Serenity Farm, October 14, 11am

It's that time o' year again!  Hayrides, pumpkin picking, and pet your local four-legged farm livin' friends...




Crisp, fresh air, big blue skies, and...

 


Um...
There's about a hundred different captions I could put here, but I'm a mother.
And a lady.
Ahem, yes...

 



Oh, hello, goat!

  




And like a good 3 year old, he bites his finger nails after petting the farm animals.
*sigh*






Then, with a sudden and a quick, a storm came through and our tribe of moms/dads/grandmas/kids found our way to dry land.

  


The kids didn't mind one bit that their field trip took a 30 minute hiatus for the storm to pass through

 



Soon enough we were back on the wagon (haha) with grandma!

 


After walking though "Kasper's Kastle" -themed with various Disney characters...



...we walked through the hay maze finding our way to the...



pumpkin patch...

 Happy Autumn!

Some days it's all I can do...

to not EAT HIM UP!

Especially when he plays so NICELY with others...I think it's a mixture of the skills he's learning in day care what with being exposed to so many social opportunities...and, of course, the amazing spot-on parenting skills I have acquired in the last couple of years!

There was a time -not so long ago- where every playdate was filled with edge-of-your-seat anxiety -just waiting for the inevitable hair pull, bite, shove, grab of a toy, an epic Ice Age meltdown...

Milo still has his moments...trust me...

But today I saw a boy who was using words "Don't touch please", "Thank you."  He understood when I said, "We're sharing" or "Let's take turns...okay it's Jane's turn now."

It's just plain amazing to see how he understood -without whining- the concept of playing with his peers as opposed to mere parallel play or the grabbing/fighting "MINE" play.

I think it's just about every parent's dream to have a child who listens, who shares, who has manners, is polite, is cute, laughs, is told things only once and is just plain easy going...

Today, I had that kid.

It truely makes all those other days -worth it...

late October beach

I think we've all seen plenty of pictures that I've taken of my boy at the beach...

But you haven't seen the pictures my good friend, Jaime, has taken of my boy at the beach!

We are raising a generation of huggers...

Sand angels!

Milo insisted I hold him while going down the slide...6 or 7 times...
These moments don't happen as often anymore so I grab hold...



Milo and Ben throwing sand in the water



Little man, Little lady

I've known J. since the 4th GRADE!  From elementary to high school, losing touch as we lived our lives in far off states and travels, dropping random emails here and there and back again now into parenthood and living one county away.  What a joy it is to watch our kids (she's got 2! TWO!!) play together...23 years after we first met...unbelievable this whole time thing...

taming the beast

The dog whisperer.  Sort of.

what happens in playgroup...

I bought this shirt last summer for a cool $20.  Some things you just gotta fork over the money for.  And the red stain on his shirt?

It's not blood.  Promise.

But then again, what happens in Playgroup...

I've been privy-lucky enough to have some fabulous friends...who happen to have kids at or around Milo's age. And this truely makes all the difference in the world in raising your child(ren).  I revel in being able to meet new moms and say, "Hey, you know there's a great moms group here in the county...." 

Pretty much a typical playdate at a private home. Where's Milo? He's up at the breakfast bar...probably playing with knives...

This may or may not have been a "Joy to the Mimosa and Eggs" playdate.

Watching Milo try to climb the sandbox.  I'm a good mom like that.

Because it takes more than showing up at your local library and attending storytime to socialize a child.  It takes more than perusing the diaper aisle in grocery stores to meet new people.  Takes more than the toy aisle in Target to entertain a toddler.  When one decides to become a stay at home mom, one makes the commitment to work HARD. I'm learning that the older Milo gets, the more he needs... more boundaries, more vocabulary, more learning experiences, more behavior modification...

He's no longer a babe in a bjorn, swaddled and content.  A cooing 15 pounder, a diaper change away from the next bottle/breast and teething ring...oh, and it's naptime again...

To teach, to nurture, to feed, to play...it truely does take a village...

T minus 36 days until I have a 2 year old.

(sigh)

p.s. Happy 2 year Anniversary Hip Mamas of C.C.!! Thank you for opening your doors and your Purell to the local mamas!  You have helped make my parenting experience FANTASTIC and so FULLFILLING!

And, remember, what happens in playgroup...;)

Yesterday, 1030-1200, Huntingtown

Moon River, wider than a mile,

I'm crossing you in style some day.

Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,

           Wherever you're going I'm going your way.

Two drifters off to see the world.

 There's such a lot of world to see.

   We're after the same rainbow's end--

        Waiting 'round the bend,            

                                                              

                                                              

My huckleberry friend,

                       Moon River and me.

Happy 2nd birthday Parker, Makaela, and Nicolas!  Thank you for a fabulous Sunday morning of food, play and friends! Doesn't this and this seem like just yesterday?!

Clothing optional. Diapers a must.

Deer huntin' orange blow up pool: $10

Plastic yellow toddler chair: gift from grandma

Wine: $12.99

Friday night with happy toddlers on the back porch...

PRICELESS!

Always with the safety first...

                                           "If you're happy and you know it -make a funny face!"

Have yourself a merry little Summer 2010!!

for the record, no minors were hurt during the taking of these pics...

boy: Your hair looks nice today.

girl: Uh, yeah. That was MY bagel you're eating.  And, btw, why are you wearing a pink beaded necklace?

boy: The food here is SO good!

girl: Did I shave my legs for this? I wonder if I'll be home on time for Idol.

boy: hey! Mind if I sit next to you? I feel this connection...

girl:  Are you f*ckin' kidding Me??

For some reason, these pics remind of every first date I've ever been on.  Just sayin'.

one hot mess, wonder where he gets it from?

Fellow parents...

Hi. How are you?

Y'know how you want the best when it comes to your child(ren)?

Or, rather, you have the best intentions of providing the best when it comes to your child(ren)?

Specifically, you want them to eat.  It all begins with the old "to breast feed or to formula" issue.  Or, to both...

And then when you resolve that issue, it's "when to solid food?"

And then you're spooning "stage one" homemade or store bought food into their suspicious, eager, and interested mouths...

And, you think, possibly gasp out loud, bragging to your disinterested friends, (S)HE is SUCH a good eater!  (S)he loves sweet potato, avocado, squash, green beans, even FISH...(blah, blah, blah...)

And then BAM! POOF! goes your "suspicious-eager-interested" eater and it's all you can do to give them all the vitamins-minerals-calories-fat-carbs-sodium-protein that they need to be that NBA-NFL-CEO-M.D.-J.D.-PhD-M.F.A.-M.B.A.-CPR certified child that you so PLANNED on when you threw birth-freakin'-control into the trash because this man has the most amazing genes that are gonna ROCK ON  THROUGH ELECTRIC AVENUE!!!!

wHERE was I?

OH!  food...

So, if you've read  THE BOOKS, THE parenting books, they all warn against the fast foods, the foods that are gonna ruin your child and they will FAIL at becoming the VERY BEST they can be DON'T YOU DARE GO THROUGH THAT DRIVE THROUGH YOUNG LADY. 

but these days, in this household,  french fries and pizza are what's up.  ARE what is HAPPENING. and you know what??

I DON'T GIVE A SHIT.

Yes. That is Papa Johns Pizza in one hand and a bottle hanging out of his mouth. Paradox much?  And, no, that is not a pee stain on his jeans.  It's apple juice.  SWEAR.

ONE. HOT. MESS.

Maybe make that two...;)

Milo and Pman Comparable

 My hope is that one day Milo will look back on these pictures and say, "Wow, I've know Parker for-EVER!"  Though these guys are a mere 3 weeks apart, they couldn't be more different in personality!  I'd like to think that Milo is the Bull to Parkers China Shop...the Zack to his Slater...the Bill to his Ted...the Batman to his Robin...the Beavis to his...uh, nevermind...

Nikki, you and I gots us some cute little hell-yuns terrors reason to drink by 2pm guys! 

God help us...*clink*