Bubba tries to say "Pop".

I was blowing bubbles outside for the boys today. I kept saying "pop, pop, pop". A couple of times Bubba tried to say it, but it came out "bop". Still, that's progress. Up until now all we've heard is "bubble" that one time, "Mama" and "Dada" a few times (maybe not intentional labeling), and that's it. Trying to say "pop" is a big deal.

Donuts

Just a quick entry to record something cute, by Mom-standards anyway. A little background information: Gary likes this cartoon called "Big Foot". It's about little monster trucks who go to school to learn how to do all the smashing and crashing and crushing and big truck tricks that they need to know how to do to be good monster trucks. One of the tricks that they do is spinning donuts in the mud.

Today Papa (Buddy) bought him a pack of powdered donuts. I don't think he's ever had them. At first he was mistakenly calling them "do-nots" as in "do not do that again". After we corrected him a few times he was pronouncing "donut" correctly. Then suddenly he got this look on his face. It was the kind of look where there should have been a light bulb floating above his head. He then said something that I didn't understand, and I asked him to repeat himself. Then he said "Monster trucks (then Gary turned in a circle) donuts." He was telling me that monster trucks do donuts, but he couldn't quite figure out which words to use, so the turning became his verb. I laughed and congratulated him on being so clever. I had never even noticed them talking about doing donuts on the show, but I guess he had filed it away. His 3 year old mind had made the connection between the literal and figurative uses of the word. Cool, huh?

Back to Diapers

Well, Gary has lost his once exuberant interest in using the potty. Now when given the choice between big boy pants and diapers, he chooses diapers. Ugh! I don't know what to do. I don't want to put too much pressure on him about this. After all, it is his body, and he tends to resist doing things that he knows I really want him to do. I'm considering letting him deplete his supply of diapers and then just telling him, "We're all out of diapers. You'll have to wear your big boy pants now." It may work. The only problem with that plan is that Bubba is still in diapers, so Gary will know that I have some in the house. I thought about saying that Bubba's don't fit him. We'll see. Send good potty vibes my way, please.

(About the pictures, they aren't exactly current, just fitting.)

Isn't he dapper?

Now that Gary sleeps under covers and knows how to pull them up over himself, he's been able to graduate from footed pajamas. Here are some pictures of him modeling his new PJ's in Ree Ree's bed. If you can't tell what's on them, it's bull frogs and bull dogs. Very cute!

He's sweeter than sugar!

"My Not a Big Boy"

They aren't always in a big hurry to grow up.

That's something I'm figuring out lately. Today Bubba bit the devil out of Gary's back. He made a big blood blister. I loved on Gary and petted him and reminded him that Bubba can't express himself. I told him that he can't yet say "no" or "stop" or "mine" and that he would bite or hit if Gary didn't treat him nicely. Well, he didn't want to hear it. He just wanted me to hold him and put an ice pack his wound and love on him, poor little fellow. He put his arm around my neck and pulled me close to him and looked me straight in the eye and said, "My not a big boy." Translation: don't expect too much from me yet. I'm still little, and I'm trying to figure all of this out.

Point taken, Gary.

From now on I will just try to remind him when he's getting too close for comfort with Bubba and putting himself at risk for being bitten. Then it's up to him to release his brother from the leg-lock and save himself. That's all I can do.

Bubba Being Cute

Just had to blog briefly and share these cute pictures. Will is spending more and more time without his pacifiers, so I've been able to get more smiling pictures lately. Now if we could just get rid of the paci rash on his upper lip.

Couldn't you just kiss him?

Poop, Poop and MORE POOP!

I don't even know where to start. This morning Gary and Will were playing so nicely upstairs together. They were laughing and having a big, big time. Then my mom and I spot a big clump of something brown on the leather couch. OH GOD! Yep, it was poop! Right then I knew what my darling children had been up to. They were having a poop fest. I rounded the corner to look up the stairs, and oh dear Lord, there was poop everywhere. It was all the way up the stairs, on the landing, all over the boys' brand new comforters and sheets and all over Bubba! He had it up to both elbows, on his legs, on his face, everywhere. The worst part is it was Gary's poop! He had removed his diaper (yes, I said diaper) and crapped a big man-size crap right in the middle of his bedroom floor. I guess Bubba thought it was play dough. He went to town smearing it all over the place. I'm glad I had the presence of mind to take pictures. I just wish I had taken pictures of WIll. I was just in a hurry to get him into the tub.

Needless to say, diaper days are over for Gary except for sleeping. If he's big enough to pull a stunt like that, then he's big enough to put it into the potty. About 30 minutes after this incident he peed in the potty like a champ. Maybe the poop debacle was a blessing in disguise. I'm just glad I survived it, and it's over. Thank you to my brother-in-law for buying us a Bissell Green Machine. It made clean-up almost (I said almost) pleasant.

Gary Reading to Mommy

Gary loves books about trucks, any kind of trucks. He likes garbage trucks, flat-bed trucks, dump trucks, monster trucks, fire trucks, cranes, buses--anything big with wheels. His three favorite books right now are I'M DIRTY (about a front-loader or "digger"), I STINK (about a garbage truck in NYC) and SMASH CRASH. Here are some pictures of him reading I'M DIRTY and I STINK to me one night before bed. He knows most of it by heart.




Do you remember when books were this exciting?