Saturdays with Daddy

I love UGA football weekends.

I hate the weekends that Samantha has to work.

Having a UGA home game can be a saving grace for those weekends that she has to work.

Mac and I are not good at sitting around the house. For one thing, we tend to make a mess and neither of us is good at cleaning them up.

UGA home games give us a reason to get out of the house and visit with friends.

Last weekend there was no UGA game and Samantha had to work.

I decided to take Mac to run some errands including a trip to Lowe's. I had no reason for the trip other than to waste time, but we were in for a treat.

Lowe's has a program for kids called Build and Grow. I asked and was told that there isn't really an age limit, so I signed us up. They gave us a miniature apron, hammer, and goggles. He got to keep the apron and was given a badge for completion which will go on the apron.

The project was called Frankenstring. Its a Halloween magic trick.

This isn't Mac's finished project - his includes several more "scars" from Mac using the wrong side of the hammer on the face. Nevertheless, he had a good time and we are looking forward to doing these workshops in the future. We might even check out the similar program across the street at Home Depot.

Mac was saying "cheese" here, but my cellphone camera leaves a little to be desired. It has absolutely nothing to do with my lack of photography skill/talent.

I should tell you that I think Mac's favorite part of going to Lowe's was pushing the cart by himself. I can't blame him - without extra money to spend that is usually my favorite part too.

Cooking with Mommy

From Augusta 10-09

When we were in Augusta we decided that the cold, wet weather was perfect for chili.

We weren't the only ones. Every shelf in Kroger was full with the exception of the areas for chili related - they were empty!
We did manage to find enough ingredients for Eric to make chili for all of us. We weren't sure how Mac would like the chili (he didn't) so we made sure to get cornbread mix. Not only did he enjoy eating the cornbread muffins, but he really enjoyed helping to make them.

No photographs please

We won't have any pictures, but there are a couple of new developments here in Bogart.

One is that Mac is showing more and more interest in the toilet. He will sit down on his potty and "wipe." This would be much more exciting if he was actually doing something, but its a start.

The other is that we finally started reading him a Bible story each night. We read a story out of The One Year Bible Storybook given to Mac by Samantha's Mema. I like to joke about it being an autographed copy of the Bible since Virginia Muir did actually sign it.

This is something that always intimidated me. I wasn't sure how to do any kind of Bible study that he would get anything out of. To be honest, I don't know that he is now, but I just figured that it can't have any impact if we don't try something. Maybe he is getting something out of it - he sits still and listens intently while we read. After our Bible story he will fold his hands and bow his head for bedtime prayers. He will also do this at mealtime and then finish with a barely audible "amen." Its really cute to see.

I find that even though I'm almost 20 months into being a parent I don't feel like I have any answers - just more questions. I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon, if ever. So, if anyone has suggestions on potty training and/or meaningful Bible study for a toddler, I'd love to hear them.

As promised....PICTURES!!!

From Augusta 10-09

From Augusta 10-09

From Augusta 10-09

From Augusta 10-09

From Augusta 10-09

Another Fun Weekend!

So we don't have any pictures yet because they are mostly on Jessica's camera. She is officially the group photographer. However we did have a really good weekend in Augusta. We went down Friday evening to see Uncle Eric's (Watson) football game. Mac had so much fun hanging out with the other kids at the game. He wanted to do everything that they did. The best part was he and Greer dancing to the band. Jess got a picture so we will post that as soon as we get them from her.

On Saturday Jessica and I did some shopping because the sudden cold snap has made me realize that Mac has outgrown all of his pants. He is at a very awkward size apparently though because the old ones are way too short and the next size up is too long and has to be rolled up several times. Oh well, I guess he will grow into them.

By the way Greer is an adorable little girl whose dad is a coach with Eric (and they go to church with Jess and Eric so we saw them again today too) Mac got a bunch of hugs and then a kiss today when we left. Tonight while he was in the bathtub we were talking about the day and who we had seen and what we had done. He repeated Greer's name clearly enough for us to understand, so that just tells you how special she is.

Pictures, Pumpkins, and the Zoo

Today was a very busy day. We started this morning with Mac's 18th month photo session (yes he is 19th months now, but who's counting). I think it went pretty well. He was a little sleepy and lacking some of his usual spark, but maybe he turned it on for long enough to get some good shots. He figured out how to walk backwards because Daddy was walking backwards trying to entertain him and get a good smile for pictures. Mac was very proud of himself for copying (and he didn't fall down at all). He is constantly surprising us with little things like that.
After lunch (and a nap) we went to church to visit the pumpkin patch. Mac really enjoyed looking at the big pumpkins and climbing on them and trying to pick them up. He also liked picking up the little ones and moving them around. I don't think he rearranged too much of the patch though.

Mac riding a pumpkin

From Pumpkin Patch 09

Mac's scary Halloween face

From Pumpkin Patch 09

Next we decided to visit the little zoo over by our church. (I should clarify that the zoo lists squirrels as some of animals you might see.) They do have some pretty cool stuff though. We were very lucky that some of the animals even "performed" for Mac. I overheard someone say that the groundhog is always asleep, but he walked around and climbed through a tunnel and even jumped over a small span. This would sound more impressive if you had seen how chubby the groundhog was. The bear also stopped resting on his laurels and walked around to show off a little. Unfortunately, the alligators, bald eagle, and yes, armadillo and opossum could not be counted on. Its okay though, Mac was just as delighted by the ducks and geese in the pond as anything else.

I almost forgot until I saw the pictures, but Mac was given some stickers when we left the pumpkin patch. He had one on his shirt and then a few still on the paper for later. He wanted to hold both Mommy and Daddy's hands when we left so he couldn't hold onto the stickers. Doug put them in his pocket and he was very unsure. He kept looking at his pocket the way he had stared at his new shoes. The best part is that he tried to get the stickers out and kept turning around like a dog chasing his tail.

From Pumpkin Patch 09

SHOTS

Today we had to go in for immunizations. Mac did great considering that we had to wait for an hour before we were called back. He weighs around 28 lbs (maybe down a lb or two?) and is 32 inches tall. He is growing so much!!
He was really cute while we were waiting for the nurse to come in and give his shots. He was walking around the room in just a diaper and socks, but he still kept trying to get me to get up and leave. Poor thing! He didn't even know what he was in for.
The good news is that he was using his hand to say "come here" rather than patting his leg the way you call a dog.
The bad news is that tomorrow is the day we have scheduled for his 18 months pictures. Lets hope that he won't be having any bad reactions to the injections. And that maybe he will be in a good mood.

Bed Time and the Terrible Twos

I know he's not two yet, but we are definitely starting to see some of the terrible part. For a while now he has been pitching fits about things any time he doesn't get his way or when we can't figure out what his way is. However, bed time is freakishly easy. It worries me sometimes because he is so wide awake when we lay him down that I think he will never stay in the bed. Sometimes he even waves and says night-night when we are leaving him. However he always stays and goes to sleep quickly (I probably should not write that huh?)
The bad side is that he has been waking up in the night most nights. We have been trying to just leave him and let him put himself back to sleep. For awhile we were going and trying to comfort him, but that just seemed to cause more problems than it solved. Is it bad to turn the monitor down so that we can get some sleep until he really needs us?

Here's a picture of him from the bath tub the other night. The bubbles help entice him into the tub on nights that he's not in the mood. He can say bubbles very clearly now.