of COURSE our child is gifted!

haha... i'm thinking that every parent probably thinks their child is gifted in some way, right? :)

today was my first parent-teacher conference, which basically means that the teacher told me all about their activities/curriculum, purpose, rating system (to keep track of milestones in a long list of different categories), photos, etc. i really believe the staff works hard to get all these kids to develop all kinds of skills, and i am super impressed by them. they seem to really balance teaching the kids independence and obedience in this classroom. and they notice each individual kid and their quirks! i LOVE this daycare, like with little crayon-drawn hearts coming from my eyes. also, it's a chain, if you'd like to check them out (and i think i get a referral discount, so let me know if you do).

anyway, so back to the special-ness part. let's see, mosey is only 26 months, but the teacher was saying that he has already caught on to a lot of the activities. like sorting colors and shapes--they ask mosey to do his last because he is so eager and quick to finish that it doesn't give other kids the chance to figure it out! they will soon put his cubby on the bottom shelf so that he can get pull out his own box and blanket for naptime (only a handful of kids get this privilege). he basically understands what he needs to do in any activity after one or two times of explanation (he doesn't follow instructions every time because he is known to be a bit of a rebel). he is one of the rare few (the only other kid is michael, who they say is like mosey's partner in crime), that spends a good amount of time in each station in the classroom. she said each station has a different focus and teaches different developmental skills, and he is really interested in everything. also, he pooped in the potty after naptime without anyone asking him to!

i'm so proud i could just explode.

lovelove,
moses mom

habits of a toddler boy

the other day, we had his little suitcase out, and of course, he loves to roll it around the house. well, this time, he examined it, found the wheels, and said with great revelation and excitement, "it's a car!!!" he believes anything that has wheels belongs in the 'car' category. i love it. :)

this week, mosey has been tacking on "mommy" at the end of his sentences. sometimes even after a long pause, "what's that... mommy?" he has been doing it so often that he also calls shane mommy and has to correct himself. it's really adorable.

last night, we had him in footie pj's (he calls them "jamas") for the first time in a long time. he really really loved them until he realized he couldn't feel his belly button (he likes to suck his thumb and play with his belly button to soothe himself). after a bit of trying, he asked me nicely, "off, mommy." i unzipped them a bit, to see if access to the belly button was what he wanted, but he just wanted to change completely. he was happy to wait around for a different set of pj's. no fussing, just a calm costume change.

lastly, mosey refers to daddy's convertible as "da buh buh."

lovelove,
me

potty updates

1. this week, moses peed in the potty standing up at daycare! he really is a big boy.
2. yesterday, after daycare, we had gotten all the way home. mo was playing, and a half moon was peeking out from the back of his pants. i thought maybe the substitute teacher didn't get his diaper all the way tight and it was sagging. nope! to my great surprise, he actually didn't have a diaper on at all! i don't know how long he was going commando, but his pants were completely clean and dry! ha!
3. this morning, i pooped on the potty, with mosey as my audience, and he cheered me on, "you did it!!!" "poo poo potty!!" "yay, mommy!!!" he clapped and cheered. it was pretty motivating, honestly.
4. this afternoon, mosey woke up from his nap crying! i went in and found him with his pants pushed down to his ankles, his diaper completely off, and a giant pool of pee pee covering his sheets, pillow, pants, and stuffed animal. his new found power to take off his diaper might be good, or it might be bad. it's a bit early to tell. and... did he take off the diaper and pee before his nap or after? only mosey knows. 

lovelove,

poo poo potty mommy

the end of the third day

i dropped off mosey at nana and grandpa's house on friday afternoon. while it's been a glorious weekend (a wedding, a group of visitors staying overnight, a group of visitors hanging out all day, a day of real rest, an extended date, and a large amount of uninterrupted cleaning), i am sick with missing our little baby. a number of phone calls, pictures, and videos have shown that Mosey is pleased as punch to be hanging out up there with Nana... and i am starting to wonder when he'll start missing me! :) oh well. we are definitely glad to know that he is able to spend time away from us and still feel secure.

as for me, i have to mention this. while mopping, i used the mop to clean old milk splatter off the lower parts of furniture in the dining area (i.e. table, chairs, and bookshelf). i think that deserves at least an honorable mention for mom/wife-of-the-year. haha...

lovelove,
me

a (slightly irritating) favorite phrase and a responsible child

so. i generally have a long patience for our sweet son. there are certainly some things that we won't tolerate, such as tantrums and throwing and such, but there is a new phrase in Mo's repertoire. and it slightly irritates me. he uses it anytime he wants something (treat, food, drink, jacket, i.e. seven million times a day), and it's always said with a bit of urgency: "GET it, mommy!"

i try to coach him to say 'please' every time he says it, but so far, it's not catching on. and i think it's that sense of demand that sort of gets under my skin.

however, yesterday during story time, our upstairs neighbor was vacuuming, and i guess Mosey had never really heard it quite so clearly above his room before. his eyes were wide with both curiosity and worry (what a cutie). after listening for a while, he looked into my eyes and whispered, "get it, mommy." i think he was telling me he wanted it to stop. his trusting gaze and simple request just made my heart melt. i told him it was almost over, and luckily, i was right. all was well and he went to sleep in peace. :)

in other news, tonight, as Mo was getting undressed for bath time, he forgot to take off his shirt. he ran out of his room, and i said, "Mosey, come back, you forgot your shirt." he came back, thinking i was telling him to put his shirt in the laundry basket (common at this time of day). he picked up his socks and shorts to put them in his laundry basket, and he said to me, "where da shirt go?"

i have to admit, i took advantage of this moment to just laugh at our son, standing there with his little bare bottom hanging out of his shirt, looking around confused. it was like someone looking around for their glasses while they were on their head, but, of course, infinitely cuter.

love that little guy.

lovelove,
GETitmommy

flu shots

so, of course, i've read dozens of PSAs about how important it is to get a flu shot. especially for young children, older adults, and pregnant women. i've researched now for about... 45 minutes now, without luck on where i can find a place to give a flu shot to a 2 year old! CVS gave me the run around, and each location gave me the number of another location, saying they think the other gives them for 2-year olds (apparently, you have to be 13 years old to get them at any old pharmacy). same with Walgreens. i'm on hold with the health department now, which is where i have gotten nearly all of Mosey's shots.

you'd really think that (with how important it seems) lots of places would offer it for cheap, particularly for young kids. dear public health community, this has made me rather sad.

ah... success! for 2-year olds, they give the flu mist for $8!! score!

i heart the health department! well, sort of.

lovelove,
me

a few things that set mosey apart

so, Mo missed 4 days of daycare last week, and when we got back to our routine on Monday, one of the daycare teachers was super excited to see that he was back. she was so happy to see him and gave him extra hugs. she mentioned to me that she missed Mo because she didn't have anything to laugh at last week. it admittedly sounded slightly awkward/insulting, but it made me feel proud. i think what she meant was that Mo is special and entertaining (is that parental-wishful thinking?). she mentioned later that day when i picked Mosey up that he made her laugh by talking to her with his cheeks all full of food. apparently, he is like a squirrel at daycare, storing up food in his cheeks for those lean times between meals and snacks.

yesterday, another daycare lady told us that Mosey is a daredevil! he pushed a little car up to the top of the sidewalk incline outside, stood on the back of it, and shimmied his way until the car rolled down the hill! WHAT? he's definitely not a baby anymore. i would like to slow time down. just a little bit.

tonight, while reading a book, he told me, "cow's eating grass." (it was unrelated to the text i was reading--he was just observing.) amazing, folks.

lovelove,
me