Happy Day of Birth!

Today Rob became as old as me. (Does that make us an old couple now? HA!) Although it didn't happen, when it was my birthday I wanted to spend the day by myself, shopping and getting pampered. On Rob's day of birth celebration (He doesn't like his birthday acknowledged) he wanted to spend the morning duck hunting and the rest of the day with us. We had fun going to the pumpkin patch (yet again), riding the mechanic bull (yet again) and picking out another pumpkin (yet again). From there we went to Scheels and to dinner. It was so incredibly nice to spend most of the day as a family because those days seem few and far between lately. Enjoy the pictures from our pumpkin patch visit........

Pumpkins, Painting, Patience....

For those that meet P, one of the first comments they make is how much energy he has. I don't know any different and most of the time his energy level matches mine. But, after the night we had last night, I knew today was going to be challenging. He and I are both busy bodies and we don't like to be cooped up. I figured I'd use today to do more potty training and get some Halloween costume pictures but neither of those happened. Instead, I set up paper in the kitchen and encouraged P to paint his pumpkin and do some masterpieces for Uncle Josh and Aunt Ashy.







But, he's not much into sitting and painting so my plan didn't last long. I talked him into a walk but he wore out quickly. I was hoping that that would mean he'd take a long nap since he's cranky today. But he didn't and, although he's not as cranky, he's still testing my patience. I will be happy when we are able to go out and about again tomorrow!

Fun or Not so Much?

On Thursday I picked P up from preschool and we met up with some moms and kids from my Bible Study at the pumpkin patch. P had a blast!! His favorite part was riding the mechanical bull and he talked about it nonstop afterwards. Although it was fun to watch, I pray that's not his career choice. After we left the pumpkin patch we headed West to visit my parents for the weekend. Friday morning we woke up to beautiful weather so we decided to go to a "local" pumpkin patch. (It took about an hour to get there) I'd never been there before but I have to say, after going, it is now my favorite pumpkin patch in the Sacramento area. There is sooooo much to do and a variety of pumpkins to choose from. My parents, P and I had such a fun time riding the train, petting the animals, climbing on play structures, going for a pony ride...

After we left the pumpkin patch I met up with a friend for a belated birthday dinner. It was nice to get away and have adult conversation sans a fun loving toddler. I stayed out later than planned but enjoyed every minute (Ok, maybe not when the waiters/waitresses came out with a sombrero and sang "Happy Birthday" but I liked the rest)

The rest of the weekend was a different story. Saturday I could tell P wasn't feeling well because he didn't eat any breakfast (Always the first big sign!). My parents and I wanted to take P to ride the Halloween train downtown but as the day wore on it was obvious we weren't going to be doing much. In all honesty I was rather scared because we couldn't get his fever to break and he slept way more than usual. By night my mom was giving him a sponge bath because he wouldn't get back in a lukewarm bath. We debated whether to take him to Urgent Care but decided to see how the rest of the night went. Fortunately, P slept through the night but yesterday morning we left early to head back home. I called the local Pediatrics Urgent Care and they asked me to bring him in even though his fever had gone down. Rob met us there and after waiting an hour, it was determined that he has strep.

P is an AWESOME patient and I attribute most of that to the fact that he's been through so much already in his young life. He takes medicine without a problem and just wants to cuddle when he's not feeling good. But last night I got a taste of what it's like to have a not so awesome patient. P kept spitting out his meds. By the third time, Rob gave them to him and he was able to get P to keep them down. (YAY!) Around midnight P woke up and was inconsolable. After I thought he was asleep I went back to bed only to hear him crying a few minutes later. I went back in and couldn't get him to stop crying so I told him I'd stay in his room for the night if he stopped crying. It took awhile but he finally stopped. This morning he woke up super early when Rob was getting ready for work so I had him crawl into bed with me. Once he woke up for good a couple hours later he seemed no worse for the wear. His fever has broken and, although he doesn't want to eat, he has more energy than he has since Saturday.

Here are some pictures from the fun times at the pumpkin patches........

Big Treat!!

Today we hit a milestone...rather, P hit a major one! He finally went potty on his big boy potty not once but twice!!! It was rather comical and I'll share it with you if you'd like but it is kind of "detailed" so most of you will probably appreciate the fact that I'm not posting all about what took place. :) I was so proud of him and he was excited because he got 2 Skittles. He kept telling everyone who would listen that he had gotten a big treat! Hopefully we'll be able to keep up with this so he can be potty trained sooner rather than later.
On a completely different note, the day didn't start out all that great. It was a gymnastics day, which is not always my favorite. I had pulled him out of the Tuesday class because the parents stood back and let their kids do whatever while the poor coach ran herself ragged trying to control the class. One parent in particular drove me crazy because she gave me idle threats constantly. There's nothing more that irritates me as a parent or teacher. I'm sure there's times I've said something and didn't follow through but I try my best NOT to be like that. Anyway, the Monday class wasn't working for our schedule so I put him back to the Tuesday class. He started acting up immediately, once he saw who was in his class, to the point where I pulled him out right before his favorite part (stamps) and took him home. On the way home he got in trouble and I was dreading the rest of the day to be honest.
However, when he woke up from his nap we had so much fun. We went to the local park and then decided to go for a walk. We visited a "farm" and fed a horse, 2 donkeys and a few goats. A donkey and a goat followed him around the fenceline, which was super cute. (Of course I regretted not having any of my cameras!) On our walk back to the park P informed me that he had shot a deer and had pushed an elephant. I love his imagination these days!!
Once we got back to the house we spent a lot of time reading. He kept asking for another book each time I finished one. It made my heart happy! P made me proud today for 3 reasons...he went potty on the big boy potty, he enjoyed reading A LOT of books and he kept saying "Thank you much!" every time I gave him something or I took the time to read him another book. By the end of the day he had completely melted my heart again, like he does most days. I'm proud to be the one he calls "Mama"!

Funny Monkey

I dread the days immediately following Rob going out of town because P has meltdowns and behavior problems. But today, with the exception of 2 meltdowns, it was a calm day. We didn't have anything planned so I decided to attempt potty training again. I spent A LOT of time sitting on the stepping stool in the bathroom, reading potty books to P while encouraging him to "go potty like a big boy". One time he was on the potty for about 20 minutes without going. As soon as he stepped outside the bathroom he pee'd all over the carpet. This happened 3 times so I deemed it a failure (not him but the potty training for the day). Towards the end of the day I was trying different tactic in hopes of getting him to go. At one point I mimicked going to the bathroom and made a "potty face". He imitated me, but looked more like a professional wrestler, his face turning beet red. I laughed so hard and that egged him on so he even posed for the camera (which I can use for blackmail later in life!)
We also took a walk today that had the same effect as potty training....tested my patience and made me laugh. I wanted to wear him out before his nap so I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk around the block. He did so we set out with the dogs. Because we live in a rural area you can hear every little sound that's out of the norm. P kept thinking he had heard a car coming so he'd run to the nearest ditch and take a seat, all the while yelling "Car coming!". What should've been a 15 minute walk turned into about 45 minutes. I loved it but after awhile I got tired of trying to convince our son that a car was not coming.
Most of the day he's had me laughing. I enjoy days like this, especially when I've been in the mindset for something completely different. It's a nice- and very welcome- surprise!

Fun Fun Weekend!

What a fabulous weekend....Girls' Night Away, a photography class and an afternoon at the lake with my boys. Instead of writing about it I'll just show you some of the fun pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!!

The Big 3-6

I don't know about you but there are some birthdays that I can't wait for and then others that are just a part of life. Rob teases me because I like my birthday to last an entire week, but not this year. Don't get me wrong. I VERY much appreciate ALL that people did to make it special, from the special birthday cards to fabulous presents to the gorgeous roses Rob gave me to the fun dinners out.
I guess I did stretch out my birthday a couple days this year. This past weekend I went to my parents' for a visit. We went to Apple Hill, despite the torrential downpour, for my birthday celebration. We only went to one place because of the rain but we were able to get apples, pumpkins and a couple of yummy treats. My favorite part of my birthday celebration with my parents was when we went out to dinner. P is obsessed with elephants right now so I chose to go to Elephant Bar (even my birthday is about him...ha!). He LOVED the huge elephant and giraffes that decorated the dining area. It was fun watching him carry his HUGE stuffed elephant through the restaurant while everyone pointed at how cute he is.
Yesterday P and I got home and got to spend the afternoon/evening with Rob, who had come home specifically for my birthday. (Which in and of itself was a great birthday gift!) He spoiled me and made my birthday special with a beautiful card, a dozen gorgeous roses and dinner at one of my favorite places. That was another thing I thoroughly enjoyed. We went to a local Japanese Steakhouse, where they cook in front of you. We got a kick out of P imitating the chef (as did an older lady sitting by us). When they asked if anyone had a birthday at the table I told Rob I didn't want to be acknowledged. Usually I would want all the attention but I was perfectly content flying under the radar.
Overall it was a fun birthday. Because of technology, I didn't get a lot of birthday calls or cards. But I appreciated ALL of the birthday wishes no matter how they came. My birthday always makes me realize how loved I am...and how blessed I am to be loved by so many!