"Mommy" Evolution

Triston threw me for a loop this weekend. Out of the blue he started calling me "mama" NOT "mommy"! How dare he! What is happening? It is cute but I miss my old name. He has been doing a fair combination of both but it still gets me to pause. At times he even says, "Oh wait. You're not mama, you're mommy! Oops, sorry". I haven't corrected him but I think he has figured something out with the way Charito and I look at each other. Why is this happening? We think it is because G has been calling out "mama" (and "dada") and T has picked up on it. And when he does say 'mama' it doesn't seem like he is even aware he has switched. Yes, it is very cute but I can't help think it is some sort of passage into preschool-hood that I was unaware of. A portal I am not sure if I am ready for. I miss my little eggroll. My baby boy. Keep thinking about how he is starting school in September (at least I hope so. Government funding may ruin that whole plan for us and then I don't know what we will do. I am not ready to pay an outrageous amount of tuition for a 3 yr old!). When did my baby grow up?! Well, at least he is a cuddler and still WANTS to cuddle with me. G wants nothing to do with it. I have to scoop him up after he has fallen asleep in order to get my cuddle quota for the week. Hmmm.

Lifeguards, watch out!

Sunday was T's first swim class. We were all excited. Mommy n T were gonna swim and "learn safety tricks" and daddy n g were gonna watch (it was daddy day, afterall). Well, did I have my info wrong! You see, I signed up for a class out in Roselle so he and Ayden could be together and it was so much cheaper. Amy and I assumed it was a mom and tot kinda class with an indoor pool. Wrong on both ideas! My jaw dropped when the instructors (more like teeny boppers) informed parents they needed to remain near the deck area. What do you mean I am not in there w/ him? Charito looked as concerned as I.

T was hesitant. New pool, new people, just woke up 30 min ago, etc. I asked if I could go in w/ him and they agreed. They used noodles to teach floating techs, made bubbles in the water, and kicked off the edge of the pool. Before I knew it T didn't even need me. He like the instructor, Matt, and eventually became unexpectedly confident. The other instructor asked me to sneak out. I did and I WAS OK! It was another one of those "look how big he is getting" moments. I just felt bad for Ayden. He clung to Amy for this life and never really relaxed enuf for her to sneak out.

Later when T was asked if he had fun by anyone throughout his day his response was, " First, I was scared and then I was brave. But Ayden cried. He did not have fun." It was such a matter of fact response. I just told T that Ayden will try again next week. And I KNOW Ayden will do it! He just goes at his own pace. When he is finally comfy WATCH OUT bc he is READY for fun!

As for T. The lifeguards better watch out for him, bc he sure is having fun.

Bry's new friend

Grayson is mesmerized by Bryley's feet. I see this often and had to snap a shot.

Picnic Fridays

Although income is ALWAYS good, we have embraced the furlough time Charito has been given -every Friday til September. Last Friday, which happened to be my last day of school, we planned for a picnic at Gallery Park. This park is gorgeous. A walker and biker dream. So calming. We are familiar w/ this park bc each year we join the Leukemia and Lymphoma walk for our dear friend Rosalba. Seeing as we had some homework to accomplish The Glen was THE place to hold our picnic. I got the idea when our friend Dave, the regional manager for Noodles and Co., asked us to be secret shoppers during evaluation time. We hit up the Old Orchard location and the Glenview location. Me, turn down food? NEVER!

Here he is scoping out the dragon because the princess was locked in the tower and he needed to save her. Can you believe I CREATED this little prince charming?!

Early morning...he decided he needed to try on my new shoes before the wedding. He has a thing for my dress shoes.
It was perfect weather and perfect company. Even Bryley joined us and she was such a good girl. While I took the boys to the park, Charito took Bry for a walk. What a way to start my summer! Sun. Food. Family. Just the way I like it!

Happy, anxious and fearful tears

This past weekend we celebrated the wedding of Tracy and Peter, the lil' bro of Jeny, Grayson's godmom. We packed up and headed to the dinky town of Rochelle. Always a culture shock. A quaint wedding with the simplest of joys and good times.

I had to laugh, though. We can drive our kids to vacations in Florida and weddings in Atlanta with no problems. Practically flawless excursions. But a 45 minute travel with annoying hotel issues and crabby kids. The day seemed to drag on. I think it felt that way because not only did we have to move rooms almost twice but the dance floor festivities seemed like they would never arrive while I had Triston begging in my ear for "the dance party". Since the great time he had at Gerilynne and Matt's wedding in Georgia this is what he has called weddings. The dancing is the best part! He talked about it the whole week prior to our departure. He could not wait to pack his bag (he does it all on his own and is very proud of the Nemo travel bag Grandma bought him years ago) and dress "like daddy".

It was a typical wedding with the typical events. So I anxiously awaited the dancing hoping all the while that T would not fall apart or asleep before it all happened. Once it started there was no stopping him. The highlight of the night was this:It was so ironic, too. Just last week I had read on my friend Becky's blog how her little boy, Jack, took part in his very first dance with a girl. So, she can agree with me how absolutely precious it is. What goes through your mind. First, I thought, "oh, how cute" and then I got emotional. I stood there on the corner of the dance floor rocking to my own rhythm with Grayson in the Moby and cried. I cried for how adorable it was. How polite he was to his new friend Anna. How he couldn't take his eyes off of her. They followed each other around all nite. How this was the first of many to come. How many girls (or guys) will be knocking on my door for dates with him? The day I dance with him on his OWN wedding day. He has become a little man in the blink of an eye. It seems each day I become even more proud of him and who he is becoming.

I will never forget how he approached me about Anna. One second he is dancing his pants off and the other he freezes. I asked him what was wrong. He pointed to her and wouldn't take his eyes off her. I wondered if he was just struck by her dress puffing up in the air as she twirled, her beauty? What? I finally asked him if he wanted to talk to her. I told him to introduce himself and say his name. He did and she replied with her name. They stood there staring at each other. I whispered in his ear, "Do you want to dance with her?" He shot me the most enormous smile and whispered back a yes. I modeled the questions to him and off he went. What a gentleman.

And thanks to the Moby I had numerous slow dances with my lil' sushi!

Someday...

Triston will be too big to use this door. Too big to use it the way I adore. I had to get a picture to etch it in time. One of those moments when I realized it is all going by so fast. I remember installing and cutting these doors in half for the safety and watchful eye of the once crawler and walker. Every nite we close his door and every morning I find his door like this.When he wakes up to climb into our bed to cuddle (6am as always) this is what I see when I head downstairs to get Grayson's bottle. The little shortie exits through the bottom half. He only pays attention to the top half when an adult is entering or exiting.

To think he will be so much taller one day and the latch to attach the two halves will be consistently locked. One full door in effect. I REALLY don't mind waiting as long as it takes for that day. I long for shortie days. To keep my lil' ones lil' and cuddly. I will wait. And keep on smilin' and smirkin' each morning when I glance at his escape route. And hold onto the memory. Besides, there will be a few years for G to follow the same escape plan, right?