Tag: baby boy

Books, Mommyhood, Toddler

… That I shall miss you When you have grown

nainadg

I love this little boy so much that sometimes I fear that my heart cannot bear such brutality. I try to remember this on days like today, when he has a cold and he is cranky, bossy, rude and demanding, when I’m snappy and short and impatient. But when he is in bed, asleep and I have calmed down his nerves and mine, and I look through our pictures from  my camera and I just want to sit and cry at how quickly all this is passing.

Today, I looked up as he followed J down the stairs and he looked like a kid, not my baby, not a toddler- a kid. In his navy shorts and  a bandaid on his finger and scrapes on his knee, there he was – a little boy. And with every fibre of my body, I willed time to pause.

He got down the stairs and called out “Mommy” in his sweet 2 year old voice and just like that he was my baby again. At least for today.

The title is from the last two lines of W.B Yeats A Cradle Song

A Cradle Song

The angels are stooping
Above your bed;
They weary of trooping
With the whimpering dead.
God’s laughing in Heaven
To see you so good;
The Sailing Seven
Are gay with His mood.
I sigh that kiss you,
For I must own
That I shall miss you
When you have grown

———-William Butler Yeats

Bun365, Toddler

Puddle Jumps

nainadg

 

We had a terrific thunderstorm a few days ago and it woke Bun up in the middle of the night. He was scared and couldn’t sleep so we snuggled on the couch in the middle of the night while the storm raged. We sang songs, told each other’s stories. Bun’s story that he likes to tell is simple

“Once upon a time there was a digger. He lived on a job site with his mama. Digger played with the ball. There was a boss man.  I am a boss man. I build things too.”

Thats it, thats the whole story. I think I’ve got it down word for word.

Anyway, after four hours, as the storm subsided we finally fell back asleep. We woke to up more dark skies, but lovely big puddles all over our neighborhood. And so we did what  everyone should, spent our morning splashing and jumping in every puddle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very few things make little boys happier than hours of puddle jumping.

Bun365, Mommyhood, Toddler, Week in My Life

Duke Gardens – A Week In My Life Thursday

nainadg

You thought I gave up didn’t you? But I didn’t I have been recording and taking photos, just not posting. But in my head if I blog about 7 days of my life it fits Adventuroo’s Week in My Life Challenge. Do not tell me otherwise.

Anyway, Thursday afternoon Bun and I went to Duke Gardens. It was one of J and my favorite spots when we lived near campus but for some reason it seems really far to me from SW Durham and we have only taken Bun a handful of times, and that was when he was an itty bitty baby.

This time though, I timed it and it took exactly 14 mins- Not bad at all. And we had such a great time that I think we will be going to Duke Gardens a lot more in the near future

And now photos:

We entered through the Japanese Gardens and spent most of our time in this section. I love how lush and green everything looks in this photo. It was a cloudy day and the green leaves just popped against the grey skies.

We went and visited the Ducks that live in the “Ocean” as Bun called the little canal/pond. We had some bread with us and fed them. Bun was happy to perch on a rock ledge and just look. He is not into throwing bread at ducks, it seems.

We walked around the Japanese section some more and Bun was absolutely mesmerized with the waterfalls and the Koi pond but he was a little scared and insisted on holding my hand the entire time, so I wasn’t able to get any good photos of him and the waterfalls.

As we were walking back to our car, we took a detour through the area where they do weddings and spotted a really cute bridge and a Lily pond and Bun loved running across the bridge.

J was supposed to meet up with us but he ended up having to work late, so we made our way back home for regular dinner and bedtime.

But I plan on visiting it a lot more in these upcoming fall afternoons.

Bun365, Family, Life, Mommyhood, Toddler

{Discovering Durham} Fox50 Family Fun Fest

nainadg

October 1st and on cue the weather turned crisp and cool.  Saturday was sunny and clear, with highs in the low 60s. J and I headed out to the Fox50  Family Fest for the annual duckie races down old bull river. Old Bull river is the canal flowing through American Tobacco Campus, one of our absolue favorite spots in Downtown Durham.

At the Family Fest Rubber Duckies are raced down our little canal to raise money for local non profits. This annual race has been going on for years but this was the first I’d heard about it so it was a brand new experience for us. really is a community affair- high school marching bands, wildlife rescue centers, alternative arts and craft supplies- these were the exhibitors and entertainment. Nothing fancy, nothing elaborate- just regular Durham families spending a day out in the autumn sunshine.

One the big attractions were the animals from Noah’s Landing Mobile Nature center. Bun adored the animals on display. He touched a baby alligator, petted a exotic wild cat from Africa, spent 20 minutes just staring at the owls. We also ran around on the grass, played with bouncy toys, drank beer, ate super garlicky fries. Cheered the bright yellow ducks as they made their way down the river.

We brought home a tired baby who went to sleep immediately. J and I had a mellow night where we sat out on our deck (mosquito free, since it was so cold) and spent all night talking. A date night and a family day all in one. A much needed break from our daily grind.

Bun365, Toddler, Uncategorized

Stinky Shoes

nainadg

One of the words Bun has learned this week is “Stinky”

It was because these shoes were a terribly buy and made his feet sweaty and stinky.

J would say “Stinky Shoes” every time he took the kiddo’s shoes off. And Bun would giggle

Bun now says “Stinky Shooz” every time he spots a pair of shoes. Any shoes.

Now, he says “Stinky” every time I take off his shirt to change his clothes.

When I change his diaper, He says “Stinky”

The LaylaB comes in from the yard, he says “Stinky”

Its the favorite word around here these days

Bun365, Family, Toddler

21 month Vlog

nainadg

One of the most entertaining aspects of  toddlerhood is Bun’s exploding vocabulary and his enthusiasm to try out his new words. His favorite thing is now to sing along to the songs we do at story time and gymboree- Happy Birthday (from Birthday parties attended) If you are Happy and you know it and Wheels on the Bus are big favorites around these parts.

His other favorite thing is to refer to himself as “Baby Avi” but I couldn’t get it on video tonight.  I just love his sweet little baby voice and how enthusiastically he say “Hooray”

*The first 8 seconds are bit wonky because of it being exported as quicktime, but it fixes itself quickly*

Baby Boy, Mommyhood, Toddler, Travel

Gorillas

nainadg

While in Columbus, I found out that our hotel was very near to the Columbus zoo and decided to check it out. It was a really hot day and we had very little time so we only decided to hit up a few exhibits, but turns out even that was too ambitious. It was very very crowded and it was almost impossible to get close to the exhibits.

However, the Gorilla exhibit was fairly deserted when we got there and I was able to let Bun out of his stroller and run around. It was one of our favorite parts of the zoo trips. The other favorite was a little animal show they had where they had rescued dogs, cats and some animals do fun tricks.

Bun recognized the gorillas as monkeys and made his monkey noises but he kept pointing at them and saying “baby baby.” I don’t know if he feels some sort of kinship with them but watching a mama gorilla cuddling a baby, I definitely felt a connection. I’m not saying, I recognized her as my long lost ancestor or anything like that but I could relate to the maternal feeling even in an animal. The way she groomed her baby by nibble on his face was almost identical to how I almost can’t help myself and nibble and nuzzle on Bun’s cheeks, nose, ears any chance that I can. It really reinforced my belief that a mother’s love is probably one of the most primal feelings we have, perhaps even more so than the preservation of the self.

Okay, so I guess this post got kinda sentimental- not where I had originally intended it to go.

Holidays, Toddler

Bun Meets Bunny

nainadg

I was really nervous about taking Bun to see the Easter Bunny this year because our Santa experience was such a fail. But the last few weeks Bun seemed to be interested in walking by the Easter Bunny court at the mall so I decided to go ahead and arrange the visit. While in line the three people in front of us had to leave because their toddlers had more sane reactions to the giant bunny and wanted to have nothing to do with it. I expected the same from my son, but instead I got a Bunny fanboy

 I have this photo on our fridge and Bun loves to walk up to it and babble at the easter bunny and make his little bunny noises.

 It was a meeting of two very old friends, he waved and did his high pitched Hiiiiiiii at the bunny unprompted by me.

This is his “Can you believe how lucky I am” face.

My favorite moments however were the ones when he finally got to walk up to the Bunny after waiting in line. He waved Hi and was “nice” to the bunny , which is essentially Bun trying to pat him. He also tried to give him a hug and inquisitively looked up and down the giant creepy creature and I literally had to drag him out of there because we were holding up the line. I personally don’t get it but Bun is quite taken with a giant rabbit.

Bun365, Love, Mommyhood, Toddler

Because

nainadg

Some afternoons are just magical.  Simply because its spring. Because there is sunshine. Because I’m outside with my little family.  Because my boys are looking so handsome. And because they are smiling at the camera at the same time. Because a little boy is playing with a ball with his daddy. Because sometimes you don’t need a reason to be happy.

Because This picture of Bun and J looking at each other makes my heart feel all squishy

Because This picture of him looking at me makes my heart feel double squishy.

Because its impossible to not be happy while playing with a bouncy blue ball

Because these guys make it so easy to be happy

Baby, Bun365, Mommyhood, Toddler

15 months

nainadg

*Outside time is still Bun’s favorite. *

So this post is two weeks too late, but here goes. Bun’s 15 months has been really really fun and also really really challenging.  But geez, how this boy is growing, he is now a full fledged toddler, wanting to walk everywhere, climbing stairs (eek) and exploring the world. At his 15th month check up he weighed 21lbs ( 15th %) and was 27 inches in length (33rd %) and had a head size percentile of 58% so he is still on the smaller side and is a very very skinny boy with a giant head. His pediatrician says that he is growing well and thats just his body type.

*Daffodils*

Bun is also getting pickier and pickier by the day about what he will eat. The foods he eats are yogurt, fruits, bread and cookies.  I still try valiantly to offer him veggies and pasta and chicken but its pretty much useless. He just shakes his head and says “na na na”

*He has been doing a lot of Baby yoga lately*

The best part about 15 months is Bun’s desire to communicate with words. The favorite word this month is “Done” He uses this word like a pro and uses it to let me know when he is just not interested in doing what I want him to do. His other new words are “Pish” for fish and ‘Kawpee” for coffee, and “Appeeel” for Apple.  He also loves to make animal sounds and truck sounds and his repertoire includes Fire truck, Dump Truck, Truck, Cow, Dog (although his dog sounds don’t sound like any one else’s), Snake, Wolf, Lizard (not really a sound, but he sticks his tongue out), Duck and Birdie. He is currently working on learning hoot hoot for owl.

* I had to crop this photo down a lot but I just love his expression as he is stomping around.*

Bun also has been playing two new games with us lately, Ring a Round the Roses and Row Row Row your boat and will occasionally try to do the actions to Itsy Bitsy Spider but he doesn’t have the attention span and just starts clapping after the second line. He is also sleeping really well these day, well maybe not so well for naps but bedtime is such a joy these days. He sleeps from 7:30 pm to 7:15 ish and he loves to cuddle with Scout in his crib before bedtime and he will now actually play quietly in his crib for a few minutes when he first wakes up rather than cry.

*This smile melts my heart*

The downsides of 15 months is the crankiness and whininess and when he wants my attention or a cookie or a book he wants it immediately. The kid has no patience ( I hear this is all toddlers though, so fingers crossed).

*This is the “I’m going to do something naughty” look. I need to get a better picture of this look.*

And thats a 15 month wrap up or as Bun would say -Done