Happy Friday

Here we are again with nothing but a bunch of iPhone pictures that tell a little story.

The Helfers made their first trip to The Mast General store on Main Street, and if you haven’t been there yet, you’ve got to go! The first Mast General Store dated back to the 1800s coining the phrase, “If you can’t find it here, you don’t need it.”  {No extra charge for that history.}  They have tons of stuff, including great prices on old school toys.

And barrels of candy sold by the bucket.

We left with a bagful of stuff.  James asked for a candy necklace.  A treat we would normally pass up…

It lasted about three minutes before he popped the elastic and broke it.  Guess that’s why girls do better with necklaces.  We went to a park, which was a giant distraction.  And quite tiring.

What’s great about toddlers is distraction.  With a little coaxing, we were able to leave the “toy store.”  When the candy necklace broke, we were distracted by a new park.  We then forgot about the toys we had purchased.  After naptime, it was like shopping all over again as he opened the bag with ohhhs and ahhhs.  He played with this bus for two hours straight.

And has taken Slinky, a Toy Story character, for many walks.

As far as behavior goes, we’re still having power struggles everyday here and there.

But all in all, we find our happy often with the small things in life.

Like big boy cups.

Tasting rain drops.

Frozen yogurt trips with friends.

Watching trucks and tractors from our very own windows!

Many trips to the park.

Where James tries more and more to play with the bigger kids, but can’t quite keep up… or even get an inch off the ground in this case.

In preparation for the impending big boy bed, we’ve been teaching that beds are for sleeping, not for jumping.

Yeah right!  If you know James well, you know that he wasn’t sleeping.  He hasn’t slept in anything but a crib since he was a baby.  I would give anything for him to snuggle up with me for one nap or one night, but nope!  He was just acting as he laid there and snored.

I’m keeping the crib for as long as I can!  But practice makes perfect, and hopefully we’ll be ready for the big boy bed when need be.

We have enjoyed watching, learning and imitating just about everything.  {Side Note: Nobody tells you, you lose all privacy when you become parents.}

Justin and I are having to watch our words very closely.  Things have become real literal around here.  For example, if we say “park the car,” James will ask 50 times to go to the park.  Or if something is called “a treat,” we better have something sweet to eat ASAP.  In this case, James saw that Lynyrd was sleeping so, he helped by putting two pillows on Lynyrd.  We sleep on pillows.  Period.  No questions asked.

After all the meltdowns last month, we’re working on a little self awareness {on all of our behalves}.

We’re helping James to identify his emotions.  It’s no coincidence that he now LOVES to watch videos of himself, look in the mirror and quite often, practice his newfound acting skills.

This isn’t just the typical Peek-a-boo.  He covers his eyes and says, “Where’s James Wallace?”  Then does a surprised gasp!  It’s the only time he calls himself James Wallace… he’s heard me say it A LOT lately.

We see quite a bit of attention seeking behavior around here.

But it doesn’t take much to melt my heart.  “Bless you, Mommy” or “Thanks, Mommy” or “Hi, Mama” with a hug or “Want more broccoli.”  What!?  He did not get that taste bud from me!

That’s right, we just keep on keeping-on as this baby grows up before our very eyes.

Stayed tuned, and maybe I’ll blog about how our kitchen cabinet fell off the wall.  How I now spend all my time talking with contractors, scheduling appointments and going to Lowes.  Now that’s entertainment.