Dinosaurs!!

Daddy came home for the weekend and you were so happy to have him here. 
On Saturday we went to Home Depot to get a few things for the house. 
Here are a few pictures:

Mommy had to chuckle looking at you boys on the lawn mower/tractors.  As soon as you saw those on display, you wouldn't sit still until we let you sit on it.  I guess boys will be boys. It warms my heart though to see you so excited about things. Your daddy was so proud you liked the tractors so much. :)

We spent our time at home, just you, mommy and daddy. It was really nice.  
Daddy left back for work early Monday morning, while you and momma were still asleep. We miss him so much already and we are happy he's going to be back tomorrow night. 

We've kept busy though. 

Our home is officially listed on the market. You've been so good and patient with mommy going around and picking up after us and cleaning the house every 5 min. We had a showing on Saturday, one Tuesday, one today, and two scheduled for tomorrow.  We are keeping our fingers crossed the house sells soon because are ready to be in GA with daddy full time. 

Monday grandma came over and watched you for a couple of hours while mommy went to the doctor to check on little John. He's all good. Only 19 more days till he's here with us!!  On Tuesday, we went to toddler time and you got to play with Peyton again and the other kids.  And today we had dinner at Michael and Kiki's house. 

Overall, it's been a good week so far. 
Kiki spoils you so much. You got more dinosaur clothes and pjs and another dinosaur book. 

And that's what mommy wanted to write to you about today: your fascination with dinosaurs!! 

We are not sure exactly when it started. But I think around 18 months you really developed a liking for dinosaurs. By the time you turned 2 we could say dinosaurs were your favorite.  You like plenty of other things and I would say trains is your next favorite. But dinosaurs... well, they are always on top of the list. We even had a dinosaur themed 2 yr old birthday party for you (that will be another post).  Your wardrobe now consists of mostly dinosaur shirts. Kiki has generously contributed to the majority of it. 

You LOVE your dinosaur books, puzzles, clothes, and toys. You can correctly identify the T-Rex, Stegosaurus, Spinosaurus, Triceratops, Troodon, Bracheasaurus, and the Parasaurolophus.  I think that's it for now. But each day you remember more and more about them. You love watching the "Land Before Time" on mommy's phone and you've begun to call the T-Rex "Sharp Tooth" as they do in the movie.  On Tuesday at toddler time you were telling Devyn all about how dinosaurs "eat grass and eat meat". :) You are so smart!

The cutest thing in the world though was that just up until about a month or so ago you couldn't correctly pronounce dinosaur. Instead, you'd say "dinoHAUR". Well, that last part of the word sounds like something else entirely and that was the part you'd emphasize the most when saying it. Too cute. A horse is still a "HOR" though... 

Here are a few pictures of your dinosaur themed life at the moment: 

Your bike helmet has dinosaurs on it. 

Here's a close up: Triceratops on a motorcycle.
 There's also a green T-Rex on a bike. 

One of your Dino Pjs.  

One of your Dino shirts. 

Working on a dinosaur puzzle at the library. 

Reading about dinosaurs to Mickey Mouse.

Mommy and daddy never imagined they would know so much about dinosaurs. That's the wonderful thing though, isn't it? We are learning about something new together! 

We are not sure how long your dinosaur liking will last so we are enjoying every bit of it with you for now.  And if next week, next month or next year you decide you like trains the best, we will learn all about trains then with you too.  

We love you so much!! 

Nap Time Stall Tactics and Dinner Date

Well, we had a full day today Bub. 

We took Pearly to the vet. Her eye ulcer is all better but she will continue to have her eye drops twice a day. With your help, I'm sure momma can keep up with it. :)

We played a whole lot in the morning and you helped momma get some laundry done. 

Last night, you woke up only once and came to daddy and momma's bedroom. Momma took you back to your bedroom and you were back asleep within 30 minutes. You slept the rest of the night then. I hope that it's becoming easier on you now to sleep on your big boy bed. 

Lately you've been fighting your naps. 

Look at this face!!! Breaks my heart.  You get so upset when it's time to go to sleep. You want to just play and play and play. I know that if I let you, you would play so well, but momma thinks it's best if you get your sleep in every day. So even if there's a little bit of tears and a whole lot of fuss, we still go through the process of nap time. 

Some of your stall tactics at the moment are the following:

1) crying and whining

2) you decide you are hungry or thirsty

3) you start playing peekaboo with momma 

4) want to read books

Sometimes it takes me a while to get you calmed down when you are crying.  Sometimes I have to be really stern with you. You do eventually settle down and when you do, you are asleep in no time. 

Some of momma's tactics to get you to sleep at the moment are the following:

1) talk to you about our day or what we are going to be doing after nap time.

2) tell you a story - sometimes about dinosaurs, sometimes made-up and sometimes just about a cartoon you were watching. 

3) sing you a song. 

I usually sing you some Brazilian folklore songs. There's one in particular that puts you to sleep in no time. However, you are starting to recognize it now and when you are really fighting sleep you tell me "No Boi momma". 

These are the songs:

Boi da Cara Preta

"Boi, boi, boi

Boi da cara preta

Pega este menino

Que tem medo de careta

Boi, boi, boi

Boi do Piauí

Pega este menino

Que não quer ir dormir"

Terezinha de Jesus

Terezinha de Jesus de uma queda

Foi-se ao chão

Acodiram três cavalheiros

Todos de chapéu na mão

O primeiro foi seu pai

O segundo o seu irmão

O terceiro foi aquele

A quem Tereza deu a mão

Terezinha levantou-se

Levantou-se lá do chão 

E sorrindo disse ao noivo

Eu te dou meu coração

Da laranja quero um gomo

Do limão quero um pedaço

Da menina mais bonita

Quero um beijo e um abraço"

Se Essa Rua Fosse Minha

"Se essa rua

Se essa rua fosse minha

Eu mandava

Eu mandava ladrilhar

Com pedrinhas

Com pedrinhas de brilhantes

Para o meu

Para o meu amor passar

Nessa rua

Nessa rua tem um bosque

Que se chama

Que se chama solidão

Dentro dele 

Dentro dele mora um anjo

Que roubou 

Que roubou meu coração

Se eu roubei 

Se eu roubei teu coração 

Tu roubaste 

Tu roubaste o meu também

Se eu roubei

Se roubei teu coração

É porque

É porque te quero bem"

The "Boi da Cara Preta" song usually is the one that does you in. :) Maybe one day you can sing these songs to your babies to put them to sleep. 

Tonight we went to have dinner at Devyn and Peyton's house.  You and Peyton are so sweet and you play so well together.  Here are some pictures of our night:

We are going to miss them in GA! I think you might have a thing for Southern girls already. Peyton and her family are from South Carolina (just like your daddy) and Georgia.  

You are sound asleep now and I think momma is going to go to sleep now as well. Only a couple more days till your daddy is back home with us and we can't wait!! 

Love you!! 

Catching Up

Dear Jeremy, 

Momma and daddy would really like to remember all the small and wonderful things about each and every day of your life. We say that we won't forget, but here you are already 2 years old and we can't believe how fast time has gone by. We try really hard to keep every special moment stored in our minds and heart, but everyday life gets in the way and it's really difficult sometimes to even remember where momma has left her car keys (ask your daddy). 

So, the thought is that with something more concrete (i.e. this blog) we would have a better chance of storing all these special moments in our lives. This is for us, for you, for momma and daddy, and for your little brother John who's on the way!

Momma and/or daddy are going to try to post a memory of each day with pictures of something we did at present time or past. We hope that one day we can look back at this together and cherish these moments. 

We have big changes happening really fast in the near future. Here are a couple:

1) we are moving to GA! 

2) you are going to be a big brother! John is supposed to arrive on Monday, February 23rd. 

ONE major change that you have gone through recently is transitioning from your crib to your BIG BOY toddler bed!

Here's a picture of you in your crib, happy as a clam, with all your teddies and stuffed animals.  No more putting you in your crib so momma can fold the laundry really quick or go to the bathroom alone. =/ 

I will have to get a picture of you in your BIG BOY bed soon. You still want to call it your crib. 

You've slept in your toddler bed now for 3 nights, this will be your fourth night.  You've woken up every one of those nights.  Not sure if you are rolling off the side or just waking up. Either way, you get up, open your bedroom door, walk down the hallway to momma and daddy's room and get into bed with us where you sleep the rest of the night.  Daddy is back in GA now for work, so tonight Momma is going to try to put you back to sleep in your bed if you wake up!!  Fingers crossed you sleep all night :) 

OK, now momma is going to tell you a little about what we did today. 

Today was Tuesday!! On Tuesdays we usually go to Toddler Time at the Bob Lutts Fulshear Simonton Library.  It's a wonderful program; we've been going to it for about a year now and we both really enjoy it. At Toddler Time we read books, sing songs, dance, and do crafts. You get to interact with other kids and learn all kinds of new things. 

Today we met our friend Mrs. Devyn and her sweet little daughter Peyton. You and Peyton are too cute for words. 

After Toddler Time, we went out to lunch and you played the entire time at the playground. Today, you did a new trick. You went down the slide, belly down!! 

Such a big boy!!!

We have a pretty busy day tomorrow. We are taking Pearl to the vet to get her eyes checked out again (she has Dry Eyes it turns out) and then we have 2 different appointments with realtors to list our house for sale. 

A side note: you are always so concerned with Pearl. You always try to help momma give Pearl her eye medicine. You say things like "Pearl eye red" and"Eye med". It is really sweet. 

OK, I think this is good for today. Tomorrow we will post some more :)

And just so you know, we love you more than words can describe. You have been the absolute best thing in our lives and watching you grow has been such a wonder.