Rockin' Painting

Last Saturday my niece and I did some really fun painting with acrylics on rock. I was inspired by the fact that my parents found some pieces of gravel in their old driveway that my siblings and I had painted when we were small. They were still recognizable after all these years!

So we got some pieces from the lakeside and others from the landscape. She was pretty good, painting tire swings and butterflies. I covered my rocks with flowers and fish. Like I told her, you can make any blob of paint into a fish.

Search Pinterest for rock painting and you'll be inspired! These were impressive:

http://www.linwellford.com/

(Ours looked pretty much like that.)

And no matter what creations emerge, Bob Ross was right: "Every day's a good day when you paint."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLO7tCdBVrA

Happy and Cozy

It started on vacation; in our hotel room as he was watching T.V. under the covers, Little Bit declared that he was "happy and cozy." I don't know where he got it, but it's become our phrase. Last night, he decided that he'd be happy and cozy in bed with us at midnight. Who could resist such a cute little thing? 

 

Except that he's perfectly happy and cozy sleeping on eight or nine metal trains. No wonder he's such a tough little guy!

He's decided that he's alternately a baby bird and a cow lately. The bird wants a cracker, and the cow wants grass. Either way, watch your fingers- either one will eat those if he can. 

Odd milestone

I usually don't worry too much about milestones. They just cause stress, because Bitty can't wield a machete or throw a football.

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex_health/2010/05/can_your_baby_wield_a_machete.html

But today Bitty hit a milestone- his first wasp sting. Two wasp stings, actually, with his grandma as they sat on the deck looking out at the lake. He's a tough little guy, but unlike the bulk of his other encounters, the winged marauders caused many tears and much protestation as we tried to ice the swelling bumps on his knee and ankle.

He got a little ice cream to administer the antihistamine, which put him in better spirits. He tried to milk it again on the ride back to Nashville- when we stopped for lunch, his first idea was ice cream. He got half a sugar cookie from the Nestle shop, instead. We had to put our foot down.

We then got back and back to normal, with a walk around our neighborhood and a trip to buy some new toddler socks. Normal is nice.

Thinking of downsizing

The next time I sit on a small, metal train, or step on one, or get fussed at by Little Bit for losing one or pushing one incorrectly or not bringing the correct one, I'm going to think of Jim Gaffigan.

He's my new hero. Five kids in a two-bedroom walk-up, and he can still comport with society's expectations of decorum. I would lose my mind, and probably a couple of the kids each day.

http://thecomicscomic.com/2013/06/17/cbs-sunday-morning-profiles-jim-gaffigan-for-fathers-day/

We seem to have toys everywhere, and we've just got the one! I think kids expand to fit the space they reside in like heated gas.

My little fish

The resort pools were a hit with Little Bit on our vacation, and I loved the fact that his little floatation device allowed him to kick around without anyone holding him. Not that he wasn't constantly surrounded, however.

I tried to get him to go down the slides, but he was having none of that. 

He loved to throw items in the deeper pool and ask us to dive for them. I've always wanted to be a trained seal.

There!

My little sand crab

The beach was absolutely beautiful last week, and Bitty was nearly as excited about it as he was last year.

The sand was a complete (and happy) surprise. Last year at Destin, he didn't want to go across the sand to get to the ocean, but he loved the gentle waves once he got there. This year, the sand was his favorite thing.

I worked pretty hard, too.

The water in the Dominican Republic had strong waves and an undertow. He didn't like being knocked to his feet the few times he got in, but he worked tirelessly on sand castles. Or rather, running his truck through the castles other people built.

Still with the Trains!

To prepare for the trip (and because we didn't change the DVD in the car for awhile), Little Bit watched a lot of vacation episodes of Curious George. One episode features the little monkey at the airport riding the luggage carousel and grabbing a wand from TSA agent. Both things that you absolutely cannot do in an airport, ever.

I figured he'd be pretty excited about the airport, and he was for a good half-hour. However, after he rode the train that took us to the international terminal, he could not muster much excitement for the vehicles that, you know, were just flying in the air. He wanted to ride the train again.

He sat in the window seat between two women who thought he was just adorable, a theme that would follow him to the Dominican Republic and back. His aunt and uncle were in the car in front of us. He waved at them between noting how dark it was in the tunnel and how fast we were going. He studied the couplings between the two cars, and really, he could have stayed at the airport in Atlanta and ridden the train every day for a week.

He fell asleep in his car seat just as the plane began to taxi for takeoff, and he nearly slept through the entire flight, making us the happiest parents on the craft. He was awake for the landing, and he began laughing as the plane descended. We thought he was really enjoying the experience, but he then giggled and said, "Pocoyo!" He was thinking about one of his current favorite shows, as well.

After we landed and the plane slowed, Bitty announced, "Ready or not, we're here." And we, his entourage for the week, looked at each other and laughed.

Ode to the baby wipe

After a full day at home, I'm almost ready to begin chronicling last week's family vacation. However, before I do, I would like to give a "shout out" to that underappreciated and mundane worker bee of motherhood: the baby wipe.

Thank you, baby wipe, for going above and beyond on this vacation. Your regular duties are hard enough. But when you took chocolate out of the hotel duvet cover when Bitty drooled everywhere, I was amazed.

Thank you, baby wipe, for getting just about anything off the leather in the car, even if it's been hardening in a hot car for a week.

And thank you, baby wipe, for being there when the shower handle in the airport hotel came off in my hand at midnight after we'd traveled all day. You know how tough that day was, from the open-air airport in the Dominican Republic to the gauntlet that is customs. You know, because you were there.

I vow never to travel without you, baby wipe. You have my gratitude.