Pure boy

My days are full; full of life, full of mischief, full of dirt, full of screaming, full of laughter, full of hugs, and full of love and anger all rolled into one! We clash and than we hug. We laugh and than we cry. A rollercoaster of emotions for both mom and child! We miss our daddy and husband, so we busy ourselves to bide the time!

 So tentative for the first two years of life! Yet now he has unleashed the little rascal inside. Water has no fear anymore...headlong he goes. One day he will headlong into life with a strong will and perseverance that will take him places!

When he rides..he rides in style! Little legs trying to keep up with the spirit and curiosity that drive him forward!

Zebra has a special place in his heart and tags along on trips around the house. Zebra learns to drive..and when he falls, someone is there to kiss his "boo boos".

 Excitement bubbled up as he saw the costume daddy brought home. Nothing else was to be done until tigger was worn, NOW!

Through his eyes I see him contemplating his next move, his surroundings, the people that pass by...fingers stretched and pointing "Papa?" or "Daddy?" he asks. He analyzes every little boy, "colby?", not sure if Colby is bigger and looks different than the last time he saw him.

 He watches the older kids and wants to be like them...which usually requires a more watchful eye from his mama!

"Helping" papa. Helping spread the tools around or using metal pieces as stir sticks in papa's coffee when his back is turned. "Helping" rather, is turned into time spent with someone who understands the antics of a curious little boy, who has patience and knows that not much will be done with his "helper" around but is ok with that!

 These eyes absorb me, love me, watch me.

Why walk when you can jump? Curbs are made alive, steps new playgrounds, sandboxes great landing spots! Hospital is at bay for now!

He brings a lot to the table. "Very busy!" most say. "You must be tired" says others. "Yes" I say but in my heart I know that one day I will want that busyness back. I pray the Lord will help me to slow down and see life through the eyes of a 2 year old!

2 going on 13??

      It's amazing how some days can feel like eternity but yet when you look back you realize that almost 2 and a half years have flown by! There is no little baby in this boy anymore! It has been an experience learning to deal with the hardships that toddlerhood brings but fun all at the same time! I'm sorry but if someone tells you that toddlers are misunderstood individuals..I would have to disagree...mommies are misunderstood individuals!! We can't win!

         "Mommy, I wan water!!!" I got get his cup, fill it up, wipe off all the crudd that seems to be stuck to the outside from breakfast time and take it to him. He takes it from me, hucks it on the floor and walks away yelling " I dun wanna it!!!" Ummm..ok...?? This is just one of the many situations that pans out throughout the day. "Lucas are you hungry?".."uh uh"..make him food/snack.."I dunn wanna eatttttttttttt!!!" Hmmm..ok? This seems to be the trend around here lately. His new favorite sentence is "I dunn wannnaaa!!". He's very lucky that he has a loving, patient, sane mommy! So I decided that puberty starts at 2! Awesome!

           Its amazing the things you have to come up with for sanity reasons when you are single-parenting for long stretches. I am still testing and trying new and different things to keep the little guy occupied so that I can wash dishes, do laundry, do grocery shopping, go pee..etc etc. I would like to compile that list here but sadly I am lacking in ideas...because just when I come up with something great one day..it never works the next! Like I said...toddler puberty! Moods are unpredictable, slamming of doors happens a lot, "mommy I need you!!", "mommy go away!!". I'm sorry but I have one constant that works everytime if I feel like the marbles in my brain are about to roll out the door. Curious George! Yes that little curious monkey, who I am  pretty sure teaches my son all those naughty little things that he shouldn't be doing, captures his attention like a fish to water! Did I mention I love George?? (by the way every episode has a great little moral to it that I'm sure Lucas realizes and takes into consideration...right?) Yes toddler's are not suppose to watch too much tv, yes they should be playing outside, yes they should be reading books. Different days call for different measures!!! The same way that I need a timeout from him..he needs a timeout from me! And unless I want to change his room into a padded 4 walled cell..."Quiet time" in his room really does not cut it!

All tattooed up and eating chocolate..little rebel!

"helping" mommy do dishes!

He loved it..he had a bath before his bath!

      But this kid..this kid...is hilarious and will stop at nothing to make you laugh! He is goofy and the more he is learning to talk the funnier things that come out of his mouth!
 -a few weeks ago he was chasing our cat Rocco " I spank ya bum rocco..I spank ya bum"
 -when we head out the door to go somewhere/run errands as I'm putting on his shoes he asks "go church?" and than when I tell him no he starts naming all his little friends he can think of.."riwey?", "Kai?", "Colby?", "Micah?", "Zakee?", "Asha?"...this continues for about 5 minutes in the car until I have said no to every name he asks...I'm pretty sure I break his heart everytime..but I'm starting to get the feeling that he's sick of me..
-He's got a good memory and when he sees vehicles that look like vehicles of people he knows..he assumes that it is them when we are driving. ie- white suv is "Papa's car", white truck is "Colby's truck", silver suv is "Kai's car", dent clinic car is "Casey's car", black car is "daddy's car" and so on and so on.
- if he farts I say that he is stinky and he turns around and says "mommy's stinky!" Daddy gets a great laugh out of this!!
-Everytime I pull out my hair stuff to cut a client's hair he hops up into my chair "cut hair mommy??" I'm pretty sure he's the only toddler who loves to have his hair cut!
- He assumes that the color pink belongs to Bailey (the little girl that I watch) because she loves pink. So if he is using the pink fork at the table he always asks "Baileys?" and I always have to reassure him that its ok to use it!
-I had to take him to my waxing appointment for my legs last week and this morning he saw my bare legs patted them and said "all betta mommy, all betta"
-when brushing his teeth I get him to say Cheese which he does and than I say "cheese again" cause he always close his lips and he says "Cheese again!" Why wouldn't he?

Finally figured out how to "blow" bubbles

Teaching Rocco

First glimpse of summer weather

Actually kept his glasses on

Bailey not impressed with him squeezing in

Smart little bugger was lining up all the colored blocks!

       Regardless of the attitude most days its the little moments that get you through! The "wuv u mommy"s, the "tank u mommy", the "snuggles mommy?" I must be doing something right!! :) And by the way..when his daddy is home and he watches Lucas, he's an angel! Go figure!

Toddler bootcamp??

          As much as every parent likes to hope and pray that their child will just skip over the "terrible twos", it just doesn't happen. At least in this household it hasn't. Who was once a quiet spoken child, who had everything stolen from him and conked over the head with toys, has turned into a yelling, hitting, toy stealing, jumping, climbing miniature person with many loud and vocal thoughts. And to think that I would get any sympathy from my own mother or better... "advice" but instead all I get is laughter threw the other end of the phone line. "I told you so" she says. My mother use to repeatedly tell me that one day I would have a child just like I was. Really..I was that bad?? Apparently I was. I was the one that use to yell "I HATE MOMMY" at the top of my lungs banging my head against the door, or run away from her as she was trying to discipline me..playing "catch me" around and around the kitchen table. I swear she has her memories confused with one of my other siblings!! She must..me..really?? Well it would appear that my child so far has my genes. Its called STUBBORN. I have seriously considered changing his middle name. And to top it of he not only has one dose of stubborn he has two. I must be able to blame my husband for this as well! The one thing I have going for me in this, is that my child received his stubbornness from me, so he can try to get his way but his momma is stubborn too!!!

You couldn't be talking about me!!

            Our days lately seem to look at lot like this....

"Lucas get down off the tv stand!!! No more climbing up there!!" 2 seconds later once mommy has left the room to make supper, repeat..again and again and again.

"Lets go change your bum!" Runs away and around and around the coffee table and couches. 10 mins later I have managed to wrangle him upstairs to change his diaper. ( I do realize that potty training might help this situation but that is a whole nother blog!!)

"Time to eat!!" Two things can happen here...he either runs away or argues with me for 5 mins over what color bib he wants to wear even though I am letting him choose.

"Bedtime!" Races up and done hallway yelling loudly and jumping up and down..(where is the off switch?)

"Time to go inside the house (after playing outside)" Lays face down on the sidewalk screaming and limp noodling it so you cant pick him up to drag him inside..he just wants to make sure that all the neighbors are staring out their windows!

One of his favorite activities

           The best part is that as many times as we do things we have this hope/dream in our head of how things are going to turn out compared to how they "really" turn out..

1. Painting- dream: I started painting with Lucas especially after seeing some really cool ideas on Pinterest. It would be a ton of fun to make handprints and decorate the handprints to look like bunnies or other such animals. Or have a picture  splotchy paper to file under AGE 2 drawing. Reality: head, lips, legs, arms, table, chair are painted...paper is torn to shreds and the handprint that I tried to get turned into all out brawl because he didn't want me holding his hand to paint the paint on his hand. Two words that save the day...washable paint!

2. Baking- dream: allow my child to help with some baking. Let him stir and add some ingredients and even taste test if he wants. Help me roll balls for cookies and than wait for the cookies to bake and eat them. (I see this in commercials all the time..so it must work!) Reality: walls, floors, chairs are covered in flour including his hair. He yells "mine" at me when I try to get the spoon back so I can finish mixing the dough completely. He than relentlessly asks me for a cookie while they are baking.

These are just two examples. Do you have any more?? 

Regardless of whether my dreams turn into reality what matters is that my child is learning and experiencing even if it is at the cost of mommy's mental sanity.

               As trying and tiring as it is to raise a toddler there is nothing more rewarding somedays! They are like little sponges that soak in our emotions; that copy are reactions. I am constantly on my toes trying to make sure that I am exemplifying behaviour that I want my child to learn from. It is a FULL TIME job. I fail, yes. But I am human and he is a little human just learning to control his emotions. When he is throwing a temper tantrum a lot of times its because he just needs a hug. He needs to know that his mommy loves him regardless and also that it is ok to show emotion. I think we as adults miss that a lot of the time and we hide our "true" selves from some many people. We bottle things up until we breakdown or worse take it out on the people that we love! I was having a conversation with my sister about what we would like our children to learn by the time they go to preschool. So many peoples answers are school related..know colors, letters, numbers, etc. But I would love my child to have learned to share, to be friends with everyone, to respect his elders, to obey, to be gentle and show love. He has his whole school aged years to learn about colors and reading and writing but if I don't install in him the basics of being a "great" person and "loving" person when he is young he may never learn it later on! Most of all it is my job as a parent to pray for my child. To pray for his developing years. To pray that I will raise him how God has intended me too! It takes heart and tears and sweat and anger and laughter to raise a child! Thanks Mom for loving me!

Painting

My beautiful stubborn child!

Single Parenting

    Ah yes, I have been meaning to write a post about this for awhile but have been putting it off and putting it off. Partially because I don't know where to begin and partially because it reveals that I am not super human (there I admitted it!).
    It all started in July when my husband left for work in Regina. You see he chases hail..not literally..but pretty close. He fixes the cars that the hail wrecks and makes them brand new "looking" again. Regina+ Hail= Reuben working in Regina. So the adjustment began of single parenting for weeks on end. For some of you that know me I am a pretty independent person, so the idea of my husband being gone did not phase me all that much! (although I do miss him incredibly!) However...the difference being that I would not be alone doing my own thing, lalalala. I would have a little boy wanting my constant attention and I being the only one to DO IT ALL. No more breaks in the evening when daddy gets home, no more breaks on the weekend when daddy is off. Me. And. Child. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I love my child to the moon and back but even a perfect child would cause some friction eventually! My boy is busy, my boy needs structure or he gets bored and cranky fast, my boy needs attention and hugs and kisses. Learning to single parent has been one of the greatest challenges of my life so far. Partly because I am not as super human as I once thought I was. It is tiring and mentally/emotionally draining. (there I admitted that as well! Mother of the year award goes to...)
    Through it all though God as revealed himself over and over and over again. He has given me strength. He has given me perseverance. He has given me patience when I think I have not even a drop left. I call on Him because at the end of the day that is all I can do. That is the only way I can do it. And I go to sleep and I wake up and I call on Him again to help me through the next day...and I open the door and greet the cutest face saying "hi mommy" and I feel God hug me through those little arms that wrap around my neck. And that is how I do it day after day and week after week.

      I also find support in my sister who as well single parents even longer intervals that I do..going months without her husband home. It has brought us closer that even motherhood alone did. Having someone who understands the emotions and the trials makes it even more bearable and I thank God that I have her!
     So for you out there that single parent all the time, one or two nights a week, a few weeks or a few months at a time. You are not alone. You can do it. You do have the strength inside of you because God is your strength. And when you realize that you can make it through. I am not perfect..I have yelled at my child, I have cried tears of frustration but I have also apologized to my two year old for my actions. Having humility is not easy either...but my child needs to know that he is loved by the one person that is there. (and also that his mother really is not a raving lunatic!)
       Lessons I have learned:
-the mall is a great place to let off steam and your childs energy..and of course the money your husband is away making (j/k babe I only window shop!)
-it is OK to ask for help
-a great way to shower when your mischeavous toddler is awake is to strap him in his booster seat, and play episodes of elmo on you tube in the bathroom.
-it is ok to not clean that house when your toddler is sleeping cause this is really the only time you will get to put your feet up till bedtime.
-which brings me to the point that it is ok to let your house fall apart when your husband is gone cause a toddler really could care less how it looks..and he is helping it fall apart!
-skype is an amazing invention cause toddlers dont know how to talk on the phone.
-yoga pants are an amazing and comfortable clothing article..everyday..till your husband gets home (oops.he wasn't suppose to know that)
-coffee (need I say more?)
-lattes...
-my weightloss strategy has been to eat like a toddler..simple meals..
-hug your toddler more and more..he misses daddy too!

watching dorge (curious george) with his furry companion

a parenting post??

        A few days ago me and my sister were having a chat about our children (what else is there to talk about anways??) and their crazy antics and different things they had been doing to drive us crazy. And we always find it so interesting how different children are and how we kinda ( I do anyways) expect them to behave like other children that we see..and how we get frustrated sometimes." Why can't you sit still for 5 minutes like so and so??? " We all do it..admit it!! We put a lot of expectations on our children to behave a certain way instead of encouraging them in the strengths that they do possess. Its only took me 2 years to finally grasp this concept ( I still have trouble sometimes) and realize Lucas is not like Colby or Kai or Riley...He is Lucas and he will do things how he sees them and mommy needs to back off and let his personality shine through! So yesterday I set out on a mission to find things for him to do that would encourage his strengths and give me a few minutes of peace to be able to cook supper or do laundry. This would be an easy task if my husband was home to distract him but he is away working again...so I needed to get some ideas going to help my mission of "peace"! I went to one of my favorite stores, Michaels, and started scanning each aisle for ideas and this is what I found..a lace and trace set, pipe cleaner and an animal marker set (on clearance, YES!). Lucas loves to use his hands and has great fine motor skills (always has) and he is annalytical (not like his dad at all!). He will sit still for longer than 5 mins if his hands are busy and his mind is thinking...hence why tv watching does not last very long!

     The lace and trace was off to a good start...he loves animals so this also encourage him! He didnt quite get the concept of putting it through on hole and than another and so on but kept to one hole and pulling the string all the way through and repeating that through another. That will come with time. I believe I got at least 10 mins out of this project which is good in my books!

Next project was using pipe cleaners to put them in the holes in a colander. Fun for him but unfortunately they bent too easy and the little metal ends would poke him, which eventually deterred him. Might have to think of another way to use them! Any ideas??

         The best was saved for last. The animal markers (washable of course). This encourages fine motor skills, matching, naming and coloring of course!! A win win situation! His favorite part was taking the lids off and putting them back on (the heads are the lids). As well he loved the different animals. What I loved to see was it didnt matter how many heads you took off he always managed to put the right heads back on the right body and name the animal. I even got him to say what colors some of the animals were! Some of the color made it on the paper but mostly he enjoyed coloring his hands and putting the lids on of course! He didnt want to put them down and played for at least 30 mins with these!! SUCCESS!! (if you run to Michaels right now you might be able to grab some for $3.99!!)

I know as he grows his tastes will change a little but I hope that I can keep encouraging him in his talents! I would love to hear what you have found works for your child or any other ideas that I can use!

Lions and Tigers and Zebras (?) oh my!

|We had the pleasure of celebrating Lucas' 2nd bday this past saturday! Thanks to everyone who joined us and helped out! Lucas loved the party and all the people who made him feel so special!!

 

He was a little scared of the candles...Good i guess..he knows they are hot!!

Wondering why I am bringing the burning fire closer to him!

Mr. Colby

The end result after hours of cake pop making! Well worth it! :)

Dark bathroom + glow bracelets= cheap entertainment for kids!

Good times with friends, family and cake pops of course! :)

Capturing a Monkey!

   A few days ago when it was beautifully sunny out we headed to a nearby park to let Lucas get some fresh air and of course Mommy (me) decided that I would try to get some 2 year old photos of the little man! Lesson learner...photographing a one year old was seemingly easier than a 2 year old that moves way faster and has more of a mind of his own..I'm surprised the pictures didn't just have blurs of blobs moving! I also decided that I need to take half year photos as well because his yearly pictures so far involve hats because of the cooler temps...and since I prefer using natural outdoor light..hats it is! At least this hat was cute!!