Last weekend was SO much fun. On Saturday afternoon, we took my friend Alicia out for her 35th birthday. We went to Kimball Farm, where we played a round of mini-golf (note: 3-year-old energetic boys are not ready for 18 holes of mini-golf), took a fabulous ride on the bumper boats (I got SOAKED! I got pinned under the waterfall for at least 5 minutes, which felt great since it was in the 90s that day), and had the most enormous "small" ice creams I've ever seen. Then, we went to Alicia & Art's house for dinner and relaxing with them and Art's mom. It was a wonderful day.
On Sunday, we drove out to Worcester to take R to the Ecotarium. It's part science museum, part nature trails, part planetarium, part zoo, etc. When we arrived, they were just about to start a planetarium show aimed at the 3-6-year-old crowd, so we tried it out. It was perfect! R has been really interested in learning about the solar system, and the show was basically a visual tour of the planets. He loved it. At one point, when we were flying through the rings of Saturn, I almost started crying at the beauty of this universe that God has created. Later, I found out that A had the same reaction. The rest of the Ecotarium was pretty cool, too. R liked the hands-on exhibits, the polar bear, the train ride (of course!), and watching a turtle rip apart its lunch of some kind of rodent. Blech.
This week, we put R's crib/toddler bed away. I really wanted to do it because it was taking up so much space in R's room now that he has his twin-sized bed. But it made me sad, too. I don't really miss when R was a tiny baby - I always love him best at the age he's at. But when R was born, I really thought we would end up using the crib again for another baby. And that's just not likely anymore. And, even though I'm 95% okay with that, it still makes me sad.
Today was another one of my days off from work so I could be with R. I decided to just hang out with him at home because we hardly ever do that, and I think it's important for him to think of home as more than just a place to sleep and eat. We made cookies, played in the pool, read stories, played with play foam, and danced and played instruments to old reggae and ska tunes. I was proud of R because he did a lot of playing and making up stories by himself - without needing me to entertain him constantly. I actually got to do the dishes and throw in some laundry! Later, though, when I was trying to get him to take a little nap, R said to me, "Mommy, I need some friends to play with!" I'm pretty sure he was just saying that because he didn't want to lay down, but I still felt badly. I'm such a homebody and am fine hanging out by myself (and actually NEED to do it sometimes), but R definitely isn't. He loves being with his friends at school three days a week, and on weekends, we always get together with at least one of his playmates. So I figured a day just hanging out with his mom would be okay. But apparently, I'm boring. :-) So we headed to a nearby playground to scrounge up some friends. When we got there, though, R wasn't too thrilled about sharing the playground with anyone else. Oh well! [R asked me to take this picture of him - he insisted that I take it of him from the back.]
One great side effect of my spending these days with him every other week has been R's new appreciation for his daddy. I was hoping this would happen, but I wasn't entirely confident that it would. Before, if I was around, R would completely ignore A or even tell him to go away. R wanted me to do EVERYTHING for him, and he didn't want A to do anything. Tonight, R asked A if it was A's turn to do bedtime and stories. When A told him it was, R yelled, "Yaaaayyyyy!" and ran into A's arms for a huge hug. Hallelujah! I mean, I love that my son is in love with me, but it's nice to share the spotlight once in awhile.
5 comments:
He should be in love with you. Apparently , moms are just superior to dads when it comes to little boys . I guess I am OK with that. It is nice to have one of mine want me over mom , but it's rare around here . I would pic her too I think . :)
Big boy beds - brings back sweet memories :)
Oh Kristen: What sweet pictures and stories. I remember when the cribs came down and the "big" kids beds went up....I had to sleep in the big bed with them a few times until they got used to it. good memories.
Kristen: By the way, my husband says were to old to adopt...we'll just send you some English Toffee for Christmas!! ((wink, smile)
I can't believe R's room! I haven't seen it since he was very wee. Gorgeous wall color - you need to get down here to help me pick colors for my house!!! Love his room!
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