the bug.

i had a whole different post ready for today. {and it was a fun, crafty one, too!} but in light of what i witnessed this afternoon, i was thinking my little man needed a bit of chronicling.

first. he is really into doing things "by myself". including the potty. the day he said he was going potty by himself, i thought, "yeah right". but nope, i was wrong. he came out with his undies around his ankles yelling "i did it by myself!" sure enough, he had. {we've also had ONE #2 'by myself' success. and i will celebrate that ONE until the bitter end if i have to}. this independent streak, while adorable of course, can be a little daunting when you're trying to get somewhere on time. getting in his car seat  "by myself" takes three hundred times as long as it would if i just put him in it myself. in other words, i'm trying to find a good balance of letting him do some things & then 'showing' him how to do it.

next. he's just beginning {as in the last few days} to get the concept of 'time'. today he told me that he went on a walk 'yest-day' {yesterday for those of you who don't speak two-year-old}. and he was totally right. without even prompting. but then - he told me he went to bounce yesterday. 'no honey, that was last week'. so now he's into saying "i did xyz last week". cutie pie.

here's one that i'm not happy about. 'mom & dad'. what???? when is it okay for any little boy to say mom and not mommy?! NEVER. that's the answer. NEH.VER. it hurts my heart every time. {maybe i'm exaggerating just a touch!} last week {or whenever the second ice thing was}, i asked him if he wanted to go outside with me to check the mail. after excitedly screaming "yeah!" he stopped in his tracks and looked at me very seriously and said "no. it's cold, mom." as if he was telling me something that i didn't know. "okay, dear. we'll stay inside." ha. makes me smile everytime.

i love him. he makes my heart melt one second and my blood boil the next. god's precious gift to me is certainly teaching me more than i'm teaching him. motherhood grows you. stretches you. empowers you. humbles you. more than any other job really could. most days, i'm so thankful to have the honor of having this job. just keeping it real. all days i'm so thankful for the lord matching the littles to us. *sigh*

muffin.

and then. to top it all off. this is what i watched this afternoon when i picked b. up from nana's house. what a big boy.