Little Moments in July

Since it's the end of July already (!!), I thought I would give a brief highlight of Little Moments that happened during the month of July. Although I really have better things to be doing (ie. helping hubby finish the upstairs bathroom, laundry, dishes, getting to bed at a decent hour), here goes:

Fourth of July started the beginning of an adventurous month ... for all of us. Little Man A witnessed his first Fourth of July parade and boy was he fascinated. Not only did he see LOTS of motorcycles, cars, and of course, fire trucks, he stood still for an hour. I guess seeing that many fire trucks in one place will do that to an 18 month old.


Little Man is such a great helper. I'm not sure if that is because that's just the toddler's inclination to help and please his parents, or if we really make him. Either way, he wanted to help his daddy's so badly with the downstairs bathroom. Here, he decided to help by shoving a screwdriver in the door frame.


Although I don't have any photos of the event, just videos, July is when we realized Little Man had an affection for singing. Look out American Idol!

Since taking Little Man to Gymboree, not only has he gotten the chance to run around crazy and wild (and get all of his wiggles out by lunch time), he's also taken up art and music class. Although we've only gone to one music class, mainly because he really wasn't in to it when we did go, we've made several attempts to release his creative, artistic side as well. For some reason, and maybe this is the OCD that has genetically passed onto him, he really doesn't like the paint on his hands. Well this cured that problem:


Although I really didn't like the idea of having my child watch television, I have to admit sometimes it is a lifesaver. However, I found out that some things are really starting to scare Little Man ... like Monsters, Inc. Okay, maybe not scare but more like stun.


Little Man has always loved to play with our shoes at the front door, but July he actually started to try to put them on... and walk with them on. And yes, those are Daddy's goggles, too.


So, I guess all those art classes at Gymboree are really paying off, because when we found this (and yes, I mean found as in on the side of the road. Probably after someone had a yard sale and couldn't sell it, yet there is nothing wrong with it!), we can't seem to keep him away from it. Now he loves to first dump all of his crayons on the table and then scribble create masterpieces.


We knew this child had an addiction to lawnmowers, and I mean, soon this child will be saying "Hi. My name is Little Man A and I'm addicted to lawnmowers." Yes, he loves them that much... and here's proof: For 30 minutes (I'm not kidding - okay maybe 15 minutes) he pushed around his lawnmower in the house wearing another pair of Daddy's safety glasses.


We still have yet to take Little Man to the pool, so last month I bought him a Thomas the Tank kiddie pool. Although he loves getting in and out of it, he's not into really stomping or splashing in it yet (mainly because he kept slipping on the bottom every time he got in or out of it). So we found a new place to take him: Spray Ground! A small "park" run by our homeowner's association, but it's packed with lots of fun!

I know there are some parents out there who cringe at the thought of taking their children on a road trip. We started taking Little Man on road trips at the age of 4 months old when we drove to Disney World. Over this past month, we've driven to Fredericksberg, VA area which is about 45 minutes on a good day. I'm not sure if it's the little trips around town or just the fact that he can watch everything go by, but he's a great rider. I've said this before, but it wasn't until the other day when I looked at this picture did it really sink in. Give him a book, a toy, and a monkey blankie to hold on to and he's a happy boy.



It's been a long month. Over the past month, Little Man has really been trying to assert his independence. I see this more at Gymboree, but every once in awhile he still holds out his hand for me. He's trying so many new things, is trying so hard to communicate with us his needs and desires, and he's growing up so fast. He really is a great kid. I like to think it's because we're actually doing something right, but it could be just luck (or his real terrible twos are just around the corner). I can't imagine my life without him now, and I am so lucky to be his mommy.



Love you, Little Man.