Sad day

Can you tell that I look like my Papap?

Today marks five years since my father passed away. This day is always tough for me, but I think more so this year. It hurts me so much that Brady will never get to meet his Pap and that he will never really get to know what a great person he was.
I imagine that my dad would have been a great grandfather. I know that he would have exaggerated every little milestone to any person he had the chance to tell. According to him, I’m sure that Brady would be reading on a third grade level already and be bigger and stronger than any child on earth.
One of the first thoughts I had when Brady was born was that he looked so much like my dad. It wasn’t something that I expected, but I could see my father in his face. I really take comfort in that…in the fact that I know that a little piece of my dad lives on in my son.

I’m melting

My heart that is. The boy has gotten all lovey-dovey lately. He likes to give and receive hugs all the time! It is the best thing ever!

The husband and I discovered about 2 weeks ago that if you kneel down on the floor and open your arms, Brady will run over and give you a big hug. He does it multiple times a day and yet every single time it makes my heart jump in my chest.

If I ask him to find Daddy, he will run to wherever my husband is saying “daddy, daddy,” and wrap his little arms around his leg when he finds him. Precious!

One of my favorite things of all though is how much Brady loves our cat, Lola. It’s unfortunate that she doesn’t love him back in the same way, but she is a cat and she barely notices whether my husband and I  are home or not. But Brady is absolutely enthralled with her. “Diddy”, his word for kitty is the word he uses most consistently.

Diiiiiiiiideeeeeeee!

When he wakes up in the morning and hits the floor, his first thought is “diddy.” When we get back from a walk and he gets out of the stroller, “diddy.” When she walks into the room, “diddy!!!!” And if I sit him next to her on the chair or the bed, he lays his head on her back, puts his arms around her, scrunches her fur and says, “ahhhhhh, diddy.”

Yes he has gotten some  scratches, but she puts up with it very well. It’s only if he hits her face or pulls her tail that she swats at him and I keep her nails very very short.

I don’t know if it gets any better than this. My little man is just so lovable and loving! It’s truly an amazing thing to see him becoming more and more his own person everyday.

Mommy toes

Ugh, naked toes!

So this is what happens when you become a mom. Your needs often fall by the wayside in favor of the needs of your child. My mother always told me this and I’ve certainly found it to be true in many ways, but nowhere can this be better seen than on my naked, naked toenails.

From the age of 14 until this time I have never gone more than 8 days (yes 8 DAYS) without having polish on my toenails. As a teen I  did it myself in pastels and metallics and wild jungle colors, in college I indulged in a pedi from time to time and had a thing about putting a layer of sparkle polish on top, as an adult I got routine pedicures every 3 weeks in the latest and most season-friendly shades, and when I was pregnant the nail salon was my own person heaven. When I delivered Brady my fingers and toes had just been done in a dark dark purple. All of the nurses kept commenting on my nails!

I removed the cracked and peeling paint from my last pedicure just after Halloween and my toes have been this way ever since! I am not a fan of toes or feet in general and having unadorned toenails has been heretofore unacceptable to me.

Yay! Baby toes!

But, now that my personal time is limited and the holidays are upon us and family time is scarce as well, I’ve let it go. It still bugs me and I am just counting the days until my pre-Christmas pedi, but I’m proud of myself for being a big girl about it. I can have unpolished toes and still love myself. That’s a pretty big step in the life of me. Plus I get to look at these little munchkin toes everyday…and who wouldn’t love that?

Oh the weather outside is…

Aren't I cute in my Paddinton Bear coat?

Actually, today it was pretty nice. But it’s been icky for the past few weeks. I hate winter…well, that’s not entirely true. I do hate endless gray and drizzly days, bundling up the munchkin who does not want to be bundled, putting my head down into the wind as I walk, having the Bundle-Me on the stroller, having to find two matching gloves (for me and him), and most of all being stuck inside. But I do love snow and the way that it makes the city beautiful and quiet even if it only lasts 15 minutes, I love Christmas decorations, and the way the munchkin looks when he’s all bundled up, and the smell of fireplaces burning.

So I guess there’s a give and take. But I am realizing that the boy and I are going to have to find some activities for the winter. We can’t hang out at Barnes and Noble in the kid’s section until March. I just wish that it didn’t all cost so much money!!!! I’ll be looking into no or low cost alternatives to the bookstore in the weeks to come. Wish me luck!

I have two winter looks!