Don't Say It...

If you've seen my Facebook page, you already know that I had a (hopefully) *brief* glimpse into what a lunch in "that stage" would look like. You know the stage? The

HORRIFIC

HATED

SCARY

DREADED

I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT

TERRIBLE TWO STAGE!!!

 Dun dun dun.

*Cue scary horror flick music*

I'm hoping and praying that this was just a bad couple of hours due to um, urn, lack of sleep? Teething? Anything?

*Please, for all of you mothers of older children, let me think this for now. It helps me cope. :)*

Seriously though, it could have been a one-time thing, right? Ok, maybe not one-time, but one-time as in "not part of the terrible twos" thing. No? I'm delusional? Ok, thanks.

I can honestly say I've never seen my child act that bad. Here's the story:

We were at Cracker Barrel. (Ok, I realize now that was our first mistake. Cracker Barrel on a Sunday at noon? Yeah, bad idea.) It was crazy crowded, and we had the worst server known to man. Levi was perfectly content with his trains and books until the food got there. Then, out of nowhere, he wanted out of his chair. And I mean, NOW! But he didn't want to sit with me. Oh no, he wanted DOWN, as he told me over and over again in that whiny pitiful little crying voice. Once I made him sit back down in his highchair (the one without a strap-second mistake of the day), he actually ate a little bit. Granted, he only wanted his chicken if it was dipped in thousand island dressing, but hey, he ate. And then, BAM, the brat side came out of him like I've never seen. He was inconsolable! After an internal debate, I took him to the bathroom. We "talked" and I made him sit by himself for a minute. He seemed sorry (gave me a sweet hug) so we went back. It took all of 30 seconds for him to lose it once again. Now the internal debate (and external) really got going. Do I take him out, making everybody around me happy, but ultimately giving him his way and not helping anything? Or, do I make him sit there, making everybody miserable but teaching him that he is NOT the boss? I did a compromise: We went back to the bathroom for another timeout and a "talk". This one seemed to work because when we went back, he was much better. It took all of my willpower (and pride) but we stayed. We didn't stay much longer, but we stayed.

(Mom: 1, Baby: 0)

I realized after we left, I had become "that parent". You know the one where you're in the restaurant, and the kid is being horrible, and you wonder "why doesn't she just take him out?". Well, this is why: I refuse to give him his way just because I'm embarrassed. He was not yelling. He was not crying uncontrollably. He was just whiny. It was probably so loud in there that nobody else heard it. If I'd honestly thought he was bothering anybody other than the poor people at our table, I probably would've thought longer about taking him out and never coming back. But as it was, it was rough.

I seriously hope this was just a bad couple of hours. After his nap, he was Mr. Sweet again, hugging me, kissing me, and laying his head on my shoulder. How can I resist a little boy who wanted nothing but my hand as he fell asleep that night?

I have to admit, we've had it pretty easy. I mean, he's always been a good sleeper. He gave up his bottle and paci without a fight. He's a laid-back and happy kid. So, yeah, I'm spoiled. I think there was a part of me that thought my sweet little angel baby would never act like this. Boy was I wrong!

But look at this face? Is it not the sweetest?

For now, I'm going to write it off as a bad day and move on. However, I won't blame a single one of you if you don't want to go out in public with us for a while. :)

Father's Day 2011

This year, Jeffrey celebrated his second Father's Day. :) As you know, I make a big deal out of special days like birthdays, and Father's Day is no exception! I was so grateful he was off work so we could all spend the day together.

We started off the day by going to Maple Hill for church. We don't get to go together on Sunday mornings a lot, so this in itself was special. I think Levi knew it was Daddy's special day. He kept leaning over to hug him or put his face up for a kiss. Precious! :)

After church, Levi was in desperate need of a nap, so we went back home to rest and change. Well, little man decided he needed to nap for 2 and 1/2 hours!! This would normally be great, but not when you're anxious to go do something fun! Jeffrey kept going to his door just dying to wake him up. Haha. He REALLY wanted to open his presents, but I made him wait until Levi woke up. :)

Oh how this little boy loves his Daddy! :)

Here Daddy, I'll read it to you!

Testing out Daddy's new razor :)

So after gifts, we loaded up to head to Jeffrey's favorite restaurant, Cheddar's. (Yes, it's taken the place of Demos'.) The food took FOREVER, so we played with the trains (yes, we!). :)

Have to have the sound effects.

Jeffrey wanted some shoes from Dicks, so we headed there next. I know it sounds silly, but I just love shopping with my husband! Seriously, it's such a small thing, but we hardly ever get to do that together. And he was just so excited and happy about his new kicks. :)

We left there and headed to Jeffrey's parents for dinner. Somebody must have slipped crack into Levi's sippy cup on the way, because when we got there, he was WILD! (Remember the diaper incident I told you about?) It didn't take long for him to get VERY tired, but we at least made it through dinner, and I managed to get some good pictures before he wiped out. :)

Lovin on Poppa

Levi adores his Uncle Hook

Three generations

The grillmasters

They had a casualty. :(

One of my favorite pics of all time!

So, as you see, we had a fun-filled day! I hope Jeffrey felt special because he certainly is to me and Levi. :) I couldn't ask for a better husband or father to our child. I hope you all were able to spend the day with your dad or father of your children. For those like me who didn't get to celebrate with our Daddy, I hope you were able to remember and honor him on this special day.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes that I gave to Jeffrey on a picture frame his very first Father's Day:

"Any man can be a father, but it takes a special man to be a Dad."

A few more things...

...about Levi! I forgot some stuff the other day, and I know you're all just anxiously awaiting for more Levi information! :)

Ok, we went for his 15 month check-up last week (yes, he's 16 months...I forgot!). He weighed in at 28.1lbs and 32in. I plan to re-measure b/c, according to their measurements, he lost almost an inch from last month. Hmm...Oh well, here are some pictures from his appointment. :)

I get this look a lot from Jeffrey too...It's the "Really, I'm just sitting here. Why do you need a picture?" look. :)

Don't worry: I was fully prepared to catch him if he fell... :)

The doctor's table from Levi's perspective :)

He also loves pickles and lemons. Yes, I know, it's strange. And apparently, he now loves olives and mushrooms, too. We went to David's Pizza for Courtney's birthday last week, and he picked all the olives and mushrooms off of Jeffrey's loaded pizza. He got ahold of a banana pepper that he liked for a second until the flavor really settled in. Haha. :) He also sampled the dilly bars from Dairy Queen that night. It was a tough choice between the cherry and chocolate, but the red one won out in the end! :)

Again, don't worry: I'm responsible for the bites off the chocolate one. :)

I have to tell you what he did last night...We were all at Jeffrey's parents' house for Father's Day. Levi had gotten really hot, so I stripped him down to just his diaper. He played like that for awhile, but then I asked him if he wanted to put his clothes on. Well, apparently not, because it was at that exact moment that he reached down and yanked his diaper completely off! Hahaha! I thought I was going to pee my pants I was laughing so hard! :)

Ok, I think that was it for things I forgot. I have a ton to write about Father's Day, and a ton of pictures, so stay tuned... :)

Today...

...is my sister's 23rd BIRTHDAY!!!

Woo hoo!

The Lord could not have blessed me with a more wonderful sister! I am continually grateful for the relationship that we have. You are truly amazing, and I am proud to call you my sister!

LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU! :)



19th Birthday



20th Birthday

21st Birthday

22nd Birthday (Yeah, I had a baby, so he got a picture and not me...)

16 Months

I cannot believe my little baby is 16 months (and truthfully, no more a little baby but a big boy!). I have to say, this past month has been one of the funnest (yes, that's now a word) that I can remember having with him. He is just growing up right before my eyes!

I love that he can answer questions with a headshake, follow requests, and say or show me what he wants (and doesn't want!). It's so much easier to know rather than figure it out from his cries! His little BIG personality is just shining through! He definitely has his moments, but he's pretty much a happy, laid-back little boy. I love to watch him get excited at something or figure something out-which he's constantly doing now on his own. He never ceases to amaze me with what he knows and learns!

He's entering a mimicking stage which has lead to some adorable things! For instance...

• Last week at church, I put my arm on the back of the pew behind Courtney. He looks at my arm, looks at me, then does the same thing! It was precious!
• This week at church, Mom coughed and covered her mouth. Well, little man decided he had a cough too and started coughing with her, while covering his mouth! It was beyond hilarious!
• While eating supper last week, I told him something was hot, touched it, and said "whew, hot". Well, now EVERYTHING is hot! He touches all his food, and says "whew"! He even blows on it! Haha. :)

His vocabulary is expanding rapidly! Here are some of the cutest ones:
He now says "ca" when he wants you to catch something. He says "eyes" while pointing at his eyes. Balloon is now "balllooolloo". :) He loves shoes all of a sudden, and will bring them to me and say "soos". He loves to say "shh" while putting his finger over/in his mouth. And I hear "Momma" a LOT now (which you know I just eat up!)! :)

He's beginning to make more and more "connections". When he sees Jeffrey's truck in the driveway, he says "Dada". Turning into Jeffrey's parents' house, he says "Poppa". Turning on to Mom's street, it's "Gaga" or "Gigi" (yeah, Grammy might not happen...). :) When I say, do you want to go to Publix, he makes the "vroom vroom" sound for car. I don't know if he thinks "we ride in the car to Publix" or "I get to ride in the car buggy at Publix". Either way, it's adorable!

Some of his favorite things continue to be trains, balloons and balls. He loves to sweep and clean (if only that would last!), so his new favorites are the dust pan and vacuum. He also loves to get my blow dryer, and he makes a "shzzz" sound while waving it over his head. :) He's a little more interested in books right now, but that usually only last for about a minute. He, of course, is loving to be outside and love to be in the water! We've been swimming once, and I can't wait to go all summer long! He is really starting to favor a stuffed animal named Mo. It's a bear in a Mossy Oak deer outfit (thus the "M.O."). :) He's also starting to love blankets, and it's just adorable to see him get his Mo and blanket and head to the bed. :)

I meant to take his measurements over the weekend, but well, forgot. :( Let's just say he's big! Lol. I'll try to remember to do that today (I know you will all anxiously wait on pins and needles until I report back to you.). :)

Sorry there's only one picture...I've been slacking! I do have a video that you've probably already seen, but I just think it's hysterical! It shows off his FAVORITE thing to do right now...DANCE! :)

A Hodge-podge of Thoughts

So I just have to warn you...today's post is about a lot of nothing! I just have a lot of random thoughts floating around in my head, and I plan to just type without thinking (always a scary thing...). :)

For those who stockpile: Please don't get offended at the following. I am just releasing some frustration at the fact that there are no Lysol no-touch soap systems left anywhere in middle Tennessee!!!

I really wish the show "Extreme Couponing" was never made and was definitely never shown on air. All of a sudden, everybody and their mother is couponing, and they're not doing it responsibly! You want to know why Publix changed their policy? It's because people are taking advantage of the system. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad people want to save money-I'm one of those people. However, please don't wipe out the shelves. And please don't take ALL of the fliers and coupon inserts. And please don't get all 30 of the rainchecked items just because you can. I'm all for getting multiples, but do you really need 120 razors (unless you're giving them to the homeless or needy)? There are others waiting on those items too!

I find this a "little" excessive...but that's just me. :)

Ok, moving on from that rant...

I love these drinks:


I don't have time to eat breakfast, and I can't handle all the super-sweet "on the go" stuff in the morning. So, I found these last year, and I haven't looked back! :)

I miss my jeans. :( I love jeans, and usually wear them all year. However, it is 50 billion degrees outside, and I don't even want to THINK about putting on jeans. Blech!

My little man is not so little anymore. :( Seriously, he looks and acts like a little boy. I would be sad if he wasn't so darn entertaining! :) Want proof???

There are 2 more, but they're too big. :( Anyway, he loves when he makes people laugh. If others are laughing at something he did, he will do this silent laugh where he bends over like he's going to slap his knee or something. It is histerical! :)

I miss my friends. :( I feel like I have not had a life for at least 4 months (aka: when Jeffrey started working 70 hours a week)! I want to spend every night at home because that's the only time I get to see him and he gets to see Levi. But I do have weekends, and I want to start taking advantage of that! Friends: I might need some encouragement! :)

Ok, I think that's it for today. Hope you enjoyed my random thoughts! I'll try to do better at blogging from now on so that my posts are actually about something rather than a hodge-podge of my babblings. :)

Catching up...

Happy National Donut Day!

I fully plan to visit Krispy Kreme at some point today...hopefully to get twelve one of these:



Sorry I've been MIA for a week...been a little busy enjoying life. :) Not too much terribly exciting happening (other than free donuts), but I did miss blogging about Memorial Day. :)

So for the Memorial Day weekend, I had one rule and one rule only: NO PLANS ALLOWED! I literally had NO plans going into the weekend at all, and let me tell you, it was great! I kept hoping for the miracle that Jeffrey would be off, and I didn't want to have to cancel anything with anybody. Plus, every weekend, I have something to do at a certain time. This weekend, there were no time constraints, and it was so wonderful!

Jeffrey ended up working Friday night, so Mom and I made a snap decision to go to Rivergate. We were headed to the mall, but got distracted by a store called Deals! We used to go every time Mom came to visit me in Bowling Green. It's a great store with lots of good, ahem, deals. ;) If you're planning a party, it's a must-stop!

Anyway, after spending an enormous amount of time in there, we finally made it to the mall about an hour and a half before closing. I spent the majority of the time in New York and Company (of course) then we headed to Macy's. Levi was very intrigued by the escalator, so we hopped on. He was so excited! I think we rode that thing up and down at least a dozen times. Endless enjoyment for my little man! :)

Afterwards, we stopped at McDonalds where my mother ordered me a Rolo McFlurry against my will. I unwillingly ate the whole thing...ice cream, chocolate and caramel...yeah, she had to force me...



The rest of the weekend was spent much the same way: relaxing with family. My favorite activity! We did go swimming Monday (after Levi's 3 hour nap!) and went to Julie and Dusty's for a cookout that night. I just love to watch Levi play with his cousins. They love each other so much! Levi took a 2.5 hour nap that afternoon, so boy was he ready to go after dinner, and there were lots of fun things for him to play with! :)

On another note...in case I haven't told you, I HATE CICADAS! They are the most disgusting, pointless, ugly, annoying creatures! Apparently, it was not year 7 or 13 when the ark was built because I can not imagine why Noah didn't squash these stupid little things. Of course, there must not have been mosquitos either because why would you keep those around? I realize cicadas don't hurt you, but it doesn't stop me from squeeling like a little girl every time one lands on me. Ick!

I don't have much else, so I'll leave you with some new pics of my little man. Enjoy! :)

Getting in the candy basket!

Oh yes, we have a climber on our hands!

Pit stop!