This will be short, but sweet. Cliff is out of town on a men's retreat with the church my dad pastors. Dad and Cory are gone too, so Walker and I are bunking up with Grammie (more recently known as Mami).
She had to work a little later last night, but I wanted to get in and settled before dark, so Walker and I came over about 6:30.
We had the best night together in my childhood home. It was neat to watch him do so many of the same things that I did as a child (and admittedly, some I did as an adult). We are here a good bit, but I think this is the first time I've actually been here alone with him.
One of my best memories with Stephen & Cory is chasing one another around and around the kitchen and living room. You can leave the den, cut through the kitchen to the living room and circle from the living room to the den and start over. We ran laps around the house that way so many nights, usually chasing one another with rolled up towels. Sometimes we'd "catch" one another and just wrestle on the floor. As we got older, with Cory & I, it turned into my punching him in the arm and him "eating corn" on my knee. Oooooooh, I HATE that feeling! Walker and I settled for chasing. He loves to be chased. It's one of his favorite games...and he can RUN. He'd say "git-chu" which means "I'm gonna get you" but then he'd take off running . Ha ha ha. At least we know what he means. :) From time to time, he'd get so excited that he'd turn around and come running at me and so I'd hit my knees and he'd just throw his arms around me and give me the biggest hug. He does this ALOT. It's one of my most favorite things he does. I can almost see the love flowing out of him and it's like he just cannot contain it anymore...and he just throws himself into a physical expression of how "full" he is. I love my child and I love how loving he is.
Most things in this house have been here since I was small. We've never been "upgraders" but they have recently upgraded the kitchen, livingroom furniture and added a few newer items of decor here and there. The ones that grab Walker's attention though, are the ones that have been here forever. I feel like I have an insiders view to what is going on in his head when I watch him play here and he plays with the same things and in the same places as I did. I love how he hides in some of my old hiding places. He has such a vivid imagination, that I've really seen develop alot lately. He's very into playing "real life" with brooms, cups, pots, Pablo, etc. He likes to bring empty cups and make us pretend to drink from them. He also loves to "feed" and "hydrate" Pablo. More and more I see him imitating the things he sees us doing. It's always just so cute.
Walker has no problem communicating with us these days. He can tell us exactly what he wants, and even moreso, what he does not want. He has no issues letting us know when we don't have it all figured out. I can remember hearing people say to teach babies sign language so that they don't get frustrated with the communication barrier of not being able to talk. We just don't have that problem. Here lately, I'm wishing he couldn't communicate quite as well as he does. :) Sometimes it just gets difficult...especially when his stubborn side (that he gets from...well, nevermind...) comes out! :)
He's such a well behaved little boy right now. He isn't trying nearly as much to challenge our authority like he was a month or two ago. He minds very well. However, he has recently started having mini-tantrums. He will throw his little body onto the floor and kick and yell. If he's holding something, you can rest assured it will go flying across the room. It lasts total less than 30 seconds, but it's a pretty dramatic 30 seconds. So far, we've avoided any public tantrums.
Today we were playing with cars. Cars (or anything with wheels) are one of his favorite things in the world right now. Well, I would grab his car from him because he'd offer it to me and then yank it back. So, I finally started grabbing it from him and he'd make a really mean face and clinch his fists in balls and grrr at me. Then laugh. What's up with that??? When he'd want his car back I'd say "please?" and he would never say it, but when I finally gave it to him I'd say "thank you." He also wouldn't say that. But at one point when we were still playing that game and I didn't say those things, he said "peese dank oo" after I handed him the car. He's such a little sponge. He absorbs everything and we typcially hear it again and again and again. :)
We were having issues with him not wanting me to bathe his bottom the past few weeks. So, Beth & Kathy suggested I give him the wash cloth and ask him to wash his pee-pee. That was a big hit. Now he does it every night and doesn't mind letting me do it after he does. Granted, along with that comes him putting the wash cloth on his nose, ears, knees and belly button and naming each part as he does it. If only I could get him to do those first and his bottom last!
The excitement of getting to wash his own bottom has not flooded over at all into any excitement towards using the potty. He has no interest whatsoever in even considering it. He gets excited about sitting on our potty until he's on there and then he says "no no" but if we suggest he sit on his or even put him on it, he immediately says no. If I do try and put him on it, he cries. He's just not even close to being ready, but that's ok. We've got lots of time.
I'm ready for Cliff to come home. I know he's enjoying the retreat and I am happy he got to go, but this time I've missed him ALOT. It will be nice to have him back with us tomorrow.
Today I spent my morning with Walker and Grammie kept him for a few hours in the afternoon so that I could have a late lunch and shop with Angie & Crystal. (LOVE them...but that's already a known fact.) Crystal made a remark at lunch about how glad she is that we are all such close friends...I'll keep the context personal, but I will say that I agree with her 100% . Not everyone is as blessed to have incredibly close girlfriends built into their family. I am blessed.
Right before bed tonight, Walker was sitting in my lap and he'd randomly look at my face, like he was staring deep into my eyes and touch it and say "my mama" two or three times. Have I mentioned how good it feels to be loved in that way? I love that he adores me. I need to remember to thank God daily for creating the kind of love that a young boy has for his mom...and the kind that a mom has for her boy. Pure sweetness.
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