Out of Control

I need to go through my purse. I have way too much stuff in it, and it’s not that big of a purse! Just looking now, this is what is currently in my purse (I have not edited anything!):

Wallet
Checkbook
Cell phone
Inhaler
iPod “sock” cover
compact mirror
keys
box of Trident gum with one piece of gum left
2 different pink lip glosses
small notepad
fun size M&Ms
Home Depot receipt
Wal-mart receipt
UPS receipt
Jiffy Lube receipt
Ukrop’s receipt
A check I need to deposit
A small board book (very small, 2”x2”)
Part of a Transformer (a leg/wheel?)
2 Jiffy Lube coupon books
Birth control pills
Two spools of thread
3 rubber bands
hand sanitizer
New Moon ticket stub (from January!!)
Wicked ticket stub
Banana hair clip
Tampon
2 Tylenol Cold pills
phone earpiece
pin shaped like sunglasses (from Cheeseburger in Paradise)
2 pens
3 pieces of hard candy
3 Band-Aids
pantyliner
badge holder
$2.50 in quarters
carbon copy book of checks
Flying Squirrels schedule

Or, maybe I just need a bigger purse? I am loving these that I found on Etsy.com:

Coco Tote from Nans Redesigns





or this Kimmie Purse from PurseandPouch

or this Wendy Hobo Bag from Girl...by Aileen

The Thinker

Lately, it’s become very obvious that Tyler is pondering the curiosities of life. He’ll often ask, after a quiet moment of reflection on his part, questions about everyday things that he has just begun to wonder about:

“Why do some people have different colored skin?”
“What is under the dirt?”
“What is Canada?”
“What is gravity?”
“Why can’t I come to work with you?”
“What is after space?”
“How is God everywhere?”

Some things were easy to answer, but often other things are much harder. Sometimes his questions seem so simple, and I’ll give him a simple answer (and it’s usually while we’re out shopping or running errands, so I’m a little distracted). But my answers usually lead him to ask another question, and then I really have to stop and think about what I’m saying and why he’s even asking the question.

While my answers might mostly confuse him further, sometimes we do learn from some of Tyler’s questions. He asked Mike and I “What is under the dirt?” the other day, and I said, “More dirt.” Mike took it a bit further and said, “Rock.”

Tyler: What’s under the rock?
Daddy: Hot liquid rock, or lava! (trying to get Tyler excited)
Tyler: What’s under the lava?
Daddy: The earth’s core, which is also lava.
Mommy: How can the earth’s core be liquid? Isn’t there a lot of pressure at the center of the earth? Wouldn’t that be solid?
Daddy: But there’s such a high temperature that it has to be liquid.
(I think we have lost Tyler at this point…he just wants to know what the answer is)

So, we go inside and look it up online. Tyler now knows that the earth is made up of a crust, a mantle, a liquid outer core, and (drumroll please) a solid iron inner core! Tyler announced, “Mommy was right, Daddy.”

All this wondering and questioning that Tyler is doing has us entering a sort of new phase in child-rearing that illustrates how Tyler is thinking more abstractly. The questions are getting harder, and we need to be on our toes :)

No complaints, though. I am loving every minute of this!

Mason is 16 months old!

Dear Mason,

Today you are 16 months old! I’ve missed some of your monthly letters, and you have learned and accomplished so much since your first birthday, so this may be a long letter :)

I took you for your 15-month check-up 2 weeks ago. You weigh 26 lbs 13 oz. and are 32.5 inches tall. You’ve only gained 9 ounces since your 1-year check-up, and that is mainly due to all the walking you’ve been doing lately! You started walking at around 14 months, and it surprised Mommy because you just walked across the room one day! You didn’t really go through a “learning” phase of taking a few steps, then falling, then getting up and trying again. It was almost as if you didn’t want to even walk until you knew you could do it well! So, one day you’re crawling all around the house (loudly, so Mommy can always hear you coming), and the next day you’re quietly walking around and are about a foot taller than when you were crawling. You actually startled me a couple of times by sneaking up on me and then giggling :)

You can understand so many things, and you are beginning to say “real” words quite often. You can understand many simple instructions and how to follow directions, too. There are so many words in your vocabulary now, too:

Bubble (bubbuh)
Quack quack (kaa kaa)
Who who (oo-ooo! <<< you also use this sound for “boo!” and “woo-hoo!!)
Hi
Car (caah)
Uh-oh (uh-oo)
Go
Cold (sounds a lot like “go”)
Hot (haaa)
Buh-bye
Cow
Moo
Lolo
Lola

You learn so much by copying what other people do, especially what Mommy, Daddy, and Tyler do. When Tyler helps me get the groceries out of the bags to put them away, you automatically start helping, too. And, when I’ve come home with groceries and Tyler isn’t around, all I have to do is ask you for help and you will help me unload the bags.

We spent Easter in Falls Church with your Lolo and Lola. They are very good at playing with you and your brother (and your cousins). You especially like to play with your Lolo, and eat the chicharons (pork rinds) he gives you! Your Lolo and Lola had their arms crossed and were standing and sort of swinging their torso back and forth. You copied them immediately! The next day, when we were at home, I did the same thing to try and get you to copy me. You did it, but you also said “Lolo” while you did it, so you remembered something from just the day before and knew who you associated it with!

You love to play peek-a-boo at the dinner table by covering your face with your hands, and then we pretend we can’t see you and ask, “Where’s Mason?!” Tyler just thinks that Mommy & Daddy are being silly and he points right at you and says, “He’s right there!”

You also like to show us your belly and have it tickled…we ask you where your belly is and you pull your shirt up and smile as one of us reaches for your chubby belly and tickles you as we find it! You can also blow kisses and give Mommy a kiss.

You love cars, trains, blocks, figurines, and anything Tyler is playing with. You’re trying to master putting cars down a Hot Wheels ramp, and you are able to put the car on most of the time. You also love balls, throwing and catching (as best you can) balls are most fun for you! And you have a good arm, too!

You are going through a separation anxiety phase right now. If I’m in the room, you mostly want to be near me or even be touching me. Most often, when you’re tired or hungry, you want only Mommy to hold you, but that’s usually when I’m trying to cook or get you ready for bed. So, as much as I would love to hold and hug you during those times, I have to hold that back and just smile at you so I can continue making dinner. One day I’ll have it timed perfectly so that right when you start getting hungry is when dinner will be ready!

You eat very well, and you prefer using utensils, especially a fork! Most of the time you will push food away until you are also given a fork to eat with. You love all sorts of food, and we are very proud of your diverse diet. You love vegetables (carrots, corn, peas, green beans, celery, black beans, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, asparagus, spinach, you name it!), you love chicken, fish, ground beef, turkey, sausages, pork, potatoes, pasta, soup, fruits (strawberries, grapes, pineapples, apples, oranges, mango, melons), chili, bread, sweets…everything! You’re usually easy to please, unless you’re so hungry that only milk will do :)

Now that the weather is nice, we’ve been able to play outside almost every day. You love playing with water and bubbles, but you also like to just walk or run around the yard. You will often bring us your shoes when we’re inside as a not-so-subtle hint that you’d like to go outside.

You’re not my little baby anymore, and while I love watching you grow and learn, I do get pangs of longing for you to be the little baby who liked to snuggle and nap in my arms. I get a glimpse every now and then of your babyhood (your chubby belly and arms help me out quite a bit), but as that time becomes a distant memory, I know that I only have many more things to look forward to with you as you grow from toddlerhood to little-boyhood!

I love you so much, my little Mason!

Mommy