Lets Quit our Day Jobs.

Seriously. Could this kid be a basketball model? Is there such a thing? How serious does he look with his Nike logo and basketball?

Broncos

In case you didn't know, the Broncos lost last weekend. It was too bad since we went to our neighbors for a party with all our friends and their kids and ate dip so good I think I gained 10 pounds on the spot. Nothing ruins the momentum of a party like a HUGE loss from your favorite team. Only two positive things came from this:

#1- A cute Bronco fan:

#2 Hilarious ecards

See? There is always a silver lining.

Basketball Game.

We took Paul to a basketball game at the high school where we teach. At first, things did not look so favorable. It is very loud in our school's gym- yelling, music, the buzzer, not to mention the provocative dancing by the poms team that can invoke quite the cheers from the male student population. When we walked in Paul cried. Luckily we found some of our friends with their little children and Paul calmed down. He watched the game, screamed "SHOOT" when he thought the players were taking a little long with their dribbling and passing, and ran up and down the bleachers. Cheap entertainment for everyone!

Some Wildlife

My mom and I took Paul to a wildlife museum, essentially a room filled with huge stuffed animals. I was not sure he was going to like it, but of course he thought it was the best thing that ever happened to him and took close to a 4 hour nap when we returned home. Anything that makes my baby sleep like that is a success in my book.
Paul loves monkeys, so when we walked up to that part of the museum he was quite excited. He looked at the exhibit and turned to my mom and I and said "two monkeys." There were in fact two monkeys. Can he count? Is he a genius? According to GG and I, the answer is an obvious yes.

Another highlight was dancing on fish. A projector from the ceiling gave the impression of fish swimming on the floor. Once you gave contact to these fish with your shoes, they would "swim" away from you. Paul was determined to capture these fish, which in turned looked like some very impressive dance moves to any bystander.



We then took him to Red Robin. He ate a basket of fries and dipped his macaroni and cheese in ranch dressing. Living on the wild side.

The Big Lessons.

There are some basic, natural things that just happen to your brain when you become a parent. You feed your baby when he is hungry. You change his diaper when he's wet. You read him books, take him to the park, make sure he wears a hat when it is cold. These are things you don't have to think much about, you just do.

But now as Paul is getting older, my mind starts to wander about the "big" things I want to teach him. I think about what aspects of life I want to impress on him, what is important to us as a family, what are the battles I want to fight?

Of course there are less important lessons. I want Paul to have nice table manners, put his napkin in his nap, chew with his mouth closed, wait to eat until everyone is seated. I want to teach Paul to be grateful for gifts (no matter how big or small), write thank you notes, to say please and thank you, to say excuse me before he interrupts, to hold doors for others.

But then there are bigger things. I want him to be compassionate and empathetic for others. I want him to find passion. I want him to set big dreams without fear or worry they will fail. I want him to be a generous tipper at restaurants. I want him to be conscious of money without being cheap. I want him to forgive easily and believe in second chances. I want him to be able to laugh at himself, at his mistakes. I want him not only to tolerate others but truly accept people that are different than him. I want him to have a strong work ethic but find balance within his life. I want him to stand up for himself without being entitled. I want him to be a good friend.

Oh, and I want him to call his mom on her birthday.

What are your big lessons?

20 Months Old.

Why does time move so fast? Why? Why? Why?

We are going to have a 2 year old in 4 short months. WHAT? How does this happen?

Even though some days are hard because a certain someone is active and stubborn and opinionated, I am loving the toddler stage. He is so much fun!!

Paul is talking and talking and talking. His new favorite phrase is "I need." It usually goes, "I need to shoot" and then he plays basketball for an hour. He also has started to ask questions, "Where did Mommy go?" It is amazing to me how many words and phrases he picks up in a day. I wish I could learn things this fast.

The only thing he will watch on TV is basketball. He stands so close to the television, I wonder if he thinks he is actually part of the action. He stands with his hands behind his back, studying every move the players make. And God help us when a commercial comes on. He brings us the remote and screams, "basketball." So of course we have some games on DVR so we can fast forward the commercials. I know this is not teaching him anything good such as patience, but sometimes a mom just has to do what she has to do.

Paul received a sled from Santa. We had a big snowstorm before Christmas, so we broke out the new toy early and tried it out in our front yard. He was a little unsure of the sled, but I think once he gets the hang of things, he will like it. There is an amazing sledding hill right by our house and I can't wait for him to try it out. How cute does he look all bundled up?
Paul usually eats pretty well, but I feel like some weeks are amazing and then the next week he wants to eat nothing. Is this normal? One day he loves bananas and the next day he feeds every single one to the dog. By the way, if we did not have a dog I would buy one immediately. Do people really sweep their floors 3 times a day if they have a toddler with no dog? We just let Diddy in the kitchen and almost instantaneously the mess is gone. He is a miracle worker.
Besides basketball, Paul's other hobbies include coloring, reading books, playing pretend (feeding his stuffed monkey), playing with all his animals figurines and playing with his choo choo. He also likes to stand at our front door and run full speed back into the family room. This kind of sprinting can entertain him for some time.
Paul also has some friends. Tyson our neighbor is a year older than him, and they like to race trucks down our kitchen, see who can scream louder, and have dance parties. Our other neighbor Ellie is about 6 months younger than Paul and is so cute. She is now running around with the boys and I am sure will give them a run for their money in no time. It is actually a little easier having all the kids together in one place because they entertain one another. It is louder, but at least we can finish our sentences 70% of the time, which is a huge improvement.



We have had 2 weeks off from work this month, so it has been extra special to spend more time with our little dude. He has even started to give Eskimo kisses. He has also started slapping us in the face. That is not as cute. Take a little give a little.