One of the best things about having children is the ability to step back and watch them explore their world. Everything is new, everything is exciting. Now that the weather is warmed up again (ok, we had all of 3 weeks of winter...) we've been spending nearly all of our time out of doors. Some of it at the baseball field, some taking batting practice in the garage, some in the backyard.
This week Whit has encountered for the first time bees, dandelions and open windows. The bees are scary, especially when they buzz right next to your head. Dandelions are awesome although he cannot understand why Mama can get all of the seeds off and Whit can only get a few. Now for the open windows.... the weather is warm, but not overly hot, so I do what I expect every green Mama does in the spring - I open up the windows and turn on the fans - no AC for me until it's 80 degrees outside. This weekend Whit stumbled upon the open window and started pushing on the screen. He pushed so hard that the screen popped out of the window, followed shortly by his head. Whit understands doors, but the idea that part of the wall can open is still new to him. Now that I'm rolling down windows in the car and opening them in the house he is starting to understand them better. Still, when I went outside, with him inside and gave him a kiss through the open window a new game was born. Every day for the last 3 days we've played the window game. I must admit, as tiring as it can be to run back and forth from the window, out the kitchen door and back to the window, the dozen or so kisses that I receive are well worth it.
We've also recently pulled out and setup Whit's birthday present from last year - a sand and water play table. The first day I put sand in the table Whit spent at least 20 minutes just picking up the sand, throwing it across the deck, eating it... you know boys! It was quite a mess to clean up, but I didn't mind because he was so intrigued by feeling the sand, mixing it with water, throwing it.
The rest of our outdoor time is spent at the ball field. Whit loves to be there, thinks he owns the place and has everyone wrapped around his chubby little fingers. He's even been known to elicit a smile and a wave from Daddy in the dugout, a feat that no one else in our family has ever been able to do.
Now it's past time for me to be off to bed to prepare for yet another day of fun in the sun!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Pictures!
Finally figured out the storage issue (apparently Google thinks I have far too many pictures of my not yet 2 year old son!) so here are some backlogged images for you! Theses pictures are somewhat out of order but were all taken between the first of December 2011 and the first of March 2012.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Ewwww....Take 2
Kirk and I woke up to a very sick little boy this morning. Whit has managed to contract his second viral stomach bug in less than 2 weeks. The first lasted about 5 days and we felt very blessed to get over it without severe dehydration and very little irritability on Whit's part. Kirk and I were less lucky as we both tend to be irritable on short sleep and I, at least, have been short of sleep for just over two years now - I need every minute I can get!
Now we are on round two and this time it's both ends! (I never thought I would be one to say that. I prefer to be very tact about bodily functions, something I inherited from my mother.) Today we didn't waste any time, I took Whit to the doctor immediately to be sure that there was nothing more serious wrong. Thankfully, Whit was able to keep some liquids down while we were at the doctor's office and he is now at home cuddling with Daddy. I'm looking forward to seeing him again soon and I'm hoping that he will regain some of his usually rambunctiousness.
I'll end with something that made me very warm and fuzzy and completely validated me as a mother.
ME: Dr., is there anything else that we can do for him?
DR: No, it's most likely a virus and must run it's course. The good news? You are still breastfeeding and that is the very best for him right now. Just keep doing what you are doing.
Now we are on round two and this time it's both ends! (I never thought I would be one to say that. I prefer to be very tact about bodily functions, something I inherited from my mother.) Today we didn't waste any time, I took Whit to the doctor immediately to be sure that there was nothing more serious wrong. Thankfully, Whit was able to keep some liquids down while we were at the doctor's office and he is now at home cuddling with Daddy. I'm looking forward to seeing him again soon and I'm hoping that he will regain some of his usually rambunctiousness.
I'll end with something that made me very warm and fuzzy and completely validated me as a mother.
ME: Dr., is there anything else that we can do for him?
DR: No, it's most likely a virus and must run it's course. The good news? You are still breastfeeding and that is the very best for him right now. Just keep doing what you are doing.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Ouch!
I hate to make predictions about my son's future. However, this week something happened that I needed to document. The story I know will arise again even if not in the circumstances under which I predict.
Whit has always been a "ball" lover. During football season his Daddy taught him how to kick off. He will whistle (as in the whistle to start play) and then kick the ball. He will also get down into a stance, tackle, throw touchdowns and complete hand-offs. At Christmas he received a basketball goal. He hasn't mastered dribbling yet, but he will shoot and pass the basketball. This is something that we do every day. A few weeks ago we experienced our first baseball game of the season. Whit obviously picked up on more than I thought because this week he began swinging his bat and then throwing it (as I'm sure he saw the big boys do during the game).
I've also been working with Whit on yelling "Ready!" prior to throwing a ball. He loves to get right next to you and throw, expecting you to catch it even though you are unaware that the ball has even left his hand. We've moved all of the "real" baseballs and basketballs to the outside toy box and do not allow them in the house. Although we did this as a precautionary measure, the genius of it became evident on Sunday. In the church nursery, where I was volunteering and Whit was playing, a small, hard, Whit sized ball was lurking in the shadows. After he threw it at me once or twice I took it away and said "This ball is too hard, find another ball and we will play catch." Not thirty seconds later I heard "Ready!" and as I turned to catch, a second small, hard, Whit sized ball connected with my face. The velocity with which Whit threw this ball astounded me.
Five days later I'm still the proud owner of a black eye and I've been warding off comments about it all week. "Yes, my infant son threw a ball at me and gave me a black eye. Yes, I understand that he must have thrown the ball very hard to do this much damage. Yes, I know that sounds impossible, but I swear it's true!!"
Almost every young baseball player dreams of being in the big leagues; most don't make it there. I'm not making a prediction, but... if Whit can give Mama a black eye when he's 20 months old, what will he be able to do when he is 20 years old?
Whit has always been a "ball" lover. During football season his Daddy taught him how to kick off. He will whistle (as in the whistle to start play) and then kick the ball. He will also get down into a stance, tackle, throw touchdowns and complete hand-offs. At Christmas he received a basketball goal. He hasn't mastered dribbling yet, but he will shoot and pass the basketball. This is something that we do every day. A few weeks ago we experienced our first baseball game of the season. Whit obviously picked up on more than I thought because this week he began swinging his bat and then throwing it (as I'm sure he saw the big boys do during the game).
I've also been working with Whit on yelling "Ready!" prior to throwing a ball. He loves to get right next to you and throw, expecting you to catch it even though you are unaware that the ball has even left his hand. We've moved all of the "real" baseballs and basketballs to the outside toy box and do not allow them in the house. Although we did this as a precautionary measure, the genius of it became evident on Sunday. In the church nursery, where I was volunteering and Whit was playing, a small, hard, Whit sized ball was lurking in the shadows. After he threw it at me once or twice I took it away and said "This ball is too hard, find another ball and we will play catch." Not thirty seconds later I heard "Ready!" and as I turned to catch, a second small, hard, Whit sized ball connected with my face. The velocity with which Whit threw this ball astounded me.
Five days later I'm still the proud owner of a black eye and I've been warding off comments about it all week. "Yes, my infant son threw a ball at me and gave me a black eye. Yes, I understand that he must have thrown the ball very hard to do this much damage. Yes, I know that sounds impossible, but I swear it's true!!"
Almost every young baseball player dreams of being in the big leagues; most don't make it there. I'm not making a prediction, but... if Whit can give Mama a black eye when he's 20 months old, what will he be able to do when he is 20 years old?
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Ask and you shall receive
Ok - I admit it, I'm not blogging as I should.... I've already heard about my abandonment of facebook. But cut me some slack. I'm Mama to a very busy 20 month old, a first year (sort of) teacher, a college student, a wife to a husband who is deep into the beginning of baseball season, a homemaker trying to make it work on a teacher's salary and I've recently become both the FCCLA advisor and Cheerleading coach... Whew!! I'm tired just typing it!!
I'm going to carve out some time for my loyal followers most especially Grams and Grandpap up in Alaska. Here is an update from one of the lower 48. (ps, thanks for the Valentine's Day gift. Whit keeps taking the stickers off the book and putting them on his arm. He laughs, points and says "arm!")
20 months
Whit is 20 months old today! What a great reason to celebrate Valentine's Day! He's a laid up with a sinus infection right now but it's only slowed him slightly. We still made it out in the cold, snowy weather this past weekend to visit all of the Renegar cousins and watch Uncle Eric play a baseball game. Whit spent more time running up the hill, climbing on the golf cart and playing with the dogs than watching the game, but at least we were there for support. And it was great to see him running around playing football with all of his big boy cousins.
The first Hawks baseball game is coming up in about a month so I am ready to get Whit in baseball mode. Before that happens we need to wrap up basketball season. As the cheer co-head coach Whit and I have been in attendance at more than 1/2 of the regular season games. It's a challenge keeping Whit off the court until Daddy gets there after baseball practice. He wants nothing more than to be out with the big boys playing "Bass." To help the situation we've moved one of Whit's big Christmas presents into the living room. Yes, we now have a miniature sized basketball court with the couch as our courtside seating. Whit will grab his ball and run to either Kirk or myself to "Pay." (he helps to clarify by doing the ASL sign for "play").
Whit is in a language explosion right now. A documented developmental leap, the language explosion (my term) happens between 18 and 24 months. Whit has nearly doubled his words in the last month and has gone from single word sentences to two word sentences. As we got ready this morning I asked if he was going to see Sarah today (his daytime playmate). He looked at me and said "See Baby Reese?" Whit is a little in love with baby Reese. I try not to laugh at their little love triangle. Sarah loves Whit, Whit loves Reese. As Sarah and Reese are sisters separated by fewer than 2 years I know that their trials are just beginning.
I've been doing "Whit Wednesdays" with my freshman class so I will be uploading pictures and videos tomorrow to show them. Look for another post here very soon!
I'm going to carve out some time for my loyal followers most especially Grams and Grandpap up in Alaska. Here is an update from one of the lower 48. (ps, thanks for the Valentine's Day gift. Whit keeps taking the stickers off the book and putting them on his arm. He laughs, points and says "arm!")
20 months
Whit is 20 months old today! What a great reason to celebrate Valentine's Day! He's a laid up with a sinus infection right now but it's only slowed him slightly. We still made it out in the cold, snowy weather this past weekend to visit all of the Renegar cousins and watch Uncle Eric play a baseball game. Whit spent more time running up the hill, climbing on the golf cart and playing with the dogs than watching the game, but at least we were there for support. And it was great to see him running around playing football with all of his big boy cousins.
The first Hawks baseball game is coming up in about a month so I am ready to get Whit in baseball mode. Before that happens we need to wrap up basketball season. As the cheer co-head coach Whit and I have been in attendance at more than 1/2 of the regular season games. It's a challenge keeping Whit off the court until Daddy gets there after baseball practice. He wants nothing more than to be out with the big boys playing "Bass." To help the situation we've moved one of Whit's big Christmas presents into the living room. Yes, we now have a miniature sized basketball court with the couch as our courtside seating. Whit will grab his ball and run to either Kirk or myself to "Pay." (he helps to clarify by doing the ASL sign for "play").
Whit is in a language explosion right now. A documented developmental leap, the language explosion (my term) happens between 18 and 24 months. Whit has nearly doubled his words in the last month and has gone from single word sentences to two word sentences. As we got ready this morning I asked if he was going to see Sarah today (his daytime playmate). He looked at me and said "See Baby Reese?" Whit is a little in love with baby Reese. I try not to laugh at their little love triangle. Sarah loves Whit, Whit loves Reese. As Sarah and Reese are sisters separated by fewer than 2 years I know that their trials are just beginning.
I've been doing "Whit Wednesdays" with my freshman class so I will be uploading pictures and videos tomorrow to show them. Look for another post here very soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)