Tikki Waa Waa!

The nonsense word of choice.
When he's excited, Tikki Waa Waa! When he's mad at me, Tikki Waa Waa! When he's trying to out-yell his brother, Tikki Waa Waa! When he's just goofing off or trying to make his brother laugh, Tikki Waa Waa!
This isn't the only nonsense word in use, but it is the favorite. Right now he thinks it's hilarious to come up with goofy words that don't make sense or that rhyme, especially if they rhyme with Poop or Poopy.
Yes, good ol Poop. Argh. Typical boy. In fact, one of his made up games involves saying poop or poopy in different voices and ear-piercing levels. *sigh* My future with 3 males in the house is apparently the open discussion of poop, farts, boogers, butts and penis'. Lawd help me. This is not something I was raised talking about. I don't think I ever heard the word "poop" from my mother in all my life. Think I should try for a third child? Think I'd get a girl? Ha. Fat chance. I'm not prepared to take that challenge on.

Related to Carter's use of the English language...... he still calls himself Toh-Toh. He is adamant about it. I'm not sure but I think he might have the same speech issue that I had when I was little. I couldn't say "r" at the end of some words. My sister said I sounded like I was from Boston until I was 5 years old or so. So his name is "Car" and "ter", both with that pesky "r" sound. We've worked on it but he still can't quite make it sound any different than Toh-Toh. Oh well. I'm sure it will work itself out.

Fun with a notepad

Carter is at an age right now where everyday there is a new phrase or funny story to be had. I can't write them all down but I sure do wish I could just videotape one solid week and put it away for the future. That being said, I guess I can just focus on the stand-out stories that really make me laugh, like this one:
Last night I was cleaning the kitchen and Carter was "helping" daddy with his homework. Carter drew me a picture of a bunch of big circles on a large notepad. He came into the kitchen to show me. I, of course, said they were beautiful circles and thanked him. Then I hear him in the other room telling Kevin that his Circles are very tired. I peek in to see Carter walking his Circles to bed. Well, hell. The kitchen can wait, I gotta grab this easy bedtime opportunity!
So we climb in bed and Carter tells me that his Circles would like to read books with us. Hahaha. He is cradling this large notepad in his lap and leaning against the pillows, waiting for me to get his flashlight and books. I am crackin' up.
Carter - Mama, Circles want to read books too.
Me - Okay, which one does Circles want to read first?
Carter - Umm, this one...Coooduhwoy Bear. Circles likes dis one. (then addressing the notepad in high pitched voice like talking to a baby) You want to read Bear book? You like dis one?
Me - (reading book)
Carter - (holding the notepad up so it can see the pictures)
Throughout our book reading time Carter made sure that Circles could see the pictures and would check in on him during the stories. Which one you want to read next, Circles? Wait! Circles can't see! etc...
I have no idea where this came from but it really made me laugh. Most days I'm pretty sure that I have the cutest, funniest, most adorable child in the whole wide world. It's a good balance for the days when I want to send him off to boarding school in Switzerland. :)

My kids are the bestest

If there is anything of merit Carter would like to show you he will say "You close your eyes", then you have to cover your eyes with your hands, " ....Ready? Okay......TahhDaaahhhh!".This is repeated about 98 times a day in our house. He is very dramatic with his flourishing "TaahDaaah's".

*****

Carter is Don Juan de Marco. He tell's you he loves you all day long and even when he is falling asleep and slurring with exhaustion.
This is how he says it: "I love you too, Mama."
As the day moves along and he gets more tired he just says it more and more. "I love you too, Mama", "I love you too, daddy", "I love Owen, too". Sometimes we can judge how tired he is by how many times he will tell us he loves us. Such a sweet boy.

*****

Last night in the bath I had Owen sitting in front of me playing with the water with the amazement only a 6 month old can have. Carter hopped in and started playing with his toys. Well, Owen (being the big boy that he is now) decided he wanted to play too so he starts wrestling a bath toy from Carter. All of a sudden Owen is a People! Then Owie throws his hands down in frustration and ended up making a really big splash. Carter got all wet and laughed, Owen laughed hysterically, I laughed because they were having fun together. My two boys sat and splashed each other for 10 minutes laughing all the while. The bathroom was a tad water logged but who cares, they had fun.

*****

Dear Owen,
I know you have just discovered your Baby Voice but please, could you keep the blood curdling screams to a minimum? I'm afraid that Child Protective Services will be called by our neighbors and boy, wouldn't that be embarrassing. I know you think it is hilarious to clench your fists, suck in your breath, and let loose an ear-piercing shreek but I'm not sure if everyone else knows you're just testing your vocal range. Is it really that much fun? Your face gets all red and you look very proud of yourself after an exceptionally loud one and I know it makes you giggle but I just don't get it, I guess. Oh well. You can pay for my hearing aids when I get old. Deal?
Love you, Owie Bo. You're my guy.
Mommy

The Birds and the Bees and a Pee Pee dance

I can't get anywhere near my mailbox right now. Everytime I do, I get dive bombed by a duo of crazy, nesting birds. Apparently there is a hole in our mailbox post and they've set up a household. Mother effers. They are seriously not much bigger than hummingbirds but when they are coming at my head at 30 miles an hour I must say, it kinda freaks me out. And what's with the piercing screeches and tag team attacks? Geez.
It makes me wonder if they attack my mailman. Hmmm.
So on top of The Birds we have The Bees. These stupid, irritating, ginormous bumble bees patrol my home perimeter, mate and suck nectar from our azalea bushes (which are in full bloom). Everytime I leave my house I have to do a mad dash for my van with the kids in tow. They come out of nowhere, hover, then shoot for my head. What is with this place?

*****

Anyway, we have some Big News around here.
Get ready. Ready? Okay.
Carter pee-peed in the potty yesterday. FOUR times, no less! Yahoo!
We was butt naked and fine with it (boys at this age usually are) when all of a sudden he started begging me to put a diaper on him. I asked him if he wanted to try to potty really quick and whisked him to the seat where, lo and behold! he peed! Yeah! He got a present, he was happy, he put undies on. Cool. I'm on Parenting Cloud Nine. Ten minutes later he comes up to me and says he needs to peepee again. I don't really believe him but encouraged him anyway. But sure enough, he sat on the potty and went again. WTF? Got another present. He was happy. Twenty minutes later, it's the same thing. Back to the potty. Pee. Another present. Crap! I'm gonna be cleaned out! haha.
I've been on his case the last couple of weeks since I found out he needed to be potty trained before he starts preschool. I panicked. Finally, after a lecture from my older sister to just lay off him....which is what I initially had planned on anyway, he decided to do it on his own. Now he is getting dollar bin prizes everytime he goes and he is loving it! Some of the things he is wild about: a magnifying glass, a bug collecting kit, spiderman placemat, curious george stickers, and one warped frisbee.
We've even invented a PeePee dance. Today while Owen was napping we were in the bathroom trying to be quiet and after he went, he whispered to me "Mama, do the peepee dance!".
We are so proud of our Big Man!

Toh-Toh vs. Toh

I have lots of little quickies building up in my brain from the last couple of weeks. Here is one:

Previously Carter referred to himself as Toh. I don't know why. I guess he just can't say his name yet. Anyway, if anyone asked him his name he would shyly put his chin to his chest and whisper "Toh" and then they would look at me like "huh?" and I would say "His name's Carter." Well, recently he has graduated from Toh to Toh-Toh.
I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't necessarily encourage this mispronounciation but my goodness, it's pretty cute. Especially because he will talk about himself in the third person sometimes like "Toh-Toh's hat? Just like daddy hat?", etc...
I love it. I can't help it. When he grows out of it and actually says his name clearly I think I will cry a little because that will mean he's a big kid and he will never be this little again. Can't I just bottle his cuteness up right now to savor later when he is a gangly, sulking teenager?

Learning the important stuff

I'll get to my apologies, updates and holiday photos in a minute but I had to jot this down quickly lest I forget.

Me (after practicing with him first)- Carter, what's your name?
Carter- Toh-Toh Mick-Maaan
Me- What's my name?
Carter- Mama Mick-Maaan
Me- My name is Jessica. Can you say that?
Carter- Jehkeekah Mick-Maaan....and Daddy, um uh Kaayveeen Mick-Maaan en Baby Owen Mick-Maaan.....
Me (laughing at his sincerity and oh so proud)- Very good Toh-Toh Mick-Maaan.
Carter- Yeah, me very very very very very goooood boy. Uh uh um, Santa? bring pwesents? for meeeee?
(obviously Santa was good to him this year and he is reluctant to part ways with the fat man and all his goodies)

Why I love him so much

So a friend says to me at dinner the other night "Where is this bad child that you blog about so much?" and I look over at my angelic toddler....sitting in the restaurant highchair, playing with his hot wheels, smiling, eating his breadsticks and calmly awaiting his pizza....and I shrug, because I have no idea. I have a Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde child.
I must say that the last few days he has been pretty good. The night terrors seem to be lessening somewhat and the tantrums are slightly more manageable....slightly. The only issue we are still having is the destructive behavior when he is angry. Sigh. He is a boy.

Funny things he's said in the past few days:

Climbing up the changing table as I'm changing Owen's diaper he begins to point to the baby's features and name them and compare them to his own "Eyes. Chin. Cheek. Nose......" then turning to me and pointing "Mama, BIG nose!". Ahhhh, thank you my darling child. geez.

Pointing to Kevin's beer, he says "Dada's beer" (we haven't taught him this word...he's a sponge)
Mommy then sighs from exhausting day and says "Lawd, I need a drink" Carter quickly says "NOooo! Me drink!" with a very offended look. (Sure, maybe he'll go to bed earlier with a hot toddy or two. haha)

While watching me nurse Owen he climbs up to my other side and says "Baby drink mama milk?" and I say "Yep". He thinks for a minute and says "Hmm, Me drink Mama milk!". So I smile and say "Um suuure, in a minute...." He then leans down very slowly (while looking at me out of the corner of his eye) to where my stomach is exposed slightly and puts his mouth on it kinda near my belly button. He then leans back smacking his lips and rubbing his tummy saying "MMmmmmm, gooood!". I busted out laughing at my funny child. He's a goofball.

Family visits and Battleground Everything

So Sunday my stepfather and his lady came for a visit. They brought Michigan treats (Vernors, Sanders hot fudge and Better Made chips), christmas presents from da sista and baby gifts. I love visits that start like this! haha. This was only the second time Carter got to meet his grandpa Rick.
How awful does that sound? That my son has only met such important people in his life once or twice... weird. I miss my family even more when I see familiar faces, however briefly. It tears my heart in two when I see how much my little niece has grown and I realize that I've only seen her once when she was 3 months old....and now she is an 18 month old terror. Sniffle.
Anyway, homesickness and depression aside.... We had a whirlwind visit with them. We did the zoo, lunch downtown and I made some bread pudding as a treat. Carter giggled happily on the carousel with his grandpa and basically was a sweetheart the whole time
I feel bad when they say stuff like"He's so sweet! I thought you said he was a terror!", because I find myself arguing that Yes, he is a terror....but wait, that's not right! The mother is supposed to be telling everyone all of her child's Good qualities and even making up a few and here I am arguing people out of thinking the best of him??? What? Who am I?
Of course, he is a sweetheart and a charmer and smart and ambitious and his motor skills are highly developed and blah blah blah..........pause.......pause......pause......BUT, he is still two. He is a two year old rascal with immature reasoning skills and he is highly frustrated most of the time. I must remember that this is his age not his personality that makes me so crazy.

My rambunctious two year old boy makes everything a Battleground. I can't "pick my battles" as they say because everything is a battle around here. We fight to get clothes on. We fight to get them off. We fight to get in the bath. We fight to get out of the bath. We fight, argue, reason, yell, threaten, walk away, storm off, cry and put our head in our hands all day and night. And I wonder to myself; my crazy, drained self, is it always going to be like this? And the answer, of course, is NO. But damn it, it's exhausting. He is pushing us to our very limits because he can and why would he act out in front of other people when he has 2 wonderful whipping posts at home to practice on? Yep, mommy and daddy make excellent guinea pigs and since we love him so much he can really crank up the action.
I am basically a No Conflict type of person. I don't like loud noises so much or yelling or those crappy feelings you get after an arguement. I don't like drama. But here I am, firmly stuck in dramatic conflicts everyday. I'm No Good at this people! Either my oldest son will grow out of his most recent behavior or I will be visiting him in his dressing room after a smash hit Broadway show.

Therefore, THIS is why I tell people he is "high maintenance" or a "terror" or a "pistol", because at home with us, he is. I swear I'm not making it up. :) But damn! if he ain't just the sweetest thing when ya'll are around....

Carter Speak

Funny things Carter says:

"Ohhhh shit, Mama!" Greeeeeat. Thanks Kevin!

"No shake butt" with a disgusted look on his face. This in response to me moving and grooving to Leapfrog's Toddler CD. I suppose I am very UNcool.

"Big dick!" He means Big stick (he's a boy and he likes sticks) but he can't quite pronounce it correctly so I lower my head in embarrassment when we are in public.

He calls all animals by the sounds they make so he will be like "Mama, baby Owen ROOOAR shirt?" translation: Mom, baby Owen is wearing a Lion shirt? or...
"Where'd the Tweet tweet light go?" translation: Where did the Bird light go?
It's more funny to hear than it is to to read. haha.

"Me share!" proudly pointing to himself while giving Owen one of his toys.... Poor Owen gets to "share" with his brother at the risk of his own life. Usually the "shared" toys are poking my wee youngster in the eye or being thrown onto him in the bassinet. Aiiyyyiiieee.

Carter-"Mama, where dada go?"
Me-"He's at work."
Carter-"Me work? Me work like dada? Far Way?" while gathering his tools and small toys into a basket to take to "work".
Carter-"Me help dada" while getting lawnmower ready to go....apparently daddy is a carpenter/animal rescuer/lawn maintanence person. :)

Me-"Do you want undies? and go on the potty like a big boy?"
Carter-"Da-da-da-da-Dora indies? Blue indies?" singing the theme song to dora
Me-"Yes I will buy you blue Dora undies if you want."
Carter-"Me big boy!" thinking..... "hmmm, no potty...."
Oh well.

"Pupcakes? Me cook pick pupcakes?" after watching Curious George eating pink iced cake...thanks ya stupid monkey. But we went to the grocery store anyway (a totally other story/blog entry) and bought cake mix and pink icing and sprinkles....for Daddy's birthday cupcakes. So actually that damn monkey helped us make Kevin's birthday a bit more special. (I must add that baking with a toddler and giving him quality time is hard to do when your 5 week old is crying in his bassinet. Sigh. Poor 2nd child.)

Venting....I'll be more upbeat later

I'm having a hard time enjoying my oldest's "precocious" qualities right now. The child actually enjoys disobeying me and doing the exact opposite of what I tell him. Grrrrr. This is driving me friggin' insane.
This morning after a long night of No Daddy (because he's out of town) and night terrors and ice cold feet in my back, he has insisted on being carried everywhere and held in my lap just as much as the baby. He is jealous and whiny and of course he has decided that the toys I just picked up look better strewn about the floor again. I guess all the better to kill me with when I'm walking through the room with the baby. I swear he is channeling Damien from The Omen.
And why the obsession with the baby's pacifiers? Oh my.... I think I'll check out some airfare rates to a non-specific island chain.

The Randoms of October

We are out of coffee filters so I used paper towels. I almost panicked. In Ecuador we were desperate and used someones sock as a filter....so essentially, I will do almost anything for coffee in the morning.

Owen is my little Creature. He has these long arms and when I go to lay him down he grabs onto my clothing like a baby monkey and I have to detach him. When I'm carrying him around he opens and closes his hands and scrapes his nails on my shoulder and hugs me. So funny.

I smell like baby throw-up. I forgot how smelly being a newborns' mother can be. Ugh. I repulse myself.

Yesterday was our 3 year wedding anniversary. Can you believe all the crap we've crammed into 3 years? Good grief. Two kids, 3 different states....yikes.

Yesterday, we went to a friends house in the afternoon because my Big Guy was bouncing off of the walls. He refused to nap so I loaded the kids up and drove. They both fell asleep on the way there. So I actually got to sit and chat while my toddler was conked out in the van. Nice. Got his nap in and then he played. Then wonderful husband got off of work early and met me at home with carryout for our anniversary dinner. Mmmm. It was a good day. However, I didn't get any "rest time" so pretty freakin' exhausted.

Poor Owen never gets to rest for any long stretches during the day. His older brother is always screaming in his ear or poking him or running around with his loudest toys. Poor child slept 5-6 hours straight last night in sheer exhaustion. Good for all of us, though.

Our cat has decided to act like a dog and she is now stealing food off of plates if we leave the room and jumping up on the counter scrounging for crumbs. I'm gonna kill that thing one of these days. We don't particularly like her very much anyway....she is just tolerated. We "rescued" the beast and now I wish we didn't. Carter just yells at her (hmmm wonder where he picked up on that?) "Gooooo Cat! Get!"

Carter doesn't eat anymore. His favorite saying is "No like!" even when he has never tried it. Joyous phase. But if he sees any sort of cupcake or sweet he screams "Me like!". duh.

He throws everything. I mean everything. Even if he is remotely upset he chucks whatever he is holding and then goes on a rampage. It's like watching a drunk, trashing a bar.

I'm trying to get Owen to take a pacifier but most of the time he just looks at me out of the corner of his eyes and mouths it....he reminds me of an old, toothless Irish man up at the Gaelic League chewing on the butt of an old cigar. Kinda crabby and mean looking but basically harmless.

I'm downloading the camera as I type so later today I will post pictures. Maybe I'll even try to update some stuff. Wooohooo.

No, I am not depressed

Just very very unwilling to do anything.

I am at this moment eating a second breakfast and sitting on my birth ball in my nightgown.....and it's going on noon.
My first breakfast was healthy oatmeal and orange juice. My second breakfast is 1 strawberry and cream cheese and 1 blueberry toaster struedel and milk.
Yes, I am a nightgown wearer. Especially when pants/shorts/bottoms become a joke to your ginormous 40+ week abdomen. I must say it is my favorite nightgown though. I got it in Otavalo, Ecuador at one of the oldest still existing open-air markets. Best 4 bucks I ever spent. I think it's actually supposed to be a dress but it's not exactly a fashion forward piece you'd see on Project Runway or anything.
Guess who else is in their pj's. A duh! Yes. We are lazy and slovenly. Carter still has oatmeal stuck to his chin. What a wonderful mother I am this week.

Now I must frantically think of something to do because said demanding toddler has stated that he no longer wants to be at home. "Out! Not home!" he says. Great. Where can I not embarrass myself or risk endangering the life of my child who I can't run and catch if he flees from my loving arms? Where can I wrestle with him in a parking lot while he thrashes and screams with the sun beating down on me and lovebugs swarming?
Do you see?

Geez. Off to make myself feel human.

Happy Due Date to me

It's official today. I'm due. Doesn't that sound threatening?
It was funny telling people today when they asked me when I was due that "Today" was the day. But don't worry ya'll, I'm bouncing on my birth ball as we speak and I just finished a pineapple smoothie....all supposed to get things going. Haha. Yeah right. Babies just come when they want to come, I'm certain now. I've tried pretty much everything to get this one out into the world but he is stubborn like his mama.

********************

Officially, we will be limiting our public excursions from here on out...or eliminating them altogether. It was a wee bit rough on me today trying to take our guy to a simple storytime at the library. I kept on getting looks from the other mothers as every youngster paid attention to the book that was being read while my little joy yelled, jumped up and down like a human pogo stick, dragged furniture around and made the air rather smelly as he tried his darndest to "POOP! MAMA!" Poor child is constipated.
Then he fell and busted his head and screamed for "ICE!!!!!" which the library does not have. Damnit.
I'm sweating, my maternity pants are falling off my hips and exposing lots o'skin and my shirt keeps coming unbuttoned and exposing even more skin. Lawwd. I didn't exactly blend into any background in the 30 minutes I was there. I might as well travel with my very own spotlight.
Luckily we had a friend there for support and later when Carter threw his 4th screaming tantrum (away from the public eye, thank goodness) I was able to shrug it off with a big sigh. Even Carter's little girlfriend told him "Don't cwy Cawter, is otay".

Plot choices for kids flicks

Today I will not be discussing labor. I'm going to ignore the fact that I am still pregnant because it's starting to get annoying.

Anyway, I've purposely avoided the Bambi experience in our house for the reason that I have no interest in trying to explain death to a 2 year old. I hate that movie. What was Disney thinking? It seems there is this era in cartoon movie making when they felt that killing off the mama and having a deadbeat dad who is never quite in the picture was a good learning experience for children. Which brings me to Babar, King of the Elephants.
I thought this would be a good one. Carter looooves elephants ("Elefa's") and he is into the whole family structure thing; ie, Mama, Dada and Baby.
Well, we are enjoying the happy beginning and he is talking about the Baby elephant and his mama and chattering away about what's happening. Then all of a sudden, about 15 minutes in.....the mood shifts and a hunter blows away his mama. Great. Crap crap crap crap. As the gunshot rings out I am frantically thinking of how to explain this one.
So he gives it the standard "Uh oh!" and then pause..... pause.... confused expression as Baby Babar runs away from his fallen mama. Then the montage of Baby Babar wandering around the forest crying for his mama. Oh geez. Here it comes...
"Where da Mama, ma?", Carter asks.
I honestly have some trouble with this because I was so mad when I saw Bambi for the first time and I thought how mean it was for them to write the story that way. I still have that anger. Do I avoid "real life tragedy"? Um, yes. I guess I do. I think it is unnecessary, especially for small children. So my dumbass answer is "Well, his mama got sick and fell down and then Babar lost his mama..."
This answer didn't really fulfull his curiousity, I guess because he asked about Babar's mama for the next 30 minutes...then his attention span ran out and we went to play with something else. Phew.
Why does this stress me out so much?
It's like when my nephew asked my sister about Death and she wanted to be straightforward with him and told him that everybody dies some day. He flipped out and started crying that he didn't want to die and she had to tell him "Okay! You won't die!" just to calm him down. I'm totally not ready for any of that. I haven't gathered any of the "right" answers together, yet!
And even when she thought she had the right answer for one of his next big questions; nephew-"Where do babies come from?", sis-"God makes babies"....he threw her for a loop and came up with "Well, how does he get them up there then?" and she scrambled and came up with "umm, Magic".
Good one.

So Babar was a bust.
I'm thinking I will be researching the next few animated flicks we sit down to watch together. I will be filtering out all death, evil character types, violence, politics and religion. At least until I can get my act together and research the best explanations for his future queries.
That sounds totally neurotic, doesn't it.

******
Quick note:
I must mention this because I thought it was so humorous but it is totally picking on my husband, which I hate to do. Yesterday he came home from the store and said "Look honey! I'm nesting, too." and I didn't get it...
"Huh?", then he motioned to the pack of Corona's he picked up. I still didn't get it. "Huh??"
"Ya know... I'm getting ready for when I have a week off when the baby comes", he says.
Ohhhhh. Hmmm, not sure if that falls under my Nesting definition (I also don't remember seeing stocking up on beer under the Webster's definitions, either). Apparently we will be a very relaxed family around here during that first week. ;)
Oh this makes me chuckle. Will we also be listening to Jimmy Buffett and hanging out in tye-dyed sarongs?

Paper towel towers

I love when my son plays with things other than toys. I think it's an important part of having an imagination and it makes me feel like he is thinking "outside the box". Not that toys don't offer the chance to use those crazy developing imaginations but toys guide the imagination a certain direction.
Now, 12 paper towel rolls? What can you do with them? How much fun could that be?

I remember being a kid and being so damn excited when someone in the neighborhood got a new appliance. Us kids would promptly run over and steal the giant box put to the street. Said box would become a house, a car, a bus, a doghouse, a castle, a boat and countless other things before we dragged the shredded, dilapidated remains to the street.

So 20+ years later I'm sitting in front of a not-very-imaginative laptop watching my 2 year old create walls and towers with our Sam's club paper towel rolls. I love it. I love seeing him drag a chair over to stack them "Hiiiiigggghhhh!" and listen to him say "Mooorrrre Towtow!" when he stacks them and "Ohhh, Maaaan...." when they fall. He cracks me up.


********
Prego update:
38 weeks
head down
80% effaced
No change from 2 weeks ago
I got to see my little boy in an ultrasound though and I'm excited to kiss those chubby cheeks.
Crabbiness on the rise, however.

I spoketh to soon

Well, so much for spelling out the word Shit. He caught on...
Yesterday, a giant-carry-away-a-small-child bug got into the house and is hanging out on the dining room ceiling. I do what any normal wife would do... "Keeeeeeevvvvvvviiiiinnnnnn!!!"
Of course the bug-killer aka the husband comes in and says "What the hell is that?".
I shrug, "A giant preying mantis?"
We both stand there for a minute thinking how the hell we are gonna get it out because I am not gonna be the one to clean up the mess it makes if we killed it.
Carter comes running in and yells excitedly "Beeeeee!"
"Yep...big bee", I say distractedly.
Kevin then begins jumping and leaping at it but it keeps swooping away (wingspan about 3+ feet btw). It then divebombs our heads and Kevin exclaims "Oh shit!" ..... which is perfectly repeated by our darling little magpie. "Ohhhh SSSSShit!" he yells, then again and again....
I am frantically saying "Nooo, Ohhh Shooooot, Carter....Shoooot"
Kevin is trying hard not to laugh out loud. Truth be told I had to really hold in the giggles myself.
Why is it so funny when you hear swear words coming from little tiny bodies with little tiny voices?

Ohhh, I've got the Randoms

I must write some of this random stuff down so I don't forget it. I think the mundane is special.

So usually a quiet and missing toddler is a sign of some disastrous mess somewhere in the house....but not this morning. I finally go looking for my lil' youngster and find him in mommy & daddy's bed with the covers pulled up to his chin and watching Diego. He is too funny. I then say You wanna eat lunch? and he says No, mama and did the sign for sleep...then he laughed and pretended to sleep until I left the room. Goofball.

So here are a few things he has been saying recently:
Oh, Man! when something is dropped or has fallen.
Es Otay! when he has fallen or bumped his head and is usually accompanied by the waving of his hands in the air like he is soothing a large crowd.
Oh, Shooot! another momma kinda oops...at least it's not s-h-i-t (hey! look at me...spelling it out in my own blog; I'm a dork)
Oootaaay... chin to chest, shoulders hunched accompanied by a dejected shuffle; this is after he is told he can't have something or do something right now (very pathetic and heart wrenching).
Paaay! when he sees toys r us or wants to play with his friends toys

Our Big Guy says alot of words but he expresses himself in multiple ways. He is not as verbal as some of his little friends but he has always used a lot more "Silent communication", as I called it. So he combines the verbal with signs and face/body language. He is very expressive in a dramatic sense. ( He has been having trouble with some consonants but we aren't worried because we know he is a little genius. )

Things he fell asleep with last night:
Tickle Me Cookie Monster, a book on the New Baby, sippy cup and mommy (because I was too exhausted to move)

Favorite food group:
Cupcakes :) (I must hide them and eat them in a closet like an addict)

Favorite Shows:
Wow Wow Wubzy
Max & Ruby
Dora/Diego
Wonder Pets

Signs he still uses (even with his words):
Table, shower/bath, milk, sleep, bird, cat, flower, book, chair, slide, bowl, baby, cry

Favorite toys right now:
Choo Choo play tent
ABC's puzzle (EeeBee's he calls it)
Tool Set
Play doh set (dora)
and Rock's .... of course (he is a boy)

Nicknames I still call him:
Bear, Bear-Bear or Baby Bear
Bubby or Bubba
Stinky, Tinky or Tinker Bear
Sonny Boy Williamson (or other combo such as Stinker Bear Williamson....we aren't sure why we started calling him this...)

Everything right now is I dooo it! and Belf! (which means "by myself") He has entered the very independent stage of toddlerhood. This is both frustrating for me and sweetly endearing as I watch him become a little man.

More Birthday Pictures

"Hmmm, does this thing really fly? I don't think you know what you're talking about Papa...."

This is a close-up of our yummy dinosaur poo cake. Interesting design, eh? :)

He is a budding Arteeeest. Mommy and daddy have just made their own trouble by getting this for him, I'm thinking.

"Ahhahahah! I got you! Beware dry people! I have toddler powered water sprayer!!!" ....followed by 2 year olds evil cackle.

Birthday Pictures

Here we are at The Cheese. I think ol' Chuck is caressing my back....weird. Carter is overwhelmed with joy because they gave him his first gold medallion bling and he got to dance with a giant mouse/rat.

This is our lovely dinosaur poo cake (notice brown dots all over it...what gives?). It was good though. Carter is right now debating whether or not to set his hair on fire by leaning directly into the flame. (luckily nothing was set afire, phew)

Carter Kaneival on his very first big boy bike. He's loving it.

Locked and Loaded. My little man with his Diego water pack/sprayer. What was mommy thinking??

Two years ago....

The whole pregnancy I had planned for a natural birth. I studied and read lots of books and articles and even hired a doula to assist us with labor and delivery. I treated it as an "event" like a Marathon; something to train for.

However, our son had other plans... Carter was born by c-section on Wednesday, August 30th at 9:34 a.m. He was a breech baby and came out butt first!

The day before he was born was an ordinary day... I had a doctors appointment and we were going to see if I was dilated at all. I was getting impatient and tired of being pregnant. When the doctor checked me and couldn't feel his head she was worried since I was only 5 days away from my due date and he should have been engaged in my pelvis and my body should have been "preparing" itself for labor....but no such luck. Nothing was happening down there. So, we did an ultrasound to see what he was doing. That's when she told me that he was breech and that he must have flipped from head-down to head-up about 3-4 weeks earlier. They don't deliver breech babies vaginally at this hospital because of the risk so she said we needed to do a c-section the next morning to avoid the chance of me going into labor and having to do an emergency section (which poses risks). I cried alot. I really wanted to deliver him naturally and experience the satisfaction of bringing him into the world. I felt cheated somehow. I had also previously experienced minor abdominal surgery and knew that a cesaeran is no walk in the park. People treat it so lightly these days but I knew the risks and the potential for a long recovery.
I tried some home remedies to "turn" him that evening but he was stubborn and wouldn't budge. I only slept 2 hours that night and was angry and bitchy the next morning. Let's just say I was not the best patient. I did begin having regular and painful contractions during my pre-op prep, though. So maybe it was labor and he was meant to be born that day anyway. :)
After I was prepped I shuffled to the operating room and they administered the spinal. Weird. I could feel but not really. Kinda like at the dentist. They brought Kevin in as they made the incision and he sat by me and waited while they dug around my abdomen. There was lots of pressure and I got intense shakes and shivers from the spinal medication. They pulled Carter out butt first, I guess but I couldn't see anything.
I heard his first little warble though, and my eyes welled up with tears. Then he started to holler and they pulled the drape down so I could see my beautiful boy. I was surprised to see his gold-red hair. The nurses took him over to be weighed and stuff and handed him to Kevin all wrapped up tight. That is when Kevin carried him over to me with tears running down his cheeks and said "Honey, you took your vitamins" and all the nurses said "Aaaaahhhhh!". He put Carter up close to my face so I could kiss him and touch him. I wanted to hold him so bad! They all then left while I got sewed up. I had never felt so lonely in all of my life then at that moment....
I remember feeling impatient for them to just hurry up and get all this crap done so I could hold my son. They took me to recovery where I sat and shook and shivered and finally between clenched teeth I asked when I could see my baby. The nurse looked at me like I was crazy and said "You want him now? Don't you want to rest and recover?!". At this point my mood was almost homicidal....poor woman didn't know she had such an awful patient, I'm guessing. I hopefully didn't show it....
So after about an hour or so after my surgery Kevin came walking into recovery carrying the most precious bundle of hospital blankets I had ever laid eyes on. Finally. Finally, my little man with whom I had shared 9+ months with, was in my arms.
I began breastfeeding right away and he was a quick learner...or teacher, I'm not sure which.


Anyway, life couldn't have been more sweet than at that moment when I finally had you in my arms, Carter. My perfect little baby. You are my world and it doesn't matter how you got here, it just matters that you did.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Big Guy!!!!! I can't believe it!