Adjustments

Brent is doing really well at his new school (the "new cool" as he calls it). I've managed to side-step the morning tears if I just give a quick goodbye, and then hand him his Titi and push him gently through the door. I give it 5 seconds and then peek in the window, and he's already playing with some toy.

I think what he really looks for at first though is his friend Lucy. She has been there for a few months, so she's a bit more acclimated to things. I watch as he follows her around, skipping one step behind her. She pretends not to notice, but I know she probably likes it. Tomorrow night we're going over to visit her when we see our friends, so they'll get some one-on-one time this week, too.

I had a friend capture this screenshot when I picked him up yesterday. Brent's trying to wave at the camera, but mostly he's just confused.

Hope everyone has a lovely long weekend! Happy Memorial Day!

No thanks!

Lately, when Brent goes to bed, he likes to dictate where I have to give him kisses before I can leave. Usually it's the feet, hands, cheeks, etc.

Yesterday, I told him it was time to go to sleep. We got his jammies on, he climbed in the bed face down and said "Kiss butt, mommy!"

Words every mother waits to hear.....

A new direction

I haven't been mentioning the problems I've been having with Brent's babysitter lately, and I'm not going to drag them out now. But yesterday I had had enough, and I went and enrolled him into a new facility close to my work. Our friend has her little girl there, and they seem to be a very good place. Even though he won't be in her class, they will still get to play together a lot. And I will have the peace of mind of knowing where he is and that he is safe.

So, with the day being perfectly beautiful and our troubles far behind us, my Mom and I took Brent to the small beach about 45 minutes away on the Potomac River. We fed seagulls, dug in the sand, ate at an outside table of a beachside restaurant, walked out on the pier and played on the edge of the water. He managed to stay awake on the ride home, and then took a 3 hour nap. I'd like to think he was dreaming of seagulls.

Mother's Day 2007

Mother's day weekend started out great. My mom watched Brent while my friend and I went to a concert up in DC. It was a mother's get-away of sorts. We rode the subway overlooking the city, enjoyed the beautiful evening, and no one asked for juice or had to have their butt wiped or yelled "MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY" for 5 minutes straight for no particular reason. I almost didn't know what to do with myself!

Then on the way home, during a thunderstorm, we hydroplaned, spun around on I-95 a few times going 60 mph, went through the median ditch, and out the other side, stopping short of oncoming traffic. Besides being extremely shaken up, we were fine - and extremely lucky!

So after getting home finally around 3 in the morning, and falling asleep finally some time after that, I wasn't exactly bright-eyed when Brent came to wake me up at 7. I turned on some Thomas, and we made a track and played with his trains for a bit. Every so often I would appeal to him for maybe a hug or kiss for Mother's Day, and he would look at me and decline. "Playing trains mommy! No kisses!!". I pretended to be upset, but he was unphased. "Be happy, mommy! No sad!"

And believe me I was. Because for a moment, I thought I wasn't going to be here to see your smiling face that morning. And anyways, you made up for it later when you weren't ready to go to bed. You grabbed onto my neck and screamed for more kisses. "Kiss my cheek, mommy! Kiss my head! Kiss my shoulder! (as he pointed his elbow in my face)" Every time I started to get up, you would drag me down for more, giggling and shrieking. It was the best present I could have asked for.

Goofy and his Trains

So our latest adventure is trying to make our own knock-off trains to fit his track. Here is my attempt at a zoo car. It is due to be painted, but after being played with for...oh...about 2 minutes, one wheel and both magnets fell off. So it's back to the shop for Mr. Bear for now.

It's hard to take pictures of Brent now, because he wants me to turn the viewfinder around so he can see himself. Though it did make for some interesting photos last night.

Can't tell where he got that chin, can you?

Sunday Lunch

Brent's new favorite place to eat is "Red Robin". 100% of that is because they give kids a balloon every time you go. This time, they actually gave him two, and he managed not to let either of them fly away. So I considered it a successful experience!

I saw a little girl a few tables away getting her picture taken with the mascot, but he went by us and didn't see Brent. So I asked our waitress to go flag him down. Of course, as he got closer, Brent started crying in fear of the GIANT red bird, but he eventually warmed up. He wouldn't let it hold him, but we managed to get this smiling picture in.