Jump for joy...baby Jesus is born!

That was the plan at least... Last Wednesday was Sean's dress rehearsal for Family Christmas. I was working in the nursery, Nicole (neighbor Nicole) was downstairs with Sean and Jason came around 7:00 & stood in the nursery with me. He was waiting for the 2-Ks to walk by so he could go into the sanctuary to watch Sean rehearse. He kept walking down to the sanctuary to see if Sean was in there yet. Some one told Jason that the younger kids would be in there at 7:15. At 7:50, Nicole brought Sean to us and he was a basket case. He kept saying, "it was dark". I guess they lined the kids up & took them backstage thinking they were going on right away but the elementary kids did their songs twice, so there was a 25 minute delay. Poor Sean... He was genuinely scared. :( On Thursday, we met Val & the boys at the bowling alley to exchange gifts & eat dinner. Sean got a digital camera & a Thomas shirt that makes noise. He loves them both! On Friday, Alex & Nathan came over while Val worked. We got about 8-10 inches of snow. It snowed from very early morning until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Jason shoveled, Jim shoveled, I shoveled and our neighbor came by with the snowblower. We still have snow!!! Friday night, we made the "trek" to Logans to have dinner with & exchange gifts with the Boccaccios. They leave for Nairobi on 01/07. We will miss them, but know they're living in God's will!! Saturday was Christmas at Grandma & Puppa's. Sean LOVED present time. I thought he'd be overwhelmed and be satisfied with one thing. Well, he sat on the rug with his hands folded looking at my dad and saying, "hi puppa...is that for me?". He was an angel...a very spoiled angel. :) Yesterday was daddy's birthday. Sean got him Backyardigan snacks. Jason told him that he loved them and that Sean made his birthday so happy. Last night, Sean and Jason were playing "kickety kick ball" and Sean said, "do you love it? does it make you happy?". He's so funny and he doesn't miss ANYTHING! Yesterday morning was Sean's stage debut at Family Christmas. We thought he'd never make it on stage after Wednesday night, but, with Nicole's help, he stayed up there the whole time. He mouthed the words & did some hand movements. We couldn't have asked for more considering everything. Last night we went to HuHot with Marty, Val & the boys. Sean had a blast eating with the "cheater" chop sticks. And... banging the gong!

Tis the season...

To be jolly...and busy! Let the holiday festivities begin!

Last Wednesday, when we went grocery shopping, one of the Meijer employees stopped to talk to Sean. He sees him in there every Wednesday. Sean's fan club is getting bigger all the time! Last Thursday, on the way home from Susie's, we stopped at Toys R Us because they had a new train and we had a coupon for 75% off a Thomas & Toby wooden set. My mom (how naive she is) thought it would be a good idea to bring Sean in. So, we all went it. Her job was to look around while I went to the Thomas section to find Smudger, the new train. I went to look for him & I couldn't find him. So, I asked an associate for help, she couldn't find him, but the computer said they had him. Just then, a page came over that said, "if you have a town & country, your doors are open". Nice... So, I ran out to close the door. When I came back, Sean & Grandma were in the Thomas section. Is she nuts?!?! I saw that Smudger was in the cart so I said to my mom, "oh, you found him?". She said, "no, Sean did". Sean scanned the whole wall of wooden trains & found the one train he didn't have. He's amazing!!! On Friday night, Sean hung out with Amanda then Grandma while me & Jason went to a Christmas party for the children's volunteers at church. On Saturday, we had Christmas at Aunt Sally's. Sean had fun playing with the kids and got a bunch of gifts that he loves. Yesterday, after church and after Sean's nap, we all went to the Mach's house. Chase is a Thomas fan too, so Sean had a blast! He also liked hanging out on the top bunk with Caitlyn & Sydney. Is it a good thing or a bad thing for him to hang out with the girls at this age? :) He was such a good boy and we had a great time. I love Christmas time!!

My am so happy...

Last Wednesday, we went to dinner with Grandma Sue, Grandpa Larry, Grandpa Nick, Aunt Wanda & Lawrence. When we got in the van to come home, I noticed a picture that Sean made at school. I picked it up & said, "O Sean, did you make this?". He said, "Yeah...do you love it?". :) Thursday we went to Grandma & Puppa's for Thanksgiving dinner. Mmmmm... Sean ate m&ms for dinner. I guess he's not old enough to appreciate all the good food yet. Friday night, Sean & I went to Grandma & Puppa's so Sean could help Puppa put the Christmas train together. They also got out a bunch of singing Christmas stuffed animals too. After that, we went to play at Alex's house. The boys did pretty good together. That night, Sean told me he loved me as high as the moon & the stars. I told him I loved him the moon, the stars & the whole world. To which he replied, "and the sun too". He's so smart! Saturday was my 10 yr high school reunion, so Sean & daddy hung out most of the day. At night, they went to where Grandpa Jim was dog-sitting & they saw puppies, the puppies' mommy & daddy, horses, geese and an iguana. Sean told me all about it the next morning. He also told me, "mommy, my am so excited that you came home". :) Melts my heart. Last night, Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry came over to bring Sean a Thomas book & a big Gordon. Sean had fun running into Grandpa Larry's feet with his remote control car. :)

I love mommy da whole vorld...

My absolute favorite thing that Sean says. The other night, he was reading his little bible that he got from the church when he was dedicated. He told me it said, "I love mommy da whole vorld". Then Jason walked in, Sean turned the page & said, "I love daddy...not da whole vorld". A little different from the last time he read it. Jason & I were cracking up, then Jason said, "well that's not very nice". Sean loves his mommy...can't say I feel bad about that in any way! :)

Friday night, Jason and I went on a date to see Twilight. Sean stayed with Grandma & Puppa. Saturday afternoon, Max, Austin & Livie came over. We picked up Paige too on our way to Great Lakes Crossing. We went there to see the Polar Express snow globe exhibit & of course, Santa Claus. Sean did great. He didn't want Santa to get too close, but he sat on his lap & told him he wanted choo-choo trains, cause he doesn't have enough, of course. Sean loved having all the kids stay the night. He thought he was just one of the big kids. After his bath, Jason set him down to dry him off & Sean took off running, streaking the kids. He thought it was hilarious...so did everyone else. On Sunday, after church, Jason & I went to the Lions game and Sean hung out with Grandpa Jim. Last night, we went to Grandma & Puppa's to visit Great Gram & jump on the air mattress. :)

I get 4 whole days off with my boys...I love the holidays and it's only just beginning!!!

Little bruiser...

Toddlers are so clumsy!! I tease my dad all the time because when we were little he'd say stuff like "you're not taking your time". Well, Jason and I are constantly telling Sean to watch where he's going or be careful or pay attention. Sunday morning, Jason said that we needed to get some guards for the half wall between the living room & kitchen. He noticed that Sean was getting tall enough to hit it. How ironic... Sunday, after church, Sean walked right into the corner of the wall because he was drinking his juice, watching tv & walking at the same time. Blood poured out. The cut was deep, but not wide enough to need stitches. Pressure, towels, the boo-boo car & some liquid bandage cleared things up. Sean kept saying "all better now".

That night, he was "reading" a book in his room. One page "said" - "I love daddy the mostest" and another page "said" - "I love mommy the whole world". What a great book! ;) Sean loves playing in his room & dancing to his Christmas music. I hope he goes on stage & dances & sings half as well as he does at home. He's amazing.

On Monday, we went to Logan's for Cheryl's birthday with Barney, Grandpa Jim, Grandpa Larry, Grandma Sue, Scott, Sarah, Paige & Nicole. Cheryl's daughter & granddaughter came up too. It was a nice suprise for Cheryl. Jason came up about an hour into it & took Sean home. Sean did not want to be there and he made it VERY clear. Last night, we went to Grandma & Puppas house for dinner. Sean had a blast playing trains & Wubbzy.

Happy Fall, Y'All!

Two weeks since my last post... Good thing my mom checks often & keeps me accountable. I'm not very disciplined.

On Halloween, we went to Sean's school for his class party in the morning. I got to see his classroom, meet his teacher and watch him dance, walk in a parade, eat lunch & paint with all of his friends. It was awesome. He was a giraffe at his school party. The costume was adorable. When he ran, the ears & tail flapped. It cracked me up. At night, we went to Uncle Mike's & Aunt Nicole's to trick or treat. Grandma, Puppa, Great Gram, Grandpa Jim, Aunt Mary and Scott were there too. Sean was a Marine. He loved trick or treating, but he wanted to eat the candy as soon as he got it. It was fun. Plus, it was 65 or 70 & sunny...couldn't ask for a better day.

On Monday, we went to dinner at Sean's favorite restaurant to celebrate my birthday with Grandpa Jim, Grandma Sue, Grandpa Larry, Uncle Scott, Paige, Sarah, Barney & Cheryl. Last Wednesday, Sean went for a re-check on his ears. He has had 2 ear infections since his ENT recheck in August. His left ear tube is clogged and if he gets 2 more ear infections, he has to go back to the ENT to get the tube replaced. We really don't want him to have to go through the procedure again, especially at this stage in his life, so we're all praying that the tube unclogs on it's own.

Friday was my birthday. Sean got me Gator Golf & Veggie Tales: Lord of the Beans. He's so thoughtful when he's picking out gifts for other people. :) He kept bringing me the gator head all weekend & saying, "look mumma, it's for you birthday". Yesterday, we went to American Pie with the Mach's and then last night, Grandma came over to pack shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Today, after church and after Sean's nap, we went to Grandpa Jim's friends Jack & Dot's house to see Mr. Jack's model train. It surrounded the whole basement. Sean loved watching the train go through the tunnels. He kept going back & forth across the basement to watch the train go around. And, Mr. Jack gave us a car that looks like Caroline from the Thomas series & a big metal nail with a train & cars on top of it. We finished the night with Long John Silvers. Mmmm...

Could he be...the most beautiful boy in the world...

I'm not conceited, it's a prince song, I was just singing it... ;)

We picked up Sean's school pictures last Thursday and they're adorable. Watch for copies in your Christmas cards!

Friday, I went to dinner at Stacy's. I got home about 11:30 and Sean woke up. He was in a great mood. We stayed up for about an hour telling stories. At one point, he said, "Hold on, I gotta find a corner" (referring to his blanket) and then said, "Go on". He's so grown up! On Saturday morning, we stopped by Aunt Susie's house to wish Uncle Billee a happy birthday. After that, we went by Aunt Mary's house to visit with her, Grandma & Puppa. That night we went to the Mach's house. The kids played really well together. Chase said that Sean threw batteries at his head, but that story has since been proven false, so that's good. :) We had pizza & cake to celebrate Kaitlyn's birthday. Yesterday, after church, we went to lunch with Grandpa Jim & Paige. Last night, Sean went to Puppa & Grandma's for a little bit while Jason and I cleaned. He's really big on Wow Wow Wubbzy right now. It all started with a preview for the show on one of his Thomas dvds. We watch the same shows/dvds OVER & OVER again. Another favorite is Veggie Tales: Dave & the Giant Pickle (the story of David & Goliath). I can recite it word for word. Sean can recite most of it. Seriously, a monkey could probably recite it if it watched this dvd as much as we have. But, it makes Sean happy to watch these shows/dvds over & over again. And after all, isn't that what it's all about? :)

Terrible Twos!

I know I'm going to get an email soon about slacking, so I decided to be proactive and write something. Jason's a little discouraged with Sean's tantrums... I must admit that they're VERY frustrating, but normal, right? On Saturday, we were at Sam's club and Sean was flipping out because I had to put him in the cart. A man past by and said, "Is he 2?". I said yeah and then he said, "yeah, I have a 2 year old myself". I said, "so this is semi-normal?" and he said, "oh, it gets much worse than that". :)

Last Sunday, we went to the cider mill. It took us 25 minutes to get to 30 & Groesbeck and another 35 minutes to get to 33 mile. Those 3 miles were horrible. I think EVERYONE was at the cider mill that day. Sean wanted to be out of the car, so he was throwing a fit (not unusual these days). Finally we got there and it was SCORCHING! 83 degrees in mid-October... Sean fed the animals, played on the tires & went through the mini corn mazes. When we left there, we went by Uncle Mike's & Aunt Nicole's. Sean found one of Austin's Thomas trains, so he was all set. He bonked poor Jackson on the head with it though. Poor little guy took a whole minute to build up to his cry! Last Monday, Sean woke up with the sniffles and a cough. By Tuesday, his eye was draining green. From zero to really sick in no time flat! I took him to the doctors and he had a ear infection in his left ear and a nasty eye infection. I was hoping to avoid eye drops, but they were necessary. He started to feel better by Thursday, but he's still not feeling well. Gotta love this season! :) On Friday, Sean helped me & Jason watch the babies at church during night of worship. Thank God grandpa Jim was there to run the halls with him because Sean wasn't doing so well with sharing & such. Saturday night was grandma Sue's 60th birthday party. Sean held the microphone & yelled, "happy birthday grandma Sue" 4 or 5 times. It was great. Grandma & Puppa came home from their trip up north yesterday. Sean really missed them. He asked me a bunch of times, "where's grandma?". Then he'd tell me he missed her and when he talked to her on the phone he said, "come home, grandma". Awww... After the "reunion", we went to my friend Sue from work's cousin Erica's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. It was 100 degrees in there and there were at least a thousand people! But, Sean had a blast. Sean wasn't feeling good again last night and he woke up this morning with a 101.7 fever. He's on a strong antibiotic still, so maybe it's teething? GRRR! Hopefully it will pass soon! He was in great spirits when he walked into Susie's this morning. Barely said goodbye... :(

I'm a slacker...

I'm really bad about updating. I live with Sean and talk about him constantly, so sometimes I forget to put it in writing. But, for history's sake (and my mom's), I need to get better at updating this.

Last Wednesday, my mom told me I should go to Grace at 14 & Van Dyke because the Bible Across America was stopping there (check it out at bibleacrossamerica.com). So, Sean and I picked up Mary and we went and wrote out a verse. Mary got Lev. 6:12 and I got Lev. 6:14. Sean just ran around while we were there. He had no idea what we were doing. Friday was a busy day. We went to Walmart, then to Angelina, Brianna & Ethan's house, then to Grandpa Nick's, then Sean napped, then we went to Nevada's house to give her her birthday present, then we picked Jason up at home & went to Annelise's soccer game. After the game we went to Baskin Robbins with the whole Boccaccio bunch. Jason and I went on a date to see the movie "Fireproof", so Sean hung out with grandpa Jim. On Saturday morning, we had breakfast with Puppa. After that, we went to Armada to see Livie cheer. It was parents day, so Mike & Nicole were announced and had their picture taken with Livie too. That night, we went to the Mach's for small group. Chase has a collection of trains & tracks, so of course Sean didn't have a problem finding something to do. Last night, we went to FX with grandpa Jim, grandpa Larry, grandma Sue, uncle Scott & Paige. Then we all went to coney island. When we got home, Sean was watching "Mud Glorious Mud" for the 1000th time and he kept saying, "My want Max", which is one of the dump trucks on there. I knew my mom had already bought Max & Monty, so we called her to tell her how much we wanted them. Sean said, "My want Max & Monty. They're at the store". So grandma said she'd "go to the store" and bring them in the morning. This morning, Sean had no problem getting out of bed. He was so excited. He had to get all the characters from the movie and start re-enacting scenes. He truly loves his trains and it's so fun to watch him enjoy them.

Breathe - eat - sleep choo choo trains

Sean LOVES Thomas & Friends. I must admit, I'm a little hooked myself. :) He just enjoys them so much. He knows every character, he brings trains to eat with him and he always has to take one or two to bed with him. When we're watching the videos, he'll take the train that's on the video, hold it up and say "see, it's you!". It's so fun to watch him...

Ok, I'm so far behind... Last Wednesday, we went to Chuck E. Cheese with Grandpa Jim for his birthday. Sean heard it's his favorite place to go. :) Last Thursday, we went to Mrs. Nancy's house for dinner. Amazing! Both the house & the food were breath-taking. Literally, I couldn't breathe when I left. Sean enjoyed having so much room to play "peek!" and he liked going up & down the stairs. Saturday, we went to dinner with Grandma & then Sean & Dani went to her house while I attempted to clean my living room carpet & kitchen floor. Not an easy thing to do with a 2 year old & a dog in the house. After church on Sunday, we went to Angelina & Brianna's 3rd birthday party at Pump it Up, then to the Davidson's for sushi...yummm. Sean & Jason had McDonalds. Sean kept waving at Miley and saying hi. One time he said, "she no see me" because she wasn't waiving back. I tried to explain that she's just a baby and she wasn't being rude. Monday, I had a doctor's appt after work, so Sean went home with Grandma. They have a recreation table in their basement & Sean loves to play "soccerball" or fuseball. Last time he was there, Puppa flipped the top of the table so they could play pool. When Sean went over there on Monday, he remembered everything. He knows how to rack the balls and he knows that the white ball doesn't go with the other ones. He's too smart. Yesterday, Sean had to go for 2 shots. He was such a big boy. Jason and I told him that morning about the shots & we all prayed about it. He didn't want to go to the doctors, but he handled it so well. He screamed briefly, but calmed down shortly afterwards. Then, as we were walking out, he pointed at the doctor and said, "all done doctor!". :) Last night, before church, we went to visit Amanda & the babies (in her belly). Sean scored some m&ms from Aunt Sally. The way to his heart... :) When Susie picked him up from school today he was crying. He jumped up & ran to her and then he was fine. He told her, "I cried for you, right there" and pointed to where he was when she came in. He's too funny...

My baby is two...

Sean went for his 2 year wellness check last Wednesday. He is 36" (90th percentile) and 29.2 lbs (50-75th percentile). So, basically, he's tall & skinny (wish I had that problem :). The doctor said he's growing & developing normally - everything looks good! That's always good to hear. On Friday, all day, Sean told everyone about his happy birthday. He'd say "it's my happy birthday and I'm two". We started the morning by going to Burger King with daddy. Grandma met us there with Sean's first gift of the day. After that, we went to Chuck E. Cheese with Grandpa Jim. Then, we went to Grandpa Nick's house. Sean told me to get hashbrowns for him and chicken for Grandpa Nick. I guess "tatoes" and "bagawks" are baby words and now that he's two, he has to use more sophisticated words. That afternoon, we went to daddy's work where everyone sang happy birthday to Sean. He blew out a candle stuck in a king dong too! It was great. Sean spent the evening at Joe Dumars with daddy & grandpa Jim. I met up with them at coney afterwards. Sean had a jam packed, fun birthday. He still doesn't understand that birthdays only last one day. I have no idea where he gets that from. :) All weekend, if I'd ask anything about a birthday, he'd say, "no, my birthday". It rained all weekend, so we spent lots of time playing with all of Sean's choo-choo trains. On Saturday, grandma & puppa came over for dinner. Then, they took Sean on a mission to find a die-cast Percy. No luck. Later that night, we went to a hobby shop & we found him. Today, on craigslist I saw an ad for a lot of 39 diecast trains. I called her and she was located at 18 mile between Van Dyke & Utica...perfect! So, we (along with grandma) purchased the lot. The plan is to give Sean a "new" train every few days, but grandma is a little too excited, so I have to keep her from giving them all to him at one time. Tonight, we're celebrating grandpa Jim's birthday.

Plug free!

God definitely works in mysterious ways. Recently, Jason and I had to start thinking about how to get the plug away from Sean. He LOVED his blanket & plug. We wouldn't dare forget them if we left the house and if Sean was sleepy or crabby, they better be close by. We were worried about how we were going to even approach taking away his pacifier. Well, last week, while Sean had hand, foot & mouth, he wasn't able to use his plug because he couldn't make the seal with the sores in his mouth. It hurt too bad. Watching him go through that virus was pure torture and I'm pretty sure the hardest thing any of us have had to watch him go through. But, one blessing and probably the only blessing out of the whole thing was that he stopped asking for his plug. And, even when he started feeling better, he'd make "the noise" signifying that he wanted his plug and I'd just say, "Are you sure? It might make your mouth an owie". He'd think about it and then just move on. Yesterday, he didn't mention it at all. Thank God for blessings (even torturous blessings) in disguise!

On Sunday, we had a bbq for Sean's 2nd birthday. We are so blessed with family & friends who love us. For any of you that have kids, you know that one of the greatest things someone can do for you is love your kid/kids. I never have to worry that Sean isn't loved enough and I thank God every day for the people who love us. I'm pretty sure either me or Jason will have to move out at some point though, because Sean's stuff is taking over. We're running out of room - fast! And, Christmas is only 3 months away...yipes!

Long time no blog

For all you devoted blog readers out there, I'm sorry for the delay. It's been a busy two weeks. We were in Pennsylvania from 08/14 - 08/22. We were supposed to come home on 08/20, but we were having such a great time, we decided to stay a couple extra days. Sean really lived it up on vacation. We played putt-putt a lot, went swimming, went to Idlewild, Caddy Shak & Living Treasures, etc. He played with all of Jason's cousins & he loved running up & down all of the hills. When we stayed at Living Treasures, we had bunk beds in our room and Sean LOVED them. He was really cool this year because he was old enough to enjoy every thing, but young enough to be amused by even little things. Sam & Tyler (Jason's cousins) are going to try & come over here during Christmas break. :)

On Friday, we took Sean for his 1 year ear tube check & the left tube is clogged. The doctor said as long as he's not getting ear infections, it's not a big deal and we'll just wait for it to fall out. But, that left ear is infected already. :( Poor baby has a tough life. All weekend we thought he was cranky because of allergies & getting his 2 year old molers. Turns out on top of teething, he has the ear infection & a virus that is causing canker sores on his tongue. He is MISERABLE. We didn't get longer than 15 minutes of sleep at a time last night.

Our weekend was fun though. On Friday we took Kevin, Megan & Kiara out to Great Lakes Crossing. Sean loves Jeepers. On Saturday we went to breakfast & then to Sam's club with my mom. Sean got an awesome baseball cupcake cake to take to the Mach's house. We celebrated Evan, Chase & Sean's birthdays, since they all fall within a month of each other. On Sunday, we went to Aunt Sally's to celebrate Grandpa Nick's birthday. After that I went to a bbq for my friend Katie. Jason, Sean & Grandpa Jim went putt-putt. Yesterday, we worked around the house and at 4:30 we noticed the sores on Sean's tongue, so we took him to urgent care. Even with all his "woes" he was in pretty good spirits. Grandma & Puppa came over for dinner & Sean played for awhile. He just starts to get really bad when he's sleepy, because he can't rest. Hopefully he'll feel better soon. His birthday is only 10 days away...

p.s. A couple of other things that have happened since my last post: 08/12 - me, Jason, Sean & my mom went to see "Pop Go the Wiggles!", it was a blast. 08/23 - we went to Barney & Cheryl's wedding. 08/27 - was family fun night at the church.

Dani the Great

January 7th, 2005 - we had to put our dog, Shelby, of almost 15 years, to sleep. It was one of the hardest things I had ever been through. I loved Shelby as if she was a family member and I swore that I would NEVER get another dog. Losing her hurt way too much and I told Jason to never even ask to get another dog. Well, in March of 2006 when I was about 3 months pregnant with Sean, we decided to get a dog. I emailed 3 or 4 different sources about pet adoption, but no one responded. So, one night, Jason said, lets just go to the pet store at Macomb Mall to look around & get an idea of what we want. While we were there, one of the employees asked if we needed help. We said we weren't interested in buying a pure-bred dog, we wanted to adopt a dog & we were just looking. She told us that a lady had just called there and asked if they would take a litter of 3 mixed lab puppies. They were 12 weeks old and if she couldn't find a place to take them, she'd have to take them to the pound. It sounded perfect...a medium lab mix who needed a home. The next day we went up there to pick up our "medium" dog and out comes what appeared to be a black baby bear cub, with huge paws. Jason wanted the boy puppy of the litter, but he had a big block head and weighed about 18lbs - 6lbs more than his sisters. Dani was the runt of the litter and so was Shelby when we got her. She was perfect. Since I had decided that I was going to pick our baby's name - I let Jason pick the dog's name. She's named after Dan Marino (of course). We bought a giant cage & huge water bowls, because we thought for sure she was going to be 100 lbs. Turns out that eventhough she's over weight, she weighs 68lbs and she shouldn't get any bigger. Dani's birthday is 12/14/05 and my gestational date for my pregnancy was 12/12/05, so Dani & Sean are the same age!! Other than a chewed pair of flip flops & hole in the carpet as a puppy, Dani has been a great dog. She was very easy to house break and she's incredible with Sean. When Sean was a newborn, we'd get up through out the night to feed him. Dani would get up & lay next to the rocking chair, like "time to feed the baby". To this day, if we get up with Sean during the night, she's right there - doing her share. Sean jumps on her, pulls her ears & on occasion, hits her with plastic bats & golf clubs. She still adores him. Probably because he always shares his food with her. :) But, we couldn't ask for a better dog. I figured she deserved her own post - for putting up with Sean of course. :)

All aboard!!

On Friday, Jason and I went on a date to celebrate our 8th anniversary. Sean played with Puppa while Grandma made them dinner and then stayed with Grandma until we got home. Saturday, Austin, Max & Livie came to Jordan's 8th birthday party with us. Sean loves being around the pool, but he hates being in it. Tim & Nichole have a screened in trampoline & Sean loved that too. After the party, we picked up Paige and went to the park. I wanted to run the kids so they could be tired. Turns out, that night, most of them had endless energy. :) We turned on "Night at the Museum" around 9:00. Sean was out after about 10 minutes. Max made it through the whole movie, then fell asleep. Austin, Livie & Paige watched an episode of Hannah Montana and then I turned the tv off at 11:00. Not sure when they fell asleep, but I was out by 11:30. I just can't hang like I used to. :) On Sunday, after Sean's nap, we went to Grandpa Jim's friend Bev's parent's house. Whewww... did you get that? Her stepfather spent 31 years building a train track through a city and it covered the whole basement. I've seen this thing twice now and I know I could look at it a hundred times and never see every detail. This man was truly talented. I wish we were rich...I'd buy it in a heartbeat! Sean LOVED watching the train go around the track. He also showed Bev his golf & singing skills. :) It was awesome. Last night, Sean was up a lot because he wasn't feeling well. He was whining and I asked him what was wrong, he told me "head, owie". How cool that he can tell me what's bothering him? He's so smart. Tonight, we are going to dinner with the girls because Cathy & Alex are in town...woo-hoo!!!

Mine, my...

These words are evil! EVERYTHING is Sean's (according to him). You can't even say something that he said. For example, if he says yes and you repeat it, he says, "no, my yes". Where does this come from?!?!?

Friday night we went over to Marty & Val's for pizza. Val & I left the guys with the boys while we went shopping. When we got back, we all went to the track. Grandma & Puppa were there too. Saturday night, Grandma & Puppa came over for dinner & to see Sean's new choo-choo bed (really just his toddler bed with the thomas bedding grandma bought for him). We thought the bedding might help him want to be in his own bed...not so much. Sunday was church & then a church picnic. Last night, Grandpa Jim, Grandma Sue, Grandpa Larry, Uncle Scott, Barney, Cheryl & the birthday girl Paige came over to celebrate Paige's birthday. Poor Paige had to share her birthday cake & blowing the candles out with Sean. He loved it. We had to keep turning the lights off & singing to him while he blew a candle out. He also loved Barney's motorcycle. Paige was brave enough to go for a ride around the block. Sean probably wanted to go for a ride, but he's too small and mumma couldn't handle it. :)

Chillin' with my Gnomies

HA!!! Yesterday we (me, Sean & my mom) went to Frankenmuth to meet Mike, Nicole & the kids for dinner. We ate & then took the kids downstairs to decorate cookies. Sean found a complete Thomas track & train village set up - so he didn't care about the cookies. While Nicole & my mom were checking out, I wanted to take Sean to see the horse drawn carriage. Max & Livie wanted to go with us. On the way out there was this big wood piece where kids can put their faces through for a picture. I didn't pay attention to what the picture on the board looked like or said, but I got a chuckle when I pulled it up on my computer today. :) Cute picture of the 3 of them. After we left there, we went to Birch Run. I was able to get Sean some nice dress shoes for the Fall from Striderite. My mom got him a nice pair of sandals from there too.

Birthdays & Graduations

Our weekend was packed with parties. On Friday, we went early to help set up & prepare food for Mike's 30th birthday party. They have a big fenced in back yard and Sean loved playing with all the kids. He loved sticking his finger in the frosting on the cakes too. Thanks for that one, Puppa. :) A little girl told Sean no and flipped out. He ran & told Puppa and then told that girl how it was going to be. :) On Saturday, we went to pick up a train table that we found on Craigslist. It was in Fairhaven; on the way to Branden's graduation party in Algonac. Jason wants to move to my Aunt Sandy's house. She has a huge back yard on the lake. I think Sean and Jason would both turn into fish if we lived there. On Sunday we went to Ethan's cupcake party to celebrate his 1st birthday. It was HOT!!! The backyard was full of fun stuff for kids, not to mention lots of nummies.

Last night, me, Jason & Sean went to the park. We didn't have much time because storms were coming, but we had such a blast playing on the jungle gyms & playing pretend baseball. Sean loves to fake pitch, bat & run the bases. Hopefully the rain will hold off so we can go again tonight.

Sean is talking up a storm and he never ceases to amaze me with what he knows & says. He's so entertaining and every time I'm with him he gives me a new story to tell. I thank God every night for my family. I'm so blessed and so happy. :)

One more time and all done

Everything is a compromise now and it seems to be working for us. For example, if Sean wanted pretzels or m&ms and I'd say no, he'd throw a huge fit. Now, if I say 1 & then all done, it usually works in avoiding a major meltdown. Not like this plan is fool proof, but it is working fairly well. Yesterday morning, I took Sean to Burger King. When it was getting close to time to leave, I said, ok, it's time to go. He looked at me & said, "not yet...one more time & all done", referring to the slide. When it's time to get ready in the morning & he's playing with his trains, he'll say, "one more time & all done". He doesn't always stick to that, but once again, it's what's working best for us.

Last weekend, Daddy was up north with Puppa, so Sean did a lot of hanging out with me & Grandma. On Friday, Sean & I went to lunch with Grandpa Jim, neighbor Nicole & our friend Peter. Grandma Sue & Grandpa Nick met us up there too. That afternoon, Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry came over. Grandpa Larry was so excited because he brought Sean grapes, cookies & m&ms. It's not hard to win Sean's affection. Bring him some food, play with him and it's all good. That night we played putt putt with Grandma & then stayed the night at her house. On Saturday, we went to a bbq at the Mach's house. Then, we (along with Austin, Livie, Jackson & my neighbor Nicole) went out to Great Lakes Crossing. Not my favorite experience there, but the kids still had fun. Sunday we had church & Jason got home around 1:00. Sean missed his daddy...a lot. He freaked out if me or my mom would leave his sight. He didn't sleep well either. I sleep much better with Jason home too. :)

Sean LOVES to sing now. He sings along to every song on his singing Elmo doll. And, he sings along to his favorite shows' theme songs. Like Cailou...it's great. He's also pretty good at following along to his ABCs. He's so smart & he shocks me every day with what he knows & says. I love him...

Technology baby!

I'm not sure what Sean would do without dvr, on demand and youtube. When he watches tv, he expects me to be able to rewind a segment if he likes it. Or, if he sees an episode of a show that he likes, he thinks I can pick that episode to watch every time. When he's at Susie's house, they find music videos & stories to watch on youtube. So now, when I start to sing Sean a song, he thinks I should be able to find it on youtube. He really liked humpty dumpty for a couple days and he didn't understand why I couldn't find the video on tv. His absolute favorite clip on youtube is the 1933 Disney clip of the Three Little Pigs. He'll say, "huff, puff, blowwww" when he wants to watch it.

This weekend was nice. Grandma, Puppa & Grandpa Jim came over for dinner on Friday. We tried doing sparklers with Sean, but he's still too young. He didn't understand that if you put it above your head, the sparks would fall on you & burn you. Now, if you ask him about the sparklers, he says, "down" because he knows you have to hold them down and then he says "a up, a shshshshsh, a head, a owie" because that's what happened when he held the sparkler over his head. After that traumatizing episode, Sean went to the Maranatha picnic to see Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry. On Saturday, we celebrated puppa's birthday. After that, we went to Great Lakes Crossing to play on the foam food & ride the choo-choo. Yesterday afternoon, we went to the park with Aunt Mary & Grandpa Jim. Sean wasn't interested in the splash zone, but loved going up & down the slide. Sean spent a lot of quality time with daddy this weekend because I wasn't feeling well. They played outside a lot & shared popsicles. I love watching them together. :)

My Sean Days

I miss Sean when I'm working, but I enjoy working part time. I love my Wednesdays & Fridays with him and I'm so thankful that we're able to have those days together. Wednesday mornings, we usually go grocery shopping, with help from Grampa Jim & sometimes my neighbor Nicole. I've tried taking Sean by myself but he's only good in a cart for about 20 minutes, if that long. So, it really helps to have the back up. After grocery shopping, Sean and I have been taking a chicken sandwich over to Grampa Nick's house. Every time we go to Nick's house, Sean poops. Not sure why, but it never fails. When we leave, Sean almost always falls asleep in the car on the way home. While he's sleeping, I do my cooking & cleaning for the day. When he wakes up, I usually try to do something fun with him. Yesterday, we went to the Warren Community Center with Grandma Sue & neighbor Nicole. I have so many Nicole's close to me in my life, so I have to specify. :) Sean was a little clingy & whiny at first, but after a little bit, he was a FISH! He kept going up the slides and down the slides and he didn't mind if water sprayed or dumped on him. He was a lot of fun. After that, we went to Grandma & Puppa's house for dinner. Nicole came with us and Jason met us there too. It was great. We even made it home before the rain came. I love days like that. It makes me miss my boys when I come to work, but I have 3 days with them this weekend. Yay Independence Day!

Open and throw em' on the ground

Sean LOVES peanuts...shelled peanuts. Thanks to Logan's 2 meals for $13.99 deal. Sean likes to watch you open the peanuts & then he likes to throw the shells on the floor. Great at Logan's, not so great in my living room. :) We had a great weekend. On Friday, while Jason and I were doing MCREST, Sean went to play putt-putt with my mom, Dennis, Mary & Amanda. He loves the "up & downs". If you drive by 14 & Gratiot, he says, "my up & downs". On Saturday, Sean hung out with grandma & aunt Susie while Jason and I played a little up & downs ourselves. That afternoon we went to Braden's 1st birthday party. Sean loved the pool. He didn't like swimming in it, just walking around the edge of it splashing & playing with the orrs. After that, we went to Sarah's graduation party. On Sunday, Sean went downstairs with the 2 year olds for the first time. I think it was a better fit...no babies to bully. My mom stayed with him, so that helped, I'm sure. That night, we went to Jason & Robyn's. The Nelson's were there too. We ate Long John Silvers & Coldstone. Mmmmm... Sean likes the blue cotton candy ice cream. Sean & Mason play the "mine, no mine" game a lot, but overall they play well together. Last night we did crafts with grandma, grandpa Jim, uncle Scott, Paige & Ms. Jo. The ladies there love Sean. He was waiving, winking & blowing kisses. Such a little ham. :)

The hokey pokey

My parents got Sean a singing elmo for Christmas. He liked it, but never played with it a lot until recently. The elmo is plastic, has a radio in one hand and a microphone in the other. There are buttons on the radio that you can press for elmo to sing different songs. You can use the microphone to sing along. Sean knows & tries to sing every song. On Friday, elmo's world was about dancing. When they watched "the dancing channel", this lady did the hokey pokey. We've watched that little segment at least 20 times. As luck would have it, one of the songs on the elmo toy is the hokey pokey, go figure. So, Sean pushes the button, does the dance and sings along. It's the cutest thing ever. On Friday, we went to the zoo with Annette, Connor, Grandpa Jim, Nicole & Kiara. After the zoo, me, Nicole, Kiara & Sean went out to Great Lakes Crossing. On the way home, we stopped at PC&D to visit daddy. I had a suprise birthday party to go to on Saturday night, so Jason took Sean out to Joe Dumar's fieldhouse for golf, bowling, etc. Man this kid has a busy social life! Never a dull moment! After hanging out with Sean in the nursery at church yesterday, I decided that it was time to move him in with the bigger kids. You're suppose to stay in the nursery until you're 2 and then you move downstairs. Well, Sean's the oldest kid in the nursery right now and most of the other kids are just turning 1. He bullies the babies. I want him to get around some older kids. Maybe he won't bully kids who are his size or bigger. Yeah...we'll see. After his nap yesterday, Jason & I took him to the park. He went in the splash zone & then played on the jungle gym. The weather was perfect. It was a great day.

Only Child

So, I'm thinking Sean might be an only child. We discussed it the other night and he's decided that he's my little baby and there's no room for other little babies in our lives. However, although he doesn't want me to have a little baby, the idea of a brother or sister is intriguing to him. If he had a sister, he'd call her "Bee dop" and if he had a brother, he'd call him "Big guy". I've never considered either of these names for a child before, but if that's what Sean wants to call them (if there's ever a "them") that'll be just fine. Saturday, we went to a Tigers game with Jason's family, Mary, Amanda, Barney, Cheryl, her brother & son, people from Maranatha, etc. Sean was an angel. He sat in his seat & ate for almost 5 innings. Father's Day was on Sunday. I told Sean the night before that Sunday was "Happy Daddy Day" and he needed to give Jason lots of hugs & kisses that day. Sunday morning, we were eating breakfast and I asked him if he knew what day it was. He said "daddy" and made kissy lips. He gave Jason a hug & a kiss when he came into the room. That afternoon, Sean & I went to my mom & dad's for artichokes & breaded thin steak. Happy father's day to me! :) My dad must've read my mind when he put in that request. Monday night, Grandma Sue, Grandpa Larry, Grandpa Jim, Uncle Scott, Sarah & Paige came over to celebrate father's day. Lots of fathers to honor in our family. :) Sean's been running a fever the last couple days, but it hasn't slowed him down too much. He's more cuddly & sleepy at times, which isn't a bad thing. :) I think he might be cutting a tooth. My favorite thing to hear him say is "teletubbie"...it's the cutest. When I called Susie today to check on him, he was hanging out with Jesse & Emily, drinking pop & checking his myspace. He's a very mature 21 months. Likes to hang out with the teenagers. :)

Stop the Press!

Two blogs in one day???? That's just crazy! Ok, I forgot to add something. Every day that I work, my mom comes over to drive to work with me. She also gets Sean ready & that's always been their special time together. Well, for a couple months now, she's been bringing "the nummies" with her. Usually a sandwich for Dani & hashbrowns for Sean. Although Sean loves & has come to expect the nummies, I think Dani's more excited about it than him. She wakes up early and stands at the picture window waiting for grandma's car to pull up in front of the house. It's hilarious. This morning, I was able to capture the two of them "patiently" waiting for her arrival. :)

Busy bee

Although it can be hectic at times, I love keeping our schedule full of events with family & friends. We don't have to be doing anything special, I guess I just love socializing & so does Sean. Last Friday, Max came over while Mike & Nicole went to a Tigers game. We went to Great Lakes Crossing and while we were there, we went to Jeepers. I loved watching the boys interact. Sean loved Max and if Max would leave his sight, he'd say, "where'd Max go?". Max is going to have a lot of fun with Jackson when he gets to be Sean's age. On Tuesday, we took Sean minature golfing or to play "up downs" as he'd say. He loved it, but of course was sad when it was time to leave. Yesterday, we went to hang out with Angelina & Ethan while Nicole took Brianna to the eye doctor. Sean wasn't too happy about me loving on Ethan. He'd say, "no baby, my mumma". Maybe it's time for a sibling? :) Sean's had quite the little attitude lately and since he's been taking cat naps the last few days, the crabbiness has intensified. I want him to understand that he can't yell at us, but it's hard not to laugh when he does, because it's hilarious. How do you stop laughing to discipline your kid??? I need help with that and Jason's worse than me. It'll get easier right? ;) p.s. Sean's 21 months old today. That happened fast...

It happens so fast

Sean is growing up so fast. Every time I look at him he seems taller and more "little boy" rather than baby. He's a lot of fun and he's always making us laugh. He's also very stubborn & strong willed at times which is very frustrating. But, I love this age and I love being with him. He doesn't miss a thing and he remembers everything. We've been visiting Grandpa Nick on Wednesdays & Fridays. As soon as we pull into the condo complex, Sean says "grandpa - cookies" because he knows that Nick has vanilla wafers to give him. Yesterday, we stopped by Kim's to see Carter & drop off some formula. Sean ran to the kitchen and went to her bottom cupboard and said "nummies". She said, "wow, he remembered". He knew that the last time we were there, she gave him fruity cheerios and he remembered where she got them from. Every time he sees a Burger King bag, he starts doing the "hot potato" movements from the Wiggles. If you ask him who Mario, Jim, Jason, Toni, Mary Kay, Larry & Sue are, he'll say, Puppa, Grandpa, Daddy, Mumma, Grandma. He likes when you tell him the same stories over & over again and he likes to tell them to you. He LOVES Dani. He always says "my dani" and hugs her. He gets her food & throws it to her or puts it in one of his bowls on the floor for her. They're good friends. He shocks us every day with the words he can say and he's starting to talk in sentences. He never ceases to amaze me. Today's his last day of "school" for the summer. Tomorrow, Max is coming over for the evening. Maybe we'll go swimming since it's suppose to be 92. :)

Long weekends - a love/hate relationship

I love spending long weekends with my boys, but I miss them so much once the weekend ends. Sean went to Hazel Park with my mom, dad & Jason on Friday. He got his picture taken in the winners circle with one of the winning horses. He loved it. On Saturday, we went out to the campgrounds to see Dennis & Mary's new camper. My mom, dad, grandma & Sarah were there too. We celebrated my grandma's 78th birthday. We had Paige, Max, Austin & Olivia for the day & night. I made a big bed on the basement floor. After everyone showered, we went downstairs & turned on "Alvin & the Chipmunks" (surprise...). Sean didn't want to lay on the futon with me. He wanted to lay on the floor with the "big" kids. He grows up more everyday. Lately, we've discovered a sure way to get him to love on you. For example - if I hug Jason and say, "my daddy" he'll be sure to love on Jason and say, "no, my daddy". It's the coolest. Our little night owl took advantage of the weekend, staying up until 10:00 on Sunday night and not waking up until 8:00 on Monday. I think that's the latest I've slept in since he's been around. 6:30 rolled around pretty quickly this morning though. He did NOT want to get up. I wonder how he'll do tonight... A 10:00-8:00 schedule would be great, since I don't work tomorrow. :)

Finding out what works

When Sean grows up, I hope he's able to use his strong will & determination to do great things. Right now, these qualities aren't a good thing for anyone, including him. Jason & I are sorting through different disciplinary tactics, trying to find out what will work & what will not. Here's what we've found: spanking - doesn't seem to work for Sean. Not that spanking doesn't work for any other kids. I remember not doing something because I was afraid I would get a spanking, even though we rarely got spanked. Not Sean... no fear in this kid. The other day, we were downstairs and he started throwing his crayons. I told him not to do it, twice. The 3rd time, I said if you do it again, I'm going to smack your hand. Of course, he did it again. I smacked his hand. Right after the smack, he picked up another crayon, threw it and then smacked his own hand. The whole time looking right at me. Sassy little boy... Time outs seem to work really well when we're at home. If Sean continues to do something he's been told not to do and you say, "do you want to go to time out?". He almost always stops. However, last night, we found out that we're going to have to use time out other places than home. We went to coney last night with Scott, Paige & Grampa Jim. Sean REFUSED to sit in his seat because he wanted to go to the front of the restaurant to play video games and get ball out of those quarter machines (whoever invented those things should be punished to the fullest extent of the law! :). So, Jason had to take Sean out to the van for a time out. He cried & said "nummies" and he promised Jason that he would be a good boy if they came back in. As soon as they sat down, Sean started again. So, Jason took him back outside for another time out. When they came back the second time, we had a different kid. He sat in his seat and ate his food. VICTORY WAS OURS!!! :) He needs to learn that although most of his people cater to his every whim, the world does not revolve around him and what he wants every moment of every day. I don't want to get worked up and I don't want to yell at him. I want him to understand that the outcome depends on his choices. If he chose to pitch a fit, he'd sit in the car without food or the arcade games or the ball. But, if he sat & ate like a good boy, he'd be able to go over the arcade when we finished. I know he's only 20 months, but trust me, he understands and if we don't start now, we will be in BIG trouble in a few years.

There's no place like home

We got in from Vegas at 5:00 am yesterday morning. The trip was great, but we were all ready to be home. Almost 4 days of A LOT of people and a little bit of sleep was enough for all of us. Sean was amazing on the plane both there & back. On the way there, he took a 2 1/2 hour nap and then played & watched movies for the remaining 2 hours. On the way back, he just slept. We went swimming a couple times and Sean loved that. The second time we went, they were having a bikini contest and when the girls finished dancing, Sean said, "my turn!". It was hilarious. The first morning we were there, he was up at 4:00 am. He likes to stick to his schedule, even when there's a time difference. :) We went to MGM for the lion exhibit and Rain Forest Cafe. We went to M&M world and Sean got his picture taken with a person in an M&M suit. In 87 degree weather, I'd hate to have that job. We saw a pet comedy show at Planet Hollywood and that was great. Lots of dogs & cats and when they'd run off the stage, Sean would do the motion & say "more mumma". As we were leaving Planet Hollywood, my mom took him to Build-a-Bear. He named his bear "ballgame". If you ask him what the bear's name is, he says "old ball game". :) We also went to the dolphin habitat & secret garden at the mirage. Sean had the opportunity to pet a dolphin, but decided not to at the last minute. He developed what we think was a heat rash, but it's mostly cleared up now. Hopefully we'll get through the summer without too many of those. It was a nice vacation, but it's always nice to come home. :)

You know I don't speak spanish

I know...I don't blog enough. I got it, mom!!! :) Last Friday, we went to see Thomas the Train at Greenfield Village. Sean had a blast! He still has his tatoo and occasionally he'll point to it and say, "toot toot". On Saturday, we went to Dave & Busters to celebrate Dennis' 25th birthday. Sean loved it there too. His favorite game was the horse racing...of course. You throw a ball and the horses race...it includes two of his favorite things! He has been speaking in full sentences lately. Blowing us away with words we never knew he knew and confusing us with words he thinks he knows. Every day he says something new. And, unfortunately he seems to favor the words, "no" and "mine"...we're working on that. The terrible twos start way before 2. We leave for Las Vegas next Thursday, so we've been talking to him a lot about flying. He seems excited about it, but I'm kinda nervous about the 4 hour flight. When we say our prayers at night, we ask God to keep us safe on our trip and ask Him to help us stay in our seat and be a good boy while we're on the plane. We got a new minivan last week and it has a dvd player in it. Sean loves watching his chipmunk movie in there. Jason and I have that movie completely memorized. Speaking of Jason, Sean's really starting to like him. Not sure how I'm gonna deal with that. I've always laid next to Sean on the couch until he falls asleep. Now, he'll lay next to me for a little bit, then ask to go by Jason. What's up with that??? I love that he loves his dadda, but now it's cutting into our mother/son time. :) Ahhh, well, I'm sure there's more to come, so I better get use to it.

I knew I'd be bad at this

So, this time I went 9 days without a post, what the heck? For all you loyal blog readers, I'm very sorry. :) Sean got over his "virus" pretty quickly. We are so lucky. He was better after 2 days. Have I ever mentioned that he's the smartest kid in the history of time? Seriously, he never stops amazing me. He likes to snack and he likes Doritos. We try to discourage this behavior, but, to put it lightly, he's a little stubborn. One time, when he asked for the chips, we said "ok, but only 2". Now, he points to them and says, "chips", starts nodding his head and says "two". Weeks ago, we went to the grocery store and Jason & him picked out soup for Jason's lunches. Yesterday, I took Sean to the store and I said to myself, oh, I need to get soup. Sean looked at me and said "daddy". He remembers everything. My mom brings him breakfast every day we work together and he has a routine for breakfast on those days. He jumps up, says "nummies", runs to the table, pulls out her chair and pats on the table. For some reason, he knows that's the only time he gets to sit on the table to eat his food. And, one time, he hurt his toe pulling out the chair, so now he points to his toes before pulling out the chair. I can't even begin to describe his talent when it comes to sports. I'll just sound like a proud mom. So, if you've never witnessed him hit a golfball, throw a baseball or roll a bowling ball, it's something everyone should see. What an incredible little boy.

Our kids should never get sick

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted. This has been a fast week! Last week we had beautiful weather. My mom & I went to Walmart and got Sean a scooter, tricycle, pads & a helmet. The bike & scooter will take some getting use to, but we have all summer. Anyone know of any tricks I could use to get him to wear his helmet? On Wednesday, Grandma Sue & Great Grandpa Nick came by for a visit. I had a meeting at church that night, so my dad watched Sean. Sean's teeball skills blew him away. :) Friday we visited Danielle & Nevada. On Saturday, Grandpa Jim bought Sean some new golf clubs. So, we took him to the driving range to try them out. That night, Jason & I subbed on Mary's bowling league. We ended up bowling against her & Dennis, so that was cool. Sunday afternoon, Sean started running a fever. At 10:30, he woke up out of a dead sleep, talking about the moon. I took his temperature & it was 102.2. We went to the doctor yesterday and they tested for strep. The immediate test came back negative. I have to call tomorrow to check the 48 hour test because all of his symptoms mimick strep. Either way, poor baby is sick and running a consistent fever. I don't like when he's sick...at all. It breaks my heart. I thank God that he's a generally healthy child, because I don't know what I'd do if he wasn't. I really hope he's feeling better soon.

The strong willed child

Last night, Grandpa Jim, Grandma Sue, Grandpa Larry, Uncle Scott & Paige came over. It was a beautiful day yesterday, so of course, Sean just wanted to be outside. It's not always easy to get him to sit in his seat during dinner, but last night, it was ever harder. Plus, I wanted him to eat SOMETHING we were eating, anything. What a battle we had over 1 green bean. It's so hard to gauge what we're suppose to "battle" over. I want him to understand that he's not the boss and sometimes he won't get his way. But, I also understand that he's 19 months old and VERY strong willed. I guess Jason and I are in for quite a ride. But, as long as we communicate & pray...it'll all be ok.

We had a great night to be outside. Sean played baseball, blew bubbles, gave Dani & Bum (the dog behind us) treats, rode his car as we went for a walk, etc. He loves being outside. Too bad we live in Michigan and it's supposed to be cold again (and rainy) the next few days. :(

Go get em Tigers!

On Friday, Jason took a 1/2 day and we all went to the Tigers game. The only thing that would've made the day better was a higher temperature. It was 41 degrees at game time. Sean was awesome. He sat in his stroller as we walked from our parking spot. He loved looking at everything and he loved watching the game. He ate a lot of junk that afternoon, but hey, that's what you're suppose to do at baseball games, right? He crashed as soon as we got in the car. That night we brought lasagna to Marty & Val's. Nathan had a belly ache, so he wasn't happy. Sean kept trying to give him his plug & bubba...anything to make him happy. Alex told me to rub his belly & burp him. It's hilarious that I had an 18 month old & a 2 1/2 yr old telling me what to do to make the baby feel better. Such little helpers. We had beautiful weather this weekend and Sean loved being outside. We got him a tee ball set and loves playing with it. He's big into bubbles right now too. Baseballs, tigers, golf & bubbles. Speaking of golf, everyone should see him swing a golf club. It's crazy how good his form is. I think his allergies are bothering him because he has a runny nose & a nasty cough when he goes to lay down. Cursed pollen!!! :)

I just love him

We start early every day, but yesterday, Sean and I were ready to leave the house by 8:00. We went to McDonalds because it was some place Sean could eat & play at his leisure. He was hungry & wanted to eat, but when he's ready to get up, there's really no stopping him. Then we went to Krogers, the bank & then to my parent's house to let Reagan out. As soon as we pulled in the driveway, Sean said, "Puppa". I told him Puppa was at work & he started crying. When we pulled out of the driveway, with big tears running down his face, he said, "Bub-bye Puppa". When I told my dad the story, he said, "Don't worry about that stupid dog anymore.". :) After that, Sean hung out with Grampa Jim while I went to lunch with Robyn. For the record, try J. Baldwins...it's fabulous. Sean took a 2 hour nap, which was great because I was able to get stuff done around the house. We went to Walmart to get a Tiger's shirt for tomorrow's game. Then, Grandma Sue came over for a visit. Dadda got home about 6:15, which is early these days, and we ate & then played until it was time for bath & bed. Sean amazes me more & more every day. He is so smart. It's so weird that he's putting words together now. Yesterday he wanted some of a dessert I was making for my mom's small group. He was holding his spoon and kept saying, "spoon, nummies, spoon, nummies". I never thought I could love him more from day to day, but I do. Sure, we have our "trying" times, but I want to enjoy this age because he's so much fun. "To know know know him, is to love love love him. And I do, yes I do, I really do..."

Great weekend

This weekend was fun. A lot of exciting stuff... On Friday, my dad came over for dinner & hung out with Sean until my mom got there from work. Sean hung out with grandma while Jason and I went to Ford Field to see the NCAA Sweet 16 games here in Detroit. Other than trying to get out of the city at the end of the night, it was a blast. On Saturday, we went to see Barney play at the nursing home and then we went with him & his family to American Pie. Paige came over after that and me, Jason, Sean, Paige, Kiara & Grandpa Jim all went to McDonalds. Yesterday, Sean got to meet his new friend, Nathan Greer Murphy (Marty & Val's new addition). Weighing in at a whopping 9lbs, 4oz and measuring 22.5 in. A big boy! I asked Sean if I could have a little baby & he pointed to himself, like, I'm your little baby. It was adorable. We had Dennis & Mary's dogs all weekend, so the house seemed quiet last night after Jason took them home. It was nice though, cause we all needed some rest after our busy weekend. :)

Where did he come from?

This kid never ceases to amaze me. He is constantly coming up with new stuff and he's guanteed to make you laugh. He'll tell you every sound for every animal you name. He loves looking at his "look & find" books and he blows us away with the stuff he can find on those pages. When he's playing basketball, if he misses, he'll say, "oh man!". He says it with a little twang and it's just the cutest thing ever.

Yesterday we went to Angelina, Brianna & Ethan's house (sorry Nicole, you're just the mom :). Angelina wasn't feeling well, so she pretty much slept the whole time we were there. Brianna & Sean played together well. Sean tried to help with & hug Ethan A LOT. One time, when Sean was going in for a big hug, Ethan pulled his hair. Sean's told the story a hundred times since. :)

I'm sure dadda will love to see the picture I post today. Here's Sean playing with the girls' purses & sunglasses. :)

Easter weekend

We had a lot of fun this weekend. But, as always, it went by too fast. Saturday, Sean & I went past the Wendy's on 13 & Harper and I was going to go through the drive thru to get him potato rounds. When we got there, we saw that the Easter Bunny was there & the place was pretty much empty. We went in & Sean had about 20 minutes of one-on-one time with the bunny. He was showing him how to bowl and play baseball. And, he even let me get a picture of him sitting by the bunny. It was great. Then we dyed eggs with Dadda, Grandma & Puppa & Sean really got into it...literally. I thought for sure I'd have a green baby all dressed up on Sunday. We didn't get all the dye off, but it definitely faded.

Church was awesome yesterday. We decorated 3 rooms downstairs for the kids to do a rotation. One room was the garden where Jesus prayed, the next room was Calvary and the next room was the empty tomb. They got different objects in each room to help tell the story of Easter. It went really well. Then, everyone came over after church for dinner & to celebrate my mom's birthday. I finally got to give her the pictures we had done of all the grandkids. It's only been 3 weeks, but it seems like I've had to wait forever. Sean helped Grandma open her presents & every present she opened he'd say, "a ball?". Poor kid, if only people would give out presents that Sean likes. :) Sean loved the Easter egg hunt. He's talking up a storm all of a sudden and last night he said, "umbrella". I made him repeat it because I couldn't believe he said it. He's growing up so fast.

I'll never forget...

Tomorrow will be 10 years since Jason's sister, Loretta, passed away. Although the time has helped with the pain, I will always remember & miss her. I remember wondering how I would ever go on with my life after losing her. And, I promised that my kids would always know about her. So, since I'll be printing this for Sean to read someday... I want him to know that his Aunt Loretta would've loved him very much and she would've been a great aunt. She was a good christian, sister, daughter & friend who was taken away much too soon because of an awful disease. But, everything happens in God's timing and I know Sean will meet her one day in heaven.

Yesterday, we had lunch with Ms. Olus. We're very thankful that she came on our side of town and that she agreed to go to Chuck E. Cheese. Sean's happy - we all have a good lunch, Sean's not happy - very bad lunch. He was a blast. He loved playing basketball and skee ball and he even put the tokens in himself. Then, Grandpa Jim got him another bowling set. Of course he has a couple bowling sets, but this one had Chuck E. Cheese on it, so we had to have it.

Tonight, we're hanging out with Dadda. He tends to work late, so we're really excited about doing something fun for dinner tonight and then having a 3 day weekend with him. Woo-hoo! Have a Happy Easter everyone! Remember Jesus died for YOU and He's alive today!

De-babying the House

The big boy bed has been a real success the last two nights. Sean slept from 9:00-6:30 this morning and only woke up once throughout the night. When he woke up, I rubbed his back, covered him up & handed him his blanket. He rolled over and went right back to sleep. I love nights like that.

Last night, Grandma Sue, Grandpa Larry, Grandpa Jim, Uncle Scott & Paige came over. As Sean was running back & forth between his room & the living room, Jason noticed that the gate between the kitchen & living room was definitely becoming dangerous. A couple weeks ago, my dad mentioned that Sean was almost eye level with the locking bolt. But last night, I think he was eye level. He's growing too fast! Anyway, Sean helped Dadda take down the gate. Jason had his screw driver & Sean had his drill. He loves to help us do everything, except he likes to be the one in charge.

This morning we celebrated Aunt Susie's birthday, because we won't see her tomorrow. Sean bought her a ball & some fruit snacks. He's considerate like that. And he helped her open all of her presents from Grandma. Such a nice boy. Every present she went to open, he said "ball". Susie said, "Grandma, you should've gotten me all balls, cause that's what I really wanted". :)Happy Birthday Aunt Susie!

18 months, already

Sean went for his 18 month well check yesterday. He's 27 lbs, 3 oz and 33 3/4". Dr. Berry estimates he'll grow to be about 6 feet tall. He's doing great developmentally and everything looked good. It was funny because he asked me if Sean was following commands. I said, he understands commands and he's usually the one giving them. We're still working on the whole "following" part. Sean told the doctor about stinky butts (shewwww-eeee) and he showed him how to bowl. He had to get 1 shot, which was sad, but he's such a trooper.

The big boy bed is becoming a challenge, but we're determined to make it work. Sean gets up a few times during the night & starts calling me & Jason. I can't wait for nicer weather. Then, we can run him good before bed. A good, full night's sleep is still our goal!!!

All growed up

Sean never really liked sleeping in his crib. As a matter of fact, he probably slept in his crib only 3 of the almost 18 months of his life. The other 15 months were spent in a chair with me, Jason or my mom, in his swing or most recently with either me or Jason on the couch. The couch/living room floor was getting old for us & our backs. So, we decided to get Sean a big boy bed. I think the crib was too much like a prison because Sean was terrified to go in it. But, with the freedom to get up whenever he pleases, a big boy bed was the perfect solution. Although our house is still out of order from the "move", this bed has been a wonderful investment. Sean has slept in his bed for 2 nights and taken his naps in there too. Jason & I take turns getting up to console him if he wakes up in the middle of the night, but he hasn't once gotten out of his bed. I love sleeping in my own bed, but this whole big boy movement makes me a little sad. This morning, when I took Sean to Aunt Susie's, I asked him for a kiss good bye. He kissed me, showed me the door and shut it behind me. He was ready to start his day with a game of bowling. I guess I should just be thankful that I still got a kiss.

Sharing

So Friday we had a play day with my friend Stacy's son, Jack. Sean has at least a thousand different balls and he freaked out if Jack touched any of them. I wonder if he acts like that in school. Maybe it was because Jack was playing with HIS toys? Whatever it was, I really didn't care for the drama. Poor Jack couldn't touch anything without Sean whining about it. Jack didn't seem to mind though. We played, bowled, watched "God Loves Babies", napped, pooped & ate. Not bad...

Last night was FX at church. Sean LOVES the music. He's always loved music. Wonder where he gets that from??? This morning, when I took him in to Aunt Susie's, he whined because he was leaving my mom. But, when I left, I got a very brief wave, like "later mom". I don't want him to be sad that I'm leaving, but a little whine would've made me feel missed at least. Oh well, just one of those days. Maybe tomorrow he'll show some love. :)

Who's the boss?

The logical answer to that question is me & Jason, right? Well, sometimes I feel like a mere servant to Prince Sean. I don't think we'd have these days if he was just born with a full mouth of teeth. He's cutting his eye teeth and wheewww can he be a pill! I couldn't make dinner yesterday because every time I got up from playing ball with him on the kitchen floor, he'd scream. It's easy to say, "don't let him do that", but after trying time out, Elmo's World, nummies, etc. - playing ball with him seemed to be my only option. Days like those are hard.

The day didn't start that way. I had an early doctor's appt, so Sean hung out with Grandpa Jim. When I got home, he ate and then took a nap. When he woke up, we went and played with Angelina, Brianna & Ethan. Hence, the picture of Sean eating the community blueberry bagel. That must've been a good bagel, cause it sure made it's rounds. As things started to go downhill over Nicole's, we headed home and that's where the chaos continued. At the end of the day though, he was just my sleepy baby. I love playing our little games before bed time and cuddling with him on the couch. All that other stuff just seemed to disappear.

One more thing, slurpy time with dadda has become a staple for Sean. If Jason brings home slurpees, Sean sets up his Sesame Street lap tray, they sit across from each other and they take turns drinking their slurpees (much faster than Jason would like, I'm sure). But, it's fun to watch them have their special thing together. And, I know Jason just loves it...

The life & times...

Ok, so I typically try to send out a Sean update every month (or so...), but Nicole suggested that I try blogging. This way, I can send out the URL & everyone can read new Sean stories & progress as they choose. Plus, I can update day by day (yeah, we'll see how long that lasts). :)

So, this weekend was a fun one with Sean. He's like the smartest baby alive (sorry to all the other mothers who think they have the smartest baby alive :). On Sunday, Jason asked Sean, "Who am I?" and Sean answered, "my dadda". Ok, so it's nothing new for Sean to say dadda, but adding the "my" kind of melted both of our hearts. I'm sure it took everything for dadda not to tear up. Sunday afternoon we went to Olga's & then bowling. At Olga's Sean thanked God for the juice & his nummies. He folded his hands shortly after that and Jason said, "Thank you God for my mumma, dadda, grandmas, grandpas, puppa, etc.". Later into the meal, Sean folded his hands, looked at Jason and said, "juice, nummies, dadda, puppa". He was really trying to do it just like Jason had taught him. He's too precious.

He really loves bowling & the show "Make Way for Noddy" on Sprout right now. Last night, at nursing home crafts, he & grandpa Jim used the therapy bouncing balls & styrofoam cups to make their own little bowling alley. Hey, you improvise when you need to, right?