this little boy… was adorable all weekend.

this little boy… waved good-night to kitty, Pacey before deciding it was time for bed at 6:35pm Saturday night.  I guess he was tired.

this little boy… woke up Sunday morning (early, early – see above) practicing the different inflections of ‘Hi’ in his crib.

this little boy… gave me two of the sweetest kisses ever known to man before bed on Saturday.  He very rarely offers kisses up unless it’s bedtime or we are saying goodbye to someone.

this little boy… has become the most ticklish toddler ever.  Changing clothes is a new breed of difficult lately, but it’s way better than screaming and crying.

this little boy… traveled 2 hours up north, watched 3 hours of football with several other adults (no kids), traveled another hour to Ikea, shopped like a champ (and may have even acquired a new set of bowls for himself), and then rode all the way home – all with little to no whining.

this little boy… is obsessed with lights and started counting them as we shopped through Ikea.  Except counting for him goes something like this, “two, two, two, two.”  At least this should come in handy in about 4 months.

this little boy… refuses to wear his Halloween costume. Hoping for better luck next year.

this little man… can’t get much more adorable. I’m quite sure of it. But I’ve been proven wrong before.

Beau reassured me: A boy will mow the lawn for us someday! And that made it a little better. I’d dreamed of having a girl for so long, so I will admit that when I found out I was having a boy at that 20 week ultrasound, I was slightly dissapointed. Of course just milliseconds after Ephram was born it it no longer mattered. I love my little boy to pieces and wouldn’t have it any other way.

In the past couple of weeks, Ephram has developed an interest in something that is common for toddlers this age; a desire to “help”. His new favorite word in the kitchen is ‘cooking’ which comes out sounding more like ‘cookie’ but I assure you he actually means that he wants to help me cook dinner. Also, Ephram now has his (supervised) first chore: feeding the cats. The first few days I had to help him scoop the food, then we worked on pouring it directly in the bowl (okay, we are still working on that one a little bit), and he’s still learning what ‘just one more scoop’ means.

He may not be old enough to mow the lawn yet, but I’m starting to see the advantages of having a little boy already. ;)

Sorry the blog has been so slow. I hope to have a few photo filled posts next week.

I’m all about summer. I love the bright early mornings, endless evenings, warm sun, the sound of cicadas and kids playing and lawn mowers. Okay, maybe not the lawn mower part – those are pretty difficult to sleep through after an overnight shift. But overall, there isn’t much I don’t love about summer.

Then the sunrise starts sleeping in, way past my alarm clock, way past Ephram’s internal clock, and the nights arrive sooner and sooner.

Last night driving home I felt it. It’s sort of magical the first time; when the sun has completely set, it feels like the middle of night, but really you just finished dinner. Everyone’s headlights are on and you feel like it should be snowing. It’s winter. I don’t care that it technically hasn’t snowed yet and I haven’t dug out the mittens and hats, last night I felt that first hint of winter.

I’m trying to be okay with it. Actually, the anticipation of Thanksgiving dinners and first snowfalls and Christmas music is what makes it feel a bit magical to me that first time each year. But instead of working in the garden, taking walks to get coffee, or going to the park after dinner, we spend much more time inside.

Last Winter Ephram still had some baby left in him. He couldn’t walk, toys that simply jingled entertained him for hours, and he took at least two naps a day. This winter will be more difficult. I’m not a winter person when it comes to activities outside so I’m determined to find a plethora of activities to keep Ephram entertained indoors for the next several months. Thanks to Pinterest, I think I’ll make do.

First up for us? Our camping lantern is already brightening up our evenings a bit. What activities have worked best with your toddlers? I’m anxious to hear!

A few months ago we started asking Ephram to leave his nuk in his crib after nap times. The transition went surprisingly well. We told him a few times that this was where the nuk stayed and a few days later he was happily letting the nuk plop onto the bed when we picked him up.

Then suddenly, there was a day he couldn’t live without it, fairly evident by the “mom, i’m dying” face, right?

Instead of prying him out of his room, attempting to distract him with bells and whistles, dealing with a whiny toddler for the remaining few hours before dinner, I decided to drop everything (you would too if you saw that face in person) and just enjoy my little boy being a little boy. So in his crib he went, to enjoy time with his nuk.

Never before have I been so thankful for a crabby, stubborn toddler, since it lead to a few peaceful moments and allowed me to capture something I’ve been meaning to capture for months. Ephram in his crib. A crib (and nuk) that will soon be replaced with big boy things.

Note: Luckily this day or two of nuk obsession was a short lived phase and we’ve been successfully keeping the nuk in his crib ever since (with the exception of restaurants, long car rides, and keeping him quiet in the morning at the cabin).

Remember this moment: I woke up at the ripe hour of 5pm last Sunday, recovering from a week of overnight shifts and sleep deprivation. I groggily walked out of the bedroom and into the living room where you and daddy were playing. Books and objects scattered everywhere. Pots and pans and spatulas, you’re favorite ‘toys’ right now.

You gave me a look of excitement when you saw I was no longer sleeping, but it doesn’t last long. You’re so busy these days, so I’m not offended. Instead I tried to give you a quick hug or squeeze your shoulder or run my fingers through your thin blonde hairs as you run off – I’m not sure which I chose that day – then sat down on the couch while I continued to wake up for the day/night.

That’s when daddy offered to make me coffee. Never do either of us grind up coffee beans alone anymore. Nope, for months you’ve wanted to help turn the grinder on, even tap the sides and shake it to make sure all the grounds are grinded properly.

You’re such a helper. I don’t want to forget that.