Yikes!

Almost a week between blog entries...whoa, that's a long time for me! I'm happy to report that all is well here in the Land of Bear Cub...just extremely busy! Daddy Bear went on a trip with his dad last week and Mimi came over to stay with BC and me. We had a great few days together -- doing our usual eating out, a little shopping, and lots of PLAYING for the young man in the house. We took him to a couple of different parks and enjoyed our beautiful weather. I think the highlight of it all for BC was when we had a "picnic" in the car. After a trip to the park, we decided to pull into Sonic and just grab a quick lunch. Well, Bear Cub got to come into the front seat and eat with Mama and me and he LOVED it. When I started the car up again, the windshield wipers were on full blast and I believe a blinker might have been on, too. So...you know what BC was up to while in the front seat! Amazingly enough, he ate his hot dog in between button pushing and we did have a fun "picnic" in the car.



Yesterday we met up with our friends Aunt J and Little Miss at an indoor play place. The kids did really well, but we laughed because they both were WAY more interested in the race cars that the kids can ride for a few tokens. And to think we paid money for them to jump, bounce, and slide....but noooooooooooooooo, they hung around the arcade section instead. Oh well! We had a fun visit and lunch out with them. I tried to get a little shopping in at the mall, but BC wasn't having any part of that, so at that point it was time to get home.



Today BC played in the playroom (he continues to do great!) and then it was on to our gymnastics class. I'm thinking he'll do this for another month or two and then we'll (ok...I will) need a break. He is ALL over the place and does more running around the gym than anything else. He can run wild in our backyard for FREE! I'm hoping he'll settle down some and at least participate a little. I'm amazed at how well the little girls in the class do. So is this wildness just a boy thing or is it purely my Bear Cub?? Phew...either way, it is tiring. I'm hoping he's getting something out of the experience...



On a brighter note, potty training is going VERY well!! He tells us when he feels like he needs to sit on the potty and we are quickly getting through our bag of M & Ms, which reminds me of how well he really is doing. He likes to wear his "big kid" pants while at home and we're having good luck with those as well. By George...I think he may be getting this whole potty thing! :)



As for the rest of the week...nothing too major planned. I'll try to post sooner this next time! Enjoy the pictures from the past few days...

Mimi and BC riding what he called a "boat" at the park...

As always, loving the swings!

Peek-a-boo!

How cute is he in his big kid pants? I know...imagine the future embarrassment of a photo like this...

Whoa! Little Miss takes the wheel...and BC for a cruise at the play place!

Bear Cub says...

Happy, happy birthday to his Grandma!! We're sending her lots of love and wishes for a great day and year ahead! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! We love you!

Bear Cub becomes a beach bum...

**Warning! Due to the high levels of chasing after an extremely active 2-year-old, this Mama was unable to capture many moments of this weekend on camera. I welcome any other photos from fellow beach-goers to help boost our albums! Thanks!

What a beautiful weekend we had! We spent Friday and Saturday night on the beach with Grandma, Grandpa, aunts and uncles. It was a very busy and tiring weekend, but we all enjoyed ourselves and got at least a little bit of a chance to relax! Our weather was gorgeous -- bright sun, but low humidity and the ocean temperature was actually refreshing and not like bath water! The end of September is a great time to hit the beaches here in Florida -- no hurricanes pending, of course.

Bear Cub's favorite thing at the beach was definitely playing in the sand and scooping it into his dump trucks. He also loved making "mountains" with his bulldozer and we attempted a few sand castles, too. Those were quickly destroyed by our man, of course.

It was so fun to spend time with our family - even though we all suffered through some of BC's famous meltdowns, willfulness, and pure exhaustion. But hey, that's life with a two-year-old! Those times just make you REALLY appreciate all of the smiles and laughs that you get from him most of the time. He definitely makes life interesting! :)

Time keeps on a-marchin'...

Check that out!
Just a cute profile shot of him smiling!

Wow, I can't believe it's Thursday already! The weeks really fly by for Bear Cub and me. Sometimes, I can't really even remember what we've done - all I know is that we're constantly on the go...whether it be inside the house or out. :)


This week has been a good one. Here's a little recap for you:

Monday: It was back to library for our weekly story time. Our usual "reader" is out on maternity leave, so it wasn't quite the same, but BC still had a good time. I'll just be happy when she comes back at the end of October!

Tuesday: Hmmmm....one of those days that I can't quite remember. Oh! We did go to the gym again and BC did just fine in the playroom. And of course! We had our gymnastics class, too. He enjoys it and just thinks it is HYSTERICAL to run away from the circle time and see me chase him. I wonder how many calories I burn while we're there?? A LOT!


Wednesday: We met up with BC's friend, Emmy, at a local park. We had a great time! It's a park that we hadn't been to yet, so it was fun to have somewhere different to go. Our weather was beautiful yesterday -- pleasant and even slightly cool in the shade -- so it was the perfect park day. BC and Emmy had a lot of fun -- they each played with some tractors that we had and did lots of scooping and digging in the dirt. By the end of our play time, it looked like BC had been working in a coal mine all morning. He loved it!


Today: Well, yesterday afternoon I noticed he had a drippy nose and lo and behold, he has a full-blown cold today. :( I guess that's probably one of the side effects from taking him to the gym's playroom (even though we wash hands as soon as we walk out of there!). He's a little under the weather today and I'm hoping things perk up for him soon. We have a fun weekend ahead - going to the beach for 2 nights with Grandma, Grandpa, aunts and uncles! So today we're taking it easy at home, in hopes of a recovery for our big weekend ahead.


Potty training continues - at least on and off, as he shows interest. Yesterday at Target we bought some "big kid" pants -- really, just the cotton training pants, so he was pretty excited about those. He wore one pair for a while yesterday around home (until the inevitable happened). AND then...he went on the potty again! Daddy had a great idea -- telling him that he was a fireman and that that there was a fire in the toilet. Wouldn't you know....that boy put the fire out! ;) We've tried that twice today already and had success each time. Yeah! We then do the "potty dance" and BC runs bare-bunned to the pantry where he knows his "special treats" are. We're making progress! Good thinking, Daddy! :)

In other news, Bear Cub has definitely begun to voice his opinion, and quite strongly at times, I may add! Sheez. We've even experienced a couple of full-blown tantrums out in public. He does this great trick (ok, not really great, but interesting) where he will put his arms straight up into the air so I can NOT get a hold of him. Then he buckles his knees, too. I get a great arm workout trying to lift and manage him during those times! All I can do is smile politely at the people as we go screaming and flailing past. Hey, if they are a mom or a dad, I know good and well they've been there, too! :)


He's also been bossing Zoe around. Poor little girl. He's never mean with her at all, but now he'll just tell her to "Come on, Zah!" or "Get down, Zo-zo!" But of course, he still wants her approval on all new things and loves to copy her. He likes to kick the grass back (like she does after she does her business) and roll around in the grass with her, too. They really are best buds. Just now...he thinks he's in control. And the scary thing is....sometimes I feel like he is!


Hello TWOS, we have officially arrived! :)

Another first...

Yesterday afternoon we headed to Great Clips for Daddy to get his hair cut before heading to the grocery store. We've been eyeing Bear Cub's hair and we knew that it was about time for him to get a "real" haircut. It's been trimmed twice at home, but the fly aways were back and looking pretty uneven this time around. So we decided that it would be a good thing for him to see Daddy get his haircut and then MAYBE he'd be ready to do it himself. We sort of half thought that BC would get his cut, but in reality, I didn't think it work out. This is why (unfortunately) I did not have my camera with me. :(

Daddy went first and Bear Cub was a bit nervous for him. He sat on my lap and we watched as the haircut began. Meanwhile, I was talking about how fun it was to get a haircut and how good it felt. Oh boy...the things you have to talk up! Daddy was quickly finished and all eyes turned towards BC and me. He quickly scurried away, headed towards the front door and my immediate thought was, "Ok...not gonna happen this time!"

But...believe it or not...we got him to sit in my lap in the chair. Then we opened a lollipop for him to lick. Then...the lady came near with a comb and oh my...NO WAY!! Bear Cub started turning his head, this way and that, to get away from the dreaded comb. Hmmmmm....next tactic, please!

The stylist kept on trying and he kept on squirming. Finally, she asked for some help from another stylist and between all 4 of us adults there, his hair got cut! Yeah! How did we manage to keep him under control? Well....the first stylist brought the entire basket of lollipops over for him to rifle through and she opened any which one he wanted her to. Oh my. Then, on our parental parts, we added the allure of a new car from Publix if he would let them finish. **Sigh** We are pushovers for bribery and that really scares me. ;)

Well, all of that effort produced a great first "real" haircut and Bear Cub looks like such a big boy now! I'm sorry I didn't have the camera with us, but in reality, I don't think we would have had any extra hands or time to get a shot. It was all we could do to keep him distracted from what was happening.

Yesterday's math question of the day: What does...

2 hairstylists + one squirmy toddler + one sweating and nervous Mama + 5 semi-licked lollipops + the promise of a new car = ??

Answer: ONE HANDSOME BEAR CUB!! :)

Side note: It was so cute when we got home...BC always wants to show Zoe his things, so he rushed in looking for her. I caught him bending down, with his head near her face, saying, "Zah! New hair-tut!" He wanted to show off his new look & like we always tell him, "WOW! Zoe loves it!" :)

Bear Cub showing the camera is new car...

All smiles reading his new Halloween Maisy book...

A touch of Fall?

Practicing his balance beam walking...he's getting pretty good in gymnastics at that!

It's amazing...he always finds a golf ball when we're out on the course. Hmmm...almost as if there's a golf ball fairy out there (wink, wink)!
Our adorable pair...
Another fun past time is looking for and picking up pine cones. One of these evenings, we're going to bring a bucket out and collect some so we can do some pine cone art around Christmas. Again...the teacher within still stirs...
Getting a big squeeze from Mama...Here's a pic from right before we headed inside. What a BOY he is! This was after he'd been running through the sand traps and rolling in the sand. What a mess! :) He slept GREAT last night after all that fun!

Could it be? I have to admit that yesterday evening was GORGEOUS here in Florida. After a nice day of shopping and dinner out, we took Bear Cub and Zoe out onto the golf course to run around a bit before the nighttime routine was to start. There was a semi-cool breeze and no humidity...it was delicious! :) Of course, we are back to hot and sticky weather today, but this gives us a little hope that one of these days we'll experience a little Fall weather too. At least I sure hope so...I don't like to be teased by the weather! Enjoy the pictures!

Yippee!

Quick update: Bear Cub walked right into the play room today at the gym and didn't even LOOK BACK for me at all. When I finished with my workout (about 35 min. today), I went to pick him up and had a hard time getting him to leave all the "tool tars" they have in there. Wow...what a difference 5 days make! Yeah for BC! Hopefully it will continue to go so well...
Have a fantastic weekend! :)