thad's train!

Mak

Granny and Papa lovin' on the babies!

Anna having a great time with the punch balloon!

Josh reading the directions? ha

Aunt Tiffany and Makinzie

Very sweet pic! Look at those Angelina Jolie lips on Peyton.

Josh with his audience

Michelle and Anna & Melissa and Makinzie

Oh my gosh-looks just like David!

John---the first of David's mini-me's

Grammy and Thad

GeeGee and Thad

Thad is giving Makinzie her doll back..

Granny and Papa with Thad

Anna getting some ice cream. Yum-O!

Thanks to Josh and Heather for putting the tractor together.

Go Thadeus!!!

Aunt Tiffie and Thad

Thad and his mommy

Thad with Grammy and Papa

Thad with GeeGee and Granddaddy

Mak-pretty in pink

So Thadeus had a great birthday. I can't believe my little boy is two already. He got so many wonderful presents and had a great time opening them and playing with them. Needless to say, his slept well that night!

Thad has changed so much. He is talking much more and surprises us with new words every day. Tonight he started calling out our dog's name, Mica, so she would come up to him which was so cute. Every once in a while he would call her Niku...which just cracked us up.

I guess I will break down and give Thad a big boy hair cut. Ah, or wait a bit longer! he he I know as soon as I cut it, he won't be a baby any more.

He is starting to sing A, B, C and has counted up to three. He also shouts at the football games just like daddy.

I love to ask him to wash his feet while he is in the tub...he will scrub the bottom of his foot, smiling the whole time.

He like to make "boom" sounds. He will set a toy on the very edge of the table, push it slightly, watch it fall and say boom. He is such a little boy. Having had three sisters, it really freaks me out but I know he is doing what boys do-being a rough little boy. I do love it when he stops for a split second to give me a hug and kiss.

So I have a funny story. I decided to make Thad's birthday cake this year. We had a little mishap which set me back but DID NOT STOP ME! I decided to make him a carrot cake. I got all the ingredients and it is a great thing that I got extra carrots! I placed the batter into a springform pan thinking I would make the cake tall and round. Hey, I make cheesecakes all the time--what the heck happened? But half way through the baking I tried to rotate the cake from the bottom rack to the top....well, the spring sprung open on the side and cake batter went every where! It was all inside the oven burning on the heating element and down the front of my cabinets and even onto the floor. You see, my oven is up high in our new home, not low to the floor like in our old house. Orange batter was every where! It took me 30 minutes to clean it up...then I started over. This time I used the regular 9 inch pans....

The cake turned out well but I was so tired! Take home from this--don't prepare the cake the night before! ha

new dining table

2008-08-13T22:08:00.003-04:00

Well, I have my first dining table. I'll get some photos when we are done putting the thing together. We? I should say Jerime. Jerime has been putting chairs together since about 8pm tonight! I love the China Cabinet.... Jerime's dad helped him put the table together and the China Cabinet.

Thad has only about three weeks until he turns 2!!! I am making his cake so I bought a couple of cute toys to see which one I want the topper to be.

My parents have taken over the Convenience Store. It has been stressful for them, I know. After 10 long years of leasing it, they are running the show right now....for how long, I don't know.

We are going to Hawaii!!! Yes. I'm excited about that. And nervous as flying is not my thing. And a two year old on a plane should be just glorious.

I'm so glad the work week is almost over. Thadeus has been fussy this week which means he may be cutting another tooth???

Turning Doorknobs and Saying Mica

2008-08-05T20:18:00.005-04:00

Hello! Well, this week has been a good week so far. Thadeus started K2 Monday. Yep, he moved up to the two year old room. There are 14 children in there and two teachers. Jerime said on his first day Thad sort of clung to him but then he saw all the kids and ran off to play. (tear)
He also started wearing pull-ups. Am I ready for this? No, not really but this will force me to force him to start pottying like a big boy. He is scared of "going potty." I know it's only been two days but I've started using the same terminology that the school uses so he understands he must also try to potty at home. Today, I put him on the potty twice. He sat there pretty seriously as he did not potty. I'm hoping I can find some generic pull-ups. We plan to get Thad a potty for his upcoming birthday.
Today, we got home from school and our normal routine is to let Mica (our maltese) out of her room. Today we got home and Thadeus pointed to Mica and said Mica! I couldn't get him to say it again.
He still calls me nana instead of mama....not sure where that came from. Sometimes he will call me mama, but most of the time it's nana. Do I continue to call myself mama or do I say nana. I think Nana is pretty cute....but don't want him to get laughed at by his friends either...
Today, he started turning door knobs. WEIRD! Yep, he went to the linen closet in the hallway, turned it, opened it and looked at me like, Look What I Did!!
This is so much information for me to process...but I love it.

Thadeus' First Haircut, Sort of (another tooth)

2008-07-29T21:42:00.006-04:00

This is a photo of Thad's hair in eyes...

This photo is after his hair cut...

Today was a good day. Thadeus' hair was getting pretty long and getting into his eyes so we took him to the hairdresser to get a little snip. It's still longer but at least he doesn't feel like a shaggy dog. We arrived home after a dinner meal at Waffle House (yes, I am a health inspector and eat at waffle house). During his bath, we noticed that a tooth had cut through, finally, making it Thad's eleventh tooth. He got his bottom second left tooth which is good because forever he has only had the middle two, plus the two molars....quite a gap.

Thad also called his Grammy by her name today three times. Yes, it is close enough--he called her "ammy" which was really cute. Of course, Aunt Tiffie got jealous and kept saying "I'm Aunt Tiffie" and before we could shut the door to go eat, my dad yelled....I'm Papa!!! So it was really cute.

I can tell he is really trying to talk more...it is so much fun.

Thadeus talking?

2008-07-17T21:19:00.003-04:00

So, am I imagining things? Is my son saying sentences??? Is this a coincidence?
So Saturday, my little one said to his daddy....as he pointed to the hook in my bathroom...."that's a hook."
Yesterday, he said and I'm not kidding when I say this...."I burped" and yes, it was after he burped!
Today, I asked him what was wrong because he was fussy...he replied, "I don't know."
It's like a double take...I mean, he says something and you think...did he just say what I thought he said? And then I kind of shrug it off. I can't, for the life of me, get him to talk in front of people, though.
I love him.

Thadeus is also wanting to climb on things. On Saturday, as I was cooking supper for company, Thadeus got very quiet. He has his own playroom and I peeked in there....yes, he was on the second shelf of my wire plant rack. Oh my gosh...and what did I, mother of the year, do? Yep, I let him hang there until I got the camera. He also moved the rack to the middle of the room. Can I say BAMBAM???

Then, on Monday it was supper time. Now, some days we have to tie Thadeus over with a light snack until supper is ready. He has this super cool snack cup that I usually put about 15 goldfish snack in....well, he sure did eat the first batch quickly. Yep, he wanted more. So, I told him that he didn't need to ruin his supper but I gave him a few more fishes....He went missing. I knew something was up and as I peek into his room, here is what I see: He eats a fish, gives Mica (our dog) the fish...and so on. Needless to say he was quite upset when he realized he wouldn't get anymore snacks that night. I've got pictures to prove this....

Sentences

2008-07-17T21:13:00.000-04:00

My First Blog

2008-07-04T20:30:00.004-04:00

Ok. So I think I'm blogging now. I really have no idea what I'm doing...All I know is that I found some long lost friends who all recommended that I start this thing--and then I found out that The Braggs also have a blog page so I guess that is the third sign!!! So here I am adding a blog...and my blog is really about nothing so far.

Let's see....today is Independence Day.
Jerime and I slept in, which really means that we slept until Thadeus woke up. Which was about 7:30 in the morning. Not too bad. Jerime decided to put a pork shoulder on the smoker. Because he had his mind set on fishing, off to GeeGee's and Grand daddy's we went (that is Jerime's parents' names ever since Thadeus was born). So, Jerime fished some while GeeGee cooked lunch and I chased Thadeus about. After we ate, Thad took a nap. I decided to go fishing too. I caught some fish.
Then, Granny and Papa, and GeeGee and Granddaddy came over for lunch. Jerime's shoulder was delicious. GeeGee brought over some pork and beans, and all the fixins for barbeque sandwiches AND we had homemade icecream that GeeGee made while they were visiting us at our house for dinner.
It was all so good. Thad is sleeping now and I'm about to go hang out on our porch with Jerime.
I love the summer.
christine

No Paci!

2008-03-28T22:02:00.000-04:00

This is a sad/good thing. Tonight is the second night Thad has gone to sleep without his pacifier! What a big boy he is! As soon as we move and feel Thad is settled into his new home, we are doing the toddler bed! I just can’t believe he’s growing up as fast as he is.Read more:

Thad's Accomplishments Again

2008-01-14T23:51:00.000-05:00

Thad is the cutest. He can go from sitting to standing now...and has been doing this for about a week. He is running. He likes to push the buttons on the remote and realizes he is doing something special. He eats lots...his tummy is about to pop after dinner. He like asparagus...yep. I have a weird baby. We think he is teething...maybe those pesky molars are coming through. Saturday he said "wager" for water. He loves to pull his toys behind him (the ones with pully-strings). He throws EVERYTHING.I love him. Read more:

Thadeus' Accomplishments

2007-10-16T22:51:00.000-04:00

Thadeus' Recent Accomplishments:

Thad is doing some new things:
1) He can go get his hat and bring to mama when asked.
2) He knows to look up at the light when asked.
3) He wants to interact with his food (very messy).
4) He is letting go of whatever he's holding onto at the time, and will stand with hesitation. He actually took one step toward da-da today without realizing he wasn't holding on...
Things he is not doing:
SAYING MAMA.

Anyhoo...