Saturday, June 29, 2013

Farm & Friends

This past Wednesday, I was so excited that Wyatt got to play with his good friend Wade while I got to be with my good friend, Kelly. We met at Hill Ridge Farm's in Youngsville, NC.  There was a bouncy house, a maze, a fort, a huge slide (You can see Wyatt carrying his burlap cloth walking up the sidewalk to go down the big slide.) There were goats, chickens, ducklings, and rabbits (with the fanciest rabbit houses I have ever seen. (See the picture of the tired Wyatt with his new helicopter shirt that he helped paint.) Our favorite spot, (mostly because it is much cooler to sit in a shady house of corn rather than to be out in the summer midday sun) was  the Corn House (which took me back to the when I was a girl, and the corn crib near the pigs at my Aunt's house.) I am happy to report that the Corn house at Hill Ridge Farm's is free of mice and snakes, although I did seem to find corn everywhere throughout the rest of the day.  We even had an ice cream for a treat. Lastly, our day wouldn't be complete without the train ride! We had the best time!




Adventures at 6 am

When my little one woke up at 6am this morning, instead of being groggily grouchy as I often am when I am woken up at such hours, I decided it was time to get going. After a few episodes of Shaun the Sheep (a funny British Claymation cartoon), we headed outside (trying to be ever so quite, if that is possible for an almost-3 year old little boy.) We grabbed a cereal bar (Wyatt's was blueberry, as his new favorite color is purple.) and headed to the library to play the game: put the books back in the slot and close the shoot. We won all 3 times :)
Since it was Saturday, we headed to the Farmer's Market. We picked up some onions, zucchini, and tomatoes. And Wyatt picked out corn, eggplant, and blueberries. A sweet farmer even gave Wyatt a firecracker Zinnia. (We can add that to our small repertoire of flowers that we can identify. Dandelions and Hydrangeas are our other favorites of late. And Wyatt is the first to suggest asking his Auntie Alice about flowers that we don't know yet.) Then, we stumbled upon an estate sale and found some treasures. Lastly, it was off to Ed's Grill for fresh link sausage, eggs, grits, and the ever so popular, "little toast sandwiches."
note: at such an early hour, I counted it a huge success to get Wyatt out & about, even though he sported his mismatched pjs all around town.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

The Blue Balloon


We had a big celebration this morning. [No, you haven't missed it, his birthday is a month from tomorrow.] This morning Wyatt decided he would like to paint. "Ok," I said, "and you already have your art shirt on." Looking down at his cherished orange pants, he proceeded to take off them off, as not to get paint on them. Then, he proceeded to take off his diaper. "You have to put that back on," I said to him. Which he followed with a "Why?" "Because until you pee pee on the potty all the time, we don't want to get pee pee on the floor." Then he was gone. I went to look for him and he was in the bathroom on the big potty. By the time I turned the lights on, he was going. I was so proud of him! So, the first thing we did was to hop in the car to go buy a blue balloon as we had agreed upon being the appropriate prize for such an occasion a few days ago. This isn't the first time he has gone on the potty, but it is the first in awhile. After playing with the balloon for some time, I put it away for the next time he goes.  Not to long ago Wyatt enthusiastically praised me for "pee peeing" in the potty, "Good job Mommy!" Funny how inappropriate praise is for us as adults for things we no longer view as a "skill". But having such a sweet spirited boy around does  bring many smiles to my face and help me remember that we should celebrate the small steps that seem so big at the time.
 

Monday, June 17, 2013

More Peas please


 This past week, there have been 2 days where Wyatt was craving green peas.
The first day he ate about 5 helpings till they were all gone.
It always does my heart good when he eats so well.
Like the time he was eating greens 2 fistfuls at a time.
The proud cook at the restaurant was just beaming and said, "Now that is a good baby!"
Or the time he was trying to feed raw carrots to a wild bunny that had hopped in our yard, then decided to eat a few for himself too.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

A Restaurant Review

So there is a new restaurant in town.
One of those places where you can get breakfast anytime of day and lunch for that matter to.
The combinations can be a little odd, like bacon & eggs with a waffle (so far so good, but hold on to your stomach), with pickles, tomatoes, and green beans. Is it disgusting or innovated genius?

But you can't beat the service, the server seem to be on a personal quest to continuously bring you more food.
I even got breakfast in bed within about 2 minutes of waking up. The best part is as often as I have eaten there (multiple times a day), I've never received a bill.

It reminds me of a restaurant I used to work in over 20 years ago. Funny, there was even the exact same food selection. Those were the days, when I cooked it, served it, and even cleaned it all up. Although I never remember receiving a paycheck. (Got to love the world where you work for fun, and money doesn't matter.)

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Zucchini

While I was at the library this week, I picked up a new book for Wyatt. Zucchini by Barbara Dana.
You may be surprised that I would pick a chapter book out for a 2 yr old, but ever since Wyatt was a baby, we have been reading big books together. The first one was Mr. Popper's Penguins and then, of course, a staple when I was growing up, anything by Meindert DeJong. Then moved along to The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt.

All of these books are found in the juvenile section. I think it would be more appropriate if there were a section called- Ageless. Because they are timeless tells that a 2 year old to a 31 year old, to a very old person would enjoy.

I fell in love with Zucchini from the start when a little girl dared to think that ferrets could read, and the ferret (who else but Zucchini) dreamed of a place beyond where he was and what he could see. Ignoring others warnings that he should settle for what he had, he acted boldly in search of his home. A story about following your dream, fulfilling broken promises, and acting bravely for what you believe in. And how sometimes life brings you something better than you could dream of. Emma made me laugh out loud and Billy stole my heart. A must read!

Monday, June 10, 2013

"Turn it up!"

Here is a new favorite song of ours:
Not sure if Wyatt likes the song more or the basketball.

 
 
And here is an old favorite:
 

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Rich in the ways that count most

We spent some time at the lake house this weekend. Wyatt had a huge ramp built out of couch cushions (thanks to his Daddy) and had tons of his cars (a toolbox full in fact thanks to Peg) out to play with. The thought struck me then, "Wow, he sure is rich in cars."



 
 
As the weekend progressed with his spending time with both of his parents, who utterly adore him. Then, there was playing in the water at the lake.
 

Then it was off to little Margaret's birthday party.  There is something special about children's birthday parties! Especially if it is for a cousin. Cousins make the best of friends.  Wyatt is still talking about the popping game with Mark and is ever proud of his sand art.



After that we were off to Maxime's for time with family (even more cousins) and cheese pizza and chicken fingers. Then the added bonus of Daddy Joe's ice cream. Of course the obvious choice for Wyatt amidst flavors like orange pineapple and deer tracks was "white" ice cream.


Recently a friend commented to me, "You must be happy that Wyatt is so happy and healthy." We truly are rich where it counts most.
A day rich in family and friends.
A day rich in  playing and having fun.
Makes for a happy Wyatt and a happy mama.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

"What happened?"

For some time I've been meaning to create a blog for the many people that love Wyatt.
This way you can come along with us on our many adventures when you aren't able to be there in person. As you know, our curious  Wyatt likes to know what is going on around him, and often asks, "What happened?" so I figured it to be an appropriate title for all of you who are wondering what is happening in the life of Wyatt. Although I did consider the title, green&blueWAO2.
 

One of our favorite spots lately is the beach!!! We go as often as we can. Wyatt loves to jump the waves. He is pretty brave in the water, but when a larger wave is coming toward him, he knows to reach out for a hand to hold. He also likes to chase after his yellow boat in the tide, search for shells & sea stones to put in his bucket.
 
 
Stay tuned for more adventures with Wyatt as well as his favorite things, including songs, books, art projects, and discoveries.
 
Two of Wyatt's favorite songs lately (thanks to Jack and Kate) are "the rainbow song" otherwise known as "Roy G Biv" by They Might be Giants and "the tractor song" also know as "Tractor Tractor" by Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame.