Sheriff Ben

There's a new sheriff in town. He's wearing a t-shirt and tighty-whiteys and a smile.

And a badge.


And he's dancing in his t-shirt and tighty-whiteys and smile and badge.


And he's terribly, terribly cute.

Happy Birthday Sweetest Boy

Little man,
You're sleeping now. You breathe in and out. Your eyelashes, so long and soft, still and quiet on your sweet face. Your beautiful mouth is open a little; sometimes you speak a word or two straight out of your dream - what is your dream tonight, baby? Could it be dinosaurs or Transformers, Power Rangers and fighting Bad Guys? My little man - you're always the Good Guy - keep the town safe. Sweet dreams, little man.
I remember the very first time I saw your beautiful face. You came into our home and into our hearts in the arms of one of God's special angels - and our lives haven't and will not ever be the same again.
Your light shines so brightly it's sometimes blinding. Your spirit fills the room. I watch you from a distance and see the changing expressions on your face and am still amazed at this gift God has given us. I see your happiness overflowing even when you are just outside playing, or running for the sheer joy of running; your energy is abundant and contagious. I see your eyes sparkle and your entire face break into a smile when you run from home plate to first base - your batting helmet too big, wobbling on your noggin - you sneak a peek at the bleachers to see if I'm watching. Yes, baby. I'm watching - I'll always be there to cheer you on - whatever you choose to do. I love to watch you and Daddy give each other high-fives when you make it to first base after taking a serious whack at the t-ball.
I love your voice - silly and serious, early-morning hoarseness, or late-night sleepiness - my favorite words in the whole wide world: "hey, ma-ma". If I could bottle that sound and have nothing else to hear the rest of my life, I'd take it and consider it enough.
You made our life so sweet when you came through our door. You're loved so much, my little man. You celebrate your birthday this week and we celebrate with you. You're a whole hand now! You're going to be 5 years old. Unbelievable. My fairy tale happily ever after has reached another precious milestone. I thank God for this; I thank God for you, my one and only sweet little boy. Your Daddy and me love you so, so much.
Happy Birthday my sweet, sweet 5 year old.
I love you,
Mommy

Brownies ARE good for you, aren't they?

"mommy, can we make the brownies?"

"hey, mom....I thought you said we could make the brownies tonight..."

"after my nap, can we make the brownies?"

Ok. So there's been a box of brownies in the cupboard driving my son nuts. True, I've promised to 'help' him make them for two or three days now....but something always comes up. Like bedtime last night. Oh, yeah. It was obviously not a good enough reason for him, but it was way too late to make brownies. So, I promised him we would make them today.

Approximately 15 minutes ago, I asked him if he wanted to go make the brownies now. Yippee! Yay!! Brownies!!! Off to the kitchen we go. Maybe 30 seconds after we get the mix, eggs, water, and oil in the bowl - he's uninterested. Off he goes to watch Power Rangers but not before yelling over his shoulder "I want to lick the bowl!!"

Batter in the pan, pan goes in the oven and I've stolen a couple of licks of the spoon before I call him in (what? yeah, like you don't do it too...) the kitchen. He comes running in smiling, saying: "lick the bowl, lick the bowl!"

I've already scraped the sides of the bowl down to make it easier for him; hand him the spoon and he says: "I don't want it. I don't want to eat junk food".

Whaaaaa?

grumpy nose

Grumpy boy discovered me in the bathroom; trying my best to get a nice hot bath and a little peace and quiet. Ha. Nothing like having an audience for a bath, but that's another post.
He came in on the pretense of asking for a snack. Well, it's almost supper time here, so I said no. Grumpy whining ensues. Lots and lots of it.

It lasted all the way through the end of my bath till I started to dry my hair. He's stomping around in the bathroom, whining and sniffling - he never gets to do what he wants to do...never gets what he waannnnntsssssss.......whiiiinnnnneee, sniffle......whiiiiiiinnnnnneeeeeeee........

Then, out of the blue he says, "I don't like my nose anymore!"

"Why don't you like your nose anymore, baby?"

"I don't like it cause it gets snot in it!"

Trying not to laugh, I said, "But Mommy loves your nose!"
"Even with snot."

"I want to get it taken off! I don't want it anymore."

So, I turn around and ask, "Um, how do you get your nose taken off?"

"I don't know, I guess you have to get the Nose Directions and see how to do it!"

I had to ask.

Big boy school

Yesterday was a big day around here. Yesterday we registered the sweetest boy in the whole, wide, wonderful world for Kindergarten. Yesterday we walked right up to the elementary school and signed the papers. Yesterday we made our very first trip into the place that, with time - will take all the vestiges of 'babydom' from me, er, from him....oops....
He'll move from his preK, where I can still see and believe he's still my baby.
This place will begin the process of moving him into the little boy- that will turn into the big boy -that will turn into the man that he will be. Oy. I can't even begin to think about it.

And can I tell ya that my little guy was (3 ft in the air) excited to be there???? He was thrilled to no end to be in his new school. He wanted to meet the principal - can ya believe it??

So, I kept him home today from preK......my baby stayed home with me. And I loved it.