Ironic

Yesterday was truly a first for me.  Warner was in rare form!  Perhaps it started during our routine morning walk/run that turned into anything but routine.  The weather was a bit overcast and I knew that it could rain at anytime, but I braved it anyway.  What's a little rain right?  We were walking due to my injured toe(that's another story) and then it began to drizzle and it was quite nice to be honest.  They it began raining harder and harder and before I knew it we were in what seemed like a monsoon!  So, forget the injured toe because it was time to run home before Warner and I got washed away.  By the time we got home I was drenched and Warner was wet-no biggie.  I took a shower and fed the little man a snack before we left to go to PlayAway.  Before leaving, he was a bit clingy and whiney and I thought that would be fixed by getting out of the house-wishful thinking!  He was great at the class (in his own way of course) and we returned home.  No sooner did we walk into the door than someone flicked the switch that turned my child into whiney pants again.  Lunch was quickly inhaled by the little runt and nap time soon followed.  When W woke up only an hour and 15 minutes later I was in awe.  Where did my son go that sleeps up to 3 and a half hours?  I got him up and the whining quickly began again.  Soon I decided it was time to get out of the house-again.  This was only after I offered a friend the opportunity to lease Warner for the remainder of the day.  Now before you go thinking bad thoughts about me I just wanted to lease him-not sell him.  I love the little guy, but when he is whining I could use a break.  Anyway, we headed to the small park by our house and a different child emerged from the car.  This newly happy tot loved the playground!  We played together and had the best time.  Warner laughed more than he has ever laughed and was just genuinely happy.  After playing for quite a while we went home and the happy child continued the giggles.  While I cooked dinner Warner and I had a dance party and had such a wonderful time together!  The lesson?  Life is ironic and just when you think that you have something figured out- it changes.  Here I was thinking that this was going to be a horrible day with a whiney kid and it turns out to be one of the best days ever! 

"What are you looking at?  Mommy siad that it was ok if I got wet so I did!"

"See, this is how it goes!"

"Now this is what I call a good time!  Water-check! Steering wheel-check! A mommy that makes funny sounds while I drive-check!" 

Gratitude

The anniversary of September 11th brought up many different thoughts and emotions in my mind.  Of course I thought back to where I was on that day and how very different my life was at that time. I remembered the videos of the turmoil that seemed to be happening a world away, but it was not.  Everything that I was seeing was in America and that was hard to grasp even as a college student.  Something in me changed that day as it did in many Americans.  Now as a parent I think about how I am going to explain it to Warner.  What will I tell him?  As I continued to contemplate this, I came up with a positive spin on it - if that is even possible.  I thought of it as a day to remember those who were lost, but also a day to appreciate those who put their lives on the line for perfect strangers each and everyday.  I want to teach my son gratitude and to be thankful for brave men and women, even if we do not know them.  I want him to appreciate the sacrifices that are made daily for us to be free.  I know that he may be a bit young, but I also believe that it is never too young to start teaching life lessons to our children.  So Matt and I will continue to say thank you in each and every way that we can.  I want Warner to witness us saying thank you to soldiers in the airport and do the same one day!

So Warner and I headed to Publix on the hot September day (a few days after the actual anniversary) to buy ice cream and cones for the firemen that are in the station that we pass on a daily basis.  I got Warner out of the car and realized that he was wearing reed, white and blue- how appropriate!  We gave the four gallons of ice cream and cones to the fireman and he simply asked, "Have we made a call to your house?"  I replied no and said I hope that you are never called to my house-no offense.  I explained to him that my family just wanted to say thank you for putting their lives on the line everyday and that their work is appreciated.  The fireman was touched and asked if Warner wanted to go inside the engine.  Well, of course!

So on a brighter note, here are pictures of Warner in the fire truck.  The fireman tried putting the headset on him which was so cute, but W quickly took it off and I was not fast enough to catch it on camera!  This is something that we will be doing much more often- saying thank you. I encourage you to do the same in your own way!

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Stick It To Me

Meet Sticker Boy!  During a dark and rainy day recently, I was looking for something to do with my little guy to keep him (and me) occupied.  Let's just say that I found some stickers and we had a blast!  I put stickers all over my little cutie and he was not quite sure what to think.  He was a good sport about it and I was not able to catch the pictures of him smiling- I promise that he was having fun too! 

"Who is the crazy lady that has taken over mommy's body?  She's nuts!  She even put stickers on my elbow!"

"Hey, this is kind of fun!  I'm gonna get you mommy!"

"I may look silly, but I am in deep thought"

PS- It has been way too long since I have blogged, I know.  I am going to try to capture more precious moments and blog more often!