S.W.A.K.

We Are That Family is having a S.W.A.K. carnival to honor the men in our life. Check out her blog for all of the participants, but here is my contribution.

My husband was deployed for the first time a mere 6 weeks after our son was born. He was home 6 months later but then shortly left again for another deployment. All told, he was gone 11 of my son's first 16 months on this earth. When he finally came home, we had to figure out how to be a family. We had been a couple for a long time, but a family was something new. I think we both worried about the transition. 

But my husband was born to be a father. He was patient when Connor called him "mama" for the first few months, and is still patient as our son still calls him that more times than not. He is not shy about showing his love for our son. When he walks in the door and Connor goes up to him and gives him a hug, you can see the weight on his shoulders lift. And I swear that there is nothing sexier than hearing him and Connor play choo-choo trains or seeing them snuggle under a blanket together and reading a book. 

I am so thankful to have him in my life. He's the only one I ever wanted and the fact that he is such an incredible father is a bonus. I know that our military life is not going to be easy on Connor. The frequent moves, his father's long absences, the distance from our extended family, that all adds up to an unstable environment for kids. But I know that together, he and I can provide stability for Connor. The past 2 years have not been easy, and I know we will have difficult times in the future as well, but I still believe that as long as we make our marriage a priority, we will be ok. 

Changes & Parks

Sorry for all the changes in the appearance of this blog lately. I've been trying to figure out what I want it to look like so I keep trying things out. I should have one look pinned down soon, so bear with me until then. 

On another note, we've been enjoying more nice weather today. Connor and I went to the park near the commissary (military grocery store) for a little while before we went grocery shopping. It was right near the water, in a wooded area, and empty. We hadn't been there before, so it was nice to be the only ones to enjoy it. 

My favorite part was that they had a toddler play area. The slides were a bit shorter and the climbing things were chunkier; less of a chance for him to fall through. This didn't stop him from tackling the big play area anyway. He wanted to go down the fireman's pole and tackle the big slides. 

My little crazy man. 

Yet somehow, the wobbly bridge proved too scary for him. I had to hold his hand across it once, and then give him reassurance from the sidelines the next couple times. I can't quite make sense of what scares him and what doesn't. I know he doesn't share my fear of heights though. If he's anything like his father, I know he'll only get more adventurous.

Beautiful Sunshine

I don't know about the rest of the country, but here in Virginia we had a beautiful weekend. Today, it was 75 and sunny. 

Absolutely gorgeous!

That's one of the best things about living down here: you don't have to wait too long for spring to come. I'm sure we'll have more cold days soon, but this week it will be sunny and in the 60's. And it's only the second week in February. 

I love sunshine and springtime and the chance to spend time outside. But, I've been saying all winter that if only it were warmer out, I'd go for bike rides, and hikes, and be more outdoorsy in general. Now there are no more excuses. At least this week. Besides, it's a great chance for Connor to learn more about nature. Even if it's by trying to eat dirt and/or bugs. 

New Activity

Yesterday, Connor got to enjoy some new activities. 

First, I took an empty plastic jar and filled it with about 1/2 an inch of dry navy beans and put the cap back on. Then I gave him a bowl and some measuring cups. He spent about 20 minutes unscrewing the cap and transferring the beans from jar to bowl and back again. He would use the measuring cups to scoop some out of the bowl and put them back in the jar. We stopped when he tried to eat the beans. They're edible, but not great when they're dry. The activity helps expose him to a new texture and practice his fine motor skills. 

We also drew for a bit using colored pencils. They're narrower and longer than the crayons he usually uses, so it provided more of a challenge to hold. Again, this works on fine motor skills, and stimulates his creativity. His drawings have started to be more purposeful, more straight lines and circles, less random. 

We've also been working on up and down. He loves to to jump up in the air, even though he only gets about an inch of the ground. Luckily though he hasn't quite gotten brave enough to jump off things. He prefers to climb them right now. 

Next week we're going to work on the alphabet and dressing himself. He's good at taking off his sweaters or jackets, but he hasn't quite gotten anything else. Although he is very good at putting his socks on his hands. 

The Home Office

We've been renovating our bathroom for the past month, which means all the bathroom stuff was in our office. That means that our office was pretty much unusable to me during the day as it wasn't exactly toddler-safe. Now that the bathroom is finally complete, all of the stuff is out of the office. And that means it is finally time to organize my office to be a usable place. One that Connor and I can spend some time in while I need to work and he won't get bored. 

I want to try and use the stuff that we have so we don't have to buy anything new. We have an old trunk that we use mainly for storage that I'm going to turn into Connor's activity area. I'll put chalkboard paint on the top and make some chalk for him to draw. I'll repurpose some baskets to store paper and crayons. Then I think I have an old phone somewhere that I can set up for him. Not sure what else I need to make the perfect office, but I'm sure that I'll figure it out. 

I'm looking forward to making the work-at-home thing work. 

New Words

I am amazed every day by how big Connor is getting. He just learns in leaps and bounds and spits out new words every day. 

Today in the car he says to me "Put shoe back on." This from a boy who usually only says one or two words at a time. 

Some of his other favorite phrases: 

"Get down!"

"What happened?"

"What are you doing?"

"Where's the ball?"

"Where'd it go?"

Can you tell where he got those from?

and my personal favorite "I love you"

Although it ends up sounding more like "I wub you." I still know what he means. 

I've read from multiple sources that the best way to help your kids grow a vocabulary is to talk to them all the time: Describe what you're doing as you cook dinner, or as you go grocery shopping. It sounded extremely silly to me. They really wanted me to say "Now, I'm chopping up the green broccoli and putting it in the black pot"? But since I've been doing this, his vocabulary really has taken off. I don't baby talk to him, never really have. Instead, I talk to him as if he were an adult. I simply use fewer words when I need him to do something. Three word commands are easier to follow than more complicated ones. 

So try it! Be silly and describe your day in detail to your little one. Pretty soon they'll be telling you "I wub you!"

Grandparents are Awesome

The best part about traveling is there is never-ending fun for Connor. Everywhere we go there are new people, new toys, new houses to explore. I bring minimal toys, just some cars and crayons in my purse and his favorite bear, because both sets of grandparents have some just for him. Yet, he is always busy exploring and therefore learning. 

The bad part about traveling is there is never-ending stimulation for Connor. So of course, bedtime is seen as a punishment even more than usual. It means no more fun for the day. Even though he's exhausted and I already let him stay up later than normal, there's still more to do. He ends up screaming for 10 minutes until I can calm him down. By then he's so exhausted he can't help but fall asleep. 

But coming to NY is always worth it. He gets to spend time with his grandparents and aunts and uncles. And pretty soon, he'll have a cousin to play with too. This trip was a wonderful learning experience for both of us. Connor finally learned to say some of the grandparents' names. None of them wanted to be just grandma and grandpa; instead we have Nana, Grumpy, Grammy, Pop-pop, Mimi and Boo. He also got to play in the snow for the first time; he loved to stomp it and make a crunching sound. And I got to spend some baby-free time at the shower. 

A wonderful visit but now it's time to go home.