A Long Time Gone

Wow it's been over three weeks since I last posted anything here. With my very hectic spring semester winding down, my gardening and yard work winding up, and lots of family/friend events going on, those have been exciting/exhausting weeks to be sure, but my absence is more than that too. I think I'm kind of out of ideas, at least temporarily. Do you guys have any thoughts about what I should write? What is it that keeps you coming back to see if I've added anything new? I'm sure there are things I could talk about but to be honest, I'm simply enjoying spending time living my life and not focusing so much on writing about it. I've felt kind of bored with several of my posts lately anyway. Plus, blogland seems to have changed. It seems like many of the blogs I read have slowed down over the past few months...or is it just me?

Moving on...

Our little toddler (how is it possible that we have a toddler?) is constantly on the move and keeping us very busy! To be honest I'm more exhausted in the mom department now than I ever have been before, even when he was a newborn baby. By the time his bed time rolls around each night, I am r.e.a.d.y to wind down in a big way. Having said that, every day with him is something new and special. I love to watch him learn and discover the new things in his environment. I love being his mom.

He adds new words to his vocabulary all the time. This week it was apple (apoo) and fishy (ishe.) He also mimics how we say, "I love you" but it comes out sounding more like iooeuuuu. He has the right sound pattern though and the right number of syllables. It's the best thing in the world, even though no one but us would know what he's trying to say. :) We have this cute little dialogue thing we do when it's just the two of us in the room. He will say, "Mommy" or sometimes, "Mimy" and I will say, "Charlie" or, "Yes, Charlie?" over and over. We go back and forth and mimic each other. If he says three M sounds then I say three C sounds and so on. This exchange usually ends in peals of laughter, which I love.

He absolutely adores books and being read to. He will sometimes spend 15 or 20 minutes sitting in the middle of the floor looking at his books. His current favorites, in no particular order are:

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear
• Counting Kisses
• Barnyard Banter
• The Rainbow Fish
• Goodnight Moon
• Whose Knees Are These
• Here Are My Hands
• Daddy Kisses
• All About Baby: A baby's Guide to Babies
  

This is great because books are always the perfect tag-along toy for car rides or when we're going to be somewhere that doesn't have many toys. Sometimes he even falls asleep holding books, which is perfectly adorable! Depending on his mood, he will even occasionally sit through short story books, such as, "A Blessing From Above" or, "I Wished for You." I cherish those quiet times with my little guy and really, really love that he enjoys being read to as much as I enjoy reading to him. I honestly feel that this is one of the very best things parents can do with and for their children.







He's also going through a clingy/fear stage at the moment and to be honest, I'm kind of glad. This boy has always been a social butterfly who will go to anyone and who even (usually) likes total strangers. Not that I want my child to be afraid but it's nice to know that he does sometimes want his mommy/daddy and that he does differentiate between caregivers. As for the fear, loud noises such as the garbage truck, UPS truck, loud planes, other babies crying, etc. have really been freaking him out lately. He will be playing happily and then something will startle him and he will run over to me and grab my legs. It's both sad and cute at the same time...and (again with the honesty) it does give me a bit of an ego boost to know that I'm the person to whom he most often looks for comfort.

We've been having fun. Michael and I are a one-car-family out of necessity and it's not always easy being stranded here with a little one all day but we make the best of it. I'm so grateful for this time with him because I know the day will come when I will look back on these experiences very fondly. At the risk of sounding incredibly Pollyanna about the whole thing...this parenting gig is pretty awesome most of the time!