October 21, 2012 ~ The Lion That Lives on the Playground

Billy has a new game. You pretend to sleep, and then he attacks you with a pillow to wake you up. Sound like something he would do while cuddling? Well, yes probably. But, no. He invented this game while sitting on the sofa with Grandma. As soon as she would "wake up" he would grab her arm and tell her "Gan-ma, go sleep!" Then... attack!

After Grandma left we went to pick out pumpkins.

This isn't our usual place to go, but it's got free stuff for kids to do so we headed over there. He could have cared less about the hay maze. Wasn't interested in the pumpkins over 1000 pounds (of which there are three). Didn't scream in the haunted house. (Although he did jump a little when a ghost popped out).

Nope.

It was all about the wagon. He didn't want to ride in it. He wanted to pull it around. And he did. Through the whole place. At one point it was loaded down with pumpkins and he still managed to pull it around, even up a small hill.

And after pumpkins we checked out Christmas. Oh yeah, they are full decorated for Christmas, train garden and all.

Then it was home to roast marshmallows with Cub and his parents. We did smores in the back yard with our fire pit. Billy wanted to sit in the same chair with Cub and was quite the little host, bringing Cub his apple cider and even wiping chocolate off of Cub's face.  We had a glow stick and a mini tent and the two boys got to play outside under the stars until well past their bedtimes, hyped on chocolate and marshmallows.

We adults roast Easter Peeps as well. So yummy. So wrong. There's nothing like skewering your favorite Easter candies and shoving them into a fire.

Sunday was a quiet day, since he was up so late the night before. The only thing we did was head on over to the playground.

The playground has some trees. I wouldn't even call it woods. Maybe a copse. More like a scattering of trees around the fields. But Billy apparently thinks that it's the jungle. And he's certain that a lion lives there. To be clear: it's just some trees. Not even a lion statue. Nothing. Just trees. But he roars to the lion that lives on the playground.

So beware. It's invisible. It's not real. But there's a lion that lives on the playground.

The Sunday Post ~ Workman Tool Bench Review

Buy it here.

This is a fabulous toy and worth every penny. The best part? It's not very expensive.

The work bench comes with three power tool plus three more tools and interchangeable heads for the screwdriver, including a chisel attachment. It also comes with screws and bolts with drawers to contain them.

The power tools? A nail gun, a lathe and an electric screwdriver. (All of which work straight out of the box). The nail gun lights up and makes extra noises when the trigger is pulled. The lathe with the baseball bat on it is mounted to the bench and has an on off switch.

It also has extra storage for the other tools and work toys that you already own.

This is a great bench. Our son absolutely loves this toy. It has provided hours and hours of fun for him already. It has lots of different toys to play with to keep him occupied.

My only recommendation? Get some earplugs... for yourself. The power tools are loud- as they should be!

October 19, 2012 ~ Eau du Poop

Last night we had tornado warnings. I know, I know. You'd think with all of the tornado warnings for our neighborhood that we lived in tornado alley, but we don't. So, last night we hung out in the basement. Billy ate dinner down there and played with his new toys.

Dear Apple, thank you for adding the Emergency Alert System to the iPhone 5. I got the tornado warning before they had it up on the tv. If there had been a tornado, you might have saved our lives. So thanks for that feature.

Now, back to our regualrly scheduled post...

After bed (and expired warnings) I got to organizing. I brought home several boxes from work that needed to be trashed from the shoot.

I got out all of the boxes of baby clothes that I could find and organized them by size. It took the better part of two hours to do it. I figured, since I have the boxes now that I should get on the organizing before i either decide to sell the clothes or decide to have another baby (because organizing while encumbered by a big belly sucks).

I'm all organized, but I have to say, with each box of clothes I opened a whiff of eau du poop wafted up to my nose. You know, it's not a good smell. It stinks. And I'm not talking about toddler poop smell, I mean baby poop. Yuck. And all of the clothes were washed before putting them into boxes originally.

Well, some other kid (maybe my own, maybe someone else's) is going to get to enjoy lots of cute, slightly smelly clothes.

October 18, 2012 ~ Just Like Mommy

Billy wants to be "just like Mommy".

"Billy dark pants, Mommy dark pants!" he said while I was dressing him. Yes, I had on jeans and was putting him in dark blue slacks.

"Mommy socks, Billy socks!" Yes, we were both wearing socks.

"Mommy shirt, Billy shirt!" Jeez, yes, we're both dressed already. And no, not dressed alike. That's cool and all, but not my thing.

Then he found my hair tie. And he wanted it in his hair, just like Mommy. So, I gave him a silly little ponytail.

I tried to remove it but he insisted on wearing it to school. He wanted to look "just like Mommy."

No worries. When we got to school another little boy in his class was also wearing a silly ponytail.

Drawn In Thursdays: Holiday Hijinks #1

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A true story from last week.

October 16, 2012 ~ The Demon/Angel

I guess it's just the terrible twos, but Billy has developed the ability to switch from demon child to perfect angel in a split second. Not even German engineering can corner that fast.

We went to Grandma's today for dinner. Happy lil man turned into screaming crabby pants pitching a fit over what was for dinner.

He has been extra tired, which means that the demon lurking just beneath the surface shows up more often. I was not surprised to see the little demon make a visit today. I'm thinking growth spurt. He's due. And when he's extra tired for no reason, it usually means that he's about to shoot up by three inches in the next week.

Yup.

Or it's just his inner demon...

I'm hoping for the growth spurt.

October 15, 2012 ~ Butter, Shadows and Dirty Words

Can you believe that I forgot to post? I thought I had posted this morning but we've been so busy with another shoot week that I forgot to post. And three funny things happened yesterday.

At dinner time Billy wanted applesauce. So I fixed him a bowl and put it in front of him. Then he asked me to put butter on his applesauce. Um, no. But he kept insisting that I put butter on his applesauce. Well, there was no way that I was going to put butter on his applesauce. So, unfortunately for Billy, he had to eat it without butter.

After dinner, we had a dance party in the living room. I broke out some old Disney anthology albums that I had purchased in the 90s back when I used to be huge into all things Disney. I thought Billy might like the music. Well, not only does he like the music he loves it. He thinks it's so funny. He loves all of the silly songs and the funny phrases from Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (yes, it's spelled right) to Chim Chim Cheree and all kinds of music from animated to live action movies. He especially liked Heigh Ho! from Snow White. He even began singing with me. He especially liked the part where you get to sing "dig dig dig dig." Then he noticed his shadow dancing around on the wall. I waved my hand to make my own shadow move. He was thrilled and waved his hands along to the music to make his shadow dance.

And finally we went downstairs to play with all of his toys in the playroom and Billy got into some of the toys he hasn't played with in a long time. One of the toys is a laptop that looks like a panda bear. He hasn't been much of a fan of it because it's too old for him. But now he's starting to like it. He had a lot of fun playing with that little computer but the only problem was what he kept calling it. I'm not actually going to type out that dirty word here. But if you can imagine what the word would sound like minus the "mp" that's what he kept saying. The worst part was he kept calling it Mommy's [insert dirty word here]. I'm trying to teach him how to say computer correctly but so far no success. Chalk it up to another dirty word said innocently by toddler.

October 14, 2012 ~ Chim Chim Cheree

Poor Daddy. He's like a porcelain doll. First his bum foot- which is his own fault. Now he's throw out his back. Yup.

Well, the grass had to be mowed. It's true. And Daddy wanted to do it. Go Daddy. Usually, Daddy finished mowing the grass by strapping on the leaf blower and blowing all of the little clippings away. I was thinking this was a monumentally bad idea for someone who spent most of the day laid up.

So, I went to fetch Billy his little broom and I got my outdoor broom. We headed out to the front walk after Daddy had mowed that area. And then we started sweeping.

At first, Billy wasn't sure what to do. Sure, he knows how to swing the broom back and forth to scatter my freshly swept pile o' dirt. But what to do outside?

I showed him how to sweep the grass from the walk.

He quickly fell into step right behind me (and I mean right behind me). And he swept and swept. Then he gladly took over  managing the project by instructing me which areas still needed sweeping.

And when he was done he swung the broom over his shoulder like a chimney sweep and headed out back.

I taught him Chim Chim Cheree  and NOW he can do a little dance with him broom while singing "chim chim chim!"

Taken while watching Daddy mow

The Sunday Post ~ Having A Dog

It's on my mind...

Plenty of people live without dogs. Plenty of parents of toddlers live without dogs. I just don't know how they do it. Really, how do they do it?

Why I love having a a dog and a toddler:

~ Cleaning the floor: Buddy gladly cleans up after dinner every night. He licks the floor clean. I just come around behind him and wipe everything down. He also happily snarfs random bits of food off of the toddler- you know the sticky ones stuck to his clothes? Those.

~ Learning to share: Buddy has toys too. Sometimes Billy wants them. But, since they are Buddy's, Billy has to wait or share with Buddy. And sometimes Buddy wants Billy's toys too.

~ Learning to be nice: Buddy will take plenty of toddler abuse and still love Billy. But after being hit so many times he refuses to play along and leaves the room. Billy has learned to not hit, not bite, not kick and to be gentle.

~ Entertaining the kid: Buddy is hours of endless entertainment. He's the toy that plays back. Fetch you say? Sure!

~ Big protector: Buddy guards Billy with his life. I like that.

A friend once told me she read that dogs provide a moral compass to children. I believe her. We're not born with one- we have to learn. Certainly, you don't have to have a dog to teach morals. But dogs are a huge teaching aid in this endeavor, at least in my humble opinion. Dogs are tolerant, have unconditional love, but will growl when you overstep your bounds.

Okay, let's be honest. Buddy is a special dog. He is better behaved than any dog I have owned. He has the sweetest temperament of any dog I've owned. His personality is something even people could aspire to. I don't talk a lot about him, but it's true. Don't get me wrong, his snoring last night was no fun and he has his annoying habits just like anyone. But if there's a creature out there to help teach my child how best to behave, two-footed or four, Buddy would be at the top of the list.

I just can't imagine raising a kid without a dog. And I can't imagine myself having grown up sans dogs. They are amazing creatures.

So, I'm giving mine his due. Buddy, steak tonight!

October 12, 2012 ~ How To Train Your Dragon

Really, this post should be about Friday evening, but since we had a few snafus today, I didn't get to posting until late. So, I'm going to post about Saturday instead.

Snafus you say? (Yeah, I said snafu.)

When we woke up this morning I thought I was camping. The only difference- I didn't have a Billy snuggled into my bed. Yeah, it was cold. Really cold. And no, this time we weren't sleeping outside under the stars. It was just a broken furnace. Fortunately, the furnace opted for a balmy Fall day versus in the middle of a blizzard (because yes, I've been there done that and Grandma can gripe about it).

Snuggled up in sweaters and blankets we spent the morning in the warmest room in the house- the basement TV room. You'd think it would be the coldest, and normally it is, but apparently we need to insulate better. The TV is underground, and therefore, has the best insulation.

Billy said to me, "Mommy, TV time?" So, I got out the basket of Billy movies for him to pick. "Dragon, Mommy. Dragon"

You would think that a movie about scary dragons would be, well, too scary for Billy. Nope. He reprimanded the characters for carrying swords. "No play sharp knives!" (Yes! This lesson he has down pat!) "No hit!" "No push!" "No bite!"

I think I love this movie. He lets me know all of the lessons he knows. It's AWESOME. And he's not scared. Fire-breathing dragon? "Fire hot! No touch!" Yes! More lessons learned and reinforced.

And, not scary. Even though you would think it would be. Nope. He asked to watch it again later today. It's true. He loves his dragon movie. In fact, he has a large stuffed dragon courtesy of Grandpop and Billy rides it around the house just like Hiccup rides Toothless.

(Allow me to insert a funny story right here. This movie came out when I was pregnant. Daddy is part Viking- yes, for real, so we went to see this movie looking for names for our little lima bean. Most of the Viking names I had found had no vowels, minus Erik. We wanted something more Viking. We wanted to honor Daddy's Viking-ness. And then Disney popped out names like Hiccup and Snoutlout. Luckily for the lima bean, we opted out of Hiccup and went with something more traditional.)

So, it's late on Saturday night and Billy is NOT sleeping in his crib, pretending he's a firework. Yes, really. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Boom!" I taught him that in June. He just started repeating it again this week. Think about it. Remembering something four months ago is like remembering something one fifth of his life ago. Can you remember a silly sound someone taught you one fifth of your life ago?

I thought not.

October 11, 2012 ~ The Terrible C Word

It's an awful word. I don't like to say it. It makes me cringe and evokes more reaction than a cuss words. It's the terrible C word. Yes. Cancer.

And it's a word floating around our house because an immediate family member has just been diagnosed. Cancer. It's a heartbreaking, slam to the gut word. I hate it.

Who?

That would be our lovable, fuzzy friend Buddy.

Yes, Buddy has cancer.

I think I knew it was coming, ever since I found the suspicious lump. That's why he had emergency surgery last week. Now we have to set up an appointment with an oncologist. We have to explore options.

For now, Buddy is okay. They took the tumor, but they didn't get all of it. They couldn't, not without removing his boy parts, which are kind of essential.

The kicker is his age. He's healthy but old. So, we now have to decide what's best for him. I wish I could just ask him and have him tell me- yes, more surgery or no, just feed me steak every night and let me go.

Argh.

Billy knows something is up. He knows Buddy is sick. And he's looked very closely at Buddy's staples all down his belly. Ugly stitches and staples. Billy has been nice enough not to touch, but is very curious about everything going on with Buddy.

So now we wait and see.

Drawn In Thursdays: Things Kids Do #15

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A true story from last week.

October 9, 2012 ~ Pumpkin Picking and GrumpyPaws

We started our morning with a scheduled trip to the vet. We had to drop Buddy off for surgery. Billy has no memory of the vet- I usually don't take him with me. So, it was an interesting experience for him. I explained that Buddy was old enough to go to his appointment on his own, but that we had to drive him since puppies can't drive. Billy felt this was reasonable enough. He complained "Buddy, come back!" a little in the car after we left, but when I explained we would pick him up later he gave up and started jabbering on about the cow jumping over the moon. Moooooooooon!

Next up, field trip!

Yup, Billy's fall field trip was today. We went to a farm to pick pumpkins. It was a cute little farm, although there wasn't too much there to do and to be honest there are better farms around for fall festivities. But Billy liked it well enough. Grandpop joined us for some fall fun.

Unlike most places, here you actually get to choose your pumpkin on the vine and they cut it off for you and you get to walk away with a freshly picked pumpkin.

After he chose it all by himself he refused to put it down. It was HIS pumpkin.

After the pumpkin picking we went for a hay ride and played in some giant tractor tires. There was also a barnyard, but after the State Fair that part was boring and old hat. He saw the animals and looked at me and asked, "Mommy, horsey ride now?" (As in, ok, where's the merry-go-round that was at the fair). I believe we will need to make a visit to the Columbia Mall to see the merry-go-round and some friends!

Then it was lunchtime. It was freezing out, so I bought a warm apple cider for us to share. I brought a bagged lunch for us to share as well. With the cider he kept taking a sip and then screwing up his face. Finally I said, "if you don't like it, give it to Mommy and you can have your water." Nope. He still wanted it. I think it was just getting past drinking juice warm. (It wasn't hot- I tested it). He's had cider recently and liked it, but it was cold.

After lunch he chased his girlfriend around the farm. They walked on top of hay bales and crawled through tunnels. She had a parent's hand the whole time. Billy? Nope. He's good. Walked on top of hay bales with no issue. Even jumped off of them with no issue. And when he fell only once? He whimpered but didn't cry. He fell into loose hay, so it was only his feelings that were hurt.

Then it was back to school.

After school we went to pick up Buddy from the vet. Buddy came out with a cone on his head. Billy said, "Buddy silly!" Then he continued without prompting, "Buddy have big booboo." I didn't tell him that. He just understood. He also helped me with Buddy's medications (Buddy med-sin). "No touch Buddy," he warned. But, when I said ti was okay, he gave over and gave his Buddy a big pat on the rump.

Buddy is one sick puppy. We're still awaiting the results. He had to have a suspicious tumor removed, but all signs point to malignant. I'm hoping for the best, and hoping they got it all. He also has a terrible infection in his mouth, but luckily gets to keep his teeth for now. We thought he might loose one or more, but so far so good. However, he is Mr. GrumpyPaws and I can't blame him. Could you imagine having a massive infection in your mouth and then having a tumor removed from your boy parts? Yeah, that would make anyone a grumpypaws.

Billy was very good with Buddy at home. Buddy just wanted to sleep. In the middle of toddler chaos. But Billy left him alone. So, sleep he did.

Then Daddy came home.

"Billy, what did you do today?" Daddy asked.

For the first time ever Billy responded without prompting. "Hay ride. Big tractor."

I did have to prompt a little about the pumpkin. "Were there pumpkins?"

"I pick pumpkin. Little pumpkin. Orange."


~

UPDATE:

Awhile back I posted about a mom missing her two children that had been kidnapped. I am happy to report that two days ago her kids were found and after almost two years apart are now home with their mom.Tips via spreading the word on the internet helped find her kids. I'm so glad her babies are home with her.

October 8, 2012 ~ Don't Eat That!

Billy decided to make a list of things you can't eat and recite them to me last night.

Here's the list of things you cannot eat:
"Mommy, no eat...
pumpkins (uncooked and painted pumpkin)
plate (that your dinner is sitting on)
Buddy
hammer
tractor
rocks
monkey
wall."

In case you were unsure, don't eat these things.

Happy Blog-iversary!

That's right.

My blog turned one today. This time last year I had the idea to write every day about what Billy does and to have you- the reader- hold me accountable to write every day.

So, have some cake and let's celebrate!

October 7, 2012 ~ Big Fall Camping Trip

So how do you cap off two weeks of parties followed by a crazy shoot week? You go camping!

Billy and I didn't make it for the first day of camping because I was just too tired to drive up to the camp site after working mostly a full day and not sleeping since Saturday. You know, just a little tired.

So, for Day 2 of the trip (or Day 1 for us) we joined the crew for some history at Gettysburg, PA. We walked the battlefields, climbed the observation tower (not the old one0 this is a smaller walk-up one) and checked out some monuments.

Here is Billy inside one of the monuments:

This particular monument to a NY battalion has spiral stairs that go up to look around. It's sort of fort like, but I told Billy it was a castle. From the top it looks like one anyway. It even has a tower. He was SO excited to actually be in a castle.

We didn't try to impart any history lessons on him though. He's only just 2. We'll have to come back and explain the Battle of Gettysburg some other time when he's older. Maybe next year for the 150th anniversary. Still too young?

Well, the history lesson was over so we headed off to the campsite for food and hanging out. Billy decided to go No-Nap. It's a lot like going "No Huddle" only, we get to be the opposing defense that gets run over.

So, we gave up and broke out the toys. Billy mowed. Yup. He mowed the forest.

(This picture is actually from the next day, but well- he did a lot of mowing of the forest. What can I say?)

Well, Friday night after unpacking and having a delicious dinner prepared by another camper in our group it was time to send Billy off to bed.

Uh oh! Here I tout the love of the Go Crib and it's no where in site. Yup. It's been forgotten. Oh crap. Well, um... now what? Thank God I'm an over-packer. I put as many blankets in my car as I could cram in there and still see out the back. So, I built Billy his own little cushy bed next to my sleeping bag. He had his own pillow, his lovies, his sock monkey and lots of blankets to cuddle under. He went to sleep without too much of a hitch. That was fabulous. Much unlike summer camping when bedtime is still bright light and incredibly warm. Nope. Fell asleep without too much of an issue.

Being the concerned Mom I woke up several times in the night to check on him. And I'm glad that I did. Some time in the middle of the night I noticed he was freezing. Even with a pile of heavy blankets on him.

( I recently watched a film called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. It follows two Chinese families. In the movie war drives them up into the snowy hills for safety. On the first night sleeping in the snow, the youngest boy, even covered by heavy skins, dies in the cold. So, that whole concept about kids in the cold is on my brain. I'm neurotic, what can I say?)

Well, I'm not going to let my little man shiver in the cold. So, I pulled him into my sleeping bag with me and held him to warm him. That was a fabulous plan and he warmed up quickly enough. But once he was warm he woke up and wanted to play. Let's play poke Mommy in the eyes. Let's play pat-a-cake on Mommy's face. Let's attack cuddle Daddy. Let's spill and entire bottle of water inside the tent. He was up from around 4 until he passed out again around 7 or 8 and slept for awhile. 

Day 3 started with rigging up shelter from the expected rain. It was drizzly and cold in the morning, so it seemed like the right thing to do. Billy was not happy about Mommy climbing up on things and about me not paying attention to him. But, I'm the one with the sailing knot knowledge, so I went to work tying up the tarp to protect the picnic tables from impending doom... I mean rain.

We hung out in camp all morning, mowing the grass of the forest and playing around. We went No-Nap again. I think Mommy was more of a cranky pants about this than Billy. I still made him take quiet time in the tent. We watched his little face appear and disappear from the window in the tent. I checked on him every now and again and put him back to bed.

On that last push to get him to sleep before naptime would be over it was Daddy's turn to watch him. Daddy decided to ignore him and figured he was fine and wasn't going to sleep anyway. Should have known something was up. When I went to fetch him after the time that he should have been sleeping was over, I found a tornado in the tent. Billy had gone through my suitcase and pulled everything out. He tossed his diapers all over the tent. He tossed my feminine products all over the tent- the whole box. He found my floss and pulled all of it out of the box. He got out my toiletries and was playing with them everywhere. And when I opened the tent he had a bottle of shampoo in hand and was shaking it trying to get the "soap" out. Thank God that he didn't manage to open the shampoo bottle.

It was time to burn off some energy so we went for a hike on the historic Civil War Trails in the area and the trails around the campground.

Don't be fooled by this photo. Daddy in t-shirt and Billy in winter garb. It was cold. Daddy's viking-ness is showing. In the background are the falls.

Onward to dinner. We left Daddy in charge of dinner and went for a stroller ride with one of Billy's favorite people.

Yes, it was very cold.

When it got dark this same favorite people broke out a glow stick ball to play with. And Mommy had brought glow stick bracelets for Billy and the ladies. We tossed the glow ball around and had Billy in giggles. He thought that was too cool. The glow ball was a big hit.

But No Nap Billy was exhausted and after play and dinner he asked for bed. So I cuddled him up in my sleeping bag and tucked him in with lots of blankets. He wouldn't sleep in his hat, but he did go to sleep with his coat and gloves on. I wasn't kidding around with how cold and damp it was. I put him right into my own sub-zero bag and skipped his little makeshift bed all together. He went out like a light.

After I went to bed I held him all night long and kept him warm. He was still cold, even in my bag- but it's a big bag for a little guy. He kept crawling out and getting really cold. He's used to being squirmy in his crib, but you can't stay warm in the cold outdoors that way.

Morning came and it was time to leave. We packed up and headed up the road, all of us stopping for lunch before making the final journey home.

Before we were even out of town Billy was asleep in the car. Although, he ended up crying half the way home. When we did finally get home he cuddled into his nice warm crib and took a long nap.

He had a great time. But I think warmer weather is in order for the next trip!

And... I'm Tired

I'm exhausted. I've worked a full week in only 3 days, plus take care of a toddler. And my blog has suffered. So, I apologize for missing posts and being unable to check in.

So, I'm going to go on break until Sunday and recharge my batteries. Tune in Sunday night for a big ole post.

Until then, folks...

Go Ravens and ...Go Orioles?!!

It's Official

Billy has asthma. Are we shocked? No.

He now has a daily treatment plus a rescue inhaler. But don't think that's going to stop him. He's as busy as ever and has more energy than my non-asthmatic self.

Otherwise, he has a clean bill of health and has been pronounced "tall and skinny." It's in the genes.

So, there we go. Onward and upward.

Weekend Highlights

Two things from this weekend:

1. Billy peed in the potty. Yup. He's a big boy. He said he needed to potty. Then he sat there for ten minutes until it finally worked. AND he managed to successfully use the potty BEFORE he turned two. Woohoo!

2. We were watching Ratatouille. He kept calling the main character Mickey Mouse. The main character is Remmy, a rat. I was trying to explain to him that Remmy wasn't Mickey. But that they are similar. And since they are both Disney characters, I suggested that they were cousins. Close enough. "Oh, ok. Cousins," he says. Then he pauses and says, "T is my cousin." SO cute. (T isn't a cousin, just a good friend.)

Billy Turns Two

Oh my goodness... where have I been?

No posts since Friday? I post every day. What happened?

Well, let's start with Friday, and I'm sorry but I'm going to have to rush this post, but I have to go back in to work tonight. Anyways, I'm good with production schedules. So, when planning a party I have a production schedule. It means I don't have to rush too much. Although, I always seem to end up leaving things to last minute, mostly because life gets in the way.

Well, there was a list of items that needed doing for Saturday and Sunday morning before the big party. It wasn't too much. And i had it broken into things Daddy needed to do, plus my own (much longer) list.

Daddy on Friday night decided to go climbing at the climbing gym. And then he promptly fell off the bouldering wall. He claims the top of the wall is only 12 feet up, but Daddy is prone to underexaggeration, so I suspect he might have been higher up. Anyways, he busted up his ankle and came in late Friday with a grapefruit for a foot begging for ice and medicine. That meant a trip to the store in my jammies. So out into the rain I went to fetch drugs and Ace bandages. We had ice.

Saturday Daddy was in pretty bad shape. He spent most of the day with his foot propped up and well medicated. That meant that I needed to do all of Daddy's chores to get ready for the party, plus my own, plus take care of Billy (except during nap when I had to run out) and take care of Daddy. Uh oh. That's a lot of work. I got up at dawn and went to bed at midnight, taking no break and powering through.

Sunday morning I was back up at dawn cleaning, making deviled eggs and trying to be ready for everything. Daddy must have felt bad, so he ran my two quick errands I had to do so I could do stuff around the house, of course with little man under foot.

Then, last night after everyone had left the party (yes, I'll get to the party- read on) Billy started having breathing trouble. This escalated into bad breathing trouble, puking, crying and being up all night. So, he was the priority- not the blog. His breathing still isn't right, but we see the doctor tomorrow. I suspect we'll be heading off to the hospital in the morning. Ugh, another trip.

So here I am exhausted, sleep-deprived and ready to collapse and have to head into work for a late night. It's shoot week. There's no rest for the weary. So, I apologize if the blog suffers, but I will try to post each night, especially on break from shooting.

On to the birthday boy...

He got up and the house was already decorated for the party. He wanted to "have it" and "touch it" all of the decorations. There might have been a few meltdowns about not ripping up the decorations before the party. Maybe just a few.

He tried on the birthday hat and checked out the presents.

 

He had a grand time helping me clean (he loves to clean) and trying to steal chips from the table. He was all excited about balloons and cake, not that he'd seen them yet. Then it was off to nap. He didn't want to nap- he wanted to party. I can't blame him. But finally I got him to go to sleep. And I had to wake him up so he wouldn't miss his own party.

The guests arrived and the party was on! Billy wanted to be held most of the time and he was very unsure by all of his favorite people in the world all being in the same room at the same time. It was very overwhelming.

But then there was cake. Wedding cake (Aunt S I'll save you a piece). Mommy and Daddy's wedding cake- baked fresh of course. Nothing but the best for lil man. He had a big ole piece and a big ole sugar rush to go with it.

Then it was on to opening presents. He owned one and wanted to go play with it. But it was in a box. "Can I have it?" he asked. Sure (but not right now). That's a hard thing to open presents and then have to put them aside to open more. That's tough on a small person. Well, anyway, I made Billy move on to the next one but Daddy wanted to play with it. That started Billy with a near meltdown (but he didn't do it!) because Daddy got to play with it but not Billy. Daddy finally put it away and we moved on. With each gift he quietly asked me, "Have it?" (He's asking if he can have it). And, since he had lots of friends about, he shared with his friends so they wouldn't feel left out.

Billy loves all of his gifts and he thanks everyone so much for everything. He will personally thank each of you later, but for now a big thanks from Billy!

After presents we headed outside for the pinata (I know it's an enya, but I don't have that glyph on my keyboard). Anyways, we went without a blindfold since everyone was so young. It was a pirate ship pinata. Which, I actually didn't get a picture of. I wasn't in camera mode yesterday- too busy. The kids all took turns whacking at the pirate ship, but it didn't want to break. So Daddy ripped it open and threw candy everywhere for the kids to pick up. The two youngest kids (Billy being one of them) weren't quite sure about picking up candy off the ground, but it all worked out in the end. Billy immediately ate a lollipop and loved it. Then he wanted another. And another. Sugar, sugar, sugar.

But, since there was a break in the rain and the party was coming to an end, everyone headed out. We were so glad everyone could be there for his special day. We missed some important people who couldn't make it, but we'll see them soon, I'm sure.

So, it's official. Billy is two.