Happy Birthday Dr Seuss!

So today is Dr. Seuss' birthday and if he was still here with us he would be 108! In his honor I have to share a great tradition that I saw on Pinterest a few months back. It was originally tagged from lisasworkshop.blogspot.com where she explained this tradition she "stole" from her friend. Below is how she summarized it.

When her son was young my friend purchased a copy of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss.  Throughout the years she secretly gave her son’s teachers the book to sign at the end of the school year.  They left notes, poems  and some just signed their name.  When her son graduated from high school she presented the book to her son at his party.  With the party going on all around him he poured over it, going over each page, each signature, each note.  

Believe it or not I don't think I had ever read Oh The Places You'll Go! until last night! Jack and I borrowed it from the library a few days ago and he wanted me to read it to him last night. Even though he's a wild 20 month old, he'll sit still for the longer Dr. Seuss books with no problem. (Just a testament to the skill and genius of Dr Seuss) ☺ As I read it to him I fought back some major tears, I couldn't believe how good it was! I just savored the moment;  snuggling on my lap was an amazing little toddler, sitting there quietly in his bedroom, reading to him. As I read it, I couldn't help look to the future and think of all of the things he has in store for him, both good and bad. As a Mommy I just want to protect him from all of the bad and help him to see his potential. I want him to be happy and successful, but most importantly I want him to know and love God. I want him to know how much God loves him and recognize and be thankful for that. I want him to love people as Christ loves us and be willing to stand up for what's right. I pray that he can look to me and Tom as an example, and that he sees our love for each other and for him. Being a parent is a scary job and it seems as though as they get older it gets scarier. Scary, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's definitely worth it, and luckily I know that I can trust that God has everything in His control, even my sweet little boy.

On and on you will hike.
And I know you'll hike far
And face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with great care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot from your left.

Fun in the Rain

This past Monday we had a storm come through that was definitely needed. Of course since then we've had sunny weather in the high 70's. But still the rain was really nice. Tom spent the majority of the day drawing so Jack and I took advantage of the rain and played outside for a bit. We got bundled up and headed out!

 Jack kept telling us "waaa, waa" which is how he says water :)

As always picking up rocks and sticks! He even picked up a few worms...gross.

Video of us playing outside

After getting drenched outside we came in and stripped down. He was just wearing his onesie. :) We sat on the couch and looked at the rain outside.

We finished off the evening by putting space jammies on and reading some books. Look at that face, he is so sweet! 

I love his little profile, I just wanna kiss his nose!

My Kid Is Spoiled

Seriously, as I was preparing Jack's dinner tonight I thought to myself, "Man, this kid eats really well. If I ate what he did I'd be skinny."
Today his menu consisted of
     Breakfast: Fruit, spinach and yogurt smoothie. Oatmeal.
     Lunch: Turkey. Mozzarella. Peas and Corn. Applesauce
     Dinner: Spinach, ham and cheese quiche. Eggplant. Pears.
     "Dessert": Graham cracker with peanut butter.
He really is spoiled. He's never eaten a jar of baby food in his life (once when he was 9 months old I had to try since I didn't have any homemade with me and he refused) everything he's ever eaten has been fresh ingredients and homemade. I don't puree much for him anymore, but certain veggies he won't even try whole, but loves pureed, like carrots. I don't know if the next kid will get this kind of treatment so I figured I might as well do it while I can. Back to my original thought though, I want to eat what he eats. Why not? I'm making it anyways right? Don't know if I'd eat pureed sweet potatoes mixed with oatmeal, but at least if I eat the same foods it would be good for me. Don't get me wrong, we eat pretty healthy, fresh foods and I don't plan on doing the "baby food diet". But, I know I don't eat nearly as many veggies and fruit as I should, especially compared to how much Jack eats. So that's a new goal for me this year. Eat more fruits and veggies!! I'm so inspired by Kath over at KERF and if you haven't checked out her blog I encourage you to see the journey she's been on to get and stay healthy. Here are some pictures of the boy enjoying his yummy food :)

This was taken mid-December, he was practicing feeding himself applesauce with a spoon.  He's actually gotten pretty darn good at it lately! He doesn't really even make a mess anymore!

 This last one was taken a few days after Christmas. I know it's terrible quality, but I love his big grin and the way his hair was standing up :) Eating some scrambled eggs that had ham mixed in since he wasn't willing to eat the ham by itself, which is why there's a pile further in front of him.

Back on the Blogwagon

So, Tom's been actively posting on his blog, and he's inspired me to do the same. :)

Right now I'm at home with a sick baby who is much less cranky after having his smoothie for lunch and going outside for a bit. He has Hand, Foot, Mouth disease though, so no playing at the park or anywhere near other kids unfortunately. We had a great Christmas and New Year's, but after doing so much and seeing so many people it's no surprise he's now sick. I took him to the Dr yesterday and although she told me what I already assumed, I'm happy I took him since it ruled out the possibility of allergies. Although the rash/blisters are difficult to see all over my precious little boy's face, I'm relieved it's not a long term issue.

As sort of a New Year's resolution I signed up for FlyLady which is a great website set up to encourage and challenge you each day to take control of your life through keeping your house clean and yourself on a routine. I mainly like the daily challenges and although I haven't been doing them exactly the way suggested I take bits and pieces and once I accomplish these tasks I feel so much better! Yesterday I thoroughly wiped down all of my exterior doors and windowsills (that I could reach). When I went outside after doing it I couldn't help but smile at my dust and cobweb-free doors. This morning I started the day with wiping down all of my kitchen cabinets. They're white and although didn't really appear dirty, once they got a good wipe-down they are sparkling! She says she wants your house to "hug" you when you walk in, and doing little things like these really make me feel loved when I walk in my house, which I guess is a good thing :)

Well I guess that's it for now. I promise I'll be back sooner than last time :)

I almost forgot!! Here's a link to Tom's blog, TomDraws check it out and follow him and leave comments :)