Berry Time!

Strawberry season in Portage la Prairie reminds me of babyhood; fleeting.  It seems like just yesterday, our little boy was a baby.  Now I find I'm correcting myself every time I call Ethan "baby".  This little guy isn't so little anymore, and definitely not a baby.

This past weekend, I was able to take Ethan out to the berry patch.  We went picking last year too, but that involved Uncle Chad and I picking while "baby" Ethan slept in his removable car seat.  I loved picking berries when I was a kid.  I remember going to the Hyde's patch, thinking I was so lucky to have strawberries so close to our house. 

Then I remember working with Chad at Mayfairs in the mornings, and picking for our own business at Connery's in the afternoon for the few weeks that berries are available during our early teen years.  There is apparently a lot of money to make on the berry patch for kids that can handle the sun and are a little ambitious. 

I hope that Ryan and I can make strawberry picking one of our loved traditions with Ethan.

But on Saturday.  I can tell you my sneaky little man LOVED the berry patch!  I showed Ethan were the berries were hidden under the greenery.  It didn't take him long to figure it out.  But Chad and I learnt early that succeeding on the berry patch requires a little bit of craftiness.  Ethan would pretend to pick a strawberry, then walk over to my bucket to "put it in" and ended up swiping three or four berries at a time.  I picked 2 buckets in the 40 minutes I was there.  Not a great amount for that time frame, but in my defence, I had to refill a quarter of the first bucket picked after Ethan had found it down the row.

Mr and Mrs Connery saw Ethan in his car seat when I went up to the shack to pay, and noted that baby would have some issues with the pampers later that night. 

But it wasn't so bad.  It was worth it to share one of my favorite summer activities with my Little Man.

My Art-tist!

The other day Auntie Kristin decided to let Will paint while we were out at their house.  Will is such a great painter already!  He painted trees, with trunks and they looked very much like real trees (and he's only 3!)

However, Ethan was there, as I've already said.  And Auntie Kristin (God bless her) decided to let my young man have a paint brush and access to the paint.   This was cute for the first 2 minutes.  Ethan is apparently a bit of an artist himself.   Check out his work!

Mad Mad Love

Went to see Sex In The City 2 with the girls last night.  So happy to have a couple hours away to just relax, and Daddy had a good night with Ethan too.

Okay.  Spoiler Alert.  Stop reading now if you haven't seen the movie, and want to.

I think women love the Sex In The City series and Movies because they can see themselves in the characters; and they can dream about who they would be if they could.  I've always seen one of my girl friends in Miranda.  I love Miranda - she's really one of the best "real" characters in the series.  And sitting in the theatre last night, it was like watching bits and pieces of my life - and Miranda was still reminding me of my girlfriend, even though my girlfriend doesn't have quite the same place in my life as she used to.  Made me miss that relationship more than I have in a long time.

And Me!  (Ryan says it's all about me - and he's right in my humble opinion)  I've stood in another room and cried because I want to be a good mom, but my baby won't stop crying.  I felt so bad for Charlotte!  I just wanted to tell her she's not the only one.  However I'm a little more ready than Charlotte to let people know that Ethan sometimes drives me crazy; but I will always love him in spite of making me pull out my hair.

I spent a lot of time today dreaming of beautiful clothes and Martini glasses and closets of shoes.I wish I could have time to write.  I would love to write a book, without a toddler pulling on my keyboard.  (I think that's the first time I've ever referred to Ethan as a toddler, but he's really 14 mths going on 2)

Ryan is definitely my Big....   So much of that character made me shake my head in amazement.  So many nights, I wish we could go out, but are stuck on the "couch".  But Big is fabulous and comfortable and right.

Some parts of the movie bugged me.  Why have I never notice Sarah Jessica Parker has a chest?  Why did she look perma-tanned all movie, but still had horrible tan lines in a backless dress?  I'm sure other parts bugged me, but I can't remember anything else that stands out.

All in all...  I guess Marriage, Kids or No Kids, Getting Older, Shoes and Sex are topics that most women can relate to.  But I really feel like I should get some sort of royalties for the similarities that exist between my life and the various characters in the movie....  I always wanted to be Carrie, cause she's crazy and extravagant.... 

But even she thinks she's somewhere between Wild Sex and a Baby.

No longer a Baby

I hope I never sound ungrateful.  I love my son so much!  Ethan has become our world.  He has replaced our favorite TV shows and video games (Ryan's) and has become an entertainer all of his own.  I love my son.

Ethan is a very busy boy since the invention of walking (11 mths) and the addition of running (12 months).  Some nights, for fun, he has taken to running in circles- literally- or chasing the dogs around the house with his light-up sword.

He has also turned "2" at 13 months.  Full-force temper tantrums, on the floor, kicking and screaming.  But no one gets to see that but Daddy and Me.  That way I sound ungrateful - or crazy, as "Ethan is a perfect angel" for everybody else. 

I love my boy.  He is amazing.  Just learnt how to walk backwards yesterday.  I love watching him figure something out, learn something.   Little brains must work non-stop.  Our big brains just sit in front of computers all day it seems, taking everything we do for granted.   Imagine for a second that you didn't know how to walk backwards.   It might not be life-changing, but boy is it convenient!

Suppertime has been fun for a long time, however Mommy is no longer allowed to hold the fork/spoon.  Unless it's her own fork, in which case Ethan will only let me hold it until it reaches his lips; then he grabs it with both hands and won't let go.   You would be amazed the the grip our little guy's got.

But we are so lucky.  To have our own little angel that tests patience and boundaries.   But he still knows we're Mommy and Daddy and that kisses fix everything and hugs feel good and that we love him.  And we know the love of a child. 

And it's bliss.

I've been a horrible blogger!

It has been brought to my attention that I have failed to Blog since my return to work....   5 1/2 months ago.  My apologies.  Life has become so busy, as has the boy! (see proof above)

I will try to do better...

Mel

Ethan is so tired after playing at Daycare all day, that he still needs an evening nap.   Sometimes he doesn't want to have a nap, but Mommy knows best.

Working Mom

Wow!  What a week!

Last week I became a working mom for the first time.  I was a little nervous about going back to work, cause I knew I would miss spending every waking moment with my boy.  (Since birth, Ethan and I have only been apart for very short spurts)  I was ok with the job - as far as 9 to 5 jobs go, I've got a great one - but my job description was getting a face lift, and I happened to go back on month end and year end.

Thankfully Ethan LOVES daycare!  He hugs and kisses the little boy that is there and they get along great.  Ethan hasn't moved into break down mode when we leave him for the day, but I'm aware it might still be coming.

Evenings are definitely not long enough!  I do miss my boy a lot, but still need to get things done in the evening that I normally did during the day for the last 9 months.  Mornings are very early for all three of us - My boy used to sleep until 9 or 10, and I'm forcing out of crib at 7am at the latest!  Poor Ethan!

And to top off my first week of work, with deadlines everywhere, I came down with a horrible case of the stomach flu on Wednesday morning.  I spent 3 of the 5 first days back at work in bed or the bathroom, with an evening on IV in the hospital to boot.  Not how I wanted to come back.  But luckily I kept my flu to myself - sparing Ethan and Ryan.  And I am back to work this week again.

Unfortunately my computer becomes the last thing that I look at - only getting here if a lot of non-Ethan time presents itself.  But that's ok.  Time at home has become very precious.