And now, we have mischief...

Today was a first for us, O locked us out of the house. That little goof is starting to behave like a real little kid. For two and a half blissful years, you could count on him doing nothing but good, and, now, twice in one day...

Prior to locking the family out of the house, he was spotted with an ink stamp. Minutes later, he had said ink stamps all over his face and clothes. Normal? Yes. Normal for O? No! Happy? THRILLED, truly thrilled.

I love that is is breaking rules and acting up. He got a little scolding for the lock-out job, but the stamps, that was FUNNY! Actually, both of them were funny, because honestly, why did we forget the house keys...

Now, this is getting fun!

And then they are just a little more grown

Six months ago, we attended a birthday party of a neighborhood girl. She is much older and the party had older kids AND it was at a gymnastics facility. O gets reserved in crowded situations and is not one to follow the leader, which he gets from me AND his dad. This combination did not lend itself to an enjoyable time following LOTS of older children as they try new things.

But, this past weekend, less than six months later, we went to the same facility with his peers and did the same activities and he rocked them. He was willing to try everything. He showed a fearlessness I had never before seen in him. It was such a joyful experience. I am grateful to that family for this party and my boy for his willingness to try and my husband for allowing me to have this time off and myself for having the patience not to nag him either way.

On being OLD

I turned 39 today. And despite never feeling old or worrying about aging, this one is hitting me like a ton of bricks. I am sad, lost, a little. Basically, I never thought about being a mom of a toddler with 40 staring me right in the face. So, needless to say, I am doing some quality self medicating and hoping against hope these feelings of old, decrepit-ness pass. The gravity and the bags under the eyes, OMG!

The only good thing right now is that my hair looks FAB, at least that's one thing to hang onto until my fingers cramp.

I guess I am getting a passing grade

Best complement:
"He is such an honorable little boy"
-babysitter

That felt good!

On being the center of the universe

We all continue to adjust to being a family. Sounds weird, I am sure, that I say that and we are nearly three years into it. But, like anything that is fluid and always evolving, it takes time. Lately, our little person is becoming that, a little person. He so wants to be included in everything that goes on, which is so nice and heart-warming but also heart breaking:

Steve: the tickets to the concert for your birthday printed
O: did they print my ticket, too?
S: no, just mommy and me are going to the concert
O: (dejected) oh.

OMG, I almost crashed the car when I heard how sad he was that he wasn't coming somewhere with us. Kinda like last week when Steve and I were talking about a vacation and O said that he would have to stay home with the dog. I couldn't tell if he was happy or sad about staying home with the dog. Luckily, this is a vacation he will be going on.

Needless to say, this is a textbook regession of separtation anxiety. It is just so very sad. But, I am sure in a month's time, he will shove us out the door again.