One of my favorite things that comes out of preschool is the personal painting Scout (or Navy back in the day) does each day. The best part is to see what they have drawn, because Miss Dianne write what they say it is verbatim. They are sometimes really funny. Scout started the year painting leprechauns, and then it went in various directions, and has most recently included fireworks. But no matter the direction, it almost always was is something “with Riley”.
When I picked him up yesterday, I saw the very best yet:
Notice the nice picture. Maybe a red person with big ears? Maybe some sort of alien ship?
Nope.
Read for yourself.
WOW!
Quite a deep boy I’ve got on my hands.
It’s already started.
While we were getting NayNay ready for a dance, guess who also ended up with a little razzle dazzle?
I like the rosy cheeks.
The other morning as I was working at the computer, I saw this in my view.
Just a little boy summoning me over to watch his amazing superhero flying abilities.
I thought I was seeing Superman with my very own eyes.
And then Superwoman came on the scene, right after she covered Superbaby in the background with a laundry basket.
Dash is about 4 1/2 months old. He mostly nurses, but because of a diet I started too quickly which depleted some of my milk, I supplement him with one feeding of formula every 1-2 days. If I could have it my way, I would have him stay tiny forever and strictly nurse him. I love the convenience. But I especially love knowing that it is so good for him. His poop tells it all. Mama’s milk creates beautiful poop (if you can call it that). Formula creates nasty poop.
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My sisters (AKA my kid’s watchdogs) have been telling me that he needs some rice cereal. I disagreed because I don’t want him to enter that stage. But my mom finally did the honors (kind of against my will) and fed him his first baby food.
So for the very first time ever (minus licorice, ice cream, banana, lemon, and a few other goodies over the months), my big boy is eating real food. He started his life-long journey with level 2 banana/pumpkin (I skipped right past level 1 at Marbella).
He loved it.
Absolutely loved it.
And according to my mom — the original baby whisperer — he is a really good eater. He doesn’t choke on it, doesn’t push it out of his mouth, and opens his mouth as the spoon is coming. Of course he is. I personally have made eating a perfected art — and he is my child!
When he was finished with a jar of baby food, my mom told me to heat up a bottle. I did as instructed as I told her he was probably full. The boy guzzled 2 ounces, and my mom told me to get another. This time I tried to fight it, but again, did as I was told. He downed another 2 ounces. She made me go for a third, and again, he finished it like a champ. I put the skids on for the fourth bottle.
So she burped him, and he was as happy as a clam.
With his pajamas on and a full tummy, this boy was heading to dreamland in style.
But not before he thanked my mom.
I guess my sisters and mom were right.
Apparently it is time for me to realize that my big boy isn’t so little anymore.
By the way — how awesome is this picture. It has three of my favorite things. Ranunculas, my mom and my happy baby.
This sweet boy has learned the art of self soothing.
I love it.
It is an almost ideal scenario.
The only drawback is his red little fingers that are beyond chapped from all of the wet and dry.
Good thing I am in on the biggest and best secret of all.
Bag Balm.
How gross is a child with a running green nose.
Pretty nasty.
But not nearly as nasty as when both of my kids have been sticking their fingers in the green goop and then transferring it to their mouth.
I have lectured, threatened, even bribed.
Nothing can sway them from the great temptation of the slime.
I just want to put it out there that this did NOT come from my side of the family.
Micah?
When I was a kid, we used to take pictures out and cut out the lip part to stick our tongue through. I specifically remember doing it with Seth and Ryan. So in order to keep the memory alive, I taught my kids this awesome trick.
They were loving it.
But maybe I loved it the most.
Icka has been walking around with some really classic sayings lately. Two come straight from Nonnie’s mouth to hers. They are:
“Enough is Enough”
“This stupid ___________”
The first makes me laugh, because I have grown up hearing my mom say “Enough is enough”, so to hear my little girl say it seems too funny. The second one makes me scold my mom on a weekly basis. My mom doesn’t say bad words, but “stupid” and “crap” (which are bad words) sometimes leave her lips and I want to beat her. When I talk to her about it, she says she is old and she is working on it. Yeah right.
Another of her latest saying is:
“Hey, what’s the big idea?”
Who knows where she got that, but she says it to Scout all the time. It is classic, and she uses it in the perfect moments.
But my favorite….
As you might recall, Navy was restricted from Bella’s room. And after the first moments she was restricted, she has been very good about not going in. If she feels like she needs to go in, she knocks at the door and waits to get Bella’s “commission”. Sometimes Bella gives her permission, and other times she doesn’t. Well, the other night, I was putting Icka down to bed, and she REALLY wanted to sleep in Bella’s room because she is scared of the wolves (pronounced wolf-is by Icka) outside. This another classic Icka thing lately. Anyway, she went up to Bella and in the sweetest voice said, “Bella, please give me commission.” Bella didn’t catch on at first, and almost melted when she finally did. Navy asked her over and over, and was sweet the whole time. But Bella must have an iron will because she didn’t budge. She continued teaching Navy her lesson, and kept the restriction in tact. I was rather impressed because to be honest, there is NO WAY I could have denied her. She was way too sweet about it, and even I was scared of the wolf-is’s outside.
I have been known to be very spontaneous. And usually that is how my kids and I have a lot of our good times. So when we saw Seth and Cade on an evening walk with their older sister, we snatched them and came to our house. After a few minutes of play, I turned on the hot tub, and the kids all went for a night swim.
Obviously my swimmer Scout was in heaven, and so were the other three.
In fact, they were all playing so well together, they were all challenging each other to “polar bear dips”. One kid would throw out a dive toy, whole the others went into the 59 degree pool and get it. Cade was the ultimate dipper because he went to the bottom of the deep end. Scout and Seth came in second because they both went to the bottom of the “middle end”. And bringing up the rear was the cutest little g-string bathing suit girl. Apparently from last summer to now, this particular bathing suit lost its elasticity.
I was in working on my computer while Scout was snacking. After his orange, he came in and was hanging out with me. And then he started doing a little showing off. He was trying to show me his capabilities with his bad leg.
He started with the “splits”. I said ooh and ahh and took a picture. And then he went to town.
Here is the “lay back”.
Here is the “leg up”.
This is the “upside down” and cracked me up.
And my favorite was the “tippy toe” that I am glad I caught because Icka bumped him while she was climbing and knocked him over.
Poor guy was in tears.
But he was happy once he realized that all she was trying to do was be just like him.
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