The Very Hairy Caterpillar

You have heard of the Very Hungry Caterpillar I suppose. But not the Very Hairy one. Khage was yet to be introduced to the Hungry Caterpillar's evil stepbrother until today. It took all all his self control to not run over and pick this thing up, if I was not supervising I can only assume he would have showed no reluctance in snatching this pillar right up. Good thing Warden Mommy was on duty. Instead of man handling the creature like he would have wanted he was allowed to sit and observe Henry from a distance. Henry did seem like a suitable name at the time, just a fuzzy lovable little creature trying to scoot from one side of the yard to the other. And then I googled Henry and found out his hairs are possibly venomous and he turned from sweet little Henry into the creepy stepbrother that got himself chucked into a nearby field. Suddenly it becomes very clear to me why this pillar didn't end up with his own children's book and his stepbrother Hungry did.

License and Registration Please

This is what I found when I walked into the room to check on Mr. Mischievous while I was making dinner.

 If he continue to use his utility truck as a ladder I am going to have to take it to the impound lot.

In his defense though he did a knockout job parallel parking.

And hes lucky I am feeling generous today, I could have cited him on public indecency... I mean child where are your clothes?

(I assure you this image was not staged... he really is just that out of control with his climbing.)

Spuddies.

 Second to us, this is Khage's best playmate. This spud is his buddy... his spuddy. His face is in constant change but his ability to convince Khage to drop anyone of his other toys and pick him up instead is forever habitual. Its not so much the creation of the face that draws Khage in. Instead he comes over to us, grasping in his hands a faceless potato eager for us to build the face that he will so quickly change.  The feet are usually the first to go, then eyes will be placed where ears belong and noses may find themselves being worn as hats. Mr Potato head doesn't seem to care; in fact his angry eyes are rarely used and I think possibly lost somewhere under the couch. Khage's best playmate is forever happy and always distorted in some silly manner or another.

On this particular day Khage was being pulled into two very enticing directions. Torn between two loves. One minute he was outside with Daddy happily soaking in the sun (notice the filth sticking to his sweaty toddler skin) the next minute he was with me tracking that dirt inside and greasing up his friend with sunscreen residue from his hands. 

What a happy little life this boy leads.

Mama Made It.

Have I told you how much I love to make Khage's food. I don't mean warm up his meals... I mean "bust out ten different ingredients, completely destroy the kitchen and use all the appliances at once"  and really make Khage food. When he was six months and working on solids I am proud to say I made everything. I boiled, mashed, pureed and froze all his meals and I absolutely loved it. Nothing pleased me more then to make the milk he drank and the food he ate. And still I get really excited about knowing exactly what he consumes and where it is prepared. I wont get into all the jumbo about preservatives, artificial coloring, and food fillers but I will say making your own meals for your children is not only gratifying,  it is also a healthy alternative and surprisingly cheaper then store bought foods. Okay, consider my soapbox trashed.

My newest craze is Homemade Baked Chicken Nuggets.

I prepared it as directed in the recipe but I cut the chicken into smaller toddler friendly pieces and used some Italian style breadcrumbs in place of half of the flour. What I did next is really the funnest part of all. I then placed the nuggets, fully cooked and evenly spaced, on a baking sheet and placed them in the freezer overnight. Then when morning came around I threw them all into a Ziploc bag and patted myself on the back for making my first bag of chicken nuggets. Then lunch time came around and I removed three of them, warmed then up and handed them over to the greedy little hungry guy hanging from my pant leg. I dare not say where they went from there. But I will say this, Khage loves the taste of his homemade nuggets, I love that they dont contain any of the uglies mentioned earlier and Brad loves cereal. I know he's in a world all his own.

And I got over 20 nuggets for way less then five dollars. C'mon lets all get gronola and make our own nuggets!

Your wees will love them and so will your wallet.

My little Olympian.

I forsee a bright future ahead for Khage. I no longer fear him becoming a petty car thief. Yes, things are looking so much brighter for him. Within weeks he went from delinquency to Olympian.... me and my parenting style will take the credit for that thank you.

Khage can climb anything these days. He scales over baby gates, packnplays, bar stools and right outta his crib. It is quite inspiring to watch a sixteen month old grab the world by its horns and decide that he will no longer be contained. Daddy and I have watched him do these things and it is very eloquent the way in which he pulls himself up with nothing but the power in his arms and then he ever so gracefully throws his leg over the side. This kid has an insane amount of upper body strength and an astonishing level of flexibility in his hips and legs. I'm telling you Khage will be an Olympian... Weightlifting? Rowing? Jumping hurdles? I don't know that will be his choice, I just supplied the genes to make the dream happen. The rest is up to him.

There is a point to this post and I will get to that now. Khage has backed us into a corner, he obviously cannot remain in the crib that he treats as his very own McDonald's Play Place so into a big boy bed he goes. I think hes too young, but Khage thinks he doesn't care what I think and made the decision without consulting his makers. None the less, the decision was made and we are simply left to deal. We are working on day 3 over here and I am ready to throw the towel in and build fortress like walls onto his crib and re discuss this decision again in six months. But boy does he look ever so sweet sleeping in his bed. Its moments like these that I realize that Time really got away from me.

 And for those Mommies out there who are looking at the above picture and impulsively sticking out there hands to catch the baby before he rolls right off of the bed and onto the floor: he is being safely guarded by a pool noodle. Yes. Pool noodle. It hides under his sheet, serves as a bumper and protects him from the floor all throughout the night. No ugly mesh or expensive wood rails will be purchased in this house. Were cheap, functional and we recycle.

Slick Jimmy

Khage is developing such craftman skills. He will hold a screwdriver like he was born with it.

I assure you he was not... Don't you think I would remember that.

But jokes aside, this boy will see a lock and immediately grab for a screwdriver. At first my thoughts were purely cozy at the sight of this but then they went to a scary place... to a place where I imagined Khage being all too skilled in the art of petty theft. I mean hes fifteen months and I'm pretty confident that its only a matter of time before he can successfully break into a car using a jimmy or a coat hanger. I think now is the time that toddler's personalities are created, and by the looks of things mine may grow into a crook; a car stealing, mustache wearing delinquent who goes by the name of Slick Jimmy on the streets.

 

  

 And he is so dedicated... he wont stop until he gets the goods. You better believe it, this kid will be bringing home hot cars before he's even out of high school. Hes gonna make Mama so proud.

 

And the scary part is, as if thieving toddlers are not enough, he totally gets all maniac while he does it. He's all amped up and ready to go get himself a caddy.

 

Not today Slick Jimmy... Mama's on to you!

Mama Made 'Em

 Today's a big day for all of us. (Well to keep it real Monday was, but I am just now getting around to blogging about it).

Khages first pair of Mama Made shorts are complete and he is rocking the seams out of 'em. I swiped the tutorial off of this blog and with Brads help I completed these in a day! Now I'm ready to kick off the Mama sweatshop and make a couple more pairs... linen, seersucker, colorful plaids... the possibilities are endless! Now lets see these babies in action...

A boys gotta have pockets... or else where would he store all his dirt?

 The elastic waistband was unequivocally the hardest part! But if your anything like me you cringe at the thought of sewing in elastic. Do you stretch it to sew it , do you cut it shorter or leave it longer to account for the stretchability?... this is around the time that Brad came to my rescue, don't hate he's all man even if he can work a sewing machine!

 Lets take a minute and adore the way Khage is sitting on the step with his feet all crossed like he has manners, just enjoying his new shorts and the way they let in the morning breeze.

These shorts give Khage the freedom to do everything: Stand.

 Crouch.

 Flash gang signs.

 And when asked how he feels about his homemade shorts this is what I got

I think my little chummy is happy with his new threads!

Yo Gabba

Khage and I just watched our first episode of Yo Gabba Gabba...

Seriously?

Is this some kind of sick joke?

I can't stop laughing.

Most kid shows are bearable but this one is downright painful to watch

And sure enough this is the show that Khage sat and watched a whole episode of...

Oh dear.

Happy Monday.

These Two

I don't doubt for a second that Khage already looks up to his Daddy. He mimics most things Brad does and radiates with joy when he does something that gets a laugh out of his Daddy.  Its not the first time I have said this but the older he gets it rings truer and truer: Khage is a mini version of Brad. He loves the garage, fiddles with tools, and at the end of most days he's filthy from head to toes. He is always on the go go go and as long as he is outside he is in a complete state of happiness. (Not to say that I don't love the out doors, but I could also get pretty excited about a nice little comfy spot on the couch.)

To this Mama slash Wife this picture is pure heaven, both of my guys, together in the grime of the garage, enjoying each other, Khage learning from his Daddy, and that Daddy getting totally excited about Khage successfully creating a spark with his striker.

What does Pinterest say? Oh yes."Don't marry a man unless you would be proud to have a son just like him." To that I say "Objective complete!"