Dixie

Forgive the self portrait!

The obsession with those damn Dixie Cups continue in our house.  Kolton carries a stack with him EVERYWHERE!  I have to trick him into leaving them in the car so people don't think we are both totally insane.  However, this usually leads to a melt down in which people stare anyway.  I didn't let him take them in the bath because they would get wrecked.  Hindsight says that sounds like a great idea.  He even took them to bed with him tonight but went down without a peep once again.  My boy can be a little strange at times =)

Water Logged

Seriously, why do I bother buying toys?

I've probably said it before but I think my favorite part of being a mom is watching Kolton change before my very eyes.  Its like I can actually see him growing.  One day he wakes up and is suddenly older some how.  

Little man is babbling up a storm.  I am very hopeful that this means more words are around the corner. He also now knows what his jacket is.  He can't quite put it on yet but he runs over to it when I tell him.  Last night I told him about what the different color traffic lights mean.  And I swear he said "Red Light" when we were stopped.  He's also using a spoon properly.  Of course I know these are really basic things that most 2 year olds know how to do.  But, its just so much fun to note what he's learning day to day.  He also no longer wants to sing and rock before bed.  He'd much rather just chill out in his crib staring at his stars.  I'm starting to realize that my days of having a baby are numbered.  Mike and I are still undecided about having more kids so I may never get the chance to savor these moments again.

One other thing that is different this week is Kolton has been drinking a lot of water.  And from a Sippy Cup!  He's been so funny about only drinking milk from a sippy and water from a straw cup.  On a whim I gave him water in a sippy and he drank the whole cup.  However, now he wants to take the water to bed with him for both naps and bed.  Am I crazy to let him?  I just think given the dehydration issues we have faced in the past its OK.  And even after the cup of water he woke up from his nap yesterday with bloody chapped lips.  I know with potty training around the corner this is probably not the best thing to start but hopefully I can reason with him later on.

My Big Boy!

Stolen

Do you ever notice how many pictures I post of Kolton eating out?  We eat out A LOT!  One of my new year's resolutions was to cook 3 meals a week.  I have not cooked one solid meal in the past two months...I am a terrible mother!  It would be so much different if little man would at least take a bite or two of what ever was put in front of him.  Anyway, in an effort to satisfy my craving for crab legs we went to Red Lobster only to be met with a 1/2 hour wait.  So we detoured to a sushi buffet instead.  This place is massive and has so much more than sushi.  And the best part is kids 2 and under eat free!

And speaking of free...I accidentally stole a 12 pack of Coke from Target again today.  Oops!  I honestly don't do it on purpose!  I just forget all about it on the rack under the cart and no one ever stops me.

Locks

Kolton and I have been battling colds again this week.  It seems a little never ending.  I'm so thankful for his big naps in the afternoon so I can take it easy as well.  But who am I kidding; I do that every day!

The latest development is that little man has figured out how to lock doors.  Thankfully our inside doors unlock without a key but its been a little dicey with the outside doors.  Every time I run out to bring the trash to the curb or grab something from my car I have to consciously make the effort to take my keys.  The silver lining is he also seems to understand the concept of unlocking as well.  He locked himself in his bedroom the other day but before I had the chance to set him free I heard a little "click" and out he came.

With our colds and everything we have been a little boring lately.  I'm feeling my sense of adventure starting to kick in.  Ever since an episode of Top Chef a couple of weeks ago I'm craving King Crab Legs so maybe we'll head to Red Lobster this weekend.  Not that that's really adventurous or anything! But I'm thinking about a Baltimore trip next week and in a couple weeks I'll be in Cancun.  So I have a lot to look forward to!

Legos!

Kolton and I were lucky enough to be invited to attend the LEGO fest as a VIP on Friday.  We were let into the convention center an hour before everyone else.  Kolton had a blast running around and playing.  It was a very sensory experience.  Once the herd was let in things got a little crazy as you can see from the photo above.  I have a feeling that Legos are going to be a very important part of my little man's life.  So I better learn how to build...outside of the plain old blocks I had no idea how to put them together!

Just a cute pic of K at the play area of the mall over the weekend.  

What I Love About You

I do a lot of complaining on here, I know.  So, in honor of Valentine's Day I thought I'd dedicate this post to some of the things I love about my little man.  But then, he decided to treat me to a 2 hour fight at bed time...not really a fight just being a demanding little shit =)  The irony is, his antics are near the top of my list; only in much smaller doses!

Dear Kolton,

Here are a few things that I love about you right now.  Of course I love all of you!  These are just some of the little things that make you you at 2 years old.

I LOVE how you are a child of few words but still chuck full of personality!  I'm starting to realize that you understand so much more than you can say.  You can identify colors, shapes, and animals in books.

I Love our bedtime ritual...bath, book, songs, bed.  You sign for more and put your head down on my shoulder.  I ask you if you are ready to go night night and when you touch your eyes that's the signal to lay you down.  Typically this takes 10 minutes or so.  (Tonight it took 2 hours!)

I LOVE your little dance.  It is the best!  When ever you hear music you start to move.  It could be a commercial or a song playing in an elevator.  Your little jig is awesome.  I get a lot of comments from other moms about how cool they think you are.

I LOVE that you have finally found something that comforts you; your nipples.  I'm not going to lie, its a little strange, but I love that its so incredibly unique.  We can always tell when you are tired because your hand goes down your shirt.  You even sleep that way!

I LOVE the bond we are creating.  Anticipating your needs now comes as easy as breathing.  One day you will be able to tell me what you want but until that day we will continue to live and love in (somewhat) peaceful harmony!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Almost Normal

This was the first weekend in almost a year and a half of living in Richmond that felt a little like what I thought our normal lives would be like.  Friday night I had a girls night out and then we got together with another couple (kids included) on Saturday night.  Yeah Us!

I'm hoping the weekend gets me out of the funk I was in last week.  I spent a lot of time worrying about the things I cannot change and some I have no control over.  Like Kolton's lack of progress in speech.  An episode of Teen Mom 2 sent me into a tailspin.  If these girls are able to raise their babies to talk just fine then why the hell can't I?  I know deep down that I'm not doing anything wrong.  Its just so easy to get down on myself about it.

I'm excited to tell our speech therapist that Kolton did a great job identifying colors this week.  Every once in a while he would get distracted but for the most part I was a very proud Mama!

Fiend

 I mention a couple weeks ago that Kolton really likes M&M's.  Here is feverishly reaching for one that ended up underneath the couch.  I'm have no idea how he even saw it.

Little man is really testing my patience this week. The defiance is incredible.  Throwing food is the main problem.  But then he's paired that with going to bed like an angel.  You can't win them all I guess!  

Speaking of winning; Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens!  I so wish we could have been there to see the city we love full of such joy.  I heard it was awesome and so well deserved.

Linked

Last night Mike and I had one of those magical nights where we were in bed by 7:45pm.  We are that pathetic!  Actually we technically went out.  When you consider going to dinner at 5:00pm a night out.  I fell asleep somewhere around 9:00pm and woke up at 11:00pm feeling completely rested.  So I went to check on Kolton.  He had gone down without a peep.  I peered into his crib and found him staring back up at me.  He didn't make a sound and I hastily creeped back out of his room.  I tossed and turned for the next 1.5 hours; going to check on him every 20 min or so.  Each time he was still awake too!  We were linked in our insomnia.  But he never whined or anything!  I thought for sure when he saw me he would want to get up.  Nope, he would just turn his head and look at me.  Maybe he thought he was dreaming.  

 Please tell me I'm not the only one who checks on their kid multiple times a night.  I can't rest peacefully without seeing that he is too.  There is a part of me that worries he might try to climb out of his crib soon.  Then there is a part of me that is just conditioned to check on him from the days of worrying about SIDS.  Either way I know I can't sleep without that last look.

Within 1 minute of hearing my little man's trademark snore I drifted off.