Brady and the bee

If there is anything in this world my child loves more than milk, his momma, daddy and playing outside, it's bugs. He doesn't just call them bugs but 'bees!' This was the year of the cicada so that might have triggered his love for bugs but regardless it's pretty darn cute. One day, the cicadas covered the sidewalk and this momma was tired of stepping on them. I took a stick and moved the ugly sucker out of the way and Brady played right along!

Then, this week, he started calling them "Momma bees!" This does nothing but melt my already melted heart but it might be the cutest words he has ever said. I love the fact that there are no daddy bee's so it's true in fact that my son is very wise. He knows that it is the momma bee that rules this house!



20: The countdown to 2 begins.

Dear Brady,

We have had a fabulous month full of new adventures, words, and lots of love. The other day, I watched you as you stacked one block onto another and while I've watched you do this so many times, this time seemed different. Your blond hair has come in a shade of brown and your eyes are darkening to an unknown shade. You stack that block so effortlessly, like you have been doing it forever. Then, after your cousin's first birthday party, I realized how much you have grown up.

You are becoming so independent. You go down the slides all by yourself. You eat with a fork and a spoon. You are just getting so big. Mommy gave you a haircut (not a very good one, might I add) and your hair is coming is so much darker! Your eyes are not so blue anymore either and we question what color they will end up!

 I want to capture moments in your life and bottle it up forever. Like the way your run. It melts my heart in so many ways, I can't even find words for it. It's this sweet little run that with a little bit of awkward grace. It's so perfect and I know one day, I'll watch you run down the street and that run will be just a distant memory.

 You are so thrilled with the simple things. I wish I could have a taste of what that feels like. Right as I took this picture, you saw a big truck and your eyes lit up. You will look out the front window and just watch for the school bus, trash truck or the occasional tree or random dog. You just love life and all that it offers.

 We went to a new park and while you enjoyed the fountains, you did not want to stop swinging. You loved to just watch the other kids and your eyes smile when you see them. It reminded mommy to put your swing up in our yard and you are so glad I did. You get this peaceful look in your eyes and it's beautiful.

 

It's funny how independent you can be and so outgoing. Then others, you cling to me but always warm up quickly. It amazes me how social you are. The other day, you had to show a little girl your 'boo-boo' while saying, 'oooh, oooh' in the most pathetic voice. You are also quite the flirt. At the grocery store last week, a little girl tried to kiss you! You decided that she needed to see your belly! I never laughed so hard! 

 You are so animated. It goes with your personality and you have this energy about you that is contagious. You make the funniest expressions and the things you do either make me laugh, melt my heart or have me laughing hysterically.

 You have this sense of fashion and it cracks me up. You love shoes and hats and it doesn't matter whose they are (even random people out at Target!) You love to wear mommy and daddy's shoes. You might have worn your slippers to Target the other day! Though, I'm quite glad you stopped wearing underwear on your head!

 Every time we see a man, you scream Daddy or Nana every time you see an older woman, which sometimes embarrasses mommy when one of the women don't look old enough to be a 'nana!' It amazes me the things you put together. At a birthday party, you looked at the baby and his daddy was holding him. You looked at him and said, 'Daddy!"

 Bees. I hear you talk about bees all day. The first thing you say in the morning is bee! Lately, it's been 'Momma bee!" We joke that you are going to grow up to be an exterminator because you go around 'squishing' any bug you see! Somehow, you see the tiniest ants on the pavement!

 

Mommy took you to the Children's Museum and you had so much fun. It was one of those days' mommy wanted to bottle up. It was that special. Your favorite part of the day was playing in the sand and it makes mommy want to take you to the beach and watch you run in the sand!  

 

During the trip to the museum, we sat in the gift shop for quite a while. You were perfectly content just playing with the toy cars. I had to laugh because we were in this really cool place and you played in the gift shop!  

  

 

 Your sweetness amazes me. You run up to me and give me the biggest hugs and kisses and it leaves me with a smile on my face. You blow kisses to everyone and your wave is like the way you run. I wish I could bottle it up. If you see a kid somewhere you try to give them whatever you are holding, even if it's half eaten!

You have really taken to pretend play. You pretend to wash your hands in your kitchen sink, drink from a 'cup,' talk on the phone, and build. The other day, you took your horses and told me each of their names.

You'll never guess. Daddy. Mommy. Baby. My gosh, do I love you!

Last weekend, early in the morning we were all laying in bed trying to wake up. You pointed to daddy and then me saying each of our names. Then said, "I, Brady."

 I know I've said this countless times but you are such a nature kid. Bugs, dirt, sand, rocks, flowers. It's all a love of yours and just being outside is enough for you! You point to everything and say, "I see!"

You are really starting to put more words together. Tonight, you said, 'my daddy!' and 'my mommy' and I thought my heart was going to burst! I can't wait to hear all the things you are going to say!

    You are so curious but I see in those big beautiful eyes how you are listening to every little thing I say and watching all that I do. You have this personality that is so much bigger than you are and for that, life is never boring in this house.  

 You just make my life so full of joy! As you get older, I do get sad but I look at how much fun you are and how full of life you are and my heart becomes so full. Those dimples get me every.single.time.

I can't believe that in four months, you'll be two. I can only imagine my heart will have tripled in size for each day that I have been blessed to be your mom.

Hit me with your best shot.

To think of my favorite shot of Brady? That's hard. I have so many I love. So many memories that I look at and a smile comes across my face. One in particular stuck with me as hes gotten older and still remains a favorite. My snowy baby. Just thirteen months and the first big snow. An experience this momma will not soon forget.

The Paper Mama: Green photo challenge

The challenge is 'Green" at Paper Mama this week! This picture does nothing short of melt my heart. He blows kisses to me before I go to work, before bed and just for no reason at all.

Days like this.

 I have to remember two important things that I told myself I would always do!

1. Never take a moment for granted. This can be hard in the craziness of the weeks that juggling all that life entails. Since I leave him for most of the week, I feel like our days off together are that much more special but sometimes we can fall into routine and forget to do the fun things!

2. Dedicate days for Brady and I to spend together. Again, in the chaos of life, especially during the busiest months at work, it's hard. Well, today was one of those days that just happened. My mom who usually watches him could not last minute so we deemed it Mommy and Brady day!

We slept in till 7:30 which is a rarity in our house but that was only thanks to the middle of the night partying that these damn canine teeth created (they are all STILL not through!) We ate a nice, yummy breakfast and I decided we were going to the Magic House! It was amazing how much different this visit was then our last visit for his 1st Birthday! He enjoyed it so much more and he literally did not want to leave!

He went down the slide by himself for the first time! As in walked up the stairs by himself and went all the way down with no help from mom. It's ridiculous how big this kid is getting. 

He had tea with Alice and The Cheshire Cat and decided it was not his cup of tea! In fact, he might now be scarred for life a bit. In his defense, the cat was kinda creepy in the sense he had on no mask and this man was walking around in a stripped outfit with fuzzy hands. 

He met a new friend who seemed oddly familiar!

He was even allowed to push all kinds of buttons and it was ok to do so! He also.....

Became captain of his own sailing crew.

Created a masterpiece

Made a wish and attempted to dive in!

Tinkered with gadgets and doodads.

Walked around with a look of surprise and excitement for 99% of the time.

Decided that he wanted to play in the gift shop for 20 minutes. We left with a .50 rubber bee, which is so fitting for this child.

Created  beautiful music.

Put his toes in the sand for the first time this year

    

Threw lots of sand.   

 Buried his toes because that is what you do in the sand!

Enjoyed his day with momma.

You know it was a good day when you left with a dead camera battery and a child kicking and screaming. After four hours of fun, a nap was needed indeed.  Days like this do not come often enough but when we get the chance, we soak it all in and we love every single minute!                                       

Choices

I have lots of things to update on but the biggest is what we decided about school. It was something I was really excited about and it sounded perfect.

Until reality hit. Before I go into the whys and whats, I'll tell you it's not off the table. It's just not on the table this year. Here is why.

1.  We've been working really hard to pay off debt, as in a we could be practically debt free within a time that is in our see-able future. While the end result of going back and finishing my masters, it would mean we would most likely add more debt. This is something that is extremely important to me because as a child, I watched my parents struggle and if I have to sacrifice for now, it's fine with me. 
2. Speaking of the future, I will be considered 'tenure' or vested in January as some companies call it but basically I'm guaranteed a pension when I retire. 
3. Changes at work. They are throwing around the idea of us working from home. It's just an idea right now but it would alleviate all the issues I have with my job right now. When I was on maternity leave last year, we moved locations which changed my commute from 12 miles to 36 miles one way. While this would leave other things to figure out (like how to work with a toddler at home, lol) it is something that would be fantastic in so many ways. I could potentially save 10 hours a week of travel time. My hours could be more flexible too. (I think I posted a while back that i was trying to cut my hours but they no longer will let anyone do that. Then,  I considered 4 10 hour days but with travel time, it would be 4 12's which might be too much for me but I'm actually considering it again and would be able to do it if our office was closer!)
4. My last reason is what resonates with me the most right now. I've had many things happen within the past few months that really showed me I'm where I'm supposed to be. It might not be what I want right now but I'm a firm believer in that things happen for a reason. I'm good at what I do and I really do like my job but just not the paperwork and politics that come along with it. 

Add those all up, it was clear to me that I had to stay for a little while longer. Some days, I regret my decision especially those when I'm stressed out or miss Brady. Sometimes, I feel like a bad mom for choosing a decision that while best for his future, takes time away from him now.  Then, I have to remind myself, I'm being a bit selfish and him being at home with me is not necessarily the best for him. He is very social and very much a people person. He loves his momma but he also loves the ones he spends his time away from me with (grandma, Nana, our sitter he calls-mimi!) He know understands when I tell him if Grandma is coming to play with him or if he's going to Nana's. One day last week, he wanted to watch out the window for 'Mimi!" It's times like that make me confident in my decision.

I think that as a mom, I sometimes find myself rethinking my decisions even when I know it is the best choice. That little  mommy voice inside me always makes my decisions based on what is best for Brady and that does not always mean it is what I want. As a mom, I have to be selfless in the respect and that can be hard. It doesn't mean that I have to give up who I am or what I want out of life but it might mean I have to do it in a different order than I wanted to.

Sometimes something that tells me that I'm doing okay, that I am making all the right choices. It might be a little moment in time, a feeling, or that look in your child's eye but regardless of the form, it's always welcomed. It's always right.

Brady laughs.

My child is so ticklish. I mean I can't even cut his toenails they are so ticklish.  His chunky thighs is his most  most ticklish spot and I can never resist!

I think we did the tickle, rest for a second, ask for more cycle for a good half hour that night. I always laugh too because from the angle he's at, he always  looks like he has lots of chins. Either way, hearing his laugh makes me follow suit every time.

Nineteen

Dear Brady,
Oh, kid. It sure has been a month. You have definitely entered the 'getting into everything' stage.

 

 

These are just two examples of your dirty work.  

 You have decided you want to climb on everything. The other day mommy found you standing on our coffee table. Jumping. Climbing on the couch, the fireplace, the chairs, the toilet paper I just bought at Target , everything!

You love going up and down the stairs and can do it on your own but you still like to hold mommy's hand! You grab my hand sometimes out of the blue just to hold it and those are the memories I will never forget. Of course, you grab me and try to drag me out the door too :)



Your favorite place in the world is still playing outside. You don't even have to be doing much of anything but being out there is just enough for you. You watch the wind blow, the bugs (bees) fly by and just love to walk around! It's something about being out there that you truly are in love with and you run around out there like you have a plan in mind. It's no wonder your pockets are stuffed with acorns, rocks and dirt!




You are improving your tantrum 'technique' and you are getting quite good at it. They usually happen when we make you leave anywhere that involves being outside. Is that picture pure joy or what?

 

  You have also recently decided that swinging is pure bliss.  You liked it before but now you  purely love it even in the sweltering heat! I think we might have to finally hang yours up in the backyard!

 When you get hurt and have to run over for a kiss from mommy to make it all better.  Sometimes, you just come up and give me a hug or kiss for no reason at all. Those  are what make my heart smile wide!

You are communicating so well. You make your choices well known by pointing, bringing us to what you want or using your words. Last night, you said, "A ball, daddy! You like to yell Daddy's name a lot-at the store, running around the house and even to the waiter at the restaurant. We had a good laugh over that one, buddy!

"All gone" is heard in the middle of the night too. You finally are getting all four canine teeth in at the same time. You're not enjoying it one bit at night but during the day, you are happy as always. After they are all the way through, you will have 16 teeth (which I'm sure means two year old molars are nearing!)

 One of your favorite things to do is watch out the window for a school bus, bees, birds, and anything else. You get so excited that it really shows me that the little things in life are such a blessing!

You call all bugs 'bees!" and they are everywhere to you! You talk about them all day. The other day, we were watching something on TV and an animated bug flew around, you screamed, 'a bee, a bee!' as loud as you could!

This month, cicadas have pretty much take over outside. You are not bothered by them one bit. The other day one got near my head and I screamed. You looked over at me and laughed. You try to pick them up and it does nothing more than gross me out!  You must have watched mommy a few many times as you try to squish them!

You are getting into pretend play more and more. Giving your stuffed animals love, having them run around and making noises. It's so sweet and adorable to watch. Other things you love now are puzzles, blocks of any kind, bubbles, laying in mommy's bed before night night, being tickled, hiding, 'The Snuggliest Snuggle in the World' book.

You love to get hot and sweaty and it doesn't bother you a bit! We came inside for your favorite snack, olives, and then you asked for more! I thought you wanted more olives but you meant 'more outside!'

You can jump with both feet off the ground, march, and a silly little walk you invented! You are so silly!

 Your laugh is always present  and it brightens ours lives more than you'll ever know!  You have shown me more this month that you are not a helpless baby but an independent little boy. I can't believe that in five more months you'll be TWO!  I love you, bubs!

Purex Winner!

A bit late but the winner is...

Ashley0408, congrats!

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