My little man, almost 3, has been working to perfect the fine art of blowing a kiss. Each afternoon or evening that I put him to bed, I blow him a series of kisses as I back out of his room and close the door. Obviously, someone has been paying attention because this is now his new favorite thing to do for me.

The first time I noticed what he was up to was when I read him a goodnight story, he told me to stay in his bed while he said goodnight to daddy. As he left the room, he backed away and made the attempt to blow me a series of kisses. Too cute! The best part is that his efforts were backward. With each kiss he would basically spit “Patoooweyee” into his hand in front of his mouth.  I tried explaining that “blowing a kiss” was really like “sucking” so that you could achieve the expected smooch sound that made the action worthwhile.

Low and behold, he’s got it. It took practice; one of my more favorite efforts to watch, but now he can blow the perfect kiss!

I Gave Birth to My Husband

Little did I know that watching my sweet baby boy grow into a little man would mean that he would mimic and adopt every characteristic trait of the one person he looks up to every day, Daddy.

Let me explain: while this is likely the best thing that any parent could ask for – and please, oh please let this continue long into teenage-hood – as the wife of this person, I have a couple of complaints.

First, when I now call for Evan across the room, he replies “Yo.” During our latest diaper change he announced, “This sucks.” As if he were seeing things from my end of the situation! And let’s not forget the echoing trumpet sounds of not one, but two gassy males occupying my household.

Many times I catch them, both overtaken by the same task at hand (usually eating) and they are identical; looks, mannerisms, you name it. Daddy & his mini-he. I guess that’s the bottom line of reproduction… I think I’m just feeling outnumbered!

Git Yer Shirt On!

The goods are packaged and ready to sell! My new goal is to quadruple inventory in
an effort to make one word for each letter of the alphabet! This means I need your
help to spread the word and work together to clothe children all over the place in custom Yay Self! shirts that will grow to be recognized and expand the vocabulary of
all who see them!!

Time Warp

It blows me away every instant I think about it. Only 3 years have passed since 1 little person entered my world and changed my life forever. I remember time before this as such a blink; pushing the days forward with anticipation of growing up, what lies ahead, different people to meet and the next unexpected around the corner. Ages 20 to 30 flew by like a really long month. And now, I’m trying to contemplate 3 little years. I’m trying to back pedal my brain that fails me to barely remember breakfast yesterday (side affect I attribute to being a mom). I wish I could collect every minute (well I must admit they were not all as rosy as I may gush about) but every good minute and save it in one of those girly keepsake boxes.

I know I have officially hit a point where I could stop time forever, not looking ahead or behind and being perfectly content. That thought also makes me feel like I’ve hit the summit of the rollercoaster and what really lies ahead is going to come flying passed me at a million miles an hour. Before I can even blink, my ride will be over, although I know it will all be worth it. As long as I remember to hold on tight and scream my
head off!

Did I mention my husband's a teacher?

And my mother is a cross word puzzle fanatic? These individuals may have contributed to my desire to stylize a playground or two, but my number one inspiration remains my boy e.

The other day he walked out of his room wearing a t-shirt that read "Ladies Man". I complimented his attire to which he replied, "You're welcome."

We have been experiencing what feels like a never ending wave of runny nose and coughing which leads to croup many an evening. I continue to wait patiently for the "...makes you stronger" part of the saying. Almost daily I have seen e discover and eat (stuck to bottom of sock, recovered from deep inside nostril, etc.) many a thing that should have killed him.

I cannot potty train my smarty pants.

Getting to the Point!

My goal, reason and desire to make Yay Self! blog a place that readers will bookmark and return to again and again, is all based on an online t-shirt business that I am working to develop. The goods for sale are custom designed children's t-shirts that define a single, uncommon vocabulary word - adjective, noun - fitting various child characteristics.

My vision is to have children all over the playground running around with dictionary words on their t-shirts, that are unrecognizable to other kids and most adults. Reading these words will not only open the door to learn more about the kiddo behind the clothing but also allow us to understand the definition, pronunciation, spelling and likely pass all of this on to our own children.

I guess it's my "Schoolhouse Rock" way of fighting the "I'm With Stupid" movement. So stay tuned to learn more about product availability - my first shipment is on its way!! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the stories that define my world and my business Yay Self!

Trip Success?

4 stars! We had a great trip visiting Aunt Trisha and Andy - partaking in kid-friendly adventures complete with indoor water park and a chance for e to sit behind the wheel of a REAL fire engine....better than Christmas as far as he was concerned!

Whew, we made it through the saga that threatened to doom our entire vacay and then...wait, I spoke too soon. Husband food poisoned the night before we drove the last leg home. Unfortunately this is the sign of an official vacation in our family (gross). I won't go into the story of our honeymoon - over Christmas I might add. Until next time I guess!

Quick Getaway

If you ever find yourself stopped on the edge of a highway and realize that a state trooper has all of sudden swooped in behind you as if appearing out of thin air (how do they do that?); lights flashing and radio in-hand running your plates. We discovered the quickest way to get rid of him: "Puking child." He smirked slightly - smile hiding disgust and then quicker then you can say "Where did that cop go?", he was gone.

This is the start to our Spring Break 2010 road trip to Missoula, MT. I keep forcing the word "adventure" into mind, trying to keep a positive attitude. Well, at least it cannot get any worse, although I will keep you posted.

Parental Influence

I am most proud to say that my almost 3 yr old has very excellent taste in music! At least once a car ride I get a music request from the backseat, "Jammin' Mommy, Jammin'." As I scan the stereo to find the right disk and quickly surf to song #15, the song's intro is recognized by good ol' Bob Marley singing "Oh yeah!", which E is quick to mimic. Another favorite, Pixies "Here Comes Your Man". Oh boy, when that little voice from the backseat harmonizes to "Here comes your Maaaa-aaa-aannnn!" just gives me goose bumps! I really cannot start to imagine where such a musical ear came from but this kid really has a gift. Ah, I just love to sit back and admire his talent!

Plastic Kitchen

What does it say that my 2 year old is always offering me beer from his play kitchen?

Word Inventor

As anyone with a toddler knows, the newly discovered ability to say words comes with a customized vocabulary (hence, "Yay Self!"). To mostly preserve these little treasures for myself in my online blog box, I am going to list a few of my e-man favorites:

"fig nuke" = fig newton
"blub blub" = goldfish crackers
"Kunin" = the first name for every stuffed animal he owns
"peoples" = reference to more than 1 person, as in "Peoples, watch me!"
"com-pooter" = computer
"cool guys" = sunglasses
"frisbiz" = frisbee

Oh, and one more little treat - his favorite CD to listen to in the car right now is Wave of Mutilation - Best of Pixies. He says, "Oh, I like this one!" whenever it plays.

Words cannot describe....

But I'll try. So I sit this evening with my glass of wine, husband newly home from a day in the classroom full of 4th graders and my 2yr old running wild through the living room - typical evening. First he says he's hot, must remove pants pronto. Next thing I see, diaper being flung through air as he flicks it off his foot. So here he is, in the buff from the waste down... (to the ankles - we've got socks on) he decides that a sweatshirt wrapped around his neck with the sleeves dangling off his chin, is equivalent to a beard - more precise, Santa Claus. "Do you want to hug Santa Claus?" he asks walking toward me with excess clothing too far north and not enough south. "Well of course!"

Oh how Christmas will never be the same and thank goodness for that!

Repition at Two

Tyler & I have discovered that with the comfortable daily routine our 2 yr old relies on, comes a string of repeated activities that are running our life like a broken record. The difficulty lies in the fact that if we lift the skipping needle off the ol vinyl, we risk disrupting the level of balance and contentment we work so hard maintain every day. At least once every 24 hours we are blessed with the catchy lyrics and tunes brought to us by Laurie Berkner's "Under a Shady Tree." Catchy being the keyword, even one song played first thing in the morning results in the inevitable echo of words running through your head the rest of the day.

Another treat, story time. For some reason, E-man finds comfort in one of his parents reciting the same book daily. If he's lucky enough, he can get one parent to read it at nap time and the other to read it again at bed time, oh whatta day that is! We have had to go to such great lengths as to line the floor under each couch with certain titles we can no longer endure reading. These are stories that I have memorized word for word allowing me to break at times from actual reading and simply recite my lines while on the story book stage.

And last, as anyone with a slightly picky eater can relate to, comes the token answer to a question presented before each meal, "What would you like to eat?" The reply that I get, every time I ask, "Cream cheese and jelly." A sandwich combination we relied on when the lad was directed to avoid peanut butter. I know this eating machine is 1) not only capable of sitting down to eat a meal that would satisfy his father after a 25 mile mountain bike ride but 2) has a huge variety of food choices he would love to eat! This kid digs grilled salmon for pete's sake, but to my dismay, every time, "Cream cheese and jelly."

Oh how I long for the spice of life....variety.