Sweet Talk

Yesterday morning I woke up next to Wyatt, a common theme these days, and he climbed up on me and said clear as day "Mom". That was it. Just Mom. It was the sweetest moment and it felt like the first time he was REALLY saying it to me on purpose.

Ross got off shift a couple hours later and when he walked in the front door Wyatt looked at him and said to him clear as day "Dada". What a great morning!

Today we woke up and got ready to forge for firewood since it's been hailing nonstop for the last two days. Wyatt is finally big enough to fit in his customized "Wyatt- Little Probie" firefighter onesie that our family friend Joy had made for us. I thought he'd never be big enough to fit in it but now at 8 months old he finally fills it out. Thanks Joy. It is so adorable!

We packed the family up into Ross' "Man Truck", a 1979 Ford 250, and made the hour long trip to Arlington for our bounty. We stopped by Grandma Nancy's for a much overdue visit and got home by dark with enough firewood to last three more weeks. Spring hopefully arrives before then. We are really tired of this winter weather!

Attaboy Waytt

We had a decent day today and Ross was able to finish building the backyard fence. Yea! The bad news is that we have SNOW in the forecast this weekend. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!

Poor Ross had to get the chainsaw out today and chop up the LAST of the firewood we have and hopefully it will last us through the blizzard. Who would have thought we'd be needing the fireplace in mid-April?! I guess we could always use the electric heat (gasp) like most every other family in the United States. My husband likes to save money on the heating bill, even at the expense of the ozone layer. With one income, however, I do appreciate him looking for ways to stretch a dollar. This way I get to stay home with the little man.

Speaking of the little man, Wyatt is talking up a storm and while we usually have no idea WHAT he is saying we are picking out "Mom or Mama" and "Dad or Dada" pretty regularly. Sorry Dad, still no "Granddad" yet. If you'd prefer, he says "nine" a lot and we can just use that as your nickname.

As he's making strides in his language, one thing he does not appear to be getting better at is understanding what I'm saying, namely "No", "Stop that", "Hold still", "Let go", "Put that down", "Don't put that in your mouth" and "Gentle". Oh well, we will keep working on these phrases and in the meantime we will keep tossing out "I love you", "Way to go" and "Attaboy" so he knows what a fantastic son he is and how much he is loved.

Crabgrass & Dishwasher Climbing

We had a gorgeous day today with the warmest temperatures of the year. Wyatt got to wear shorts for the first time today and tonight will be our first night without using the fireplace since the fall.

I took Wyatt outside this afternoon to soak in the rays and let him explore a bit. What I found out, however, is that he does NOT like the feel of grass on his legs and feet. Now I admit that we do have a lot of crabgrass but he was acting like I set him on a bed of nails or something. You should have seen him try to keep his legs off the ground while trying to balance on his behind. It was too funny.

Wyatt has been very curious about pretty much everything these days and is especially interested in household chores. He has even tried to get in on the action by unfolding the laundry, pulling the wet clothes out of the drier and today he even climbed into the dishwasher. I admire his enthusiasm to participate in the upkeep of the house and know he'll be mowing the lawn with Dad in no time.

Spring Has Arrived!!

Spring finally arrived today in The Bend with temperatures reaching 60 for the first time!! We've been couped up inside for what seems like forever and have gotten so tired of the rain and the cold. FINALLY we got outside today to do some yard work and soak up that vitamin D.

Wyatt, who turned eight months old yesterday, officially moved into his big boy stroller today, which means he gets to sit upright and forward instead of being reclined in his car seat. While he is technically too small for the straps to fit securely around his shoulders, he was secure enough and liked looking forward and not up. I put him outside in the stroller to watch his dad wash the truck this afternoon and he was happy as a clam.

This afternoon we weeded half of the backyard planter before Wyatt awoke from his nap and capped off the day with a BBQ. Ross grilled up some steak and Wyatt did his best to help (ie- sucked on his mini tongs).

Wyatt also discovered today that he can now reach the baby monitor camera that is secured to his wall from his crib. When we installed it we never fathomed he'd get tall enough to ever reach the thing. I guess we will be making some new holes in the wall tomorrow (this time a bit higher) before he pulls the whole thing down.

More Bathtime Fun

After rubbing oatmeal all over his hair this morning, Wyatt had another bath in the big boy tub. He loved it! Ross took him from me and dried him off and no sooner did Ross say "Lets get a diaper on you before you poop on me" did Wyatt pee all over Ross and the carpet in our bedroom.

This is just one in a series of weird coincidences lately. Yesterday Wyatt was down for a nap and I thought I'd sneak in a little workout. I checked the baby monitor and sure enough, he was sound asleep. As soon as I put on my second shoe, however, he was suddenly wide awake and calling or me. How does he know?!

A Good Book & A Long Bath

Wyatt and I did little of anything today but finished the night with a good book, The Hungry Caterpillar, and a long soak in the tub. It was Wyatt's first bath in a full-sized tub and we had the best time splashing water at each other. It really was his first time "playing" in the tub as his old bathtub was too snug to do much flailing.

Wyatt actually sat through my first reading of "Caterpillar" but then spent the rest of our "reading" time bashing the poor caterpillar against the ground over and over. What a boy! Then he decided he'd rather play with my camera than read and both reading time and the photo session were officially over.

Our bath tonight was actually my first soak since we moved into this house three years ago. And while it didn't involve candles or even more than four inches of barely warm water, it was relaxing nonetheless.

Before we had the tub reglazed last month it was warn and always looked dirty no matter how much I scrubbed it. I wasn't about to "soak" in that. Now that it has been redone, it looks like brand new and I think I may start using my "mommy time" for some long soaks in the very near future.

Wall Licking & Goose Eggs

This morning I woke up in the guest room next to Wyatt (who had a meltdown last night and needed to be close to mommy at 2 a.m.). I felt him squirming around a bit and heard a strange noise so I cracked opened one eye to see him licking the wall. I would think this is weird behavior except he's pretty much licking anything and everything these days. I caught him licking the washing machine window two days ago and he tried to suck on my toe through my sock last week. All can I say is thank goodness for the pacifier. At least that keeps his mouth (and tongue) occupied for at least part of the day.

Wyatt has also become a fearless stander and while I admire his bravery he's making me a nervous wreck because he has far from mastered the skill of balance. He also has a knack of trying to pulling himself up on the most unstable of objects such as the rocking chair or my yoga ball- now there's a recipe for disaster.

While he has taken a few hard tumbles, including a header against a wall last week, which resulted in a nice sized bump in the middle of his forehead, he is getting better at pulling himself up on his feet. He stood for the first time in his playpen yesterday and for the first time in his crib this morning. Of course he was sucking away on the crib railing when I found him.

We have been watching a lot of sports in the Tucci household with NCAA basketball and the start of the MLB season. Wyatt and I watched the Mariner's season opener last week, complete with his Mariner's jersey, and Uncle Wood came over yesterday to watch both NCAA semifinal games. Wood and I were tied for first place in his office pool but both got knocked out of the running last night when UNC and UCLA played horribly. There goes my prize money... thanks a lot Tarheels!

Yesterday I learned an important lesson that I thought I'd pass along to any future parents that may be reading this. Do NOT leave poopy diapers in your car for more than a week. Apparently they CAN smell worse and you don't want to be the one making a run for chips with the windows rolled down in 40 degree weather. Stay tuned for more parenting tips...