Tag: outside

Mommyhood, Toddler, Uncategorized

After the Rain

nainadg

Its been raining around here. A lot. So much that we have had to stay housebound the past few mornings. Its not all bad though, plenty of snuggling on the couch and watching movies and playing cars, and looking out of windows. I want to say that because I was home I got my house whipped into shape, but no I didn’t. It still looks like we just moved in. I’m hopeless.

But when it stops raining and it is time to kick off the blankets and the boots and just run and run and run outside.

Nothing makes Bun happier than rolling around the grass these days.

Scenes from the past few days:

20120919-153349.jpgThese two photos are my favorite. This is what two looks like to me on a good day. When there has been good naps, and good meals and no tantrums, Bun and I get to enjoy moments like this.

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Hands in his pockets is a new thing for fun. He is trying to put his hands down everyone’s pockets.A few years down the line, this might be a bit of a problem, but lately its cute!

Bun365, Mommyhood, Toddler

21 Months

nainadg

At 21 months, Bun is more like a two year old than a one year old now. He is comfortably settled in toddlerhood, losing his baby ways everyday. He is getting more comfortable with his world, more adventurous in exploration of language, emotions and logic. I think this is one of my favorite ages so far, every morning I get to see more of his personality and his quirks and I love having a front row seat to his life.

He still loves spending time outside and he is now no longer afraid to get off the trail and walk through dirt, mud and grass. He still doesn’t like getting too messy but will tolerate it with good grace.

He loves to talk, the boy is fearless in his vocabulary, he doesn’t shy away from complicated words and he has started putting together phrases and simple sentences. He is very “proper” and prefers to say “Hello” instead of Hi and “Goodbye” instead of just a simple bye.

He is also getting more social, he adores seeing the other kids at playgroup and storytime and will sometimes ask about them when we are at home. He is getting much better at following instructions. Singing is another favorite activity around these parts, and he has added “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “The Wonder Pets” Theme song (I hate that song…it is tattooed in my brain….aaah)

He is still fascinated with construction equipment, especially diggers and firetrucks are still an old favorite.He is also getting more excited about trains and is becoming more aware of the toddler boy crack that is Thomas the Tank Engine. During our time outside, I spend a gazillion hours looking at sticks, bugs and rocks- yea rocks- they are very popular with toddlers.

Bun 21 months is challenging too- Bun has opinions and he now makes them known through tantrums. They don’t last very long but he is one of those kids who holds his breath  when he cries and shrieks and I can see his lips turn blue.  If I usually thump his back, he takes a breath and we are usually in the clear. He also has started trying to “play” with the dog, except Layla really doesn’t want to play, so I spend a lot of time seperating them and asking Bun to “please leave the dog alone”

He is also rather obsessed with his belly button and will lift his shirt and walk around pointing to it (See pic above) It is a very cute belly button (see pic above) but I need him to grow out of this phase. He is still a really skinny kid and I struggle to get him to eat. He is really picky and will only eat a handfull of foods none of which are very nutritious but I’m fighting the good fight one plate of rejected food after another.

But he makes up for all that by being hilarious and cute- He will now say “Baby Funny” or “Mamma Funny” if we make him laugh. He gives real kisses, where he puckers up his lips and leans in with arms open, and the best part is that they are completely unasked for sometimes.

He loves to now take a book with him to bed in his crib and lies in bed reading to himself quietly. He doesn’t have a traditional lovey so its usually a book in the crib or a sippy cup that soothes him when he is upset.  He cracks me up on car rides because I no longer have the radio on because Bun is having a conversation with me or singing loudly. Its one of my favorite times with him.

One Year Ago: Sep 2010, Bun at 10 months

 

 

Bun365, Toddler

Sidewalk Chalk -ing

nainadg

Sidewalk Chalk PlayWe had a brief respite from the rain in the middle of the week. Bun and I played with some sidewalk chalk in the afternoon. He was only interested in the chalk for a little bit. The main attraction was definitely driving his “Dumpity Truck” and “Gween Garbage Truck” outside.  After we drove the trucks for a while he said “Fun- Whee!!!” Only his Whee sounds very stern.  Such a serious little man.

Now that he is 21 months, Bun is definitely getting into more artsy stuff, we have done quite a few fun little crafty things lately. In spite of the short time span spent sidewalk chalking (is that a word?) I think we are going to try it again next time we have lazy afternoon.

Bun365, Mommyhood, Toddler

An Impromptu Picnic

nainadg

Summer is winding down in NC and it feels like its going to be an early fall. This week has just flown by- doing nothing in particular but also things that take up a lot of time- grocery shopping, doctors appointments, ikea trips (2hr drive for us). But what I’m going to remember from this week is our impromptu picnic with some of Bun’s stuffed furry friends.

We took our lunch of pb & jelly sandwiches, cheese crackers and grapes and yogurt and sat outside, in the grassy area outside our front porch.

I think Monkey and Haathi wanted some of his yummy sandwich. It was rather rude of us to not give them any after inviting them to our picnic

 And then Bun  gave Haathi a big hug

But kept the sandwich for himself

Photos are kinda meh, but Bun and I still had a lot of fun. Also looking at the photo

Holidays, Toddler

Easter! Easter !

nainadg

I am an Easter Newbie. I didn’t grow up celebrating easter because unlike Christmas it somehow didn’t spill out into the global secular diaspora. Although I do remember getting Good Friday and Easter Monday being a holiday at school but it was mostly a spring break of sorts.

So egg dyeing, easter bunnies and baskets were very foreign to me.  But this year, it was all different.

We dyed some eggs. Bun didn’t really care for it too much but J and I had a lot of fun

Our favorite easter activity was to go to a Easter Egg Hunt at the Horace Wallace House in Chapel Hill. The house is the office of the Chapel Hill Historic Preservation society and is situated in one of the prettiest corners of the triangle.  Unfortunately, the day was rainy and cloudy and muddy, but we still had a lot of fun at the hunt

OMG!!! Ugggggs as Bun would say.

He doesn’t say OMG but he does say Ugggs for Eggs

He was very serious about recycling the eggs, he didn’t really want to put them in his basket

Trying to open Ugggs

You can see some of the details of the Wallace House

Where’s Bun?

I let him taste un watered down super sweet lemonade.

After most of the legitimate participants had finished the Egg on a spoon race, they opened it up for all the babies and latecomers. So Bun decided to participate

That meant , I had to hold his arm up and walk alongside him

He did go around the full course though and only dropped the egg 4 times.

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 Boy, Bun365, Life, Mommyhood, Toddler

Just the Backyard

nainadg

It seems like everyone is at the park today. I can’t blame them, its gorgeous, sunny and 75 degrees in February. I, however am not feeling like a social mama, so after seeing that two of our favorite parks are jam packed with kids, especially older ones, I decided just hanging outside our townhouse would be fine. And it was! Bun today has discovered sticks, weeds, flowers and grass.

I only had my phone with me so the pics are less than good, but it tells the story

Now that Bun is a pro at walking on grass, he is willing to go exploring anywhere, as long as I’m close enough to hold his hand of course

I debated long and hard about whether to teach Bun that these little white flowers were weeds or not. I decided to focus on teaching him “flowers” because it seems like a sweeter word to learn. He looked at these for a long time and even picked a few and handed them to me. He also tried to eat some.

Next he found some twigs and carried them around proudly. He started out with the smaller ones at first but eventually decided that he was confident enough to play with this big one.

And then in usual boy fashion, he went on a destroying rampage. He broke up all the little twigs into itty bitty little pieces.

He played happily with twigs and grass for at least 45 minutes and then we took our little walk around the yard and went home.