Yes, it's May and I'm posting about the Easter Bunny. Why, you ask? Well, because Evan is terrified of the Easter Bunny. Still. And for good reason.....
See, the week before Easter, I took Evan to Target and made the mistake of trying to purchase items for his Easter basket while he was with me. Rookie mistake #1. Since Evan will only ride in huge shopping carts dressed as cars, he refused to ride in the tiny red cart at Target (not cool, Mom).
While he RACED through the aisles and I frantically followed him with the cart, he came upon the Toy Story toy display at Target. Within arms reach was the pizza truck from Toy Story. Evan grabbed it off the shelf and refused to let it go. I figured there was no harm in him carrying it around the store since it calmed him down a little so I could do some shopping (Rookie mistake #2). I also thought that I could sneak it out of his grip before we left the store (Rookie mistake #3). I was proven wrong on all accounts. As I pulled the toy from Evan's arms (imagine trying to pull open a locked door - impossible), Evan broke down (justified since Mom was pulling the best toy on earth from his arms). I tried negotiating with him, promised him candy, TV, a puppy, a car when he's 16, everything, but nothing worked.
When I finally got the toy loose, I put it on a shelf and made a run for the check-out. Evan climbed out of the cart while I was pushing it, onto the floor, and crawled on his belly, screaming, all the way back to the aisle I left the toy in. At this point, I threw in the towel and told Evan he could have the toy, but that the Easter Bunny would hold onto it until Easter. All the parents reading this have been there before, so I don't feel like I need to explain why I gave in to my 2.5 year olds tantrum. The best part is the other parent who complimented me for not giving in and leaving the toy on the shelf (despite Evan's tears), and then that same parent seeing me paying for the toy at the check-out.
Evan continued to ask daily where his pizza truck was and when the Easter Bunny would bring it. I avoided the question, because my plan was to return the truck (it was $40!!!). He would say things like "If I'm a good boy, the Easter Bunny will bring my pizza truck?" Or "Why does the Easter Bunny have my pizza truck?" To top it all off, Evan never even got an Easter basket from Erik & I on Easter. It was a rough sleep night for Evan that night and we were so exhausted the next morning that I totally forgot about it. By the time I remembered, Erik and I were in the Emergency Room for the finger drama that came later on Easter. Yep, we're horrible parents.
Since Easter, Evan continues to associate bad things with the Easter Bunny....such as:
- "If I'm not a good boy, the Easter Bunny will take my toys away"
- "Where's my car mom? Did the Easter Bunny take it?"
- "Daddy, if you're not nice, the Easter Bunny will take you away."
- "Lucy, stop barking or the Easter Bunny will take your treats!"
- Or if I mention that I'm missing something like a shoe, sock, whatever, Evan will say "Maybe the Easter Bunny took it."
- At the grocery store (tonight) when we can't get one of those huge carts, Evan will say "Maybe the Easter Bunny took the cart away."
I won't lie...when Evan says these things, Erik and I turn our heads and do our best to hide our laughter. It really is funny in a sick, parenting way. And yes, we know that we have to let the Easter Bunny redeem himself and show up at our house with a giant pizza-truck-filled basket at some point before Easter comes next year (I fear that if Evan sees the Easter Bunny again, he may react violently).
If for some reason Evan continues to fear the Easter Bunny, I had to document why (so that in his therapy sessions in 20 years he can reference this blog from his crazy mother).
Cheers to the joys of parenthood!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Our high energy boy
Keeping up with Evan is tiring...exhausting. But his fun sense of humor and precious smile make it all worth it! I am often told how "high energy" he is. It's a nice way of people telling me "wow, your son is pretty wild, how do you keep up?" Our little boy may be very high energy, but it is lots of fun watching him explore, develop, and create ways to entertain himself (when the million activities we plan for him during the day are done).
He's really started to use his imagination a lot. He plays "pretend" - pretends he is baking, pretends he is holding a robot in his hand, pretends that his dinosaurs are being bad and are in timeout. He's also become very creative with his legos and blocks, building what he thinks are cars, airplanes, houses and more. It's fun to watch him "work" and what he comes up with.
I've mentioned before that I joined a moms club and participating in their activities has been great for Evan and I. It gets us out of the house and to places we would have never checked out (or known of) before.
Evan LOVED this. Look at those muscles on Daddy!
OK, time to acknowledge Baby Boy now! Two weeks behind on posting this. Baby boy will be here in 12 weeks now!
He's really started to use his imagination a lot. He plays "pretend" - pretends he is baking, pretends he is holding a robot in his hand, pretends that his dinosaurs are being bad and are in timeout. He's also become very creative with his legos and blocks, building what he thinks are cars, airplanes, houses and more. It's fun to watch him "work" and what he comes up with.
I've mentioned before that I joined a moms club and participating in their activities has been great for Evan and I. It gets us out of the house and to places we would have never checked out (or known of) before.
Lookin' cool in his sunglasses
Making some phone calls. To Evan, this is an "old fashioned" phone. He's really only familiar with an iPhone!
Visiting with Great Grandma Ellis while she was in town
My handsome, busy boy with his truck.
The only way to shop now - with one of those insanely big shopping carts that I've always despised. It does keep him entertained though (for about 5 minutes if we fly through the store).
Greenhouse visit with moms club. The kids got to play in dirt and plant their own flower. Evan was the only kid that planted AND unplanted his flower - several times.
Evan's flower
Evan pushing his flower around the greenhouse
In my post the other week, I mentioned that Erik & Evan went to an event at Home Depot and made a project. The project came with a strawberry plant that is actually producing strawberries!! For those that know Erik & I, we have a very hard time keeping plants alive. Yet somehow we are growing strawberries on our kitchen window!
I had to capture this sweet, QUIET moment Evan was having while he read to himself in bed.
Visiting a new park
Working from home has it's pros and cons. Evan sees me working which is sometimes a con. Lately he wants to work with me, using his little laptop. On this night, he carried his laptop into the family room and announced to Erik & I "I just have to do a little bit more work Momma."
This gives whole new meaning to "exhausting" when it comes to entertaining Evan.
Erik = human swing
Evan LOVED this. Look at those muscles on Daddy!
Farm field trip with moms club! Evan and his buddy Kellan (sitting still for a QUICK second only because we promised snacks).
A beautiful day for a hayride
Workin' on the farm
Not sure how to best caption this picture. I sent it to Erik via text message and his response was a good one: "What is Evan doing to that goat?!"
Feeding the baby goat
Last weekend we checked out the "Touch A Truck" event. Lots of trucks that kids can climb on and honk horns in. It was a very noisy event! Grandpa Dan was there with the police men which was cool too!
Watching Evan get onto the school bus brought tears to my eyes thinking of how fast he's growing up!
He was NOT shy when it came to honking the horn...over, and over, and over again.
The poop truck. Well, a sewer truck. At the end of the event when I asked Evan what his favorite part of the day was he said "the poop truck. The truck that cleans up poop." Boys....
I'd prefer to NEVER see Evan (or hear of him) in the back seat of the cop car.
Driving it, however, is ok.
The "Lightning McQueen" race car (everything is related to the Cars movie)
Now this is better - mommy supervising the school bus experience ;)
"Grandpa, where are the bad guys?" That's what Evan says everytime he talks of Grandpa and the police stuff.
OK, time to acknowledge Baby Boy now! Two weeks behind on posting this. Baby boy will be here in 12 weeks now!
The other day Evan was sitting on my lap reading a book. He got off my lap, sat on the floor and said "I sit on the floor momma. Baby Brother is bouncing." He likes to tell me what Baby Brother is doing - usually he's playing with trucks, toys, or "not listening" to Evan.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Evan happenings I don't want to forget
The most common thing I hear about parenthood is how fast kids grow up. And it's so true! I blinked and Evan is a little man already! He's transitioning to a new classroom at school, and this fall he will start year 1 of pre-school! Because of his fall bday, he will do pre-school for 1 year at his current school, then when he's "of age" he will go to pre-school in the public school system.
Anyway, I didn't want time to fly by without capturing some of Evan's latest phases, phrases, and funny stories:
- Bulldozers: Evan LOVES trucks. It has worked out well that we live on a street where 3 houses are being built. Truck central! Evan calls bulldozers "bull-za-bozers." Cutest thing ever and I smile every time I hear it!
- Making choices: at home and at school, we are teaching how to make choices - what's a good choice, what's a bad choice. When Evan makes a good choice, we'll reinforce it and make sure he knows it. And he also knows very well when he's made a bad choice! Evan has said to me: "I made a good choice and make mommy happy?" Or while reading Curious George, when George is misbehaving, Evan will say "George made a bad choice." It's amazing watching his mind grow!
- Emotions: age 2 is a very emotional age. So much whining, crying, whining, begging, whininng (did I mention whining?). The stressful choices of what to eat for breakfast and what truck to play with is exhausting! On a good note, Evan is very empathetic to others. If I bump my toe or say "ouch" at something, Evan immediately runs over and says (with his head tilted sideways in a caring manner): "You ok momma? You got an ouchie momma? You need ice on it momma? I kiss it and make it feel better?" My sweet boy!
- Public embarrassments: I recently had my first major public embarrassment with Evan. See, we teach Evan the proper names for "private parts" (not using the proper names in the blog though!). At the grocery store recently, Evan needed to tell me (and the entire grocery store) that his "you-know-what" hurt. And when I say tell everyone, he screamed it....several times. "Momma, my (fill in the blank) hurts! Fix it momma!" Insert embarassed momma here!
- "Two more minutes": tell your kid something enough, and he'll repeat it, good or bad! In this case, Evan's new phrase he's picked up from Erik & I is "Two more minutes." Lately we hear things from him like "Two more minutes until bed" or if we tell him he is done watching a show, he responds with "two more minutes."
- Talking to baby brother: it's sweet when Evan will come up to my belly, put his hand on it and say something to baby brother. But lately, he says things like "Baby brother is not listening! He's not listening to me!" Something tells me I'm going to hear that a lot in the near future!
- Scolding Lucy: to my point above, Evan now loves to tell Lucy "Stop barking Lucy! Lucy, you come inside now!" And he crouches down by her and screams it in her face as if competing with her bark.
- Eating dirt: Evan had his first instance of eating dirt the other day. It was like slow motion watching him conciously pick up the dirt, shove it into his mouth, crunch it a few times, then run over to me saying "It's crunchy and yucky momma." Boys will be boys!
And now for the weirdest thing I've seen Evan do recently.......pour water on Lucy's back with his watering can and then lean over to lick the water off Lucy. Speechless, just speechless.
Latest pics below!
Loves the woods!
On the baby bump front, only 15 weeks to go until baby brother makes his debut! There are days when I feel like this pregnancy is taking FOREVER, but then there are days where I have a panic attack that it's going too fast and I haven't done ANYTHING for the baby room, haven't gotten any clothes out for him, and haven't even thought about his name yet! AHH!
Anyway, I didn't want time to fly by without capturing some of Evan's latest phases, phrases, and funny stories:
- Bulldozers: Evan LOVES trucks. It has worked out well that we live on a street where 3 houses are being built. Truck central! Evan calls bulldozers "bull-za-bozers." Cutest thing ever and I smile every time I hear it!
- Making choices: at home and at school, we are teaching how to make choices - what's a good choice, what's a bad choice. When Evan makes a good choice, we'll reinforce it and make sure he knows it. And he also knows very well when he's made a bad choice! Evan has said to me: "I made a good choice and make mommy happy?" Or while reading Curious George, when George is misbehaving, Evan will say "George made a bad choice." It's amazing watching his mind grow!
- Emotions: age 2 is a very emotional age. So much whining, crying, whining, begging, whininng (did I mention whining?). The stressful choices of what to eat for breakfast and what truck to play with is exhausting! On a good note, Evan is very empathetic to others. If I bump my toe or say "ouch" at something, Evan immediately runs over and says (with his head tilted sideways in a caring manner): "You ok momma? You got an ouchie momma? You need ice on it momma? I kiss it and make it feel better?" My sweet boy!
- Public embarrassments: I recently had my first major public embarrassment with Evan. See, we teach Evan the proper names for "private parts" (not using the proper names in the blog though!). At the grocery store recently, Evan needed to tell me (and the entire grocery store) that his "you-know-what" hurt. And when I say tell everyone, he screamed it....several times. "Momma, my (fill in the blank) hurts! Fix it momma!" Insert embarassed momma here!
- "Two more minutes": tell your kid something enough, and he'll repeat it, good or bad! In this case, Evan's new phrase he's picked up from Erik & I is "Two more minutes." Lately we hear things from him like "Two more minutes until bed" or if we tell him he is done watching a show, he responds with "two more minutes."
- Talking to baby brother: it's sweet when Evan will come up to my belly, put his hand on it and say something to baby brother. But lately, he says things like "Baby brother is not listening! He's not listening to me!" Something tells me I'm going to hear that a lot in the near future!
- Scolding Lucy: to my point above, Evan now loves to tell Lucy "Stop barking Lucy! Lucy, you come inside now!" And he crouches down by her and screams it in her face as if competing with her bark.
- Eating dirt: Evan had his first instance of eating dirt the other day. It was like slow motion watching him conciously pick up the dirt, shove it into his mouth, crunch it a few times, then run over to me saying "It's crunchy and yucky momma." Boys will be boys!
And now for the weirdest thing I've seen Evan do recently.......pour water on Lucy's back with his watering can and then lean over to lick the water off Lucy. Speechless, just speechless.
Latest pics below!
Ridin' in style in his new wagon
Homemade beach. Using the dirt in our yard to our advantage!
Home Depot apron from his outing with Daddy last week. Evan & Daddy built a plant holder together at the Home Depot kids event. When I asked Erik how it went, he replied "Epic. Evan and I both have paint ALL OVER ourselves." Not shocking that Evan was the ONLY kid that would not sit still.
My sweet boy wanted to snuggle with his momma this morning. He slept until 8:15!! Evan, you need to start doing that on the weekends!
Still snoozin'.....
Nature park field trip with moms club
Loves the woods!
Trying to scoop up fish but ended up with mud (all over me...)
As I loaded the car up from our outing, Evan informed me that he would drive us home.
Our yard takes Erik almost 3 hours to mow! Evan will follow Erik around with his "lawn mow" the whole time. He's "helping Daddy."
On the baby bump front, only 15 weeks to go until baby brother makes his debut! There are days when I feel like this pregnancy is taking FOREVER, but then there are days where I have a panic attack that it's going too fast and I haven't done ANYTHING for the baby room, haven't gotten any clothes out for him, and haven't even thought about his name yet! AHH!
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