Truman's pick of the week

Perhaps this will be a regular installment on the ol' blog and perhaps not, but I get a huge kick out of seeing Truman's obsessions change frequently and with intensity. Why not make him a reviewer of sorts, so that he can share his current love with the whole bloggity world? He definitely has specific tastes but he's not always easy to please, so his pick of the week will most likely be completely random and entertaining.

This week? YouTube videos of trucks, and specifically two amazingly hilarious ones that have Nate and I humming their tunes all day.

First, with 4 million hits you bet your buttons that other moms of boys (and girls?) have these lyrics memorized right along with our family. I wish that this song could be my ring tone because it's really amazing and full of awesomeness. Also, I wish I had a video of my husband singing this song in his creepy voice because THAT should be on You Tube for reals.


Second, one that only has 21,000 hits but is still sure to please. How else can parents learn the names for working trucks? And Truman loves to point and say 'ooooooh!' with each new truck that appears while we discuss our favorite type. Educational and fun = win win.


Hope you enjoy these truck flicks as much as Truman, and that you are singing 'this is the work I really love, 'cause that's what an excavator does!' until you fall asleep tonight. Hee hee.

He looks JUST like...

When Truman was 6 months old I did a post comparing Truman's baby pictures to mine and Nate's. I decided it's high time to revisit this argument that 'HE LOOKS LIKE ME, TOO, OKAY?!?' Because really, although my husband is a looker and I don't mind that Truman takes after Nate, I'd like to think that I had something to do with my son's adorableness as well. After all, I did help out in the DNA pool and did the entire gestation thing, so sue me if I'd like to hear that my offspring resembles me just one teeny tiny bit. :)

Also, it's really, REALLY fun for me to hunt on iPhoto as I look for similar facial expressions between Truman and his parents as toddlers. I got way too much enjoyment trying to find just the right one of T to match the old school version of us. Also, can I just say again that it astounds me how few pictures our parents have of us as children? Both of our parents did a great job documenting our childhoods in pictures but still---just four pictures for a whole month of life? HA. My digital camera that is begging for a break smirks at the 80's from afar.

First: I think we know where he got his ugly cry...
jcrying

But don't worry, pretty sure this is my gigantic smile, too...
jsmiles

And 'aloof'---he gets that blank stare from me...
jlooksup

And just to be fair, I decided to include pictures of baby Nate, too. Aren't these two boys freaking adorable?
nategrin

Their grins aren't too bad, and I can definitely see the resemblance...
natesmiling

Baseball caps. A cutting stare. Swoon...
natecute

So there you have it. Thoughts? (ie, please agree with me and say Truman has at least one percent of his momma in him, okay?)

Eighteen Months

Well, well, well. One and a half years old, huh? Truman is officially not a baby anymore you guys, and this milestone really seems to make the whole 'toddler' concept set in stone. Back when Truman was just a few months old, I remember trying to imagine what life would be like with a toddler. I think I must have pictured myself literally running from room to room, chasing after him as he tried to get away from me and test the limits. And honestly? My prediction was dead-on as I find myself somewhat out of breath at times as I sprint around the house to perform tickle torture on mister man, just to hear his amazing giggles. And so now I'll throw in my standard statement I say every month: "This is my favorite age yet!"

IMG_4360

The crown jewel in this post is going to be this, my friends: we have successfully gotten rid of the freaking pacifier this month! Can I get an 'Amen'? I realize that it wasn't that much of a crime since he only took it for naps and bedtime (and still, I don't get how he even became addicted to the darn thing since he never liked it until he was a year old!), but MAN it feels good to conquer that beast of a paci. It was seriously messing with my head cause I was all, 'We HAVE to get rid of that thing sometime and it's going to suck so bad I can taste it,' and Nate was all, 'Yeah, but why rush it? Let's just wait a while longer.' I mean, anytime you mess with a sleeping routine you are playing with fire, right? So you want to know what worked for us as we trampled the hell out of that drug named 'Ni-Ni'? Truman got sick and sucking the paci hurt his mouth, so he wouldn't take it. More on this sickness later, but we had to act fast and be smart here---although he didn't want the beloved pacifier for a few nights, he certainly came to his senses after that and downright demanded it when he was well. But me and my hubs? We remained calm and tough and didn't give in. And now all of the pacifiers are magically gone and packed away and I could not be happier to say goodbye.

IMG_4395


So yeah, The Sickness That Nearly Caused Mommy To Crack was awful. In laymens terms, it was Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease and I've decided that virus must have been created by the devil himself. It started with a little fever, then I noticed a few teeny red dots on Truman's feet. We found out Truman's daycare buddy, Henry, had the same symptoms at the same time and the poor boys were the only ones at daycare to get it. No sleep (woke every hour, for reals, and refused to nap), couldn't eat because his mouth sores must have hurt so bad, and wore his cranky pants for about 4 days straight. I couldn't go to work and we had to bail out on a trip to Missouri because Truman was still contagious and we were not pleasant people to encounter anyway. When the sores went away we all literally felt the sun shining on us again and agreed that HFM was the worst virus we've ever encountered and we pray it never touches us again. I'm not trying to be overly dramatic because I realize there are much worse illnesses out there and I'm grateful Truman is almost always healthy and recovered quickly. If anything, our little week-long sick-ville made us appreciate 'normal' days and I cannot imagine having a chronically ill child.

(the first day of the spots---they got a lot worse than this, and sorry if this makes you squeamish. I had to provide visual evidence of the hell, though)
IMG_0401


In July his favorite activities revolved around garden gnomes and India Aire, but in August? No way, dude. Every phase lasts about a week and then he's onto something else, but with the same intense obsession as before. For instance, every.single.morning Truman wakes up yelling for me and begins his quest for the trifecta. When I enter his room he immediately starts signing for 'milk' and whining. Once he gets his milk, he says 'bowl' requesting a bowl of dry cereal (preferably Kix). After those two things are secured he says, 'Melmo' meaning it's time to wake up to our favorite red, furry puppet! He'll sit in his orange big boy chair and watches some of the Elmo's World DVDs we finally bought for him, while sipping milk and munching on cereal. It's pretty cute but incredibly redundant, if you ask me. His attention span is definitely better when it comes to TV watching but it's not like he'll just sit still and watch a full DVD all at once---he has to break free and run around a bunch, too. But finally starting a DVD collection (almost all Elmo, of course) was a good decision on our parts and I have a feeling we'll need to start limiting the TV time soon.

(hey, ladies. Wanna ride?)
IMG_4435

IMG_4423

Other obsessions include: throwing things just for fun (usually toys, rocks, sand, and balls) and even pretending to throw imaginary balls; discussing the whereabouts of each and every family member (T: Dada? Me: Daddy's at work. T: YaYa? Me: Grandma's at work. Etc, etc, etc); sidewalk chalk; swinging a golf club at a volleyball (Nate's proudest moment); and working trucks. There is some construction going on in our neighborhood and we frequently walk down to watch the trucks do their thang for literally an hour at a time, sometimes. I sort of feel like a creepy mom, just standing there staring at the men working while my son stares with big eyes and finger pointed, but the boy is obsessive. He still loves his BOB stroller and enjoys long runs with mama and Henry dog. He still loves all strangers and will flirt with anyone within a 5 foot radius. And his most favorite thing on the planet has to be ice cream. Can you blame the boy?


IMG_4376

IMG_4383

(and TRUCKS! Firetruck, to be exact)
IMG_0480

It's amazes me to watch Truman process the world around him. He understands so much that it sort of frightens me at times. One time Nate asked T if he was 'ready to roll', because we were getting ready to leave the house. Now, anytime Truman wants to go somewhere or thinks we might be leaving for an errand he'll say, 'roll, roll, roll'. I mean, seriously? He'll see me getting my running clothes on and he'll say, 'Bob-a' for the stroller, and he'll go dig through my closet to find my running shoes for me. Amazing. He saw us trying to kill a few mosquitos down in Florida and now he'll go outside and pretend to hunt them down, clapping his hands together dramatically as if to smash a skeeter that isn't really there. Yeah, imaginary play is coming back from a few months ago and it just cracks me up every time. His language is still improving and I think he's tacked on another 10 words this month to make the total about 35 or so. So basically, this child is growing up into a little boy and has left his baby days in the dust. Sob.

(goof ball)
IMG_0419

(so intense on vacation, all about throwing sand)
IMG_4507

He is still wearing mostly all 24 month or 2T clothes and I think he might be tall for his age. A lot of strangers ask us if Truman is 2 or 2.5 years old and that always shocks me a little to hear them guess he's much older. Because in some ways, the last 18 months have flown by in a blink of an eye but yet it seems like a different lifetime when we didn't have Truman in our world. So I'm doing my best to stop, soak in the moment, and really enjoy my big one-and-a-half-year-old boy right now. And there is a lot to enjoy!

(summertime fun with our buddy Henry!)
IMG_0411

IMG_0408

(and with his buddy, Charlotte)
IMG_0488

(just hangin with dad)
IMG_0483

(and swingin with mom)
IMG_0428

(showing off his sidewalk chalk artistry on his best friend, Henry dog)
IMG_0505

What a summer we've had! And notice that most of my pictures are from my iPhone now---easier to catch a toddler in action that way.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...