bugman's big week - part 2

As if seeing Go Diego Go Live! wasn't enough excitement for one week, the Shrine circus was at UD Arena this past weekend as well. We decided that this would be a great family outing and packed up the Bugs and headed out. I'm embarrassed to admit that we never made it to the zoo last summer (I blame it on having a newborn at the time), so Bugman has never seen many of the animals he reads about in books. To drive this point home, when we went to the pet store for a new fish a few weeks ago, he asked where the monkeys were, humoring many bystanders. Needless to say, Bugman was very interested in the elephants and the tigers at the circus, and has been busy telling anyone who will listen that the "big tiger pee pee water on that floor," which was apparently the most memorable event of the circus. While the animals were exciting, the trapeze, jugglers, etc. were nothing special to the Bugman, and he asked to leave after intermission. Of course, the minute we walked out the door, he threw a fit wanting "more circus." He's about as indecisive as his mother. He did walk away with a $.50 blow up elephant that Mommy forked over $8 for... highway robbery, I tell you!

(His cheeks were full of 'nanola' bar.)

bugman's big week - part1

Last week was a big week for The Bugman. He has been a fan of Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go, for quite a while. We even caught him saying "Swiper, no swiping!" to Kellan in the playroom (which to all of you non-Dora watchers means nothing, but anyone with children, I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about.) Grammy found out that Go Diego Go Live! was coming to the Nutter Center, and since she is somehow a member of some club, we were able to buy tickets before they were on sale to the general public. This landed us smack dab in the middle of row 7... and it doesn't get much better than that!
Grammy and Bugman picked me up at school last Wednesday (which was a treat in and of itself.) Bugman likes to climb up and down the stairs to the loft in my room, and stop and see the fish in the big aquarium in our hallway.
When we arrived at the Nutter Center, it was preschool central. Someone started to feel a little shy and didn't even want Grammy to buy him anything at the toy stand. We were also a little intimidated by the immense number of stairs it took to get to the floor. It was then that we saw him, the man smack dab in the middle of row 5, two rows in front of us. I will just say that he was a VERY large man, both tall and wide, which made it difficult for Mommy and Grammy to see, but we arranged it so that Bugman had a good view.
The show was very interactive, and kids all around us were jumping, and growling. Our little guy just sat, mesmerized by it all. We weren't sure if it was a good mesmerized, or bad until the lights came up. Bugman's face lit up with delight as he exclaimed, "That SO fun Mommy! That SO fun Grammy!"
Thursday morning he ran in the door at Kim's house, ran up to David and told him all about. "David! I see Deigo Go!"
I wish I had some pictures, but the announcer let us know that "Flash photography was strictly prohibited." Being the rule follower that I am, I left the camera in the bag, even though I seemed to be the only one who didn't break this rule... so this will have to do.

we're still here...

We've just been a little sidetracked with work, school, and baking homemade dog treats, but that is a story for another day. Seeing as today Bitty is 13 months old, I figured it was time to post some pictures from his birthday party... which was three weeks ago. Does life seem to go a little more quickly each year, or is it just me??
Bitty's birthday was my last day before spring break, so we decided to have his party the last weekend of break, so that I could get the house ready for guests. Half way through the week, as my list only seemed to get longer, I wondered why we bother... seriously those of you who were here for the party are very well aware that our house is usually a semi-disaster, who do we think we're kidding?? I guess its more of a motivator to get those little things done that we never seem to find the time to do (like finally hanging window treatments up in the playroom... oh wait, that still didn't get done!)
Back to the matter at hand, the partay. We had a little fish theme going, really for no other reason than I liked the picture of the cake at Ele as I aimlessly flipped through their idea book. Did I ever mention that I LIVE for their whipped icing? Apparently I'm not the only one because I saw several people devour more than one piece at the partay... I however had only one piece, I prefer to stuff myself with cake after everyone leaves and then tell myself it never happened, but again that is another story for another day.

Since Bugman's 1st b-day, they have also come up with a "Smash Cake," which is just what it sounds like, a perfect little cake for smashing. Seriously, have you ever seen anything this cute... other than my children?? And it totally coordinated with the big cake. Love it, love it, love it!

The Piglet was super psyched to dig into his cake, as he tends to be anytime food is within sight.

Did I mention that this was called a "Smash Cake," with the purpose being to smash it? Apparently no one gave Bitty the message, because he very mannerly picked all the icing off the top and ate it.

We patiently watched and waited. All of the cameras were ready for the big smash, to be followed by smearing of cake and icing...

Yeah, well, it never happened. While Bitty was covered in icing, much more cake went into his belly than anywhere else. Did I ever mention that this child likes to eat??
And because I didn't post them before, here were the official one year stats:

Height - 29" - 25th percentile

Weight - 19lbs 7oz - 10th percentile

Head circumference - 46.7cm - 65th percentile

If I were to guess, I would say that Bitty has grown quite a bit in the past month. After all, he is proudly wearing 6-9 month clothing...

more please

I thought this was cute and just had to share. The boys just finished eating dinner (note to self - do not make sloppy joes for dinner on a non-bath night!!) They each had a graham cracker (or two) for dessert. The Bugman wanted another and asked "I like more grandma cookie please!" Gotta love it!

the big 0-1

Two weeks ago Bitty had his first birthday. Where, I ask you, does the time go? It seems like yesterday that my day started with an epidural that wouldn't take, and ended with a 9lb 1oz bundle of black and blue, who was super swollen and had blood shot eyes. Who would have thought Bitty would turn out THIS super cute a year later?!?!
Although we didn't have his party until last weekend, we did celebrate with cupcakes (courtesy of Ele) on his big day. In true pig-a-letto form, he devoured his cupcake in 2.3 seconds. This child's appetite is quite amazing, and it seems there is nothing he won't eat. As you can see, his sugar addiction mirrors The Bugman's caffeine addiction.

addicted

its a sick, sick, addiction, that Starbucks. The Bugman INSISTED we go this morning. He simply could not go on another moment without a quick fix, especially with all the cleaning we have on our list today. I've tried to warn him of the effects of caffeine, but he just refuses to listen. I gave in to his tremendous craving, and somehow managed to get the three of us in the car and painstakingly made it the 5 miles down the road to the oh so enabling drive through. And of course, while we were there, I figured I might as well get myself a drink too. Maybe next time I'll put my foot down... Maybe not!

DISCLAIMER: Its just apple juice people! But isn't the oh so small Starbucks cup the cutest thing ever??

fearless

...the best word to describe our little one year old. Bitty thinks he is big stuff these days, and insists he can do anything his big brother can do. He also insists he can do things his big brother is afraid to do. He is constantly climbing on anything he can get his short little legs up onto. The other day, for example, the two boys had one of their little rocking chairs backed up against the back of Bugman's Anywhere Chair. They climbed up onto the rocker and dove over the top onto the cushy arm chair, flopping off onto the floor. Somehow, everyone came out with no rugburn on their foreheads.

Yesterday at the pediatricians office, Dr. Cata commented on how active Bitty is, as he was trying to climb onto the shelf under the exam table, then asked if he would be the one they would be seeing for broken bones and stitches. I could only agree and cringe a bit at the thought.

As if we had just been forewarned, last night, Bitty climbed right up onto the toybox (his favorite perch), and got his shirt caught in the lid on his way up. As we watched him try to get loose, his shirt suddenly freed itself, sending him over the edge onto the fireplace base. Luckily it wasn't the tile that gave him trouble, it was hitting his cheekbone (perhaps cheekfat would be more appropriate) on the edge of Bugman's race track thing. This is how he woke up this morning:

"Life is rough I tell ya."

"You wouldn't even believe what happened folks"

"Traumatizing, I tell you, just traumatizing."

"I think I'll try it again after breakfast!"