birthday blessings

Our little man celebrated a big birthday this week.  And that makes me the mother of a TWO year old!  I can't even believe that that is possible.  Let the fun begin!

Here are some thoughts that are memorable to Corey and I.  Hopefully one day he will enjoy reading it.  Who am I kidding -- maybe his wife will appreciate it someday!!!

Dear Lawrence,


You have lit up our life over the last two years!  Your father and I are so proud of the sweet little gentleman you are becoming.  Whenever I meet someone new, you are right beside me holding out your hand to offer them a shake.  And if it's not a handshake then it is a hug.  You are willing to give hugs to anyone who lets you get close enough!  You love being around people and you are still a proficient observer; usually one of the quieter ones of the bunch until you get warm, but not missing a single detail.  Yet quick to interact with any adult who offers some attention.  And you are oh so independent!  I remind myself everyday that this will be a strong quality for you to have...someday.


You are a very verbal child and usually more cautious in the physical realm.  It is common for you to sit at the top of a slide multiple times without ever going down.  I recently made a list of all of the words that you use regularly and I lost track around 115.  You say 'mommy' almost constantly while we are in the car or shopping and follow it up with whatever you recognize.  You have to make sure that I also see everything that your little eyes see!  You amaze me!  Another popular phrase that I hear a lot is 'thank  you'.  I hand you anything and you always say 'thank you'.  And you continue to say it repeatedly until I recognize your kind words.  I also tried to teach you to say 'no, thank you' as opposed to a whine and a scrunched up nose.  You quickly turned this into a very assertive nod of the head while verbally saying 'thank you'.  Even during your fits and cries when you don't like what I have to say, you respond with a 'no, thank you'.  Being the verbal AND independent little man that you are, another popular word is 'mine'.  And oh how it makes my spine crawl.  Your translation of the word mine is:  I can do it all by myself, this is my ____, you gave this to me, I always sit here, I don't need any help, I want that.....  Not your sweetest term, but part of being two I suppose.  I prefer when I tell you 'I love you' and you respond with 'bunches bunches bunches bunches!'  I guess you have heard me say that a time or two!  



Although you say 'mommy' continually, you are still very much a daddy's boy!  Daddy is the first thing you ask for when I get you up in the mornings.  And when I tell you that daddy is at work, you show me how he drives to work.  You love to "drive" with daddy in his tractor or truck.  Anything that dad is working on, you are right beside him being a big helper.  Your other favorite activities as a new two year old are playing on your rock pile, driving and loading your blue truck, chasing bubbles, playing with any ball you can find, or just being outside.


The Lord has big plans for you, Lawrence!  You make mommy's heart happy and full. We love you, son!


Love,


Mom and Dad

a mother

"As a mother comforts her child,

so will I comfort you"

Isaiah 66:13

I had a wonderful Mother's Day.  Corey has been traveling a lot for work lately, so having all 3 of us together on Sunday with no "have to" plans was such a treat.  After church we picked up lunch from Bella Luna (Meditterainian) and took it to a nice park.  The weather was perfect, the hummus was delish, and the meal was quiet and relaxing. 

After lunch and a quick play, we went home for nap time.  On Sunday, Little Man wasn't the only one who got a nap  :)  Another nice treat!  And after nap time, we went and picked out flowers to plant in my hanging pots.  It was a special day!

It's a little tricky to get a picture of the three of us without extra help!  

this and that

I am finding it hard to admit it is May.  My mind feels like it should still be March.  So either I'm losing my mind, or time just isn't slowing down like I keep telling it to.

We have been up to a little of this and a little of that.  Staying busy (how can I not be busy with an almost 2 year old?) and enjoying the beautiful Spring that we have been given.  Here are a few of my favorites!

Easter morning - our Easter this year was rather relaxing.  Here is Little Man in his Easter tie.  He loved wearing it because his daddy also wore a tie.  I didn't even get a pic of the 3 of us.  Bummer.

I love this time of year and I think that Easter is becoming my favorite holiday.  I love the NEWNESS of it!

He got a little Easter bucket from us with a few goodies - sunglasses, books, bugs, and a plastic basketball egg filled with fruit loops.

"I can do it ALL. BY. MYSELF.  Why would you offer help with my sunglasses?  They are exactly the way I put them on my face ALL. BY. MYSELF."

This is a daily battle, I mean conversation, we have about pretty much everything!  The kid wants to be SO independent and he tries SO hard to be.  But for the meantime he still needs his mama's help.  Although he tries to tell me otherwise.  And I'm okay with that.

We finally made it to the brand new Cabella's that opened in Wichita.  It is a nice store and will be a fun rainy day place.  My excitement over the new store was rather subdued.  Mostly because it is within  5 minutes of Corey's office and perfect for lunch hour shopping sprees.  So far so good though!

Lawrence would touch the deer's nose and it must have felt funny because he would pull his hand away and give a shrill giggle every time.  Love him!

  

We got to spend a day in Kansas City with a good friend while Corey was doing some work up there.  We went to a neat place called Deanna Rose Farmstead.  Little Man loved it.  I think he has a little crush on Abby (center) but I'm cool with it - she's so darn cute and sweet.  And I know her folks.

He got to feed the baby goats and loved it.  They were easy to please though - his bottle was empty most of the time and they desperately sucked away.  

We got our garden planted!!!  So excited for our second harvest.  We planted yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, jalapenos, green beans, watermelon, and pumpkins.  The cilantro from last year came up and I already harvested it and have it in my freezer!  I am trying out "companion gardening" - the concept that certain plants thrive when grown near certain other plants.  For example, tomatoes like parsley, so they are supposed to grow better when planted near it.  The parsley is the only thing that hasn't come up yet, so not sure what that means for their "companionship". 

Another trick with companion gardening that I am learning about is how to use natural things (plants, spices, flowers) to repel insects.  For example, if you have cutworms on your tomatoes you can sprinkle cayenne pepper on the leaves/stems and for some reason they won't like that.  At the end of last year as I was pulling  out the old squash/cucumber plants I discovered "cucumber beetles" that were COVERING the ground.  They didn't hurt the veggies but it grossed me out.  So I read that a remedy for that is to plant radishes in your mounds to keep them away.  But use of a radish that I can think of!

I want to learn more about the timing of when to plant certain things.  And what things to start inside early.  We wanted to plant onions and lettuce also, but we were too late in the season.  So we will include those in our fall garden with the broccoli and cauliflower.

Little Man helping me plant watermelon seeds.  I like the addition of some fruit!  How do you grow blueberries?  I also want to add strawberries and asparagus but we will first have to add a bed so they can come back every year.  Heck, you can call us Dillons!

The final garden spot.  My aunt told me an "old" story last summer ----  When you go to Kansas in the summer, be sure to lock your doors.  Or you might end up with a carload of squash.

SO WATCH OOOOUUUUUTTTTT.

Little Man loves to "drive".  Seriously.  It is the first thing he talks about in the morning, when we are outside, and when dad gets home.  I am rather concerned considering Corey drove for the first time at age 7.  Granted he was on a farm road - but he was alone in the car, no passengers, and this was with permission.  Eeeeeeek.

We have had a lot of tractors around our house lately (which does not help the driving obsession).  Our yard project is underway.  And we are surrounded with dirt, or mud.  So fun with an almost 2 year old.  It will be nice to have grass in the future though. 

We also had a special visit from my sister and niece.  We got to take the kids to Tanganyika one day to see and interact with the animals.  Little Man enjoyed hopping thru the kangaroo pen.  And niece enjoyed the Gibbons (sorta like monkeys) that were playing around.  The Lemurs have had babies and they are like 6 inches tall.  And the first mama kangaroo was carrying her baby in her pouch (last year there were probably 6 babies at once).  If you haven't been there then you should check it out.  And I don't even get kickbacks.  

They also played outside a ton and climbed all over the mounds of rock and dirt.

Seriously, it doesn't get any cooler than going to Auntie Abby's house and playing on piles.

We have had a fabulous Spring!  I can't wait to see what the Summer brings  :)