Love (Laundry) Thursday

My little helper. He loves to help me load and unload the laundry. (Each time, carefully checking that his beloved blankie isn't in there - if so, he protests).

My favorite part is how serious he is about the loading and unloading job. He has absolutely no clue besides moving stuff back and forth, and he's so diligent, grunting as he works because the clothes are so heavy for him to carry. And every so often I find a stray sock or shirt tossed inappropriately into the trash or back into the dirty/clean clothes.

"helping" mama

So maybe he wasn't "helping" per se. But he sure thought he was being helpful. He's into unpacking things lately. Like for instance, he dumped out ALL of his legos this afternoon all over the livingroom floor just before we were about to leave for my Stroller Strides class that I teach. And then he "unpacked" the tub with all his toys and washcloth and even a few cupfuls of water (that is, until I figured out his plan to put EVERYTHING outside the tub and took his water-dumping device away). And how he takes all his books each night before bed and methodically places them all around himself on the floor next to his bookshelf. Yeah, I definitely see a trend here.
And as annoying as it can be, I keep reminding me that one day I'll look back at this phase and miss it. And I try to enjoy each of his little milestones, and appreciate them.... All while I pick up each and every lego/outfit/bathtoy. Yup.


And here he is with his darling blankie. He really hates to brush his teeth (any ideas out there on how to make him more agreeable? Our pediatrician really thinks we need to push this issue before his mouth rots and he whithers away apparently...), but he loves to chew on his blankie. Makes us kind of happy when we see him do it because it rubs against his teeth and maybe, just maybe, does some "brushing" of it's own for us. We are wishfully thinking so, at least.

you say TEN?

Ok. So with the second bout of the stomach flu in the past month, I can safely say that my appetite has dwindled to near nothing (nausea really does a number on my appetite). On an ordinary day I'd be glad that I'm not hungry, but after stepping on the scale this afternoon and realizing that I've lost about 10 pounds in the past two months or so, this is ridiculous. I forced myself to eat a little something for lunch after work today. Hopefully it stays down....

Anyhow on a happier note, Dylan has finally gotten some new socks. He was busting out of the old ones. His morning with daddy (while I was at work, trying to see my patients and get home as quickly as possible) consisted of a trip to Target and the store. Ryan reports that Dylan had a meltdown in the grocery store, which I can imagine was NOT pleasant, but I'm glad they got out. And I'm very excited about those new socks. (can you tell that my expectations for good news has shifted?)... and in my own defense, Ryan seemed pretty excited about the new socks too.

Dylan is in love with his blankie now. He always seemed to like a couple of them, but recently (like in the past week or so) he's attached himself to one in particular. He chews on the soft, cushy fabric and snuggles it at bedtime. I figured out that he really liked it this past week when he saw me take it out of his crib to put it in the big-bad-washing-machine. I had to work some distractable mommy skills there to keep him from a full meltdown. "Hey, there's another blankie here. How about a train or your bear? Or how about helping mommy fold some laundry over here?" And, boy oh boy, was he excited when that beloved blankie returned the next day in his crib. I guess this one is a keeper.

Lastly, Dylan got a haircut recently. It is a little shorter than planned, but precious nevertheless. Kinda reminds Daddy of Jim Carrey a bit...