Happy 6th Birthday, Bittyman!

At Six Years Old, Bittyman:

• Has brought home two perfect report cards, "excelling in all academic areas... reading and writing at an advanced level and articulates information very well..."
• Has 100% average on his weekly spelling tests.
• Earned the role of "Bug Master of Ceremonies" in next month's Kindergarten play.
• Never. Stops. Talking.
• Favorite movie is Star Wars.
  
• Has lost his bottom two teeth.
• Is a Baltimore Ravens fan (our only obvious parenting mistake thus far).
• Can swim the length of our community pool.
• Bowls a 220... on the Wii.
• Weighs 45 pounds.
• Operates the computer almost as well as Daddy.
  
• Has been riding a two-wheeler for a few months.
  
• Would eat brats, corn-on-the-cob and strawberry shortcake for dinner every night if I served it.
  
• Loves all things Legos, Army and Playmobile.
• But loves Ittyboy more than all his toys combined and recently asked me, "Mom, if Dad loves you, why doesn't he fertilize your eggs so I can have another baby brother?"

(Did I mention he's only turning 6?)

Happy Birthday, Bittyman. It was a blink ago that you were just a bitty baby. And now you are an amazing boy with a heart overflowing with love and a brain that is bursting with potential. I am so blessed to be your Mom.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ittyboy!

April 17, 2007

April, 2008

April, 2009

You know your 18-month-old son is Catholic when...

you catch him putting his hand into the (thankfully clean) toilet water and making the sign of the cross.

Happy 17 Months, Ittyboy!

At 17 months, Ittyboy:

• Has numerous words/phrases: dada, mama, buh-bye, hi, up, down, blub (for his tummy), eyes, nose, butt (when he needs a change), kitty, dog, birdie, baby, 'cuse me, good (when asked, "how are you?"), car, cookie, apple, , cheese, all done, nite-nite.
  
• Loves to do his 'jobs': pushing the garage door opener, putting the trash can back under the sink and closing the cabinet door, and picking out his shirt each morning (his favorite being his Wal-E shirt).
• Climbs onto the couch and from there the end tables.
• Climbs onto the dining room bench and from there the dining room table.
• Has mastered the child-proof cabinet locks, the child-proof stove top burner locks and one version of an oven lock.
• Loves to dance.
• Has his 8 front teeth completely in and is working on 4 molars.
  
• Thinks Jon and Kate Plus 8 is hilarious because of all the "BABIES!"
  
• Makes the sign of the cross and then shouts, "AMEN!"
• Nurses at nap-time and occasionally bed-time.

9/27/08 UPDATE: Diva Mom needs more caffeine/sleep/to regenerate the brain cells lost during two pregnancies. I originally posted this as 'Happy 18 Months, Ittyboy!'. Today (2 weeks later) I realized Itty won't be 18 months until October 17. Holy missing IQ points.

Bittyman's First Day of Kindergarten

I just dropped Bittyman off at his first day of kindergarten. We met his teacher at orientation last week and the three of us were thrilled to discover that Mrs. B. is the mother of one of Bitty's Sunday School classmates. Bittyman is in wonderful hands.

Bitty was "very excited" all morning long, picking out a "cool new outfit" and proudly posing for the above pictures. When we arrived at school he was annoyed that he didn't have time to play on the kindergarten playground until Mrs. B. assured him they'd go out for recess later.

But as his class lined up to walk into their room, Bitty anxiously looked up at me and whispered, "Mom, I'm scared!"

I choked back tears, wanting to cry, "I'm scared too! I'm not ready to let you go!"

Instead Diva Mom took over and whispered back, "You know what, it's OK to be scared. I bet every kid in this line is a little bit scared. But just think of all the fun you're going to have. And I'll be back soon to pick you up and take you to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate!"

"OH, RIGHT! I forgot about Chuck E Cheese! OK, bye! I love you!" And with visions of greasy pizza and arcade games dancing in his eyes he proudly marched into his room, not once looking back.

I waved until the bright blue classroom door shut behind him. Then with the click of the metal latch the tears began to stream down my face behind my sunglasses. At that point I didn't care. My goal was accomplished - Bittyman never saw me cry.

I looked around and noticed that there were two obvious groups of Moms. The bawling ones, like myself, whose first-born children were starting kindergarten. Then there were the gals doing a happy dance and cheering, "FREE AT LAST!" who have already gone through this day with their older kids.

Since then I've texted my entire address book a picture of Bitty in front of his school, drove home and put Ittyboy down for his nap, made a tearful call to Daddy to tell him how it went, uploaded these pictures and wrote this blog post. Now it's already time to go pick up Bitty.

Good thing 'cause Diva Mom wants her Little Hero back.

Happy 15 Months, Ittyboy!

At 15 months, Ittyboy:

• Says two-word phrases, "Up, Mama!" and "Bye, Daddy!"
• Runs. Often chasing his big brother.
  
• Can crawl up all stairs, fireplace hearths and ottomans.
• Could open the refrigerator and oven (until we put on childproof locks).
• Pulled down several vertical blinds covering the sliding glass door. (I wanted curtains anyway.)
• Says "Hi!" to every person he sees.
• Has 4 upper and two lower teeth.
• Loves to watch the "birdies" out the window.
• Uses a spoon and fork.
• Drinks from a cup.
• Dips whatever he's eating in the dip du jour.
• Dusts and wipes the floor with a towel.
  
• 'Reads' books.
• Had his first hair cut this week - while he was asleep!
  
• Nurses at naptime and bedtime (and brings his Boppy pillow to me when he wants to nurse).
• Picks up toys and puts them in his toy basket when asked.
• Vocabulary consists of: Daddy, Mama, Up, Bye, Hi, Alleluia, Birdie, Hot, Eye, Goggle, Hug, Luv and Ya-Ya-Yer (for his brother).
• Makes the first two parts of the sign of the cross and prayer hands.
• Finishes the musical phrase, "Here I come to save the..." with a big, "DAAAY!"
• Hasn't gone a week without some bruise, bump or scrape. All boy.

(I'll be adding to this list throughout the day. Diva Mom is suffering from a cold/flu/hopefully not strep throat thing and currently has medicine head.)

Heaven is...

the sound of Bittyman 'reading' The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Ittyboy in the next room.

(And by 'reading' I mean reciting from memory the entire book.)

Bittyman's Birthday Bash

Bowling with Bitty

Grandmai and Bittyman

Bitty and His Buddy, Kai

Happy 5th Birthday, Bittyman!

Bittyman's Birth Day:

First "Elmo" Birthday:

Second "Hot Wheels" Birthday:

Third "Hot Wheels" (Again) Birthday:

Fourth "Chuck-E-Cheese" Birthday:

UPDATE - Fifth "Spiderman/Transformer" Birthday:

My head is just spinning. How can my Bittyman be 5? Starting Kindergarten in August?

Cue the tears...

Foto Friday

Guess who is 'graduating' from preschool today:



Guess who will be wearing waterproof mascara today.

UPDATE
Pictures from before the ceremony:

One Year Ago Today

Ittyboy's Baptism ~ May 6, 2007

I can hardly believe the itty baby in Fr. Phil's arms is our Ittyboy. Heck, Bittyman looks so, well, bitty too!

Fr. Phil often reminds Dan and me that life is a journey - and the journey is a gift from Him. But for me, the journey is racing by too quickly. Bittyman turns five a week from today and my newborn is already one. I wish I could apply the brakes but since stopping is not on the itinerary, I'm trying to embrace every minute of the journey. (Including all the exhausting, frustrating and stressful potholes that are part of the road!)

And speaking of journeys, last night we were all in the living room helping Ittyboy practice 'walkie-walkies'. Dan and I sat a few feet apart and tried to coax Itty to walk between us. Our little Hero would take a step or two then fall. Over and over again.

Well Bittyman wanted in on the action so he commanded, "Itty, come walkie-walkie to me!"

Ittyboy turned towards his big brother, who was standing on the other side of the room, and gleefully took off towards him - 9 steps - only falling when the screams of excitement coming from the rest of us overwhelmed him. But Itty immediately sat up, clapped for himself, then reached out for Bitty's hands.

I was instantly reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Pope John Paul II: "The greatest gift you can give your child is another sibling." What a gift these two have in each other and it's already so apparent!

(I'll be sure to remind them of this Hallmark moment when, in a few years, they are inevitably beating the crud outta each other!)

Milestones

At one year, Itty:

• Cruises the furniture like lightening and occasionally stands on his own (without realizing it)
• Walks while pushing his new Elmo Ride-On
  
• Says 'Dada', 'Mama', 'Lite', 'Bye' and 'Hel-Low'
• Does baby signs for 'Up', 'Milk', 'Drink' and 'Please'
• Shakes his head 'No' and 'Yes'
• Holds his hand or his Elmo phone to his ear and says, 'HEL-LOW!'
• Knows it's his 'job' to push the button that closes the garage door after we exit the minivan
• Follows simple directions like, 'close the door' and 'back up'
• Turns on the tears as soon as he sees Dan putting on his tie - He knows it means Daddy is leaving for work soon
• Plays with his favorite toys - this, this and this
  
• Throws down is favorite foods in spite of still only having one tooth - brats, grapes, olives and french fries
• Still nurses
  
• 
  

(More as I think of them!)

We're still celebrating Itty's First Birthday. Dan had night gigs Thursday, Friday and again tonight, and is gone today taking the Fourth Degree with the Knights of Columbus, so we're going to have Itty's official Elmo-themed party tomorrow afternoon. But Itty's been opening presents since Thursday, since he's received so many from his generous family and friends!

Foto Flashback

Scroll down a few posts to see Ittyboy in his carrier on the day he came home from the hospital. Then check out this year's growth!

One Month:

Two Months:

Four Months:

Five Months:

Six Months:

11 Months, 26 Days:

Foto Friday

Guess who, at 10 months, 3 weeks and 2 days old, FINALLY cut his first tooth?



And last weekend, Bittyman coveting our friend Fr. Phil's "super-cool motorcycle":



Bittyman momentarily considered a vocation to the priesthood, excited by the thought he could have a ride as sweet as Fr. Phil's. But that thought quickly passed when I informed him that ah, no, priests can't carry weapons.

Sorry, Lord. Motorcycle cop trumps priest-who-owns-racing-bike in the career aspirations of my 4-year-old.

Foto Friday

Bittyman's Preschool Photos:






Darn you, photogenic kid. Don't complain next week when you're eating cereal for dinner. I just blew half of the grocery budget on your pictures!

Happy 10 Months, Ittyboy!

At 10 Months, Itty:

• Crawls, pulls himself to standing and cruises the furniture
• Climbs (and falls from) stairs
• Says 'Dada', 'Mama' and 'Bye'
• Waves and blows kisses
• Pulls over (and breaks) floor lamps
• Has yet to cut a tooth
  
• Eats just about anything put in front of him (but his favorite foods are black olives, sausages and bananas)
  

Although Itty is no longer a twin separated by 4 years from Bittyman, it's fascinating what quirks are obviously genetic:

Ittyboy's 'Scary Face'

Flashback - Bittyman's 'Scary Face'

Foto Friday

Ittyboy pulled himself to standing for the first time, just before this photo was taken. Of course I still haven't captured this milestone on camera. Care to take bets on when he'll start walking? (Or for that matter, when he'll get his first tooth?)


Bittyman started Tae Kwon Do classes this week. He won an award for having memorized the first six stances - the first student in his class to do so! (And yes, the 'face' is necessary, according to Bitty. Be very afraid.)

Please tell me that...

my four-year-old did not just beat me in a game of chess!

(And yes, I was trying to win. Humble pie anyone? Plenty here to go around.)