mmmmm... Marshmallows!

So, Tyler yelled, "Eat!" and ran to the pantry. Instead of pulling out dried bananas (his current favorite), he grabbed a bag of small marshmallows. I think this is one of those foods that the experts recommend waiting a while on (choking hazard), but if my son wants to try any new food, who am I to tell him "no"? So I gave him one for each hand and proceeded to eat a few myself. After several minutes of licking marshmallows (and feeding a few licked ones to me), he ate one. And asked for more. I think he ate five or six total. Tyler ate marshmallows!! I'm ecstatic.

But it makes me wish Paw-Paw were still here. He loved giving all the kids marshmallows, and every time we visited, he wanted so badly to spoil Tyler with treats.

This Little Piggy Wrapped Your Present!

Santa Bribes Tyler

Tyler met Santa on Sunday. Brian's cousins Casey and Kay hosted a "Meet Santa" party, and his cousin Regina — a talented photographer — brought all of her gear to capture the special moments.

Tyler has no idea about Santa. He was running circles in the hallway while the other kids were lined up in front of Santa and chattering 90 miles an hour. But then Tyler discovered Santa has stickers. And he was very interested in the stickers. It took four attempts, including one that ended with Tyler laying in the floor screeching at Santa, and three stickers, but we finally got some Santa pictures.

Santa, Regina, and even the other kids were very patient, and it was a special day for me!

B-b-b-b-b-stutter

Tyler was reading Don't Wake the Puppies (a Clifford, the Big Red Dog, book) to me tonight. This is kind of how his version of the story goes:

Tyler (point at bird): DIRD!

Jaime: B-b-b-b-b-BIRD!

Tyler: B-b-b-b-b-b DIRD!

Tyler: B-b-b-b-b dutheee! (puppy)

Tyler: B-b-b-b-b-b Clifford! (I can't even begin to spell his mispronunciation for Clifford, but it starts with a "D" too.)

Tyler: B-b-b-b-b-b hot dog!

Tyler: B-b-b-b-b-b qwrl! (squirrel)

Tyler ate grapes.

A lot of grapes. He asked for more. I cried. Do you understand how huge this is?

Grapes are wet. They are squishy. These were kind of cold. Tyler doesn't like any of these characteristics. But he likes grapes. Praise God for helping my little boy.

More kisses for Paw-Paw

You know, I started this blog with two people in mind. My Grandma (my mama's mama) and my Paw-Paw (my daddy's daddy). They both enjoyed the Internet and a blog seemed like the perfect way to share Tyler with them since I didn't talk to them via phone very often.

Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled that my parents, my sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, a few friends, and probably some people I don't know read about my precious son and his antics. I love when readers leave a comment (thank you, Jodi!) or tell me they enjoyed a certain story (thank you, Grandma!).

But every time I've considered blogging in the last two weeks, I've felt this huge sense of loss. You see, my Paw-Paw died on November 21. And I feel like I've lost half of my audience. He never left a comment. I don't even think he realized he could, but it took him so long to type that he probably wouldn't have bothered anyway. But I know he was reading about his little buddy.

Even as we deal with our grief, my precious little boy is showing me so much about losing our Paw-Paw. Every time we get in the car, he says, "Nanny. Paw-Paw." (Because we visited so often while Paw-Paw was sick, Tyler began to associate car rides with going to their house.) Then he tells me, "Paw-Paw heaven." And he blows kisses toward the sky.

And sometimes I cry. And sometimes I smile. But I always encourage him to keep kissing Paw-Paw. And I hope Paw-Paw can see all these kisses.

As for me, I'll keep writing. For you guys. And for me. I love looking back through old entries, realizing how much Tyler has changed or laughing at something I would've forgotten if I hadn't blogged about it for Grandma and Paw-Paw.

And I'll keep loving my Paw-Paw and knowing how proud he would be if he could see his little buddy.

Mothers: Do you remember?

My submission for the Mother Letter project:

Dear Mother,

Do you remember the first time you breathed in that sweet baby breath? Do you remember how your back ached because you forgot to settle comfortably in the chair before you fed your little one and you wouldn’t move because your comfort had become a secondary consideration? Do you remember the first time you slept 5 hours straight — and the panic you felt as you rushed to check on your little one?

Do you remember the first time you felt your heart contract with love for your child? I do. My Tyler was 2 months old, and he’d just woken up from a nap. He smiled his first “real” smile at me, for me. And I fell ever so much deeper in love.

Do you remember the first time you heard “Mama”? I was “Babu” for a few weeks, but it sounded just as sweet!

Do you remember the first time you heard “I love you”? My Tyler is 2 years old, and he said “Wub Mama” for the first time yesterday. Of course, he also “wubs” his trains! And he "ugs" (hugs) the trains before he "ugs" me! But that is okay, as long as he keeps asking me to "ug" him.

Aren’t they wonderful, delightful creatures? May our hearts always contract with love at their smiles. May we always delight in their hugs and kisses. May our love — and theirs — continue to grow.

It is so amazing to realize that as much as we love these young children, we barely know the people they will become. Think of all the memories we have to look forward to!

Blessings,
Jaime