Being present.

I think this sums up the thoughts that were floating about our house this weekend. Brad and I often find our selves throwing out phrases such as "life will be perfect when we ____", "once we accomplish ____" and the notorious "if only we had  ____".

It is so mentally exhausting sitting around waiting for life to become perfect. It will never be perfect, we wont ever accomplish everything and we already have so much. In lieu of us deciding to be content, to enjoy our family and marinade in the happiness that our blessing have brought us, I made this typography print. I will have it printed, framed and hug in our home as a daily reminder that being truly present everyday is a must. It is not fair for Khage, observing all that toddlers do, to see his parents always looking toward the future, so eager to see what tomorrow brings, and missing out on today's moments. I don't want that to be something he learns early on; I would rather be an example of utter contentment in the beauty that everyday brings.

And that concludes my philosophical mumbo jumbo for today.

And for those of you who drop by strictly for pictures of our bandicoot, I wont let you down:

Please excuse the sensory banner covering Khage's junk, I don't think I need to add to the list of things I do now or will do in the future to embarrass him... so we will stay clear of flashing his stuff online for the world to see.

But if you remember Khage this time last year you will remember seeing loads of posts with Khage rocking nothing but his paper jockeys... so YES it is official, half naked baby season has begun!

Oh the joys of being a kid.

Poindexter

What a goon!

He not only loves to play with Mr. Potato head, he also looks to him for fashion advice.

I am just so gitty'ishly in love with this kids silly personality.

With the exception of his hostility towards sleeping in his bed and eating his food... I hope he never changes!

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.