the note

i picked bennett up from stephanie's house the other day, and he had a note in his pocket. he insisted on reading it to me immediately. this kid will be a heart breaker one day...

big changes around here...

there have been some big changes around here. bennett is wanting to do everything by himself. his favorite phrase, of late, is "don't help me, mommy. NOT AT ALL!!" this being said, i decided it was time to give the toilet a try. i am not a fan of parenting literature or advice columns, so in typical prose fashion, i decided to wing it (and not tell anyone, in case it was a miserable failure). i informed bennett he was done w/ diapers, and would now use the potty like mommy and daddy. then, i let him run around, with no pants. it did not take long for him to figure out how amazing the human body is (and, he will tell you, in detail, upon request). after one kitchen clean-up - no
more diapers!
the best part of this new found freedom is no more diapers! the worst part is no more diapers! every where we go, bennett has to check out the bathroom (including porta-pottys - which he described in awe as "WOW. COOL. AWESOME.") he also has to use the bathroom after he has been put to bed, and immediatley when we pull out of our drive.

Now, the last thing on B's To-Do list is always to go potty (for real).

the best things ever

my favorite things include tools, my grandpa, and helping. what could be better than combining these three? the other weekend, mommy and i were at the lake (shocker!) and grandpa needed my help making supper. those of you who know me well, understand my aversion to food, but i decided i might as well assist. i was super duper excited when grandpa pulled out the drill. drilling supper? could it get any better? we were making shish kabobs, and apparently drilling the food prior to putting them on the sticks is the way to go. and, those of you know know my grandpa will not be surprised by this unusual technique.

JUNO

you would think that being on summer vacation, we would be blogging every day due to all our "spare time". quite obviously, that is not the case. june came and went in the blink of an eye.

weekend one, we had visitors - bennett's BFF izzy b and hudson came to visit. i finished elementary school the first week of june, but missed my last day. sick sick sick. sicker than sick. i then had a weekend of graduate school.









i also figured out why people, who stay at home w/ their children, garden. bennett asks from the moment he awakes (6am), to go outside. quiet honestly, there is only so much playing one mom can do. the pool is a lifesaver.


for father's day, andy went tarpon fishing w/ his dad and brothers. he had a lot of fun on the beaches of flordia - while i was home listening to "where's my daddy? i want my daddy." for 5 days.



up next - july and the dance...

love to you all

I survived a parenting milestone this week. Bennett had the stomach flu, and no one told me that 2 year olds DON'T throw up in buckets!! Andy was working, so unfortunately, he missed this lovely evening. I will spare you the details.

The morning after, Bennett told Daddy all about his experience. "Morning, Daddy. I threw up. I threw up in my bed, and on the rug, and on my blankie, and in the kitchen, and in mommy's bed. I didn't throw up my bucket. I don't like my bucket."

I am grateful for two reasons. This is the first time B has ever been sick like that, AND he is feeling much better. He is even back to practicing his break dancing. See above (if you listen carefully, you will be able to hear the song is he dancing to. "low rider" is his current favorite hit.)

big boy

i know a lot of you are thinking, "what happened to that little baby?" i know my mom was when she took the pic of me in my basketball uniform. i am officially a toddler, no longer a baby. that means, NO whining, NO using my hands to eat, NO sticking out my lower lip to get what i want, and NO MORE CRIB. yep. you read correctly. i got my self a regular big boy bed.

as you can see, it is a captain's bed, so it is a little high off the ground. i need a stool to crawl up, and quite honestly, i didn't think i could get down by myself. the first night, i slept like a champ, and in the morning called for mom. "mommy!!! good morning!!! come get B out of the big boy bed, please!!!" now, mom and dad were thinking they were pretty smart, because i was not getting out of bed myself. but, you know what they say about that falling apple... i'm no dim bulb.

last night, i learned how to slide down, and creep down the hall, just to check and see what mommy was doing. i thought it was a great game. however, mommy just kept putting me back to bed. when daddy got home, she told him that she just "super nanny-ed" my butt and it eventually worked. so much for that game... but, i'm pretty sure i will give it one more shot...

your secret is not safe

Beware, your secret is not safe with him. Bennett and I were driving home, and he told me a story. I would like to share it with you.
bennett: Mommy, you drive fast.
gina: Really?
bennett: Yep, but Daddy drive fast, too.
gina: Oh?
bennett: Yep, then the police officer pull him over.
gina: Really?? Tell Mommy what the Police Officer said!
bennett: Slow down!! Drive safely!!

BUSTED!