Big Boy Underwears!!!

It's official!!! We are nappy free in this household. That's right, Ian is sporting his big boy 'underwears' around town.

He has been flirting with the idea for several months. He has been ready for several months and it has driven me crazy! (Which I think was intentional on his part, the little bugger.) We had a little trial run last week that didn't go so well. Yesterday, he was really into it but had a few accidents. Last night he decided it was a go. So much of a go that he woke me up at 2:30 AM to go to the bathroom! This morning, he was on it. He even stopped playing with Papaw to come tell me he had to go potty.

I am no fool and I am expecting accidents and set backs, but I am thrilled with the progress we are making. And he is so happy with himself, it's really very funny. He has told me repeatedly that Mommy and Daddy are "soooo proud of Ian". Too cute!!!

Shakes

This post has nothing whatsoever to do with this picture!!!
I love this picture. Please notice that all of them are reading their respective literature while waiting on Ian to go potty. Going potty is a community event for Ian. Even the dog is in on the reading because it looks like he is reading over Ian's magazine! More on the potty stuff later.

Anyway...
Around this part of the country, we have a restaurant called Steak N'Shake. Don't know if there are anywhere else in the US, but they are popular here. Ian loves to go there. Not because he will eat anything on the menu, but because he can get a chocolate shake! So, today as a reward for excellent behavior at lunch and the store, we went through the drive thru for a shake. And had the following conversation:

Me: Ian, would you like a chocolate shake?
Ian: From Shake N' Shake? (That's how he pronounces it! And if you pronounce it properly, he corrects you.)
Me: Yes.
Ian: Chocolate?
Me: Yes
Ian: Ian loves Milk N' Shakes!!!

So we no longer drink shakes or even milkshakes, we have Milk N'Shakes. Think we can get them renamed and get some royalties? I'm just asking.....

The Kissing Bandit

Ian asked a hundred times if Kayla was coming to the wrestling match this past weekend. When you told him yes, he would then tell you he was going to kiss on her all weekend!! And, he did, the little kissing bandit...



Kissing Kayla at dinner on Saturday.

He met Abby at the restaurant. Abby is 2 and very cute with dimples to match Ian's.
First he danced with her. Then he hugged her. Then he kissed her!!
(But he was a polite gentleman because he asked me and her mother first if he could kiss her. Hehehe)

I see many trips to the principal's office in my future for inappropriate kissing!

Having Fun!!!

The boys had to weigh in Friday evening. So we all headed northeast towards the hotel and arena that afternoon. (They got out of school early and were so happy! Alex especially because he got out of presenting his book report until this week.) Ian and I went to the hotel and waited on them to return from the weigh in. Then we all went to dinner at Bob Evans. Our poor waiter, Joe, was probably really happy to see us leave! We weren't really bad. We just had a huge table, it was late and we had very excited teenagers. Joe earned his tips on drink refills alone that night! After dinner, Ian and I headed to the pool. We were quickly joined by Alex, Zach , Spencer, Justin and Kayla. We played football, splashed a lot, kicked Zach out with a nosebleed (LOTS OF BLOOD!!!) and exhausted Ian. (Ian decided he would jump off the side of the pool and no one was to catch him. Made my heart stop, but I remained very close just in case!)

Saturday morning we had a nice relaxing breakfast at the hotel and headed north to the tournament. We finally returned to the hotel for showers and a late dinner at a really good BBQ place by the hotel. By that point we had grown to include Beth's parents and Rita's parents. (FYI: Rita is Justin's mom.) While at dinner, the boys played around, we talked to other tables of wrestlers and Ian flirted. (Imagine that!?!?)

Sunday, we had breakfast and headed north to see Zach compete. Afterward we circled the wagons (minivans) and had lunch outside on a beautiful spring day. We discussed how we got to this point, how we would be at State next year and let Ian run crazy. We had a honking contest with the vans too!!

Somehow I managed to end up with Ian, Alex and Zach for the ride home. Not sure how that happened as I had the smallest vehicle, but we had a good time anyway. Well, we did until Ian woke up about 20 minutes from home whining that he wanted to go home!

All in all a good weekend. We had a great time with everyone. The hotel was a lot of fun with teenage boys jumping from room to room. Ian played, ran in the hallways and kissed on Kayla! The tournament was incredible. So many people, so much stuff to watch, more junk food than anyone should ever have near them and great wrestling moves to learn. I for one can't wait to do it again next year!!!



Alex playing the drums?
Kayla, Justin, Spencer and Zach with Alex the drummer.

BFF's doing what they do best, stuffing food in their faces and laughing!

Adding Ian to the mix with his 'boys'.

Coach S. playing cars at the warm up arena with Ian and Luke.
(Luke is Rita's nephew and is about 1 month older than Ian.)
They had so much fun together, running and playing cars.
Ian had his first ever powdered sugar donut after watching Luke eat one. Just like Luke, he licked all the sugar off first. Then ate the donut in basically 2 bites!

Junior High State Wrestling Tournament

We spent this past weekend at the Junior High State Wrestling Tournament. Our school qualified three wrestlers for the first time ever! Alex wrestled in the 209 weight class. Zach wrestled in the 164 weight class. And their friend, Justin, wrestled in the 179 weight class. All three boys can take great pride in the fact they qualified to even be there. Justin has wrestled for a few years, impRoved each year and earned his spot. This was Alex's second year of wrestling and his season this year was amazing. Zach finished his second year of wrestling by going the farthest in the state tournament. We are very proud of each and every one of them, as well as all the other wrestlers on their team this year!

I would also like to extend a huge THANK YOU to their coaches. First, for giving up the weekend with their families to be there for all three boys. Second, for coaching them through an amazing season. And finally, for sharing their wisdom and knowledge with teenage boys that as we all know aren't always the most receptive beings on the planet.



Alex (in black) in his first match.



Alex trying to get the upper hand.

Cool picture that I didn't even know I got until this evening.
Alex is wrestling in the top left corner and Justin (headgear with white straps) is wrestling just below that on the mat next to Alex.


Zach in his first match.

So how did it all end? Well, Alex was pinned in his first match and lost his second match. Therefore, he was eliminated from the tournament. Justin unfortunately faired the same fate losing his 2 matches. Zach on the other hand was able to go a bit farther. His first opponent failed to show, he lost his second match and won the last one of Saturday. On Sunday he won three and lost the fourth match which put him in the top 12 at the end of the tournament. (I think maybe 10th place, but I haven't seen the final brackets to figure that one out for sure.) Like I said not a bad way to complete your season for any of the three.

Friends

Love this pic!
(Kayla, Justin, Spencer, Zach and Alex)

Sorry it's not really clear. It's hard to take picture of moving objects and believe me teenagers move just as much as Ian!

More details later, but we are headed to cheer on Zach on his second day of wrestling at the State Tournament.

Bad Words and Silly Words

What do you consider a bad word? Now that I have a child, there are (obviously) words that I think are bad. Therefore, I don't want them said in Ian's presence, that was the case with Alex too. Having said that, there are words that Ian has decided are bad and shouldn't be said. Granted some of those words are the ones I have told him are bad. But today I learned that Ian has decided that he thinks the word 'can't' is bad. But, it appears it is only really bad when it relates to something Ian wants!

Conversation:
On the way home from the airport, Ian decided he wanted to watch a different movie in his DVD player. Since I was driving, I told him: "I can't do that right now."
Ian: Don't say that Mama!
Me: Don't say what Ian?
Ian: Can't!
Me: I am not supposed to say 'can't'?
Ian: Right Mama! That's a bad word. No say that nomore.
Me: I'll get right on that. (hehehehe)

Now for the really silly:
Ian knows that we are going to see Alex at the State Wrestling Tournament this weekend. (That's right I said STATE tournament. Alex got a slot in the 209 weight class. Not only did Alex get a slot, his friends, Zach and Justin, qualified too!) So, we are staying at a hotel with a pool for 2 nights, going to the tournament Saturday and Sunday, then coming home to our boring home! Ian is all about going to the hotel and even more excited about the pool. This evening he tells me I must pack his 'schrim shrunks', which just cracked me up. Later in the evening, he wanted me to make sure he was going to wear his 'schwim toots' better known as swim trunks.

I am not sure which one makes me laugh harder. Next time you head to the pool don't forget your 'schrim shrunks' and God help you if you need 'schwim toots'!

Where Does He Get This Stuff?!!?

1) Yesterday evening we went to the local pub for dinner. There is a pool table, dart board, basketball game, etc. All of which fascinate Ian and provide us with no opportunity to sit down and enjoy our meal. So, it was my turn to keep him entertained until our food arrived.

Conversation:

Ian: Mama can we play pool?
Me: No, but we can go look at the table.
Ian: Ok Mama.
Ian: Mama is this a ping-pong table?
Me: No, it's a pool table.
Ian: That's right Mama! (Tone: Man, I am glad she knew that I really didn't want to have to explain it to her!)
Followed by me cracking up!!!


2) Yesterday was very windy here in the midwest.

Conversation:
Mark: Come on Ian! Let's get in the car.
Ian: Daddy, I need my hat.
Mark: Why? It's not that cold outside today.
Ian: My hair is 'winding'!
Followed by both of us cracking up!

Fashion Statement?!?!?

I am being completely non-productive today! I don't have the energy or inspiration to do a darn thing. So, I thought I would share a couple of pictures. What should I be doing? Numerous things like deciding what to make for dinner, dishes, paying bills, cleaning house, etc. What am I doing? Posting embarrasing pictures of my son! Ones that I am sure he will hate when he is a teenager. Ones that will be posted when he graduates high school. Ones that will be shown to any future girlfriends. You know that kind of pictures I am talking about. I am sure you or your parents have them of you when you were a child. The pictures that your Mom always displayed for company that made you want to hide under the table. Yep, those are the ones!!!

Last night, Ian wanted to fingerpaint right after dinner. That is an activity that I try to put off until just before bath time. That way I can undress him to paint, then put him directly in the tub. Well, last night he wasn't going to wait and I didn't want to listen to the pleading any longer. So, we painted. He painted the paper and himself! We finished painting about 45 minutes before bath time. That meant we needed to put on clothes so that he didn't get cold until we plunged into the warm bath water. I instructed him to go to his room and put some clothes on. He came back wearing only his nappy and sandals!! So, I went to his room for clothes. I handed him a sweatshirt and pants. (FYI: He is entirely capable of putting both items on with no help from me. So there was no reason that he could not have come back wearing clothing from his room! For that matter, he usually picks out his own clothes and refuses (most of the time) to put on what I suggest).

Wow! I am really making this story long. Must be my desire to avoid all productive work today!



Anyway, this is what he came back wearing:



And, he refused to put pants on for the rest of the evening!

Trying to talk Mommy into an early bath.
Which means he wanted to play with his bath toys and get me wet! It didn't work. And, I don't want to know what he is doing with the hand he has behind his back!


Just in case those pictures weren't enough to make him crawl under the coffee table when he is older, there is this picture:

Showing off his 'big boy underwears'. He is totally interested in the whole potty thing. He just won't actually go in the potty which is making me crazy! So, I am no longer talking to him about it. As a matter of fact, I am ignoring the entire issue. I am hoping that it is just something he wants to control (and is controlling) and he will get to it in time.
But I can't resist taking pictures of him when he decides to model!

And this one:

I would love to know what he was thinking. Such a serious 'Don't mess with me' look!!

Happy Birthday David!!!!

Today is my brother, David's birthday.

We celebrated yesterday with a wonderful lunch and lots of play time for Anson and Ian. And, of course, we had Mom's chocolate cake for dessert.

I was going to let him escape the blog outing of his birthday. But as I was looking at pictures this evening, I just felt the need to share two of my all time favorite pictures.

David and Anson at the NICU.

I think Anson is about a week old in this picture.
Look how tiny he is?!?! (Not so anymore!)
Look how loved he is!!
You can just see and feel the love and wonder radiate out of David.

David and Ian.
Ian was about a month old in this picture.
And again, you can see the love and wonder!


Frog,
I hope you had a wonderful birthday today!
I hope that it was filled with all the love and wonder that can be seen in the photos above. I hope that each and every day that passes continues to bring you love, peace and happiness.

Love,
Heather

Scam Artists

Can you believe it someone tried to scam us today!!?!?!

I had a really long day at work. My boss was not feeling well. I have a lovely sinus infection. So I was not up to par either. I was getting in the car when Mark called to tell me that someone called about our past due gas bill. Huh? Now I know I am tired, but I am pretty sure that I just got the heat bill. I told him I would deal with it when I got home. Then I started thinking maybe it was a scam, or maybe it was like the hospital bill. (I went to the hospital on January 4th for pneumonia. I got the bill and 4 days later they called to see how and when I was planning to pay the bill! WTH??! I just got the stupid thing and already they want money. I just paid them for my surgery last month! Now they want even more and only give me 4 days!)

Anyway, the call turned out to be a scam. Basically they told Mark that we had a past due bill (for a much smaller amount than what we would normally pay this time of year) that needed to be paid to keep the gas/heat on. And, the only way we could pay it was to give them a credit card right away. He smartly told them they would have to talk to me as I was the one that paid the bills. He told them to call back in an hour when I would be home.

Can you believe it that actually called back!! They must be really desperate. So when I got home I looked up our account number, called for our balance (we just got the bill 4 days ago) and called them back. They wanted to know my husband's middle name. I told them that was not happening, and that they needed to tell me the account number they were calling about. They were good enough to know the first 3 digits of the gas bill accounts. But, of course, the rest of it was all wrong. When I told them that, they hung up on me. I wish I could get a telemarketer to do that sometimes!

I then called the gas company and told them about it. They instructed me to call the police and the Public Utilities Commission. They also told me that all utilities have an automated call system, if you are late, that instructs you to call them. So, just before dinner I made a police report and I will call the PUC in the morning. I just hope that it may have scared them off enough to make them not call the next person. Can you just imagine if they got some little old lady worried about freezing in this cold and she gave them her info?!!? It's too scary to imagine the damage that they could do.

Several things tipped us off. 1) They called us asking for a credit card number. 2) The bill amount was way low. 3) I keep track of when the bills are due. I have been paying them for 15 years so I know what bills are due and when. 4) They called back and left a 1-866 number. 5) They wanted us to give them more information. If they were legit they would have had all the info they needed. 6) When I called them, the name of the business was not clearly pronounced, the person I talked to could not be clearly understood and the background noise sounded like I was calling someone's house.

FYI: The police told us that if it ever happened again to ask the con artist to send us something in writing showing the amount due, account number, etc. That way they would have a paper trail to follow. Obviously they also told us to never give out information over the phone because these days you just never know who you are dealing with. Scary world we live in, isn't it?!?!