Just for Erin...

One of Gus' new favorite passions is blueberries! He is pretty obsessed so I, of course, did a photo shoot during one of his latest feasts. Check him out!

Halloween!

Better late than never....Halloween pics!



Gus



Was



The


Cutest


Lion

Ever!

Gus had fun at his school's Halloween parade! He roared a lot and actually wore his mane. Josh walked in the parade with him while I was looking back from leading my class. He actually walked a bit and then wanted Josh to carry him. For weeks we talked about him dressing up as a lion but for some reason when Gus' teachers asked him what he was dressed as, he said, "A bunnit", which is bunny rabbit in Gus speak. He's silly. Maybe next year we will find a bunnit costume.

November: Re-cap of my 30th!

Wow, so, November is totally gone and I haven't even blogged a bit! I had a few celebrations of myself in recognition of my first steps into my third decade. My favorite part, though, was when Josh woke me up on the morning of my birthday with pancakes, bacon, and coffee. We had a 20 minute breakfast together (which we never have on weekday mornings!) where he put a candle in my pancake and sang a solo, froggy-morning-voice "Happy Birthday". That guy is too cute. Then he gave me the sweetest card that Gus colored for me, an amazing card that he wrote, and a picture of my birthday present....a digital SLR camera! I was so shocked! I was sitting there thinking, "This moment is so perfect, I really don't care if I get a present because this is the best gift." and then I opened the folded paper that contained a picture of my present. Josh contacted my family and pooled the money together to get me something that I have wanted for a long time. Nice thought.

After our special time together, Gus woke up and would NOT tell me Happy Birthday. Little stinker. He kept saying, "Happy Jon" as we had celebrated my brother, Jon's birthday the week before. After work Gus and I met my mom and aunt for a crab dinner. It was a nice time that was made much better when he grinned and said "Happy Mommy!". He then, of course, had to help me blow out the candle on my dessert. He's actually really good at blowing out candles. And he LOVES to do it...over and over and over again. It was perfect.


That Saturday Josh & I went to Go Ape (goape.com) and had an absolute blast! I was wishing more people could have gone but I really can't go wrong going anywhere with my best friend. Saturday evening some dear friends met us for a hayride and bonfire! I thought the bonfire might be lame without scary stuff (Halloween was over) and really cold but it was just cold, not lame. It was really fun! Gus loved it. He kept talking about the tractor that was pulling the wagon and wanted to touch it. He sat on my dad's (Poppie) lap during the ride and when my dad's leg fell asleep he told Gus his leg had a boo-boo. I'm not sure why, but that really stuck with him. We spent the next few weeks hearing about Poppie's boo-boo. We roasted marshmallows and hot dogs and, of course, ate cake. Gus fell asleep on Josh's lap. Josh didn't want to switch holding him because he said he doesn't get to hold him while he sleeps anymore and that he misses it. I have the best husband/parenting partner that I could possibly imagine! I was sad because I of course wanted to hold Gus too, but really, it was so sweet to hear Josh say that and to know that he loves Gus and wants to be connected to him as well. What a gift. It was so wonderful to just sit out in nature, under the stars, surrounded by people who I love and who have known me in different stages of my life.

Not done yet! The following weekend Gus stayed with Mom, Aunt Claudi, & Mark while Josh and I made a road trip to Louisville. I love Louisville. I love the city and the people and the hints of my former life. For the past few visits it seems like Josh and I have been just passing through which makes it hard to see people and go to the places that we like. This time we were JUST in Louisville. We stayed with Riso in her-ish gigantic house, so that was really relaxing and fun. Some birthday festivities that occurred in The Ville are: Java reunion/meeting Sweet Baby James, A-Mazing massage from Katherine Williams (Stillpoint Wellness Center), coffee chats and yummy food, bowling with the Bakers, 30 things party (and I somehow came home with the prize), lunch with my in-law family, and breakfast with Mac and Hannah. Oh, I also found the perfect pair of red, pointy shoes at Margret's Consignments to kick off (Dad, you should be proud of that pun) year #30! I missed Gus but this trip was much of what I wanted/needed.

I waited so long to blog about this and now I'm paranoid that I left something out! Oh well. Here are some pics! More thoughts to come about actually turning 30 and not just the party happenings.

Gus & Daddy

I came across this pic and laughed. This is the only pic I took at a wedding that we went to over memorial day. I love these guys :)

Leisure in the AM

Today I am working the 9:30-6:30 shift at work as apposed to my usual 8:30 and I was reminded of how much I miss just hanging out with Gus in the mornings. Usually Josh and I are moving about getting everything ready for the day. I have time to make sure Gus' basic needs are met and then we are out the door. But this morning he and I relaxed and played and sang about almost everything we did. He was in a good mood and so was I so this made for some sweet morning time and memories that I will cling to.

I also feel some sadness that I don't get to do this as much as I want! I enjoy working and I love that Gus goes to school with other children and with amazing teachers who really love him and who he loves back. However, I do wish that this didn't happen all day, every day of the week. I felt so connected to him today and I so missed the days where we didn't have to rush off all of the time but could spend much of our days just being together and exploring the world. Being his mom is my most precious of roles in life and I am just wishing I had more quality time to spend with him.

I don't know if it's because I stayed home with him for his first year or because he's becoming more independent but for the first time I find myself feeling sad that he's growing up. Don't get me wrong, I love all the ages he's been and I really do think that he's growing up to be an amazing person but I think it's that I'm not soaking in as much time as I used to. I hear people say they feel this way a lot but I have only walked by that camp but now I'm having an extended visit. If you know what I mean.

Ok, but to catalog some of the sweet things my amazing son did this morning:
~Pulled toilet paper off of the role, put it up to my nose and made a blowing sound. I caught on and blew my nose. We both giggled. Then he took a piece for himself and blew his nose as well. We giggled again.

~Looked around for Noni & Pops. Josh's parent just left from almost a week long visit. WE had a great time and Gus noticed that they weren't here. He found their pic on the fridge and pointed to it. He held his hands up as if to say, "where did they go?"

~We took a shower together and he has the most intrigued face as he tries to grad the stream of water.

~WANTED MY COFFEE! I'm not kidding. My bold, black, Starbucks coffee. I once let him taste it thinking he would hate it....I was wrong. Sometimes I fix him green tea in a mug but he knows that's not the real thing.

~Sang E-I-E-I-O with me as I sang "Old McDonald"

~Made animal sounds after I named the animals. His first ever was quack but sounded more like "kak". My favorite is what he does when I ask him what the pig says. In Gus' world the pig blinks and squints it's eyes. Maybe he noticed something I didn't.

~Gave me tons of hugs and an open-mouthed kiss. This kid is so affectionate and I love it. He hugs his cousins and classmates and pretty much everyone that looks familiar.

~Sat on the potty and clapped for himself. We also sang songs and he did some of the motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider". He never misses the sun coming out.

~Put his potty seat in the toilet. Ooops.

Those are just a few of the things that we did this morning.

Hey Gussy,
Thanks for hanging out with me this morning. I really love spending time with you. You have become quite adventurous and seem to love exploring the world around you. I can't wait to see how your curiosity and adventurous spirit unfold within you as your life continues. I hope that no matter what age or stage we are in that we can find ways to connect and enjoy our time together. You are smart and kind already and I don't think that I could possibly enjoy you any more than I do. I love you so much!
Love,
Momma
PS: would you please carry your adventurous spirit over to the food area of you life and dig in to some veggies?

Overwhelmed

Yes, I know it has been a while since I blogged. Every time I think about blogging I am always afraid I won't have anything to say. But whatever, I'm throwing that aside...for now.

Today at work one of Gus' teachers came to tell me that he felt warm and had a low-grade fever. This was not entirely surprising because he tugged on his ears a bit and didn't sleep well last night. The thing about my child is that he hardly ever stops playing! He's not one to lay around even when his last ear infection cause the doctor to say "whoa!" when he looked in his ears. When I went in his classroom he was, of course, going up and down his favorite climber toy. I looked at him and I instantly knew he didn't feel well. One of his ears was bright red and he just had that look like "uhhh, am I awake or asleep?". We went to the doc and she diagnosed him with an ear infection. Again. This is his third one in two months. He's gotten these since he started school full-time in Feb. Not totally uncommon, I just don't like seeing him sick. On my way out I scheduled a follow up for next week to see if his ears are getting better. I tried filling his script at the new pharmacy in town and it was super fast and the pharmacist was very friendly. Thank you Aunt Claudi for the recommendation.

When we got home we ate a snack and played. Then I got a call saying that a child in Gus' class has Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Great. This illness is highly contagious so I was surprised that he didn't have any sores. Well, then I looked inside his mouth. Bingo. Not only does my sweet boy have a double ear infection but he also has HFMD. I touched his tongue to make sure the spots were raised and he cried for about five minutes so I know that they are hurting him. He then climbed up on my lap and laid his head on my shoulder for about thirty minutes before falling asleep. Now I know he REALLY doesn't feel well. I must confess that I like the cuddly part of Gus being sick. I would still rather him feel well though.

So, I guess this means I (or a combination of Josh, my mom and me) won't be at work for the next few days.

Dear Gus,
I love you so much! I hate when you feel bad but I'm glad that we have access for good care for you. When I think of children who don't have the same access I feel sad. When I think of their parents I feel sad too. I am so thankful for you and I will snuggle you as much as you need. Rest well tonight and I will see you in the morning.
Love, Momma

Christmas Present Review

Since 2005 I have owned and loved this pair of Dansko shoes.

I used to think that these were fashionably not an option for me. Ever. But as I've matured I have come to the realization that there is value in comfort and practicality. I was a grad student with an internship and a part time job. These worked for everything! They probably saved some of my relationships because of this equation: uncomfortable shoes + lots of walking/standing = very sore feet, which also = very bad mood!!

The sad day came when Gus was 8 weeks old and we were returning from our trip to meet my family. As I was carrying my shoes out the door to return to KY my stepmother, Pam, commented that she really liked them. That was my last memory of my beloved Dansko's. When we got home I could not find them!! It was a sad twist of fate. Well that may be a little dramatic but you get the point.

Fast forward to Christmas 2009. Josh bought me a new pair of Dansko's JUST like my old ones!! He went over the price limit but I really appreciated the sentiment. He's sweet. I've been thinking, however, that I need to spice these up a bit. I am very attracted to the red patten leather (big shocker for those of you who know me) but I don't think they would be as versatile. SO I have chosen (drum roll please).........

these Tooled Leather Black Clogs. Can you see the detail? I think it adds a little umph. Also, I like that they are kind of shiny. I still have to send my others back to Zappos (love Zappos) and order these from Dansko. Friends & Readers, what do you think? Can't wait to take my feet home...yes, dramatic again.