Bye, Bye Baby stuff!

Fred & I have been working hard to pack away all of Tad's baby stuff!  Yeah!    Then Tad finally got his new bed set up!  (Just the mattress for now.)

He did pretty good the first night.  We only had to lay him back down 3x (and he fell asleep after I realized I hadn't given him a blanket he normally sleeps with.)  The second night we ended up sitting in his room to keep him laying down.  And the 3rd night he would come to the door but wouldn't come out.  We had to tell him 3x to go lay back down and then he was out!  Overall, it's been pretty good.   I wish he would learn that when he's tired he can just go lay down.   He'll get it eventually.   :}  

Sundays are still rough.  He doesn't get a nap because church is later.  This is the first time I've ever seen him fall asleep in his seat.  We tried clapping and splashed a little water- not even a flinch.  Luckily he'd eaten most of his dinner so we just put him in bed.   (The high chair also got moved - and eventually packed away.)

Snow day!  He hates to walk in the snow.  But he loves to play in the melting snow that drips off of the house.  He was soaked by the time I brought him in.

 

I doubt playing in the water caused it, but Tad ended up pretty sick this week.  He had the flu and an ear infection.  I'm SO grateful that Fred was willing to sleep on the couch and be woken up every couple of hours with coughing.  Even on a Z-pack it seemed to take awhile to get him better.  I think sick kids are the worst part of having a kid! 

Well, I'm off for P.T.......After months of dealing with a sore left shoulder, Fred convinced me to go to an Orthopedic to have it looked at.  The result:  Bursitus.  Aggressive icing, anti-inflamatory & Physical Therapy 3x a week.   (For those of you who don't know what Bursitus is: it's inflamation in your Bursa - the jelly sac in your shoulder that helps lubricate the joint.  It's buried under the rotator cuff.  So, PT is supposed to help strengthen the cuff and get everything to fit together better and pinching.)

And those are all the reasons I have not kept up on our blog! 

Loads of fun!

 I put new batteries in Tad's dino and it's a lot more interactive.   Last week I saw him hiding under the table to roar at it.  He also shared his sippy cup.   He won't ever stand too close, but if he roars at it it'll roar back.   When it walks towards him he still runs away. 

 We went to the rodeo with Aunt Crystal.  We love that we can go to rodeos year-round!  Tad said "look" at least 50 times, pointing out the horses.  Usually we give him his blanket when he's tired and he'll suck his thumb.  Even though it was hours after his bedtime he kept watching the rodeo and didn't really want his blanket.  He stayed awake the whole drive home too.   He was MUCH better behaved than the little brats behind us!  And I have a new hatred for parents who talk babytalk to their kids! 

 I found these pants in Tad's collection of church clothes and they are adorably, nerdy!  He looks like a little pioneer boy.   If we had a big floppy hat, I'd have to find a parade to put him in!  :} 

This is his new "cheese" face.  It looks a lot like his "I love mommy face".  His "I love daddy face" is a smile with his eyebrows raised. 
His latest obsession is keys.  We found a set to our old car and let him play with them.  He can say "keys please" but most of the time he just signs "please" (it's the only word I've taught him to sign, because I was tired of hearing him grunt for things.)  He will literally spend hours playing with his keys, trying to turn every screw he can find.  Tonight I sat on the floor to do puzzles with him and all he would do is carry around his keys. 

FOOD!

I print off new recipes all the time, then never try them.  To help myself, & you out, I've decided to start a new blog.   When I try a new recipe or create one, I'll share it! 
http://www.tastebudsandbrainbuds.blogspot.com/

29 for the rest of my life

29.... That's how old you stay for the rest of your life right?  Good thing we spent the whole long weekend celebrating!  

It started Thursday - Fred's been wanting to take the snowmobiles out.  I think it's been a few years because of Tad & schooling.  Tad would run away when Fred started them because they were loud.  When we tried to put him on one he cried.  (When dad sat with him he was fine.)  Gma watched Tad while Fred & I went to Monte Cristo to play.  It was a gorgeous day and it was nice to be out. 

Friday was my actual birthday.  Daddy took Tad with him shopping for my birthday present and I had 2 glorious hours of peaceful scrapbooking!  When they got home it was time to bake a cake.  Tad loves to stand on a chair to help.  Evidently he already knows you need to taste things throughout the whole process. 
I've decided I don't have a favorite flavor- I just like to try a new flavor each year.  This year was Strawberry.

While the cake baked, Tad was supposed to take a nap - he refused.  I wanted to take him to the pool to play, so I let him get away with it.
He loved the water and all the kids.  Fred & I are pansies.  The water was freezing! And I hate the kid area where they constantly have water spraying or dripping.  It was fun to watch Tad but we lasted only an hour or less. 

Fred & I went out for some great Mexian at La Puente for dinner and had cake and ice cream with Tad.

Saturday I went out shopping with my sisters.  Then they went bowling with us.  It was Tad's first time and of course he wanted to follow the ball down the lane.  It was league day and they warned us we might get kicked off.  On frame 6 of our second game we got kicked off - but they gave us coupons for a free game---- good deal!!!

Aunt Lauralee helping Tad

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out with Daddy.  Maybe the best part of the whole weekend is that Fred finished putting the new engine in my car!   Yippeee!!! And can I just say he's a genius?!  There was another part that would have cost $400 for the shop to replace- we got the part from a junkyard and he put it in himself for a grand total of $37!

The final excitement of the weekend was Tad's new trick.... I couldn't find him, because he's learned to climb in the tub by himself. 

Weird that all the things I wanted to do for my birthday were things that I thought would be fun for Tad---- and at the same time the best gift was time to myself.  Looks like I'll be spending the next year STILL trying to find a balance. 

Happy Helper....but are we happy he's helping?

 First, Valentine's day.   We had a Fantastic brunch outing.  Tad was wonderful, stacking the coffee creamer and drinking his water.  (He'd pretend to pour the creamer in his water---- no idea where he learned that!)   He even tried some of our cinnamon roll & toast.  I put grape jelly on his toast and he licked it off.  :}  It was SO nice to be out and not have to have his diaper bag of toys..... I love Tad growing up!

In Nursery on Sunday the leaders let the kids decorate cookies for their families.  While the other kids devoured their cookies, Tad wouldn't touch his.  I finally got him to taste it later.  He ate the bumps off the top of the heart and that's it!  He also practiced his licking (not sure if I like this new skill). 

 Daddy has been working on my car and Tad is in HEAVEN every time I let him go outside.  Fred's a good sport about letting Tad play with his tools - except Tad usually "NEEDS" the one that daddy is using.  We give him other tools and tell him to fix the snowmobiles.   When we get out of the truck he has to walk through the carport looking for Daddy.  It's so fun to watch him idolize his dad-- hopefully he always likes helping dad fix things and will learn a lot!   We're going to have to get him some more grungy clothes because he's not afraid of dirt and grease at all----grrr!

Tad absolutely loves being outside and we're excited for spring!  We've learned we need to shut our gate though - the other day I saw Tad in the road!   SCARY!!!   (The truck was parked out there and I think he was just going to it.  I have a new appreciation for neighborhood speed limits!)

 Since it was so windy outside today I made Tad come back inside with me.  He probably would've stayed out there longer, but I was cold and had things to do.  Tad decided he needed to help.......
So he helped me do dishes.  Then got his chair to help me make lunch.  Last night he put the broccoli in the pan as I cut off pieces.  Today, he decided to taste the raw potatoes..... at least he's willing to try things, texture is not as big of an issue lately, yippeee!

Tad's latest quirk is whenever you ask him a question he says "uh-uh".  Even if you know the answer is yes- occassionally he'll nod as he says it.   The first day Fred experienced it he said it felt like opposite day.   It came on fast, hopefully it's a phase that will leave just as fast.