Two requests

Dear W-
Just two small requests today.

1. Maintain a minimum distance of 12 inches between you and the oven. The door is not meant as a step ladder. The handle isn't meant for hanging any more than a towel. And the timer/clock is not considered a musical instrument.

2. Battery removal is not a sport. Please refrain from removing them from every last electronic device on the premises.

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Management

Channeling Mrs. Cleaver

A while back I saw a picture of a certain mom playing with her children whilst wearing an apron.  Perhaps she was in the throws of dinner preparation.  I don't know.  But I thought it was not only purposeful, but genius and cute.

In the last 15 months of my life, my dry-clean-only clothing has taken a backseat to its less-fuss cotton counterparts.  Let's be honest.  Food and often times child-associated bodily fluids don't look so great on the skirt you just pulled from the hanger in the plastic bag.
Perhaps an apron is in order?

Friday sealed the deal.  Between making jam, dodging quesadilla and black bean bullets, cleaning up the remains of a dog's upset stomach, and wiping enough sticky fingers to make my own raw, an apron may become my finest accessory.

Perhaps I'll throw in some June Cleaver and pair it with a string of pearls.  I think I could get away with that.

Rocker

My childhood home was real cool.  Yes, we had the drinking fountain.  We even had swings hanging from the ceiling in the basement, and black vinyl pads we would slide on down the stairs.  We also had the hugest sand box that would flood -- daily.  It was all pretty sweet.

Since W isn't quite to those stages of play I remember, I've been thinking of other play items to have around the house.  I do remember the brown and black, studded-leather seat rocking horse.    That rocking horse had been around for ages.  In fact, my parents may still have it in their current "cave" playroom.

I think a rocking horse is a little more appropriate for the 15-mo-old boy.  At least for now.  How 'bout these?

1.  

2.  

Or my all-time favorite:
3.  

I may commission Dave to try his hand at something like this.

1. and 2. Mass Modern via Handmade Charlotte
3. via Etsy

15 mo.

Winston turned 15 months old last week.
**He is as funny as can be.  He loves to laugh just to laugh.
**He loves to swim.  He will walk and walk in the pool until he can no longer touch, which doesn't alarm him in the least.  He loves to splash.  Loves to kick.  Loves to steal fellow swimmers' toys.

**Daddy is his new favorite word.

**Oh, those curls.  I can't get enough of them.  The humidity makes them perfect.
**Snuggler.  He got out of that phase for a while, but now he loves a good hug before and after he sleeps.
**"Woah!" That's what the doctor said when he looked into W's mouth.  All four molars -- top and bottom -- have come through.  W isn't waiting any time on getting his full set of teeth.
**He's the most irreverent child in church, yet he folds his arms on command like a champ.
**He seems to be getting more and more ticklish, and squeals like crazy when we tickle him.

**He prefers vacuum attachments, paper towels and garden tools to most toys.
**He's a boy's boy, through and through.  He loves to throw things (particularly everything from the tupperware drawer, without even so much as a glance behind him).  He loves bikes, trucks, motorcycles.  He tries to swing his leg up on the mini bike any time he's given the chance, and loves to be outside at all times.  He's all boy all the time.

Love you, Bubs.


Stats
Height:  33" (95%)
Weight:  23 lb. 11 oz. (50%)

Waiting for Picasso

I was at a friend's house the other day for the first time.  It seemed like every room was adorned with at least one framed piece of her children's artwork.  Nicely framed, at that.  The artwork was the perfect personalization to the home.  I loved it.

Patiently, patiently.  There's a corner in the family room waiting to be filled with W's masterpieces just like this:

{via The Violet Hours}

Or perhaps something more organized, like this:  

{via Blonde Designs}

Teaching Moments

Headed to Girls' Camp this morning
to teach teenage girls life skills,
stuff they can't learn in civilization,
and the like.

{thank you Clayton/Woodsmill gas station for today's object lesson}

Have a good week!

I Want This

How amazing is that sofa?

{Karen Barlow via d*s}

Swagger

A must watch. This is amazing.

What We Learned Today

Katie:  Do not fill bathtub with any more water than absolutely necessary.

Winston:  For best results, shake head while flailing arms to maximize amount of water thrown from tub to floor/mom/walls/towels/clothing/etc.


Katie:  Always dress child in onesie before putting to nap/bed.

Winston:  Running laps around the crib in the nude is easy.  Just pull those two little velcro-ish straps and you're ready to go.

{Note:  To prevent future humiliation/blackmail to the little one, no photos were included in today's post, though such evidence does exist.}

What a Nice Surprise

A belated Mother's Day surprise since I wasn't home for the big day myself.
What started without a single bloom has blossomed beautifully.
Thanks Davey.

Home Again, Home Again

***This post has taken me entirely too long to finally get up here.  Apologies.***

It was so nice having more than just a quick weekend or holiday visit to spend some time at home with my family.  We arrived early Saturday morning.  Winston desperately needed a nap, so my dad volunteered to stay home with him while we went to lunch.  When we arrived home, we learned W was introduced to Poppy's way of life right away.

Yes, that's W zipped into my dad's jacket riding around on the lawn mower.  Awesome.  My dad said W didn't take much of a nap, and since he needed to get the lawn mowed, he naturally took his grandson out to help.  W didn't last long.  The hum of the lawn mower put him right to sleep in is little fleece-zipped cocoon.  I think he rather enjoyed himself.  

What else did we do?  

Visited the dinosaur park.  

W and Lizzy faced off on horse-/bronco-back.  

We had a campfire.  

W got really good at walking/running.  

We played with Norma, my little brother's dog.  Norma is a pit/heeler puppy that barrels through the house and licks everything she sees.  She is so cute, and she loved W.  Norma would get W any chance she could, and W smiled the whole time.  

And W learned how to use a drinking fountain.  I always grew up with a drinking fountain in my house. Perhaps my mom got tired of cleaning 10,000 cups a day, so a fountain was installed.  I never thought it unique until high school or college and people thought it was so funny (perhaps even odd) that we had such a thing.  W thought it was pretty amazing, too.  We did a lot of this.

And, the big highlight, Megan surprised everyone and showed up unannounced.  Hooray!  I love being with my sisters.  And W really liked having a stair-climbing partner to play with, too.  

Thanks for such a fun trip!