Chipmunk Cheeks

Shane woke up from a nap and said "I need to spit!" last weekend.

He never swallowed a pocket of ham from his lunch. I guess he nursed and sucked on it his whole nap.

Gross.

He started to spit it out before I could get him to a trash can, so I stuck my hand out. Being a parent gets you strangely comfortable with things like backwash, poop, puke, and overly chewed food!

Shane has this weird habit of "chipmunking" food. He leaves it one of his cheeks and lets it stick around.

Sometimes, he'll eventually decide to swallow.

Sometimes he decides he never really liked it and ptooey!

It's definitely an odd little Shane-ism. It doesn't fit too well with how quick he likes to shove food in his mouth. The pocket builds and builds.

If Shane's still doing this at 16, God help him get a date!

Use Scary in a Sentence

Scary is when your toddler locks you out of the house. Your keys and phone are inside with him.

I slipped into the garage to throw the wash into the dryer, and heard a bolt slide behind me. Shane giggled. He was proud of himself.

I knocked on the door and kept asking "Shane, unlock the door?" I turned the knob so that he couldn't lock that, as well. I felt him fiddle with it on the other side. I hoped he would get bored when he realized it wouldn't move and play with the bolt instead. 

I knocked near the bolt and prayed and prayed! Shane laughed and undid the bolt. I was in! 

It was a scary two minutes (tops). I normally walk around with my phone and keys on me, but Shane caught me at exactly the wrong moment. No matter how good you think you are, it takes but a few moments for things to go awry. 

It's never fun to be humbled, but a lesson learned is a reprieve earned. Shane's getting a short Thomas break, so I can type this out and let my pulse settle!

Family on the Move

Matt and Renee are back in town! Shane and I helped them move back in on Wednesday.

"Help" is a relative term, though.

Shane loved the moving truck. Pop had him running underneath it and squirting it with a water bottle when I arrived. When the ramp came out, Shane ran up and down it at least forty times! The boy has a sky-high energy level! 

I may have thrown him on the mattress you see in the picture, as well. You know, as a fun way to celebrate getting to the top! We stopped that game when Matt mentioned there was a flat-screen TV somewhere underneath.

One of the highlights for me, was how interactive Shane was with everyone else helping Matt and Renee (you didn't think we were that much help, did you?). When Ryan arrived, I told Shane "Pull Ryan to Matt."

Shane did! I was amazed that he A) wanted anything to do with Ryan, B) understood me, and C) did what I asked! That's progress!  I think Shane got attached to Ryan pretty quickly. Ryan is probably the tallest man Shane's ever seen. He pulled a step stool over to hold his hand!

It's nice to see my brother and his wife again. While they're at Nana and Pop's, they're going to be seeing a lot more of Shane! (Maybe too much in some cases! Matt walked up the stairs Friday morning to be greeted by a certain pant-less little boy who was excited to see the basement door opened! ha ha!)

Bachelor Party Friday!

Bill's Bachelor Pre-Party was held Friday night at our house!

There was pizza, no strippers, and 8 grown men drank 12 beers total. 

Utterly tame. 

Carrie hooked up a TV to play Super Nintendo games, Cooley, Bill, and Marcus how to play Dominion, and then there was a Munchkin game. It was great to see everyone. The "wild" party is going to be in Atlantic City tonight. I'm sure I'll hear some embarrassing stories at the wedding. 

Shane got to be a part of the initial festivities. He sat in Matt and Bill's lap for Mario Kart and generally ran around hamming it up. Whenever it was Carrie's turn to play, I'd say "Go kiss Mommy!" The boy loved having everyone over. He hammed it up. It was great being able to sit back and watch him play. He was the main source of entertainment until bedtime!

I love how he's picking his nose while Uncle Matt is celebrating a victory!

Thank God, he's sound sleeper. There were no allergy sniffles, and everyone tried to hang out in the basement or outside. Carrie had been thinking about getting a hotel room, but I'm glad it did not come to that!

We need to invite people over more often. It's more fun for Shane and us!

EDIT: Carrie posted these pics on Facebook and I swiped them for your enjoyment.

Buggy

Shane loves cicadas! A strain of 17-years is popping up all over Nana and Pop's. Last summer, Shane loved the shells at our house. This summer, he's playing with the real things! We collected a pile of seven around the yard for counting, poking, and sending down the slide!

Don't worry! No cicadas were harmed for this production. Shane only found one with some life still in it. I put it aside to live out it's last post-mating moments in peace.

Tuesday Trips

On Tuesdays, I always take Shane to Subway after day-care. There's one maybe half a mile up the street. I wanted to turn it into "our thing." It's a way to reward a successful day of fun at day-care and get Shane to look forward to me picking him up!

Yesterday, was our third or fourth trip. Shane gets his breakfast Ham, Egg, and Cheese flatbread, I upgrade it to a meal, and we share. Foolishly, I got cookies with the meal the first couple of times out! Nana said I nearly "ruined" their trips to Subway since Shane knows how great they taste now! I wised up and got Cheetos this time. We alternated bites from Cheeto to sandwich to keep Shane chewing on the healthy stuff!

When we finished our meal, Shane pointed across the street and said "Go Home Beepo-Beepo!"

I wish I had a video. It was the cutest way to say Home Depot I've ever heard.

Shane and I walked across the parking lot and hunted down forklifts for over half an hour. Then we ran all over and hid in some rugs. There were many failed picture attempts, but I loved this one. I put Shane on a stool in the lights and fan aisle. He stayed mesmerized long enough for my phone to capture the moment!

Shane still says "Daddy, go away!" whenever there's a more preferred adult around, but we've had plenty of good times! I have the pictures to prove it! We had a lot of fun helping Matt and Renee move in to Nana and Pop's tonight, but that's another story for another time! I thought I wrote about our Tuesdays out already, but I guess I'm more backlogged than I thought.

Life stays busy with a little boy. I wouldn't have it any other way (unless I could get an extra hour of sleep throw in...that'd be great too!).

Daycare Art (Funny!)

My son made something in art class today...

..., but I couldn't tell you what! There was a chunk of something in one corner that looked like a half-eaten granola/fruit bar.

The sticker says it's his "BEST WORK YET!" Should I be insulted?

More Target Memories

Shane and I went to Target after church on Sunday. He likes to play with all the toys there, and I have my own fond memories of the place.

This time around, Shane shoved a wooden toy ambulance and turned it sideways. The blasted thing was stuck!

At first, I wasn't worried. Neither the ambulance or the garbage truck was very elastic. I figured that it would be geometrically impossible for Shane to stick something in the truck that could not also come out of the truck. I just had to figure out how it got in there in the first place!

It was really stuck.

I started to doubt myself and wonder how the cashier would ring up a toy within in a toy. Unlike the picture, the ambulance was wedged deep down and out of sight. Would they think I was trying to steal the cheap $3 car? Was I going to have to buy a $30 garbage truck I didn't want to?

Shane got bored of watching me jimmy with it and started messing with the toy trains. Target will be a great playground until Shane realizes he can beg me to buy stuff....I did not want the overpriced garbage truck to be my next purchase, though!

The ambulance came out. Hallelujah!

Shane and I spent an hour running amongst the aisles. I did let him pick out a $2 bath toy. I figured it was a cheap way to say "Thank You" to the store for letting us meander around for so long.

Shane picked out a yellow plane identical to the blue one he already has. I tried to show him dump trucks, boats, and front end loaders, but Shane would NOT be dissuaded. I thought about pulling the "Daddy knows what really want and it's not that one" card. However, Shane pulled out a blue plane (like the one at home) and started to pretend the planes were talking to each other! It was some cute imaginative play!

I promptly decided I didn't want to be the kind of parent who picks everything for my son and let Shane pick the toy he really wanted. I held up four toys, said "You get ONE," and the yellow plane leaped out of the line-up. You can see from the picture how happy Shane was!

Rain, Rain...

Shane asked to go play out in the rain, so I let him! At first, I hoped he would say "too cold!" and give up asking to go outside.

He loved it!

It's only fitting. I used to love running around in the rain as a kid in Beaumont. The rain was a lot warmer there than here, but at least Sunday's shower wasn't bad!

Train Crazy Boy

My phone buzzed five times in a row on Friday. Nana was texting. Pop and Nana took Shane for his very first train ride!

Shane loved it!

Nana said that they could NOT get Shane to play on the playground. He was train crazy. The only way they could get him to forget about the train was to hop on the carousel. Once that was done, he wanted to go on the train again!

I was a little jealous. I hoped to take Shane on that train this summer. I knew that would go bonkers! It would have been a great chance to be Super Daddy for 10 minutes, too!

Last I checked, spoiling grandkids is part of the job description for grandparents! I should not have been surprised they thought up of a cool outing for Shane. Nana was always good about thinking up excursions when I was a kid, too.

Thankfully, Nana and Pop took some great pictures. If Pop ever gets a Facebook account, I know what his first profile picture should be!

'<'-------it's right here!

All of the pictures let me feel like I shared the experience, too. Nana's texts also brought me a smile at work. I knew my boy was in good hands and having fun!

I plan on taking Shane to ride the train again this summer. Actually, I plan on taking him lots of places! The more places I take him, the more stories I'll have to write about!