Grateful

11.22.2012

Today I will be traveling to Delaware to spend cherished memories with our little extended family.  (We don't have many family members left, and so these holidays are especially important for us.)

In the meantime, I feel incredibly grateful today.  Grateful for my little boy, grateful for my husband, grateful for my mom, grateful for my aunts, uncles, and cousins, grateful for my friends, and grateful from my blogging friends.  Even more, I'm thankful for God--for his love, patience, and guidance (even when times in life get incredibly difficult and scattered).

On this very beautiful holiday, I will be sure to take time to count my many blessings, and I'll be sure to remind Lewie too.   My glass is not half empty; it's overflowing.

Thank you all for being such wonderful friends and inspirations for me. 

XOXO.

Much to be thankful for...Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!


Swing High Little One!

11.13.2012

This weekend, my little boy achieved yet another milestone.  Yes, he can pump his feet and swing all by himself!  Over the years, I've watched many milestones...his first bites of solid food, his first steps, his first bath, his first art project, etc. etc.  However, this milestone of being able to swing all by himself will always be near and dear to my heart.

You see, I've been pushing my little boy on the swings for the past four years, and over the past year, I knew that he was starting to develop the concept of pumping his feet; he just didn't have the confidence to do it on his own.  Well, this week we spent several days practicing.  Every time he swung up, I would tell him to push his legs out. Once he swung them out, I would tap the bottom of his feet and tell him to push his legs back.

"Great job, Lewie!  Keep pushing those feet out!  Keep pushing them out!  Remember, out and in...out and in!"  I'd praise him over and over for a job well done, and amazingly, he kept swinging higher and higher with very little of my effort.  At this point, I knew he was doing it, but he didn't realize it.  He still thought I was the one helping him by tapping his feet.

On Sunday, my mom, aunt, and I were out raking the leaves, and Little Lewie ran for the swings. "Mommy, can you push me?" he asked again and again.  My mom pushed him a few times, and then the unthinkable happened...he started pumping his feet, and before we all knew it, he was swinging higher and higher.

"Look Mommy.  Look!"  Lewie shouted.  "I'm doing it all by myself!"

"You are, Lewie.  You are.  I'm so proud of you!  Mommy's so proud of you!"

For the next forty minutes, my family and I continued to rake the yard while Lewie pumped and pumped and swung higher and higher.  I've been a proud Mamma before all of this, but that day I gloated.  With a little bit of my time, patience, and praise, I helped my little boy develop the confidence to swing!  I've been a part of many milestones, but this is one that I can call my very own accomplishment too.   Swing high, Little Lewie.  Swing high!

Little Lewie's first cradle "swing."

Before Lewie knew how to pose for pictures... (park in Prospect, CT)

Swinging in three feet of snow during the winter of 2010.

A "little" snow never stopped anyone...especially him.

Swinging at the park in Litchfield, CT during the summer of 2011.

I told him I'd push him real high if he just smiled for the camera...  I bribe all the time :)

My little boy's first time on a "big kid's" swing.  (This is the backyard of our friend's house.)

My last picture of him on the swings...Now it's hard because he's a moving target!

The Halloween Mystery...

11.03.2012

This Halloween, Little Lewie and I dressed up as Scooby and Velma and went off in our "Mystery Machine" to find clues.  (Actually, our mission was to find candy...but you know...)

This year, hands down, we had the best Halloween.  All day Lewie referred to me as Velma instead of Mommy, and I got to be his trusty sidekick that every once and a while replenished him with a "Scooby Snack."  In the morning, we took off in our "Mystery Machine" to preschool where he had a chance to march in a Halloween parade with all his other little friends.  Later that evening, we went out trick-or-treating in our neighborhood where we received tons of compliments.  One little boy (around five or six) came up to me, and said:  "Excuse me.  Are you that kid's mom?  Could you tell him that I love his costume?"  By far, that was the best compliment of the night!

The Friday after Halloween, we dressed up one more time to visit my mom's place of work.  There, Lewie received some more Halloween candy and had a chance to entertain everyone as Scooby.  (I still remember the very first year I brought him over to visit as a pumpkin--that very first year he was only two months-old!)

Besides the compliments, the very best part of the night was watching Lewie go from house to house with joy.  A few times I caught him singing the Scooby Doo song as we walked.  He was so excited to be his favorite cartoon character.  (To be honest, I enjoyed dressing up as Velma too because I loved watching Scooby Doo mysteries as a kid!)

Well Scooby, we had a great Halloween.  Our next mystery will be guessing what costume we want to wear for next year...

Scooby and Velma at preschool.

A profile of Scooby in the costume parade.

Scooby and his antics!

Scooby and Gramy at her work.

One more picture of the Mystery Machine Crew.