Fall festivities

My love affair with fall is no mystery, so when we decided to pack up and head to Underwood Farm's Fall Festival yesterday despite the rain and drizzle, I was excited. The weather was perfect to me. We were hoping the drizzle would deter people from coming, but I'm pretty sure all of Ventura County had the same idea.

We met up with Shaun's mom, and got right down to the business of stuffing our faces with fresh corn on the cob, kettle corn and caramel apples. With live music humming in the background we played, and dug and picked baby pumpkins. We laughed, and climbed and danced and hung out with some goats. The only thing we didn't get to was our tractor ride, but fear not, we're headed back again. Probably more so for me than Sully.

This time of year only lasts so long, especially in California, so trust me, I plan on making the most of it before sunscreen, shorts and blazing hot afternoons make their debut again. October is always the catalyst of what is to come in the next couple of months, and if yesterday was any indication of how it will all go, bring it, because I am so ready.

Sully's favorite - corn on the cob

"Do I have anything in my teeth Mama?"

The corn was REALLY hot, and we had to let it cool before Sully could eat it. When his Nana went to open her corn, he threw his down and exclaimed "NO NO! HOT!" and started to show her how to blow to cool it off. It was hilarious and we all laughed pretty hard.

I'm pretty sure he would eat corn on the cob three meals a day if we let him

The big giant wooden "choo choo" train

Sully exclaimed "BABY!" when he saw the baby chicks

And back to the giant train, of course

"One day, I'll be big, and you'll pay for this."

Next best thing to trains is of course giant trucks and sand

Its hard work being a kid

Sully and Daddy

I thought the little grooming brushes were adorable

A massive turkey

The train of death

On the hunt for his pumpkin in the little kids pumpkin patch

I'm not really sure why he looks like he has a load in his pants here

Lets go over here!

No, wait, over here

Actually, wait, no over here

I'm indecisive? What thats suppose to mean?!

Fine, you pick it then! I give up!

Success! Houston we have a pumpkin.

Sully, Daddy and Nana

Lovely fall colors

Sully's food heaven

A good roll in the hay, minus the girl. He won't have hay partner for like, 30 years.

My little gymnast

Being a hambone, or marking territory, I'm not really sure to be honest

Loving the tractor daddy got him

And its the big tractor parade!

We loved watching the "cars"

My little big guy

A little sad that its time to go

Happy fall ya all!

Balance

Its hard to find sometimes. Last night among the cookie crumbs and watching my kid pick up my jug of ice tea to help himself to a swig, I shook my head at Shaun and laughed and muttered the words, "I'm just going to let it go."

I'm just going to let it go.

And as I watched him eat the cookie I tried to push out of my head the fries and pickles and popcorn and icee and mini cookies he had eaten already during the course of the day. And I let myself be okay with it anyways. I granted myself permission to ease up a little.

Because sometimes there are bigger battles than my child eating a cookie for dinner. Sometimes, there are more important things to tackle than the heaps of unfolded laundry that sat on my couch for almost 6 days. Sometimes, skipping over bath time is required because extra quality playtime is a necessity. Sometimes, quiet time takes a back seat to a game of chase and hide-n-seek, minutes before bed.

Because sugary snacks, let alone sugary meals are a rarity for him.
Because late nights don't happen all that often.
Because being a little wild and crazy is required to keep us all, even the littlest, sane sometimes.

Its hard finding balance sometimes - and I won't lie, I struggle daily with it. There are times I feel like I'm a short shuffle away from tipping over either side of that thin rope we all walk.

I've been working really hard lately to understand what makes Sully tick. We've been seeing signs that the terrible twos are shortly upon us, if not already here. Ignoring him doesn't work. "Timeouts" aren't really effective for his age or temperament. Popping him through his diaper in desperation only garnishes laughter and leaves us even more frustrated than when we started.

I've always believed in practicing natural consequences with Sully. Like the time when he decided to throw a tantrum in the kitchen and throw his head onto the concrete kitchen floor. I saw it coming. I let him know he was about to hurt himself. But I didn't stop him either.

He hit his head, hard.

There were tears. There were screams. And him being asked something to the effect of "How did that work out for you?" It was followed by hugs and kisses and wiping of tears and explaining that hard floors do in fact hurt even the most stubborn of heads. But I can tell you, it hasn't happened again.

Yesterday, he asked for a cup with no lid. I filled it about a quarter full. He came back with and empty glass and asked for more. Despite my suspicions, I gave him more, only to follow him and watch him dump the whole cup onto the floor. Instead of scolding him or sitting him on the couch or taking the glass from him I walked him over with me to the towel cabinet and handed him a hand towel. I walked him back over to the patch of water on our carpet, put his hand on it and said "wet" while I explained why we don't dump drinks on the floor. I then made him clean it up.

Yup, I did.

He screamed. He kicked. He yelled. He threw the towel. He even tried exchanging kisses for his release. "Dude, I have all day to sit here until you do it." We had a stare down. I didn't budge. He gave in. He grabbed the towel. He wiped. He scrubbed. He flung the towel left to right, left to right in a flurry of motions, just like I had shown him. He then felt the spot and signed "All done?".

All done. And instead of being reprimanded for what he had spilled on the floor, he was instead praised for the job he did cleaning it up.

Natural and logical consequences, baby. I could get use to this.

And somewhere yesterday between being okay with cookies for dinner, and standing a firm 15 minute ground on what could have been an easy 2 minute cleanup, we're finding balance. We're finding empowerment. We're finding what makes us tick. What works, what we need to let go and what we need to pursue a little harder.

And like any good parent, I decided to takes pictures of his fit over cleaning up the spot, because a good laugh is always helpful to fend off hair-pulling moments of protest. He was fake-crying anyways. Nice try kid.

Balance.

Word play

It's hard to believe but soon Sullivan, in 5 days to be exact, you will be 18 months - a year and a half. Its seems as if almost overnight, you've become this little sponge, soaking in everything. I've attempted to get you saying these words on camera during your talkative moments, but you're always more interested in the camera than performing. So, in efforts to remember this point in time, that line that begins to blur between baby and toddler, here are some things you're saying/singing/doing currently.

Mama/Dada

Nini/Papa

Yaya (Aunt Sam)

Bee (Uncle Brandon)

Nana

Bailey

"Murrrf" (Murphy)

Kitty

"Dahg" (Dog)

Cow

"Mah-key" (Monkey)

Bird

Car

"Choo-Choo" (Train)

Here (When calling the dogs)

Hi/Bye-Bye

Yes/No-No

Bee-nana (Banana)

Apple

Wah-mee-nee-mon (Watermelon)

"Avcado" (Avocado)

Corn

Peas

Bean

Eat

Water

Am-bu-lance (Ambulance)

Get & Back (When yelling at the dogs)

Love you

Go

Cheese

"Halp" (Help)

Mine

Fork

Moon

Happy

Bath

Purple

Blue

Sock

Shoe

Sit

Chair

Ball

Light

Up/Down

One

Three

Four

Five

Nine

Bubbles

Milk

"Teet" (Teeth)

Brush

Book

"Um-corn" (Unicorn)

Wiggles

E-I-E-I-O (When singing)

Night-night

"Di-per" (Diaper)

Chi-Chi's (Your nipples)

And my personal favorite "Bye-bye Pee-Pee" (When we put your diaper on)

Mama: "Sully, how old are you?"

Sully: "NINE!"

Mama: "No you're not, you can pass for two, but not nine. How old are you?"

Sully: "FOUR!" (Trying to make four fingers with his hands)

Mama: "You're one!"

Sully: "FOUR! FIVE!"

Mama: "What does a monkey say?"

Sully: "OOh-ooh AAH-ahh" (Does a monkey dance)

Mama: "What does a tiger say?"

Sully: "RAWR!" (Bares his teeth)

Mama: "What does a cow say?"

Sully: "Mooooo"

Mama: "What does a dog say?"

Sully: "Dog"

Mama: "Dogs say dog?"

Sully: "ARF!"

Mama: "Sheep?"

Sully: "Baaah"

Mama: "Pig?"

Sully: "E-I-E-I-OOOOOOOOO" (Singing to Old McDonald)

Signs Twinkle Little Star

Signs Itsy Bitsy Spider

Signs "Please"

Signs "Drink"

Signs "All done"

Sings Little Red Caboose

Sings Old McDonald

Can almost count to five, minus three most times

Shouts "Go....King" when watching hockey with Daddy

Will give high fives

Will bump "knucks"

Will blow kisses

Will wave

Gives awesome hugs

You love anything with wheels - trains, cars, trucks. You'll play at your train table for hours.

You love music and have some pretty awesome moves. In Target you're favorite place to be is the music section. You'll stand in the aisles and dance. You dance in the middle of the market too. Sometimes, Mama and Yaya don't care and dance with you while people laugh.

You love to help me with the laundry and vacuuming. When we clean, if I give you a cloth you'll usually dust for me! (A child after my own heart)

You're obsessed with the Wiggles.

You love pushing the coffee button on the coffee machine with Papa.

You love gadgets. And computers. And anything with buttons or parts.

You're favorite game is chase.

You love water.

You're not a fan of eggs or red meat.

You eat fruit by the basket fulls. You're not a picky eater. You're current favorite foods are apples, bananas, oranges, avocados, yogurt, edamame, frozen peas, soy chicken nuggets, taquitos, noodles .. I could go on and on. You tried hummus and loved it. You like celery sticks with peanut butter and Japanese cucumber from the Farmers Market. And anything spicy.

You've learned to give raspberries.

You're horrible at sleeping through the night.

You love animals and are so amazingly gentle with pets for someone your size.

You love riding in your red push-car.

You love pens. You hold a pen like a pen and not with your fist, maybe you'll be a writer.

You're funny. You have a remarkable sense of humor and comedic timing that should be unnatural for someone your age. (Like when you scream for Daddy in the store at the top of your lungs, except you call him Mama, and laugh hysterically. And when he says he's not talking to you till you call him Daddy, you scream and point at him and yell Mama louder, laughing harder, making old ladies in the frame aisles laugh too.)

You love watching hockey. You cheer when Daddy cheers. You cheer when Daddy boo's too.

You love to build with blocks.

You're favorite thing to do is wait for me to come up the driveway from work and wait for me in the window and shout "MA-MAAAA!" and then we go and take our walk together.

You sat on your "big potty" for the first time yesterday and we made your bear make "pee-pee."

You can go down the big slide at the park

You have a pretty good throwing arm.

You throw yourself on your butt, then slowly lower yourself onto your back to lay stick straight when you get pissed off about something.

You've learned to furrow your eyebrows.

You hate the doctor office and your nose being cleaned with q-tips.

You turn on the sink, put your toothbrush under the water, turn the water off and brush your teeth. I think its adorable you're water savvy at 18 months.

My favorite thing you do right now is get on your "cell-phone" and say in rapid secession

"Hi! - Yes! - Gibberish - Ah! - More Gibberish - Oh! Hahahahahaha! (With your heard thrown back) O-kay, bye!" - I wonder if that's what we sound like on our phones to you.

You love going in the car anywhere.

We get compliments all the time how well behaved you are in restaurants and in stores.

When you don't want to listen, you stick your fingers in your ears. We have no idea where you learned that.

When you do something naughty and get caught, you'll shout "Oh SHIT!" (No, I'm not making this up) ..... we know where you got that however.

You weigh about 26 lbs (70th percentile last Dr's visit)

I don't have you're exact height right now, but you're still over the 110th percentile (You're tall)

You have 12 teeth, working on number 13 and 14 (Your bottom eye teeth)

You have one brown eye, one hazel eye.

You wear a size 24-2T in shirts.

Pants are a little more tricky. You fit a 6-12 month pant in the waist but look like you're waiting for an epic flood of momentous proportions to occur. Size 18-24 months fit you in length but need a rope wrapped around a couple times to prevent slippage.

You wear a size 5 1/2 - 6 in shoes.

You're still in size 4 diapers.

You own mini boxer briefs. They are hilarious.

I love you little guy. Can't wait to see where you are in 6 more month!

Fall

My favorite time of the year is Fall. I can always tell the moment its near, and it makes me downright giddy.

Its the moments the winds suddenly shift, bringing with it the wafting scent of crumbling red leaves, rain and pumpkin bread. Chimneys cough out their black smoke after a 9+ month reprieve and churn out the smell of wood burning above the houses. My hot chocolate and apple cider make their ways from the back of my cupboards to the front, and slippers are a morning must to fight off the chill.

Ah fall. How I love thee.

If I was a season, I'd be you. If I was a flavor, I would be pumpkin. If I scent, I would be burning wood. If I was a hobby, I would be couch bound with a fuzzy blanket and good book. I would be frosty mornings and falling leaves. I would be homemade soups and big over-sized sweaters.

And despite the fact that you only peaked your head momentarily last week, the 3 days and nights of your torrential downpours outside my windows is enough to keep me going and wait out the rest of summer rearing its ugly 90 degree weathered head.

I don't blame you my lovely season. He obviously hasn't got the memo.

Dude, summer, go home already.

So in the meantime, while I wait for you to poke your head back around, and hopefully stay for good next time, I have these pictures from last week of me and my favorite little guy enjoying your glimpse of hopefully what is to come.

Don't keep me waiting too long. I have a closet full of sweaters and a box of cider waiting to go.

Choices

Sometimes the right choices aren't always the easy ones to make.

They can leave us with a heavy heart,
A little bit of a hole.
Maybe a tinge of regret -
Not for what has been done,
Or for what can't be taken back,
But because they had to be made to begin with.

Tough choices indeed.

Fourteen years and some months -
That's a good life indeed for this 'ol pup.
And rather than choose to let a good life
Come to a painful end,
We made the choice for her.

And in my heart, I know it was the right one.

I found a picture, tucked away
From the very last time I took her to the beach -
Before that hill made a sharp downward slope.
One that she simply couldn't come back up from.

And while weak, and sick
as I said goodbye
This is the image I had in my head.
This is how her life should be.
And this is how I picture what her doggy heaven must look like.
Chasing waves.
Free -
Where she belongs.

With all the french fries
And tennis balls
Her little heart desires.
And it makes me smile.
Go get em' girl.

Mouse Paint

Its one of my favorite children's books by Ellen Stoll Walsh; Three little mice who find some mischievous fun in jars of paint.

We had a "Mouse Paint" afternoon last week.
We laughed.
We got messy.
We jumped into the jars and mixed and danced as our very own colors poured out onto the giant 6 foot piece of butcher paper we stretched across the patio.

I love watching as the surroundings of a toddler begin to make sense.
Begin to open. As it begins to unfold.
As they explore.
And the world slowly starts to come together for them like pieces of a giant puzzle, turning and turning them until they finally fall into place.

Its a beautiful, messy dance unto its own self. Its a fine art, this thing they call figuring out the world.

Oh, my little mischievous mouse -

How I love to watch you play in the jars that hold your world

Discovering your path,

Marking a previous blank canvas

With the wonder only a child finding their way can know,

Leaving your little painted footprints as you go.

And the fact that you can do this, makes my smile all the wider. My little mouse has many talents hidden up that little sleeve. (Yes, he really does pop-n-lock when he dances!)

Sully and J.

J. is my sister's, best-friend's son. Ya follow? Danielle and I were pregnant at the same time. We use to laugh and joke about how they would raise hell together when they were born and older and how they would be each others "first babies". J. was born just shy of three months before Sully. And while I was in the operating room, having doctors expel a 10 pound behemoth from my uterus, Danielle and J. were there right along side our families in the hospital waiting room. And just hours later, they become each others first babies.

They've had tons of play dates throughout their lives, but we don't get to see them nearly as much as I think we would like to (we're both working Mama's). Its been fun to watch them grow up together though. And every time we see them, its like the boys pick right back up where they left off.

J. was the first kid Sully ever tried to dropkick (toys were involved).

But they play good together.

They're funny together.

They kicked and cooed together. They crawled and drooled together. They pulled up and pushed on toys together. And now they talk and dance and run and play together.

They came by a few weeks ago and the boys had a impromptu play date which ended up lasting well after dinner time and nearing bed times.

They ate bananas.

There was some high fiving involved.

A whole lot of giggles.

Only a couple throw downs over coveted train pieces.

And dancing.

They BROUGHT IT to the Yo Gabba Gabba soundtrack.

Dude, did they ever dance.

I hope that they're friends for a long time together. Raising all kinds of hell and mischief DJ Lance Style.