I'm Blessed

Just a forewarning, but I'm going to ramble about my hubby. :)

Dear Sweet Hubby came home from work today, and in his hand had a nice cold Pepsi for me and a Strawberry Kiwi juice drink for LBB. You should have seen LBB's face. He's normally ecstatic when his daddy gets home, but today, even more so...I think the smile on his face could have lit up a dim room.

And then, upon hearing of how spirited little man was today, Dear Sweet Hubby took him to a boy store and let me have some quality, quiet Mommy time at the scrapbook store. My hubby is nothing short of awesome. :) And while at the boy store, he bought LBB a Hot Wheels truck since they were picking up their truck at PaPa and GiGi's house. LBB held it all the way home after they got in the truck.

Which brings me to the last part...LBB and Dear Sweet Hubby had a boy's night out driving in the truck, partly because LBB loves their truck, and partly because my Dear Sweet Hubby wanted me to be able to turn my music up loud on the way home. (It's my therapy. HaHa!)

My husband rocks. :)

A Serious Case of the Grumpies

LBB has been having a grumpy week. I bet you couldn't tell from this picture. :)

But, amidst the grumpies, there have been wonderful moments of cuddling, laughing, and just plain fun, so this Mommy can't complain. All I can do is brace myself when I hear him start huffing (yes, like the big bad wolf), and get ready for the next tantrum.

Ah, the joys of toddlerhood. :)

Observations from the Mommy of a Nick Jr. Addict

image courtesy of lbb

Despite my best efforts, LBB has an addiction to Nick Jr. So, on a daily basis, he wakes up at the crack of dawn (literally) and with Bearemy in tow, toddles out to the living room pointing at the tv.

And I'm the mom who said I wasn't going to let him watch tv till he turned 3. :) Funny what happens when you need a few minutes to unload the dishwasher without having to constantly tell a toddler no. (I justify myself by reminding myself that I do control the tv time, so there we go.)

But...as the Mommy who gets to hear countless shows on Nick Jr., here are some observations I've made.

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  Yo Gabba Gabba's creators must be on some pretty hardcore drugs, because their show rivals the music videos of classic rock bands in the 70's.





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  I never needed to see Jack Black in a bright orange jumpsuit similar to DJ Lance's from Yo Gabba Gabba. But I did, and the image is burned into my eyes. I dvr'ed the episode just so I could share the joy with Dear Sweet Hubby. I shouldn't be the only one stuck with that in my head.





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  I'm not sure why Ming the Duck on Wonderpets has a speech impediment. He sounds like an aviary version of Elmer Fudd. And now that I'm a mom, it drives me crazy when the characters my LBB watches don't speak correctly. Won't he grow up thinking it's okay to turn his "R"s into "W"s?





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  And I also think it's ironic that Ming the Duck, after eating a big meal, said he's as stuffed as a Thanksgiving turkey. Morbid.





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  At the beginning of each episode, Kai-Lan (from Ni-Hao Kai Lan) says that to wake up the sun, they need to tickle it. WHAT?!?!? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard...even for a kid's show!





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  There's this show called Bubble Guppies...apparently they are merchildren that live in the ocean. And yet they can have things like a barn and a regular cow. I don't get it.





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  And, although it is Colt's second favorite show (and a pretty good show I must admit), I can't understand why Dino Dan can pick up a baby Brachiosaurus when there isn't trouble, but as soon as a meat eater comes around he won't pick the baby up.

I really could go on. And on. :) And I'm not complaining...I love those snuggle times when LBB and I watch a little TV. But these are just some of the random little things that fly through my brain while I watch the same episode of Yo Gabba Gabba for the 11th time. :)

But...as a Mommy, you just suck it up, enjoy it, and savor the fact that 15 years from now, he may not want much to do with watching TV with his Mom and Dad.

But oh, how I hope he does.

*And please excuse the goofy spacing on this post...blogger doesn't like me tonight. :)

Playdate!

LBB had his first playdate on Monday, and it was a complete success! His new little friend is about 3 months younger than LBB, so it was a blast seeing them interact. :)

They colored (and LBB showed Friend his pointillism coloring techinique, which Friend thought was pretty darn cool and soon copied LBB).

They had snack and sippy, which was ironically the only thing they wanted to share. Go figure.

They played with trucks. Goofed around with Mr. Potato Head. And played a few games of ball with each other. LBB loved showing Friend his room and play area, and they even got to watch a little TV together.

At the end, LBB was very sad to see Friend go, and even cried after he waved bye-bye. :( It went so well, we are going to plan one for next week too. I have to say, I was one super-proud Mommy seeing how well LBB played with his new friend...it made my heart melt.

Oh...and the picture below shows what happens when you try to get a photo of two new toddler friends without a sippy in their mouths. Too funny.

18 Months...nearly

Last night I read an article about how around 18 months, you'll see an "explosion" in your child's vocabulary.


Sure thing, article that doesn't know my stubborn boy. :)

But then, this morning, just a little over two weeks from LBB's 18 month "month-day", LBB proved them right. He's been a regular chatterbox today. He was sitting on my lap and turned to me and said, clear as day:

"Hey, Mom."

Uh. That's a bit strange.

Then he was playing with THIS puzzle, and I held up the cow and said "This is a cow. Can you say cow?"

And guess what he said.

Yep, that's right. "Cow." So I asked him again to say cow. And he did. Then I held up the cow and said "What is this?" And guess what he said.

Yep..."cow." (Granted it sounds a bit like "caw" but we're getting there.)

So, then I asked Mr. Smartie Pants what sound cows make. And guess what he said.

"Baa." :) Close. But no cigar.

And in other amazing, my-kid-is-a-smartie-and-I-have-no-shame-bragging-about-him-on-this-little-bitty-blog, news, we picked up THIS toy last night, and by this morning, LBB was already able to get all but THREE off the blocks on the right color pegs. Isn't that awesome? And he was also able to get all the pieces in the right place on his little barnyard puzzle, too. It was a very exciting day for us! :)

And just for the record...we adore these Melissa & Doug toys. They are hands down the best toys. Ever. Our wish list of toys from them is growing nearly everyday. ;)

My Little Vegetarian

Much to my hubby's dismay, our LBB has taken quite an aversion to meat. (Dear Sweet Hubby loves steaks, burgers, chicken...you name it.)

And thusly, I've been having a little bit of difficulty finding things to feed him besides pasta, pasta, and more pasta. :) But today for lunch, he finally ate a healthy meal of Strawberries, Rice Balls (I'm going to post the recipe in a bit), and shelled edamame.

It was LBB's first time eating edamame, and to be honest, I wasn't expecting a lot, but surprisingly, he ate! Woo Hoo! Score one for Mommy!

And it's crazy because this little guy can find a tiny shred of pork mixed in with his tomato salsa when we eat at Chipotle! He'll sit there, put the tomato in his mouth, and pull the little tiny nearly invisible piece of pork out of his mouth. Craziness.

So, needless to say, in an effort to eat better, get LBB to eat, and honestly, save some money, we are starting to eat more vegetarian meals. We still have meat twice a week...one night red meat, another night white meat. It's working out pretty well, and we're all learning to get accustomed to new foods.

And here's the recipe for Rice Balls...we made them with our spaghetti the other night, but to be honest, these are delicious even by themselves! LBB and I had the leftovers for lunch today...yum yum yum!

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SPICY RICE BALLS

2 C cooked white rice
1/2 C quick-cooking oats
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 C)
1/4 C dry bread crumbs (although I did increase this to make it all stick together)
1/4 C milk
1 TBSP chopped fresh or 1 tsp dried basil leaves
2 tsp chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 C wheat germ
1 TBSP vegetable oil

Mix rice, oats, onion, bread crumbs, milk, basil, oregano, red pepper, and egg. Shape mixture into 12 balls. Roll balls into wheat germ. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook balls in oil about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until light golden brown.

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These are seriously so yummy, and so simple to make! The rice does get sticky, and I ended up having to wash my hands a few times in between just so I could roll the balls without having issues. :) But that was my only issue with the recipe, and I've gotta say, Dear Sweet Hubby even loved them...and gave the A-OK for making these the majority of the time when we have Spaghetti and "Meatballs". Yep, they were THAT good.

Funny Puppy

A few weeks ago, I was clipping coupons when I saw this cute little ad for DentaStix dog treats. Knowing how much LBB loves puppies, I cut out the picture and handed it to him.

And he carried it around here and there for a day or two.

Then I asked him..."Where should we hang this picture?"

And he led me straight to the corner where the kitty bowls are, laughed, and pointed at the wall. Ah. I love it...my LBB is nearly 18 months old and he already has a witty sense of humor. :)

Ironically, this little corner is right next to our front door, so whenever we go anywhere, we pass right by the funny puppy. And now, my LBB has the most adorable little routine when we are leaving:

He leans in. Quietly whispers tot-speak to the puppy. Laughs a bit. Waves bye-bye. And the best part?

Leans in and gives the puppy a sweet little goodbye smooch. :)

This Mommy's going to have to laminate that puppy picture before it gets too soggy. :)