This is SO you!

I was sent this article and it made me laugh out loud. This is SO you right now.

Part II -- The Age Of Independence

1. When your parent(s) appear to be having a deep conversation with another adult, announce that you have to poop. If you are still in diapers, extra credit awarded for grunting and straining to make it appear like you are trying to pass a brick.

2. When being served a banana, if it breaks during the peeling process, REFUSE to eat it. Actually, make that the rule for anything that breaks before being served. Yes, even cookies.

3. When out to eat, stand up in the booth, then turn around and stare at the person eating behind you for so long it becomes creepy.

4. If someone tries to take something from you, make them sorry. Hold tight while flailing and screaming. If they manage to pry it out of your hands, channel the Incredible Hulk and explode on them.

5. Potty Training (a.k.a The Great Chocolate Caper)... should NOT be easy for anyone involved. Well, unless chocolate and sweet treats are not your thing. The harder you make it, the longer you will get rewarded for crapping in the potty.

6. MAKE A MESS! That is your mantra. Make the most of every opportunity to wreck the joint. Get creative. Go nuts. Think: Filthy Wild Mess. Make sure it's clear where you have been... Store your toys in the hall, in shoes, in the cat's/dog's bed, in the refrigerator, in the toilet, bathtub, front yard... anywhere but where your parents want them. 

7. When you pass gas, laugh hysterically and then in your loudest voice announce, "HA HA I JUST FARTED." Legend status achieved if four or more people are present.

8. Before you touch anything on your plate, demand the food off everyone else's first.

9. Shoes, clothes and vegetables are stupid. Avoid them.

10. DO NOT sleep in on the weekends. If the sun rises before you, then you have failed. If you do not see the tears in your parents' eyes when waking them up before dawn, then you have failed.

11. Life is one big game of tag. Everyone is "It." RUN FROM THEM! Use tables to play epic games of You Can't Catch Me by crawling under them and running around them.

12. When no one is looking, try something really naughty. Something like climbing on furniture, jumping on the bed, pulling a chair over to the counter to grab a knife, chasing the cat or dog. Something you are sure you will get yelled at for if caught. Live a little.

13. While out for walks, stop every six inches to poke, pick up, drop or kick something. Every dog in the neighborhood should be lapping you on walks. Even the German shepherd that stops every foot to mark its territory.

14. Repeat EVERY word you hear. Every. Single. One.

15. This is the only time of your life when you can say bad words in public and not get in trouble. Remember, they think you are trying to say truck, duck, chip, bridge and ship. GO WITH IT! Drop "truck" bombs all over the place!

16. Phones and tablets were put on this Earth for you. Seek them out. Always.

17. Act like a perfect little angel while in the care of others. Think all smiles through Pleases and Thank Yous and well-timed trips to the potty. It will keep your parents guessing and slightly annoyed.

18. The backseat of the car is your domain. Mark it by creating a sea of Goldfish crackers. Feed the Goldfish juice and crumbs whenever possible.

19. Before you play with your toys, play with everything else. Including, but not limited to, everything in the house that is repeatedly referred to as "not for you."

20. Last, and most important, to keep Toddler Legend Perfect Little Angel status... at least once a week, WOW your parents with your undeniable wit and charm. One week, bust out the ABCs or The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Then, the next week, count to 10. In between, announce observations about your surroundings using words they have never heard you say before. Also, give kisses, hugs and cheeky grins and/or say "I WUV you" -- the latter if you think they are on to you.

So Very Sick

My heart is breaking as I watch you and see how miserable you are. I had a feeling you were getting sick, but on Wednesday night you would sleep for 15 minutes, then wake up screaming. Of course Daddy was out of town. You had a 101 fever so I called the doctor on Thursday. They had an opening so I took you in. Your doctor was not sure if it was just a cold or something more. She said something was not sitting right with her. I agreed and said that is why I brought you in. She was hesitant to give you an antibiotic but she said she would call on Friday to see how you were.

On Friday a nurse called and I told her that you seemed to be getting worse. You still had a fever and you were lethargic. You were refusing to eat but thankfully you were still drinking. She talked to the doctor and they said they were going to call in an antibiotic. If you still have a fever tomorrow I have to take you in again.

Daddy picked up your medicine on Friday so your first dose was after your brothers got home from school. Daddy and I had a school event to go to and I felt awful leaving you. This is how you looked before we left last night:

You were so unhappy. I thought about staying home. I did not want to expose Nana and Papa to your sickness. I hope no one catches whatever it is that you might have. You woke up this morning, ate some yogurt (first food in a few days) and had your milk. You seemed to be getting back to your old self. Around 11 it was as if you remembered you were sick. You were clingy and felt warm so I gave you some medicine. It was funny because after I give you something today, you have been saying "thanks." Usually you say "thank you" but today it is just "thanks."

I love watching you do and learn new things. You make me laugh. You have such a big personality and I wish I could record every second of your life. I love that you pick up the play phone, say "Hi Papa. How are you? I good. Love you. Bye." You also like to "call" Nana. I am so glad you love them so much! Your vocabulary seems to grow every day right along with you. I am having a very hard time knowing you are growing up. As challenging as you can be, I love this age. I feel like the first year was a blur. I was so busy trying to figure out how to be a mom that I feel I missed a lot of things. I do think I wrote down most things but I feel like a lot of my memories will have to come from pictures.

This morning you were in the kitchen and I asked you for a kiss. Usually you say no, or if you do say yes, you put your head forward and let me kiss that. Today you replied YES! then you ran to me, with your arms stretched out. You jumped into my arms and you put your head on my shoulder. I hope you always love me as much as you do now.

I love that you show empathy to others already. Yesterday you saw Torrin sitting down and you said "Torrin boo boo. I see it." I looked over and we could see that Torrin had a cut on his knee. You said "I get down. I kiss it?" Adorable. You also react when one of us is crying by getting visibly upset. On TV when you see something sad you put your arms out and ask "I hold it?" You are a sweet boy and I love you SO much!

21 Months

I know I say this all the time, but where is the time going? I can't believe you are 21 months old. I should say you are 1 and a half but I think saying you are 21 months is making me feel a little bit better.  As challenging as this mom thing is, I love seeing you learn new things and I adore hearing your sweet little voice.

You have been telling me everything you are doing. "Mama! Mom! I walking." "I runnin!" "I poopin." "I sittin." You are so dang cute, I can't even stand it. You love "swimming" in the tub and you REALLY loved it when we went to the pool a few weeks ago. When I was putting you to bed that night, you said, "I swim. I fast. It fun!"

You were confused why you could not go into the pool during "adult swim." Those were probably the longest 10 minutes of your life. You kept putting your foot in, looking around to see if it was ok. 

After you were in the pool, Daddy held you in the shower. You were unsure of the shower, but you did ok. You got so comfortable with it that you stood under the water and repeatedly peed, as you said "I peeing." I took pictures of that too, but I won't post them here :)

 After the pool we stopped at the store where the clerk gave you your first 'Blow Pop' which you referred to as Pop Art. You were in heaven. When I went to throw it away, you hugged it and said, "My pop art."

You are so much like your Daddy, especially when it comes to being outside. You always want to be outside and you throw a fit when it is time to go in. I had to put sunscreen on you this particular day. You were confused by this so I kept telling you it was lotion. You did really well, so I hope that you are ok with this throughout the summer. 

As I have mentioned before, you are extremely attached to me. As much as I love snuggling with you and how much you want to be around me, you need some outside entertainment. I decided to sign you up for a class called "Crocodile Rock" through our town. It is once a week for 4 weeks and so far we have gone twice.  You sort of do your own thing but for the most part, you listen to the teacher when it is time to get a toy/put a toy back. You are very excited to shake things like you are doing in this picture. 

Before we go, I talk about how we are going to class with some friends. As soon as we pull up to the building you yell "friends!" During today's class, a little girl accidentally hit you in the head with an instrument. You cried and screamed, then refused to do anything else for the rest of class. I take that back. You did sit in the parachute as all the parents spun the kids in a circle. You didn't know if you should laugh or cry but thankfully you made it through. At the end of class all the kids were invited under the parachute and they were having the best time, laughing, smiling and squealing. You wanted nothing to do with the parachute. At the end of class your teacher puts a stamp on each hand. You are fascinated with them!

You bring so much laughter and joy into our lives and I love you so much. I find myself worrying more and more about being a good parent to you. I want you to grow up (well not really grow up) to be a kind, caring and loving boy. I want you to be a good person that people like to be around. I want you to be a good friend and a good brother. I want you to be happy and to love life. I just hope I am doing the right things with you/for you. I often feel like I am failing as your mom. There are so many "shoulds" that come with life. For example, you "should" only be using sippy cups. I still give you the bottle. It comforts you, and I adore snuggling with you as you hold your bottle. You "should not" be watching any TV until you are 2. I let you watch the baby channel and you love it. I worry I am doing you harm but as long as you are happy and healthy, I think we will be ok.

You have been getting up every night crying, so I am headed off to bed. I hope you sleep all night. I love you little man.

I am a sucker!

You are only 20 months old and you already know how to get me to give in to you. Daddy usually puts you to bed but he has been traveling so I have been doing it as well. In the past when you were fussy, I would tell you we were going to snuggle. I would hold you in your chair, we would rock and I would sing you a song. Being that you are a parrot (repeating everything you hear) you have started asking me to rock you. When I go to put you in your crib you ask "We snuggle?" I give in because it is adorable how you say snuggle and I know you are not always going to be this attached to me. When I tell you it is time to go to your crib you ask me for a song. You have started saying "Tinkle Tinkle Star." So. Darn. Cute. Tonight you put the palm of your hand on my face and said "I love you." It melts my heart but man am I in trouble.

You have started screaming very loudly in public places. Tantrums are a regular occurrence and you get very mad when you don't get your way. When I tell you have to do something you often tell me, "Don't want to!" At Target we told you that you could walk but you had to hold our hand. You refused to do that for more than 2 seconds so we put you back in the cart. I never thought I would be THAT parent. The one who had a child who was having a major meltdown in a store. I am officially that parent.

We are still amazed at your vocabulary and all the funny things you say. Your memory of past events is amazing. Every single night you talk to me about the "axdent" (accident) that Nana and Papa had in their car at our house. You tell me Papa's car went boom, that it was stuck in the rocks, that the car got a boo boo, that Vinnie had to come "fix." It is amazing how much you remember.

Our kitchen is in the process of being remodeled and the first time you saw it with nothing in it you stopped, said ut oh and asked me "What happened?!" When your Daddy came back from his business trip you took him into the kitchen and you asked him "what happened?!"

You constantly call for your Nana and Papa. You adore them and they think you are pretty funny. You love Papa's cane. When he is not around you say, "Shhhhh, Papa is sleepin." You ask for Nana all the time and when you do see her, you get ridiculously excited. I love seeing you with them. I am glad you love them so much!

I Wasn't Finished….

You have a tendency to need something when I sit down to write this so I did not get to finish the last entry.

Lately you have started saying things are "too loud" and putting your hands over your ears. The hands over the ears are nothing new but you say "Too loud" and "Im scared" a lot. You used to love the vacuum but now you freak out and say Vacuum TOO LOUD. I feel bad for you!

Last night I sat with you before bed a little longer than I probably should have. You have been crying for me any time you go to bed and usually I don't give in, but last night I did. We sat in your chair and we snuggled for about 30 minutes. You kept talking to me, saying every word you could think of and you were trying so hard not to have to go to bed. I know you won't always want me as much as you do now so I sat with you and enjoyed every sweet moment of you wrapped in a blanket and saying "hold ya mama?"

You continue to amaze us every day with how smart you are and how it only takes you one time to learn most things. You keep bringing us books, telling us "read books" but then you take it from us and say "I do it." You opened the Goodnight Moon book the other day and you kept saying "Great green room telephone." I was amazed. I know you aren't actually reading it but the fact that your remember the first page is pretty impressive. 

You want me to play tractors with you so I suppose I need to listen. I love you so much!

20 Months

This morning as we were driving Camden and Torrin to school, you said "Bye brothers! See ya!" It made us all laugh. Then today I was cleaning and you grabbed the mop and said, "I help you Mama." I absolutely LOVE that you come up to me, put your arms up and say Hold Ya? Or Hold Mama? Very sweet.

Yesterday you were 20 months old. 19 Months did not sound too old, but 20 months sounds WAY too close to 2 years old. How is it possible that you have been in this world for 20 months? As trying as you can be (usually only to me) you make me laugh and I love you so much! You were in desperate need of a haircut and thankfully you allowed Nana to hold you while you got it cut yesterday. You were not too happy but at least having Nana there made it all better. Here are some before and after pics:

You are Hilarious!

You are turning into such a funny little guy! I love seeing what you say and do. It seems like every day you are talking more, learning new things and continuing to develop that big personality. Strangers comment on how smart you are and how big your vocabulary is for only being 19 months old. When people ask you questions, you understand and you respond to them. Sometimes I have to translate but overall they understand your response as well. 

Last night we went to dinner with Nana and Papa. As I mentioned before, you LOVE them. You get so excited when I tell you we are going to see them or when they walk in the door. Lately, you have been referring to me as "Dani" which is understandable because Camden and Torrin call me Dani. You heard Nana call Papa "John" and last night you wanted his attention so you kept screaming JOHN over and over. Nana and I found this to be pretty entertaining. Yesterday you said peek a boo for the first time. You have been playing peek a boo for a long time but last night at dinner you said it! You think some words are hysterical-like dune buggy and especially "boobies."

Lately you have been coming up to me, putting up your arms and saying "Hold ya Mama?" I pick you up, you put your head on my shoulder and pat my back. I love these little moments with you and I am hoping time slows down a little bit. You are growing up way too fast. 

The other morning you had your first bloody nose. I felt so bad for you. It was all over your face and on your blankies. I said Oh no! You are bleeding! All day long you would tell me, "I'm bleeding." You take in everything and you really love to repeat things. Also, it amazes me and those around you how you remember things. For example, a few days ago you would not nap for me and you were a challenge. I wound up crying and every day now you tell people "Mommy was crying." Anytime Mickey barks, you said, "Mickey barking. He sad." I also love that you are trying SO hard to count. Every time you try it is always 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10….then it starts all over again. 

The other day (March 3rd) you heard me making a phone call. The person on the phone asked my name and I said "Danielle Forrest." You kept walking around the house saying Danielle Forrest. I think I have mentioned this before, but I LOVE when you put your palms up, shrug your shoulders and ask WHAT HAPPENED?! You have been following it up with "I broke it." You dumped your entire bin of cars the other day, got up, walked around for a little bit, came back and saw all the toys on the floor. You looked at me, said "Ut Oh! What happened?!" 

You have to have two of everything. Especially blankies. You tell me you need two of them. You have also started doing things and saying "I help you!" I call you honey sometimes and you repeat it and say Oh honey! 

I think the best moment from this past week was on February 25th. I put you in your crib, said goodnight and that I loved you. You said Mama? I responded Yes? and then you said Love You. SO cute. 

Although you cause me to cry (only because I feel like I am completely failing as a parent) I love you so much. You make us all laugh and we just adore you. You are such a cute and smart little boy!!