Thank You, Heroes

THANK YOU to all of our heroes 

(even if they don't wear capes) 

on this Memorial Day. 

 All gave some and some gave all.

 

Big

So excited about his big boy bed {converted crib to toddler bed}

He was jumping up and down and squealing 

as we were trying to get him settled in for nap this first time.

Sleeping peacefully

So far so good; we're over a week in.

He has only fallen out once.

I laughed after I knew he was okay...

he was trying to be good and obey the "don't get out of bed" rule

but one of his favorite Mia-made animals had fallen out of bed

and he was reaching, reaching, reaching...

and landed in a thud on the floor!

"The rule" has been broken two times.

One day he collected every.single.Mia-made.animal {all 20+}

and the next day, he got out of bed to get his favorite Clifford book.

The animals took up as much room in the bed as he does

and he placed the library book carefully on his pillow next to his head.

Such a sweet, sneaky big boy!

Super Hero - Fast and Small

 

{capes by Mia}

Fierce Love

 {Gentle boy touching Mama's shoulder while he talks}

 {"I get you, Mama!"}

Our little guy loves fiercely.  

His hugs often turn into tackles

with so much force they literally

knock me backwards.

At 2.5 years old, his intensity for life is contagious.

And his personality is commanding.

"Lay in grass, Mama! Sit here, Daddy."

While somewhat bossy, and sometimes clingy,

he is our sweet boy.  He uses "please" and "thank you" often

and he thinks every kid is his "friend."

I hope he keeps his tender heart.  

He is a mama's boy, but 100% all boy.

Dirt is constantly under his fingernails, 

and scrapes and bruises decorate his knees, elbows, and bare toes.

He gets excited about poop.  Loves dinosaurs and trucks.

He has a favorite movie new obsession:  Cars.  

All big rigs are "Mac" and all race cars are McQueen.

{These characters really just entered our lives last week, 

but he really loves them!}

He teaches to us love fiercely, play hard, be uninhibited,

savor {ice water} popsicles, and belly laugh often.

Time is flying by, but we're having so much fun!

Super Boy

Super Boy to the rescue ...

with his tape measure!

As Alekzander grows,

his personality gets bigger,

and his opinions get stronger.

Yesterday afternoon, he had to wear his hat {backwards},

and had to have possession of the "tape".

He goes around and "tapes" flowers and people and rocks.

At almost 3 feet tall, 

Alekzander still snuggles with his Daddy.

And still cries out for his Mommy at night.

Two nights ago, he cried out hysterically around 3 a.m.

It wasn't his usual 'stirring' cry, but something more urgent.

Me:  "Hey Buddy, what's wrong?"

Az (not completely awake):  "The cow is coming."

Me (laughing): "Oh no!  He's just coming to say hi."

Az:  "No Mommy!  No cow come."

Me:  "Ok, should we sing to him and tell him to go away?

Old McDonald had a farm, EIEIO. 

He told the cow to go away, EIEIO."

Alekzander calmed down enough to lay down

and eventually went back to sleep...

Its a good feeling when "Super Boy" 

still needs to be rescued by his Mommy 

when dreams are scary.

Peek-a-Boo

Exploring Nature

... with a manual zoom ...

Crazy Little Love

These two couldn't have been any cuter...
except when they were sharing kisses and hugs...
or when Hali sidled up to Alekzander and put her hand on his lower back...
or when Alekzander followed Hali around like a lovesick puppy.
Though he denies his love to her when we ask him if she's his girlfriend,
I clearly heard an "I love you" come out of his mouth
when they first sat next to each other
at the Charlotte Hounds Lacrosse game tonight!

These two are crazy for each other,
and I am crazy about them.
Alekzander isn't going to know what to do with himself
when his little Hali Lu doesn't live next door anymore...
but we're trying to squeeze in as much time and love as we can.

Dinner Dino

Spaghettisarus ::  A cute messy wannabe dinosaur

I love that God hard-wired little boys with certain interests.  We have done nothing specifically to push Alekzander toward his current obsessions with interests in dump trucks {filled with dirt}, {getting dirty} playing sports, and dinosaurs {digging in dirt}.  He is 100% all boy ... and I love it.  He makes driving noises and backing up noises; he can kick or throw any type of ball; and most recently, he started making dinosaur noises. 

I thought he was being a lion, but he told me this morning, "I not lion.  I T-Rex!"  Of course you are, sweet boy!  As I was picking him up from the playground this morning after just an hour of work, I started to panic... {when I dropped him off with Maureen, there were two other children playing; a mere hour and a half later, there were easily 40 kids with as many or more care givers with them.}  I had no idea how I would find Alekzander and Maureen, but as soon as I walked in the gates, I heard my little dino RAWRR over all the commotion and went directly to where he was playing.  I called, "Hey T-Rex!" and he paused, smiled, and climbed down to give me a hug. 

He roared through lunch and through the grocery store too and just went to sleep with three dinosaur foam stickers on his shirt.  This latest obsession is certainly cute, just a little noisy!

An Athlete in the Making

We have vowed to never push Alekzander into a specific sport.

We'd love for him to love running,

but chances are he will choose baseball or soccer

{two sports we know little about}!

Perhaps though, he will become a successful golfer...

He was gifted some lefty golf clubs {to grow into} 

from one of Andrew's track boys

and we tried them out today.

For now he putts like a hockey player

but prefers to kick the ball instead of putt it.

Its so fun to watch the sports equipment pile up!

So far, Alekzander takes his sports pretty seriously!

 Setting out practice balls

 Checking out his new club

Driving the "golf cart"

Pick Your Battles

I felt like I said "No" too many times during the day ...

so when Alekzander found my headband

and wanted to wear it to the park,

I let him.  It was not a battle I wanted to fight.

{Surely, he'll thank me for these pictures one day!}

Boasting

We watched one of my least favorite kid's shows yesterday

which taught a valuable lesson ...

"You should not boast.  No one likes a boaster."

But I have to boast a little ... about my sweet husband and little boy

{and the pictures that follow}.

Goose watching.

After snuggles in bed, they surprised me with

 two very special Mother's Day presents ...

one of which was a new telephoto camera lens.

Immediately, we had to test it out at Ann Springs Close Greenway.

 Peek-a-boo

"Happy Birthday Mama's Day!"

  

For better or worse, we share the same running style! 

 Secret waterfalls.

Haigler Lake 

This donkey kept pestering her mommy. 

She didn't realize it was Mother's Day,

so she got kicked in the face. 

{True story.} 

After two hours of hiking, the day only got better

with fresh-made strawberry ice cream

 at The Farm Stand during a Spring rainstorm,

a glorious afternoon nap, and finally

a yummy grilled dinner {which Andrew prepared in the rain}. 

I felt extremely blessed to be a mommy

and to have had a great mommy role model.

Threats, Trucks, and Tenderness

There's nothing like using threats to ensure proper behavior!  

Surely, a solid mothering move...

I had to threaten a change of plans in order to get Alekzander to nap today, but I knew it was essential to a successful afternoon...  After nap, we invited two sweet brothers to come hang out with us while their mommy and daddy packed up their house for a long awaited move.  Alekzander was beyond cute with the baby ... he kept calling him "Baby" and would even say "my baby" to which big brother Allen reminded him multiple times that Watson was NOT Alekzander's baby.  "Baby" was well taken care of by Alekzander.  He received toys, books, hugs, kisses ... everything a baby could want.  "You want book, Baby?  Hmmm?"  {I love his tender little heart.}  When Alekzander wasn't obsessing over the baby, he was slightly possessive of his toys,  but learned to play nicely with his friend.  The big boys played "garbage" {filled the toy recycling truck with blocks and emptied it 20 times}, rocked out with guitars and improvised drums, raced cars, hit baseballs, hid in the "car wash tent," and taught Watson about new toys.

 {Alekzander - almost 2.5}

             {Allen - 3 yr + 51 weeks}               {Watson - "0 years" per Allen :: 8 months}         

So fun ... and surprisingly so easy with 3 little guys under 4!