Sssssummer Fun

It's hard to believe that so much of the summer has already passed. Because we were cooped up inside for so long as part of what seemed like an endless cold and dreary winter, we are now taking every advantage to play outside in the sunshine.

On one of those sunshiny summer days we decided to take at trip to see Nana and Grandpa. The little man had been going through some Nana withdrawal, so we packed up our car and headed off to their fun-filled home.

Near Nana and Grandpa's house is a wonderful wildlife park that it a bit smaller than a real zoo, but has all the same exotic animals. However, besides it's size, there is another key difference between it and other major zoos.

It's interactive.

Just like 4-year-olds.

We hopped around with kangaroos.


We fed pygmy goats.

We gave a tortoise a cool afternoon snack.

We took an afternoon ride on a camel.

We fed the colorful lorikeets (with some mommy help).

We discovered baby lemurs love craisins.

We said hello to Anessa, the giraffe.

But the highlight of the day wasn't the kangaroo, goats, tortoise, camel, lorikeets, lemur or giraffe. No, the little man's favorite animal of the day was something much more interesting.

Something much more interactive.

What wasssssssss it?

It was Charlie, the king snake.

{Much to mommy's dismay.}

As I took the little man's hand to walk on after handing the snake back to it's handler, I held my breath, knowing all to well what was coming next.

"Mommy, I want one of those king snakes," the little man said as he took my hand.

"I don't think so," I said, shivering at the thought of a pet snake.

"But I want a snake like that," the little man reiterated. "He's silly!"

"We need to leave him here, so other little boys and girls can play with him," I said.

The little man's eyes shifted to look back at his slithery friend.

"But ... can we come back and see him again sometime?" He asked.

"Yes," I said. "That we can do."

And although that was the end of our conversation that day, I also know that it is not over, for I fear Santa will be getting an unusual request this year from a blue-eyed little boy with a love for king snakes.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

In the four years since the little man has entered our lives, my husband and I have gotten into the habit of spelling words or phrases we didn't want little ears to hear. It was our way of still communicating, while still keeping the little man blissfully in the dark. For instance, at the State Fair last year the little man saw a tractor toy that he loved.

"We could save it for C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S," I said to my husband.

"Good idea, I'll take him outside and distract him," he said. And with that, he and the little man were off so mama could do some early Christmas shopping.

Skip forward to this summer.

And add in some reading/writing lessons over the past year.

And you have one clever 4-year-old who now knows how to spell.

Which can only spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E for mommy and daddy.

The other night our family was enjoying some time at the pool. It was getting late, so I knew it was about time to pack it in for the night.

"It's about time to go H-O-M-E," I said to my husband.

"But I don't wanna go HOME," the little man immediately blurted out. "I wanna stay here."

I looked at my husband in amazement. It couldn't be true. There was no way our little man had broken the mommy/daddy secret code already.

Once we finally got the little man out of the water (despite his fits), we began the walk out to our car, with a very solemn little man in tow. His pouty lip got the best of me.

"Maybe when we get home we can have some I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M," I said to my husband. "That might make him forgive us for ending his fun."

Immediately the little man jumped up and his frown had been turned upside down.

"YES - I want some ice cream!" he squealed. "Yeayyyyyyyyyy!"

My husband I looked at each other, once again shocked. Then the realization quickly set in.

The little man was on to our secret code. And he was now capable of breaking it.

"Well," I finally said. "I guess we knew this day would come eventually."

I looked back at the little man, who had a big smile on his face.

"Ice cream!" he said, throwing his arms up into the air.

And with that, we were off to our H-O-M-E from some wonderful I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M.

Two!

My, my how time flies. Not only did the spring fly by, but this summer is off to a running start, as well.

And today this blog turns 2-years-old.

Thank you all for reading this blog and sharing in our adventures. I know I've said this before, but when I began this blog it was really more just a place to share my two loves: my family and my writing. It also gave me a wonderful outlet to express my creativity outside of the daily hum-drum of work. I never expected the response that I have received - in fact, I almost didn't tell anyone that this blog ever existed.

Now two fun-filled years our lives have been shared with you all - I hope you had just as much fun reading about it as we have had living it. And I hope that the years ahead continue to be filled with just as much laughter and adventure.

I know I've been absent as of late - my summer has already gotten away from me. The little man has continued with his swim lessons and is now splish-splashing with the best of them. He really is my little fish. We've also just completed the monumental task of a basement finishing project - although the little man undoubtedly loved the tools and construction, we are thankful to be DONE. Our family is also preparing to go on a big vacation next month and of course, we've had just the daily routine of trying to keep up with the little man, who isn't so little any more. I hope to catch up on my posting soon, so stay tuned for more adventures!

Big Love

It was just the little man and I this weekend as the husband was out on business. After a full fun day of swim lessons, ice cream and a trip downtown to a new interactive dinosaur exhibit, the little man and I were snuggling on the couch watching a movie. It had been a busy day, so I welcomed the calm and warm snuggles.

The little man looked down to my ring finger and touched my wedding ring. He ran his little finger around it.

"Momma, are you mawrrried?" He asked.

"Yes, I am. I'm married to daddy," I replied.

"And daddy ... he's mawrrried too?" He asked.

"Yes, mommy and daddy are married to each other, just us." I said.

"Why do people get mawrrried?" The little man asked as he shifted to look up at me.

"Well ... people get married when they love each other," I said. "Then they have little babies, like we had you."

The little man sat in silence. I could tell his little mind was racing.

"Momma?" He finally said. "I wanna get mawrrried, too."

"Oh, you will someday," I said. "I promise."

"But .... But ..." the little man started.

"What, buddy?" I asked.

"I want to mawrrry Nana!" The little man said with a big grin. "Nana!"

I laughed.

"Well buddy, Nana is already married." I explained. "Nana is married to grandpa."

The little man's face quickly turned serious.

"Well grandpa can share." He said matter-of-factly.

And with that, the little man turned back to his movie.

And I was content to leave that explanation for another day.

Little Fish

Growing up, my brother and I were always at the pool. My mother loved to swim, so we were both introduced to the water at a very young age.

My mother loves to tell the story of how when I was a baby people would remark about the criss-cross tan lines on my back from my swimming suit and some of my earliest memories are of my mother throwing nickels into the pool so that I could dive down under the water and pick them up.

"I'm a little fish, look at me momma," I would always remark as I surfaced with a hand full of nickels.

The little man is definitely no stranger to water and has dipped his feet in a few lakes, pools and even the ocean on more than one occasion. While we have played with him in the water and have touched on some basics, like kicking his legs in the water, my intention was to always get him in to swim lessons very early so that he, too, could be a little fish.

At least that was my intention.

Then one day I looked up and my little baby was suddenly 4. Time definitely flew by.

As if the time ticking by wasn't motivation enough to finally research local swim lessons, my motivation was increased by the little man's increasing interest in our neighbor's pool and the fact that our family has plans to sail the high seas on a very big "toot-toot boat" (a.k.a. cruise ship) later this summer. (A toot-toot boat that boasts a very large swim area just for people the little man's size.)

So, after some quick Internet research, the little man was officially enrolled in his first swim lessons.

From the very first lesson it was apparent that my child was not going to be afraid of the water. Blowing bubbles, sticking his face in the water, even floating on his back and learning the necessary arm and leg motions to swim were no challenge to him.

And he met each challenge with a great big smile.

His first swim test would come this week - the deciding factor about whether or not he passed this first level and was cleared to move on to the next one.

And, of course, he met the challenge once again with a great big smile.

As he was handed his certificate and reward of fruit snacks, the little man could barely hold in his excitement.

"You did a very good job, buddy," I said as I congratulated him.

"Momma, did you see me?" He asked.

"Oh yes, I'm very proud of you," I said.

The little man smiled.

"I like that you use that word, momma," he said. "Proud."

I paused and smiled back.

"Of course I'm proud of you baby," I said as I hugged him.

"You're my little fish."

What is Sweeter than Easter Candy, You Ask?

{The little man and his cousin partner in crime}

Why?

There's been one question that has been on the little man's mind as of late.

It is constantly there ... always at the forefront of his mind.

And no one seems to have the answer, for one answer just brings about another round of questions. A vicious cycle, of sorts.

Why?

Because the little man had entered the ever-famous "why" stage.

Why?

Because he is 4. And 4-year-olds are very curious creatures.

Why?

Because it's a natural part of growing up and becoming more aware of the world around us.

Why?

Because the world is an interesting place. And there is so much to learn about it.

Why?

Because you can never learn too much.

Why?

Because it is good to expand our minds.

Why?

Because it makes us smarter, more in tune with everything that goes on around us.

Why?

Because when we learn something, we grow as individuals.

Why?

Because.

Why?

Because God made us and the world that way ...

... why?