Our first field trip

Tommy's first field trip was in October to the Apple Jack Pumpkin Patch. I might have been completely and unnaturally a little excited about the whole thing and spent a lot of time talking up the trip to Tommy. I took the morning off work to go with him. We were both going to ride with my friend Kristin and her daughter Katie (who's in Tommy's class and is his favorite friend!). We showed up to the preschool and I thought it was so hilarious that every single kid in the class had a parent there with them. I love that our school is so small and that the parents all obviously care a ton about being there for their kids!

We loaded up in Kristin's car and off we went! Tommy was excited and kept talking about the pumpkin patch, so I thought we were in for a great time!

However..........my son has a way of becoming a completely different person when he's in unfamiliar situations or around people he doesn't know. And this was both of those. 

He got SO shy and wouldn't talk to any of the other kids or play on any of the rides. There was a train (which he normally would have DIED over), but he wouldn't get on it. He kept yelling, "No! No, no, no!" I was starting to get embarrassed by his behavior and frustrated that he was making it miserable for both of us. But in between his moments of anxiety (which I'm REALLY  hoping he outgrows soon), we managed to have a little bit of fun!

 

 

                        

As long as we weren't by anybody other than myself, Kristin and Katie, he was fine! He went down the slide and enjoyed the petting zoo animals. He sat on tractors and participated in rubber duck races. He picked a pumpkin and played on the swing set. We just couldn't talk to anyone else :)

But my favorite thing of the whole day was this picture. 

Something about it makes me melt. I feel like the expression on his face captures exactly who he is! Even through the outbursts and anxiety and craziness that's wrapped in this little guy, there's no place I'd rather be than spending the day with him. So glad and blessed that I was able to spend his first field trip with him!

Out of the mouth's of babes...

Tommy's three year old mind has been cracking me up lately! I wanted to write down a few of the things he's said lately so I can look back on this one day and laugh!

*I was taking Tommy to school one day and he wanted out of his car seat. I told him no and he said in his most vindictive voice, "Someday, when I am 18, I will ride my bike to school! I will not ride in your car! Cause big boys can ride their bikes, so I will ride mine to mine school!"--Sounds good to me, buddy! Instead of a car for your 16th birthday, I'll start saving up for a 10 speed!!

*I was tucking him into bed the other night and told him I would love him until the end of forever. We had a long, sweet hug and he said in the cutest little voice, "Mommy, I will love you for FIVE WEEKS!"

*He was playing with his trucks and something happened that would have normally made him mad (I can't remember now what it was), but he just casually laid down on top of his toy box and said, "Eh, I don't care, mommy. Cause I'm a boy. And boys don't care. Maybe if I was a girl, I'd care. But I don't, cause I'm a boy."

*We were driving to his preschool and it was super cloudy so we couldn't see the sun. He asked where it was and I pointed and said, "It's over there, to the east." He said, "Oh! Which way are we going?" I pointed forward and said, "This way is north, that way is south and that way is west." Tommy said, "Ohhhhhh.....okay!.........Sooooo........which way is July?!?"

*I was laying in bed and said, "Man, my tummy hurts, buddy." With all seriousness and sweetness in his eyes, he said, "Is it because you're going to have another baby, mommy?" Uh, no. Heck no.

*Tommy came running into the living room the other day and said, "Mooooo-ooomm! Tessa called me a juice bag!!" I wasn't following why a juice bag was a bad thing, so I told him not to worry about it. He said, "But mooo-oooom! She can't call me that!! Juice bag is not nice!" I was still confused when Tessa walked up to me and said, "Nuh-uh, mommy. I not call him a juice bag, I call him a douche bag!" Uhhhhh....... I have NO idea where she learned that. There's no WAY she heard that from me earlier that morning while I was driving. I scolded her and let Tommy know that he's right, we do NOT call people juice bags. I'm so glad he thought that's what she was saying so hopefully he won't repeat it at school :)

*I was showing Tommy pictures from when he was born (like, literally almost right out of the womb pictures). We were oohing and aahing over them all and I kept saying, "Look, there's your cute little toes!! And your sweet little ears! Oh, and look at your precious little fingers!" He just stared at the picture for a minute and then pitched in and said, "Oh, yeah! And there's my huge privates!!" 

........Out of the mouths of babes.......I'm loving this stage where they say what they're thinking and they have no filter! True, at times it can be embarrassing, but overall, it's highly entertaining!

I never thought it would end!

As a mom, there are stages my kids go through that make me think, "O.M.G(oodness)!! Will this EVER END?!?" It seems like some of the most frustrating parenting moments happen on a daily basis and while you're in the midst of it, it feels like it's been happening for years and like it will never end. Well today, I'm here to encourage you and remind you that eventually.......it WILL end! Here are some of the stages I thought my kids would be stuck in for-EV-er!

*not sleeping through the night--although it lasted a looooooong time for Tommy and made me feel like at times that I was going to absolutely lose. My. SHIT, I'm happy to report that both of my children now sleep from 9pm to 7:30am WITHOUT WAKING UP! Hang in there, mama! It WILL end!

*being scared of spiders/bugs--Tessa had a very real fear of spiders for several months and at the mere mention of the word or if she saw a fuzzball that she thought looked spiderish, it would lead to a severe melt down that took us talking her off the ledge for an hour before she stopped crying. I cringed every time we saw a moving creature because I knew what would come. A few days ago, I saw a spider and she walked over to it, stomped on it and said, "I get it, Mommy!" Hang in there, mama! It WILL end!

*temper tantrums--for a few weeks, I truly thought Tommy was possessed by a demon. Okay, not really, but an angry three year old takes on a VERY demon-like attitude when they don't get what they want. We had several days a week where he would hit, scratch, yell, cry for 15 minutes......okay, we're not COMPLETELY out of this stage yet, but it's MUCH less often! Hang in there, mama! It WILL end!

*being a cling-on--for about a year, I felt like I constantly had a growth of some sort on my body. A Tommy tumor on my leg, a Tessa tumor on my hip. You know, where your kid has to be CONSTANTLY held and you feel like you might as well glue them to you so you don't trip over them every time you turn around or break your arms trying to hold them for hours because they want to be ON you all. The. TIME. Lately, my kids have started playing together in the other room or finding things to do on their own. Hang in there, mama! It WILL end.

*changing dirty pee-pants--Although it only took about a week for Tommy to be potty trained completely, those were the longest 7 days of my life (and a few accidents after that week added to it). There were moments where I thought, "If I have to clean up his dirty pee-pants ONE MORE TIME........." I never finished the sentence out loud :) He now very rarely has an accident! Hang in there, mama! It WILL end.

*picking their noses--Tommy and Tessa went through a phase where their fingers were CONSTANTLY in their noses. Disgusting. SO gross. I told them they were yucky, they wouldn't have any friends and even stooped so low to say that if they picked their nose in my bed one more time, I would lay in their bed and wipe my boogers all over it. Now, Tommy usually asks for a tissue and Tessa.......well, we're working on it. Hang in there, mama! It WILL end.

*the crying--Oh, the crying. Sometimes it seems like that's all kids do. Especially before they can talk and can't just tell you what they want. Instead they CRY. About everything! Now that both of my kids can talk, the crying has been cut to a minimum. You know...it's just whenever they don't get what they want! Hang in there, mama! It WILL end.

*the transportation issue--When children are small, it seems like you need a 12 passenger van and an entourage to fit all their junk in and to get anywhere. You have to take the huge car seat, a stroller, the big diaper bag with diapers, wipes, a change of clothes, toys, bottles, formula, etc. I am LOVING the stage of grabbing one diaper for Tess and running out the door. We keep both car seats installed and an umbrella stroller in the trunk and we're set! Both kids can buckle themselves in their car seats and we're out the door in two minutes or less! Hang in there, mama! It WILL end.

*worrying about EVERYTHING--Although as a mom, we will always worry about our kids (ALWAYS), I no longer sweat the small stuff. For the first year of Tommy's life, I worried about every bump, bruise, cough, runny nose, watery eye, cold, red gum, rash, wheezy breath, etc. By his first birthday, I had diagnosed him with cancer, bronchitis, asthma, scabies, hand/foot/mouth, anemia and a few other things. Luckily, all he ACTUALLY had were asthma and an allergy to amoxicillin. Let's just say since his first year, I've relaxed a bit and Tessa hasn't been diagnosed with NEAR as many diseases as Tommy was ;) Hang in there, mama! It WILL end.

I just wanted to write this to encourage moms (and to remind myself) that EVERY stage our kids go through, no matter what age or what they're doing, is temporary. They have to test their boundaries and learn new things. They go through it, figure life out along the way and then move on to something new. It's hard and challenging and sometimes annoying and disgusting, but the stages they go through are what mold them into the wonderful, crazy, hilarious, sweet, ornery, awesome little human beings they are. Good luck!! Hang in there, mama!!