Well, the weekend got off to a good START...

Friday went pretty well...

First, Aiden had an appointment with a new dermatologist, who was absolutely great with him. She played with him for the longest time and looked over him, kneeling on the floor so he could continue to play with his cars the whole time. We've been dealing with some bad eczema flare-ups for a while now, and he's got a bit of a yeast/fungal infection, as well. And we're concerned about an infection from him scratching the eczema every chance he gets...which is more often since he is sitting on the potty some now. He uses that as an opportunity to scratch, even if we're there to stop him (you can't catch it all the time!). So, we left with FOUR prescriptions, one promising to be rather expensive. Well, actually, she gave us enough samples for one of them, so that helps. The expensive one is a prescription lotion, and the pharmacy had to order that, so we'll get it Monday. Some of his spots are already looking worlds better.

Then there was a soc hop at Camden's school. Lots of fun. He even joined in on some dances with his friends. Apparently they learn some of the line dances in gym (as in the cool ones...). They had a big raffle event, as well. Tons of HUGE baskets filled with things based on themes. AND Camden won one! We put tickets into a bunch, some that he wanted, some that would be nice for all of us. Of course, he didn't win the one any of us REALLY wanted, but it's always exciting to win! It was a basket of school supplies...we now have enough crayons, glue, paper, pencils, erasers, etc to last for QUITE a while, plus plenty more items, some pretty nice! He was actually pretty pleased, and, get this - it's the basket from HIS class!

We ended the night by putting Aiden to bed and watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution with Camden. If you haven't seen this show...you so need to! It actually takes place in the city Ryan grew up and where his family still lives. There's a lot of focus on school lunches. Camden no longer eats school lunches, but we still think he can learn a lot from watching about them. Great show. We're hoping it helps to lead to some big changes in the school lunch program. Click here to see more about the Food Revolution. And while you're at it, sign the petition to get some healthier lunches in our schools! (Whether or not you have a child in school... It should be that important.)

So, the weekend got off to a pretty good start... Then Saturday happened. I think, and I'm totally serious, that this was the worst day of poor Aiden's little life. He woke up early throwing up. And he never really stopped. He never had a fever, which is odd, I think. He couldn't keep anything down, though. We talked to the on-call dr around 10:30 Saturday morning, and he said not to give Aiden anything to eat or drink for the next 4-5 hours to let his stomach settle. The kid was begging to have water or nurse. I did break down and nurse him before his nap because he just would not accept going to sleep without that, and he hadn't thrown up for two hours by then - the longest stretch he had all day at that point. He took a good nap, but as soon as I had him out of the crib, he threw up again.

He threw up at least 20 times during the day, if not more; we lost count after a while. He was literally begging to have water to drink or to nurse all day long, and it's been breaking our hearts not to give him anything. I know it's what he needs, but I feel like we're starving him! He had a couple sips of water earlier in the day and threw it up. Ryan got some electrolyte mix to give him (like Pedialyte but without any sugar or anything artificial - it actually tastes really good!! We got the kids version at Whole Foods, though it's only showing the main version on the website, which is supposed to be fine for kids, too)...even just having a teaspoon of that resulted in him throwing up. With so little in his belly, he was dry heaving pretty much all day. I've experienced a lot of dry heaving during my pregnancies, and I think it is one of the worst feelings ever. He was at the point where he couldn't breathe when he was trying to throw up and you could tell it really hurt him...and scared him. It scared us plenty, and we weren't the ones doing it! Aiden has had some stomach bugs before, but he usually only throws up a couple times and then just doesn't feel good the rest of the day. He's never had anything this extreme. Luckily, he's not been showing signs of dehydration, but we've been watching closely because of how much he's throwing up. He was pretty lethargic most of the day...getting up to play for a few minutes here and there earlier on but then getting worn out easily, and spending most of the day just lying in my arms and asking me to sing to him.

The night wasn't great but not as bad as we were anticipating, maybe it felt that way because we were prepared for the worst. He got sick regularly after going to sleep, until about 1 or so. He actually had asked to go to bed, so you know he was tired! He went down without nursing...but he still woke up regularly for a few hours to throw up, until about 1am or so. Each time he got up and got sick, he would then reach for his crib and say "bed," because he just wanted to go back to sleep. (He was incredibly pitiful.) After that, he slept until 4, woke up without getting sick, and then slept again until almost 6. Since he had went so long without getting sick and was really insistent on nursing, we let him. He threw it up about 30 minutes later. We noticed this morning he has some red spots under his bottom lip and on his chin, probably from the acid from throwing up so much.

BUT...he hasn't thrown up since. Yet, at least. In the morning, we let him have a few pieces of dry cereal here and there, along with a teaspoon or so of the electrolyte drink. By 10, he was begging to nurse, and since he had kept the other down so far, we let him nurse, but just a little. He was pretty mad about that but still took a nap. Woke up after an hour, was up for a little while, insisting again on nursing. He must be feeling a bit better because he's getting really mad when we tell him no about nursing or tell him he has to wait. Yesterday, he would keep asking but not throw a fit. He didn't have the energy! So, I just nursed him some more, and he's actually back in bed about to go to sleep again. We were going to speak with the on-call doctor more today if he kept throwing up, but he hasn't gotten sick since 6:30, and it's almost noon at this point. That's pretty big for him, so hopefully he's on the mend!

I realize this might not seem that big of a deal...a stomach bug and all. But it has been for him and for the rest of us. He's not at the point where he can understand he can't eat or drink because he'll get sick from it. Having to see him beg for water or milk and having to tell him no has been so difficult for us. Seeing him throw up in the way he has, seeing how painful it is for him and how scary...it's been painful and scary for us. We've been really worried about dehydration or needing to go to the emergency room, but thankfully it did not come to that point. We're all exhausted, and Aiden still isn't feeling well, but he does seem a bit better than yesterday. And he's certainly not throwing up as much, which we're thrilled about. But we're still taking it very, very easy and slow with the liquids and a bit of dry cereal.

Hopefully he's fine by tomorrow! Camden is out of school for a while, and we're hoping to be able to get some things done and be able to get outside and play soon. And hopefully nobody else catches whatever it is he has. I'm not sure where this came from, but...every stomach bug he has ever had has come one day after being in some doctor's office. I don't think that's a coincidence. Even our regular doctor's waiting room doesn't have toys for the kids (which we are thankful for!), but Aiden still walks all around, touching the chairs and trying to share his toys with just about anybody sitting down in the room. The office we were at Friday did have a play table, and even though he was there for maybe two minutes (and shared his toy with two different men sitting and waiting), it's really impossible to keep him from playing and interacting with others. We can take all the toys in the world and try to distract him, but there's no way with him. We can wash his hands as soon as we get into the exam room. But he still seems to constantly get sick after going to the doctor...

Aiden's Big News!

Aiden has some exciting news to share!

(And NO...not that kind of exciting news! Ha!)

Go to our pictures HERE and see the last few that were uploaded earlier this week. Here are a couple of them...

That's right...Aiden pooped in the potty!

This might have been coincidental and just plain ol' good timing, but we'll still take it. This was on Monday. Today, Aiden actually did this AGAIN...after asking himself to do it! (Earlier he told me he needed to poop, as well, but it was too late. But still! That's something!)

He sits on the potty multiple times a day, asking many of the times or agreeing enthusiastically if we ask, and happily sitting for up to twenty minutes if we let him, just reading a book and swinging his feet. We're not really pushing this at the moment, just working on awareness. He's been showing some signs that he's aware for a while now. But if he keeps this up...who knows!!

We're really not expecting much at the moment, though. Camden started to train around 18 months, then decided he wasn't ready. Started again around 2 years, then decided again he wasn't ready. At 2 1/2, he trained in no time. He was ready. ;) So, no worries. We won't be disappointed if he's not potty trained in a couple months or even more. We're just following Aiden's lead and seeing where things go. If he wants to potty, he sits on it. When he says he's done, we let him down. He's in charge.

Good Day

Ahhhh...today was a good day.

Well, it didn't start out as we would have planned. Aiden woke up by 5:30, but...life goes on. Other than that and his tantrum right before naptime because he was so tired (wonder why?!), it was a great day.

Camden had a soccer game. An early one. I stayed in with Aiden because he's had a cold and it was still cool out. Camden probably could have sat this game out, too, because he said his throat was hurting, but he went anyway. They won, again. He scored, again. He's scored in each game so far this season.

The weather has been perfect today. I managed to get Aiden outside for a bit before lunch, while Ryan got things ready. He just ran and ran. The boy loves outside. He ran down the street past where Camden was playing with some friends in the cul de sac, stopping to wave at everyone. There's a long wooden bridge that connects paths in the neighborhood, and Aiden loves walking on it, so he did that for a while. When it was time to go back home, he threw a fit for a minute when he figured out we were leaving the bridge. Then another fit when I took him in the back door. But he was excited to eat, so... He just loves the outdoors! I'm thankful for the warm weather we're having lately. Camden wants to be out all the time, which is better than him asking why he can't play computer/video games. And Aiden gets so excited when we get to go "outside, outside."

Then I had a 90-minute massage with the best massage therapist around. (Seriously. This lady is really good and clearly knows what she's doing. Any locals that are looking for a good place to go, let me know. It's well-priced, too, compared to the other places I've been in the area.) That was a much needed break, though there were some pretty painful moments. I'm sure it would help if I could go more often, but... At least it's a good pain. And still relaxing.

After that, the guys were heading to the grocery and happened to be going right when I was leaving from my massage, so we all went together. Didn't really have much choice, even if I wanted to go on home. Ryan was driving by just to say hi, and once Aiden saw me...there was no leaving without Mama! We got home from grocery shopping with enough time to play outside for a bit before dinner, too. That was my plan. Spent a little more time going back and forth on the bridge while Camden stayed at home playing basketball in the driveway with some friends. Aiden kept running, coughing, and signing "bird" (because birds were chirping all over the place!) all at the same time. Nothing was going to slow him down!!

Everyone liked dinner. Boys are all in bed asleep now. And nothing special is on tv, which means we might actually get to bed at a decent time ourselves.

All in all, it was a good day.

I took some pictures of Aiden running around today (harder to get pics of Camden b/c he's always off with his friends...) that I will post on our albums soon. I'm on Ryan's laptop right now, so no-can-do just yet. I did post some pictures of our family night at the park last night. We had a picnic with pizza (Z-Pizza now has gluten-free pizza!! Not quite the same...but it was decent. And they're egg-free, too, so Aiden could also eat it!) and spent some time just running around in an open field. Another great evening. Pictures are here...

2010 March

I'll add the pics from the weekend soon! I'm sure there will be more pics now that we'll be getting outside more with some nice weather.

Hope everyone else is having a good weekend!!

Updated...newest pictures have been added. I don't waste any time, huh? (Not with super-cute pictures to show off!) ;)

Nineteen months

Busy boy always looking at something else!

Yes, this is late. As usual. It's tax season, and I have a demanding toddler. I get little computer time these days. Ask all the people I owe emails...(or that have been owed and waited for a couple weeks to get them). All of this is based on when Aiden actually turned 19-months, on the 6th, not on what he's doing now.

Favorites

• A new favorite book, especially for bedtime, is now God Gave Us You. Shortly after he impressed me by sitting through this book, he decided he also liked The Little House, which is much longer (a lot longer than one would expect him to sit and listen!). I've realized that Aiden's naptime nursing session is a great time to get him used to hearing longer stories, and he really loves it, as well. He used to be a super-quick nurser, but now he will take quite a while, which is opposite from what I keep hearing from others with nursing toddlers. And it makes a perfect time for cuddling together and reading longer books. Whenever it's time to sit down before his nap or bedtime, he grabs whichever book he wants (always the longer ones now!), and pats the seat indicating he's ready.
• Draping blankets/towels over his shoulders and the back of his neck (kind of like a scarf) and walking around. It's so funny to see. He'll use whatever he finds, even a hand towel from the kitchen.
• Cereal. With milk. In the mornings, when we're walking down the stairs to get ready for breakfast, he tells me he wants cereal. I often don't even have to ask, he just tells me. It used to be bananas, but now he is all about the cereal. And if I ask him with or without milk, he lets me know clearly he wants with.
• Other favorite foods...sweet potatoes (he will eat an entire one and more if we let him!), tomatoes, avocado, blueberries, dried cranberries, currants, yogurt bites, any of the freeze dried fruits from Trader Joe's (these things are so yummy and great for on-the-go), tortilla chips (he calls them crackers). Pirate's Booty (veggie and barbecue flavors) is a new one; these are rice/corn puffs. Camden takes the veggie ones in his lunch most days , and I'm always surprised he's choosing those over the barbecue! It's hard to find good snacks that are gluten- and egg-free, esp that can be tossed in something to have on the run; and these are healthy to boot! A side note about the cranberries...did you realize the Craisins kind you get at the store has lots of added sugar? I'm not surprised, but I never paid too much attention until Aiden wanted some and we happened to see some at Whole Foods that were marked as being sweetened with apple juice. There's still some sugar b/c it is juice, but it's less, at least! And they taste better, I think, too.
• "What's this?" We hear this from Aiden about ten times a minute!! He points to any and everything asking what it is, even if he knows what it is. And he'll point to the same thing over and over, too, especially when reading. It's actually really great because it's a good way to work on his language skills. We often ask him to tell us what it is instead, too.
• Kermit the Frog toy. This used to be Camden's when he was really young (I think...that or it was mine? It's been too long....). Aiden loves it because he sings. BUT he can't really find the button to push easily enough (it is tricky), so he's constantly asking us to do it. Over. And over. I don't mind hearing the songs over and over. It's having to push the buttons over and over that gets to me.

• Lip balm. He loves it. Whenever he sees it, he gets excited at the idea of getting some.
• Sweeping. He tries to use the big broom, too. Maybe it's time for his own child-sized broom... ;)
• Trying to put our shoes on. And when successful with that...trying to walk in them.
• Five Little Ducks song. He will sign "duck," letting me know he wants to hear the song. Sometimes he'll even go out of the room while I sing, playing whatever. But when the song is over, he appears again to let me know he wants me to sing it again. This will happen over and over, sometimes until I just say I'm not singing anymore (sometimes after singing it 25 times, you need a break).
• Reading. Reading books has always been a favorite. He will sit and let you read over and over. He'll often get some books, take them to the couch, and pat the seat until you finally come over. He can be rather insistent, though, when it comes to reading, he doesn't need to be. We're happy to oblige. :) Until we've read the same book about 7 times, at least. He's all about the repetition, as you can surely tell.
  

He's either telling me what he's pointing at or asking "What's this?" Probably asking, even though he knows the answer.

Least Favorites

• Giving up his 4am nursing session. Ok, so before this month, he was waking around that time each morning to nurse, and he would stay awake and nurse for nearly an hour before finally I could stop him and then get him back to sleep (no, he doesn't nurse to sleep). At this point, we agree he should be able to skip that and just nurse when he wakes up...it's only a couple hours later. But man, it's been a rough time trying to convince Aiden. Actually, he's been ok giving up the nursing. But he still often wakes at that time and doesn't really go back to sleep! He'll be in and out of sleep until we let him stay up around 6am (with Ryan having to constantly go into his room...if I do, he gets VERY angry that I'm not holding him, nursing him, or taking him to our room). It's not been fun for any of us (I'm still awake even if I stay in our room), and we're all a bit sleep deprived. Because of this, Aiden's also been sleeping more poorly at naptime. But...we seem to be having a bit of improvement over the last few days, so hopefully that will continue! We think his recent separation anxiety is a big contributor with how difficult this has been. He just wants someone in there with him. But then he doesn't go back to sleep as well if someone is in there. Not a fun cycle.
• The end of a Signing Time video. He only watches one a day, if that. Sometimes when it's over, he's fine. Sometimes he fusses a bit. Sometimes he throws a fit (though usually just for a minute, until something else catches his attention). And he asks for Signing Time all throughout the day.
• Being taken out of his Radio Flyer wagon. Even if it is inside, he will beg to sit in it. And after a while, we'll feel bad that he's buckled into a wagon inside, so we'll go to take him out...and he gets pretty mad. So, I promise, we're not making him sit in it...he LOVES that thing.
  

New Developments

• Drinking from a cup (again). He now drinks from a regular cup at every meal. He was doing fine with this before, and then last month he decided he was too afraid it would spill and didn't want to hold the cup by himself. After a few meals where we would help him once then leave it up to him, he realized if he wanted to drink, he had to hold the cup himself. And he did. And he did fine. We now only use sippy cups with straws during the day for his water that he carries around. Or for smoothies, which he has also had from a regular cup with a straw. The one problem we have is that sometimes...when he's done with his meal, after he hands you his bowl and all that, instead of handing you his cup, he picks it up and then quickly turns it upside down!! He's doing better about that lately. Not sure why he does it...he doesn't act like he's doing it to get attention or to play. He acts surprised when it goes all over him. I think he's just figuring it all out.
  
• Potty awareness. No, we're not pushing potty learning, but Aiden is showing a number of signs and some interest. So, we got a potty seat...and he asks to sit on it quite a bit. Hasn't led to anything yet, and we're not in a hurry. But he's certainly at least interested.
• Nursing. As mentioned above, he is no longer nursing in the middle of the night. He also gave up his 10am nursing. I wasn't sure when that one would happen because for a long time now, he has demanded that one and is very punctual about it! 10am on. the. dot. I have gone along with the "don't offer, don't refuse" method with nursing, now that he's a toddler. One day, he happened to have some cereal out and kept eating that instead of asking to nurse. So, after a few days of that, I considered that session to be dropped. He's asked a couple of times for it, but it's usually too close to lunchtime, so I do say no then. He still nurses before nap, before bed, and as soon as he gets up in the morning. If you are wondering why I am still nursing a toddler...feel free to read this post I put up shortly before Aiden turned 12 months. And know that this is VERY healthy for both child and mom. And if that's not enough, you can know our doctors (all the ones we've been to lately!) have told us to keep it up as long as we can, especially with all of Aiden's allergies and other problems. That is actually one of the best ways to prevent allergies. (With them being what they are, I can't imagine how worse off he might be if I never nursed or stopped it earlier!) I really have no idea when he might be willing to let go of the nursing sessions before sleeping. This kid LOVES his milk.
• Aiden's really learning a lot lately. Alphabet, colors, animals, all kinds of things. If you ask him what color something is, he'll probably tell you it's red. But he can sign the colors and will say most of them, too. Sometimes he'll point out a color if you ask him ("Where is the blue?"). He's learning some of his alphabet songs. If you ask what "j" says, he'll make the j sound. If you ask him what an "o" is, he'll sign "o." Just a few examples... He's even pointed out some letters on his own and made the correct sounds for them. He loves playing with his alphabet toy on the fridge and will make the sounds along with the songs. He knows a TON of animals, the signs for them, their sounds, etc.
• Blowing his nose. This actually is from a couple months ago, but I forgot to mention it, and now that he has a cold again, I'm reminded. It seems so funny seeing him able to blow his nose, but...I guess with as often as he is sick, he's figured it out!

Kissing Bunny.
(These pics are for you, especially, Ashley!) ;)

• Bunny as a lovey... This isn't new, but we have noticed lately that when he is using Bunny as a lovey while nursing or when falling asleep, he plays with Bunny's tail. He fingers it between his finger and thumb. I can just see the tail falling off sometime in the next year or so... We'll have to figure out how to fix it asap after that happens! I don't think he could do without Bunny. He actually just saw the picture while I was typing, and starting asking for him! It's funny...because when he says Bunny, it sounds a heck of a lot like Mama. Sometimes the only way I can tell the difference is the fact that he signs "bunny." I've detected a slight difference lately. You wouldn't think the two would sound a lot alike, but they do...and hearing it the way he says it, it makes sense that they do (if that makes sense).

Keeping Us On Our Toes

Aiden does. Totally.

We've been looking into some new lotions for him...ones that are really good with sensitive skin and that are lacking in the chemical department. Also ones lacking in parabens (those are things hidden under words like "fragrance"), which are known to cause irritation. That stuff is bad for ya! With his eczema and tendency to react to things with rashes, we are extra careful. So, the first new soap and lotion we actually found locally. Has none of the stuff we don't want. Even was recommended by others as being good to use with eczema and was reviewed by a website we really trust (that focuses on finding these safer products). This IS a newer brand, though, and hasn't been rated on the cosmetic database (more about that another time, if you're not familiar with it), but we were pleased with these other reviews, so... Anyway, we noticed Aiden's back and belly started getting bumpy after a couple of days. After a few hours outside at Camden's soccer game Saturday (where it was incredibly windy), his cheeks and chin were bright red. But we later realized...it wasn't the wind. It was the new products.

Big bummer.

We're back to the old stuff. And we got the next new lotion in today (which is free of everything, even more than this other brand, so my hopes are a bit higher). I put some on one cheek before naptime and before bedtime today. We'll see how that goes before smothering it all over the poor kid's body.

Then the other excitement...as if that wasn't enough. (Oh, trust me, that wasn't much compared to the rest of the weekend.) Sunday, Aiden slips and hits his mouth on the bookshelf. Busts his lip, bleeding, swollen, the works. It actually wasn't that bad...ended up being a cut. Injuries involving the mouth always seem worse because of all the blood. While I'm trying to comfort him and get him to realize the thing I'm shoving in his face is a popsicle that he does actually like, he throws his head back. Busts MY lip. But mine is actually worse than his... So now we're both bleeding and swollen. Only, he gets the yummy popsicle and I get ice.

(For those of you thinking, yeah, I know how that feels...getting smacked in the face with a toddler head... Well, little known fact...I currently have braces. Ha. Yeah, for just a couple months and just on the front part - the part that everyone sees, you know. Actually, the top ones come off tomorrow. Great timing. I've had quite a few hits on the mouth from his hard head. And quite a few busted lips because of it. Not the same as being hit when you just have teeth there, trust me. Today he even did it again, right next to the spot from yesterday! You can't predict where that head will go when he throws it back out of nowhere. Tuesday morning can't get here fast enough!)

Think we can top that?? Oh yeah. We can.

After he eats the popsicle and then lunch, I go to get him ready for his nap. What do I see?? Hives. On his chin and neck where the juice from the popsicle dripped down his face. Seriously?! Seriously. Our first thought was surely there were no egg products in there?? Surely not because this mama checks labels like crazy. I was quite picky about picking out popsicles despite that. (Me...picky about food? Noooo.... Ha.) These had only passion fruit, coconut milk, sugar, and pectin. That's it! Shouldn't be the coconut b/c we use coconut oil on him a lot. He has had pectin in a couple other things. I guess it could be that but not likely. Or the passion fruit. Though that doesn't seem too likely either, my mom told me today she's allergic to a different tropical fruit (can't remember which one at the moment). He's had the popsicles on two other ocassions with no problem, but we've learned that is common. It's often not the first exposure that brings out the reaction...

And, you know...I noticed the other day that Aiden seemed to have a reaction to ketchup! We get organic ketchup even (yes, really - the regular stuff has high fructose corn syrup in it). He's had it on a number of occasions. Loves the stuff. What kid doesn't? (And really...organic tastes SOOO much better than the regular stuff. It really does.) But this time, he was eating it (more ketchup than the actual food, of course) and started getting red around his lips and also rubbing it. You could tell it itched and bothered him by how he was acting. He kept whining and rubbing it. Even when he's developed hives, they haven't seemed to bother him. We're wondering about the vinegar maybe. He eats tomatoes all the time; they're one of his favorites (one of the many, many...). And, I hate to admit, this is the one food we allow him to eat that states "made in a facility that also uses eggs." Yes, I'm sorry, we broke the rule there. Nobody makes ketchup that isn't!! So, it's either that or the kid can't have ketchup. Which means nobody can have ketchup. He's crazy over that stuff. And we don't eat stuff he can't (esp stuff he wants!) right in front of him. We're going to try him again soon when his face has no other redness and we are watching like crazy. If it happens again, I guess we'll have to knock out ketchup, too.

Oh, one more thing. We go for his egg challenge the end of the month. I was hopeful and thinking, maybe he'll have outgrown it. It would be easier to deal with the gluten stuff if he could have eggs. And we're really missing some of our dishes that involve mostly eggs. I never make eggs and rarely use them for anything. Ryan tried to finish some off the other day before they expired, so I touched some cooked scrambled eggs and then touched Aiden's cheek. A hive shortly appeared. What's the point in the food challenge?? A day at the hospital just to tell us he still can't have eggs when we can figure that out at home? True, he could just have a contact issue, but if that's the case, he still isn't supposed to eat them. My hopes...not up any more.

So, yes, this kid keeps us on our toes.

I LOVE this kid

Camden is such a cool kid. Really he is. Maybe I'm a bit biased... And it doesn't hurt when he tells me I'm a cool mom.

Sunday, he and I went out on a little date (thanks to Ryan for the idea, looking everything up, and for providing the funds). ;) It was all a total surprise for him; he thought he was joining me to run errands. He wasn't too thrilled, but when I said it was a chance for the two of us to hang out together, he was up for it. First stop was Borders, where he got the second and third books in the Percy Jackson series. He was stoked. When walking out, I asked if he thought the day could get any better. He thought not.

Until we parked in front of the theater. We went and saw Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief and shared some candy and a pop (yes, I DO allow these things occasionally...). He was so happy that while the movie was coming on, he leaned over and kissed me on the mouth. I mean, there were even people sitting behind us! And he's ten! How many ten-year-olds will kiss their mama like that out in public? (Mine will apparently.) :) Ever since his first day of kindergarten, I've wondered when he would stop kissing me and telling me he loved me in public. Still hasn't happened. (But I am sure to appreciate each occurrence, realizing that it could soon end.)

Then the other night, after complaining about one more food he had to eat but didn't like...he decided he liked it. Ha. (I love proving my child wrong. I'll have to try to post soon about how we do the food thing here. Not that it's anything too special.) The next day, yesterday, he was saying he was excited about what we were having for dinner...my mini meatloaves and roasted potatoes. Before I said anything, he remarked about how he knew what I was thinking...he used to HATE both of those. Very true. He then said, and I quote, "Apparently your method of getting me to eat and like foods works. You're the smartest mom ever."

He then added, "Except for maybe your mom." (Because, hello, she taught me all this!)

Here are a couple pics of Camden...who fell asleep after refusing to eat his dinner b/c it consisted of the meatloaves, mashed potatoes, and peas, none of which he liked at the time. He likes it all now, except for the mashed potatoes. While he does really like potatoes now...he can't stand mashed. I wonder how long I made him sit at the table before he fell asleep? Or maybe he cried so much he fell asleep? Can't remember. (I'm not mean, though, really.) :)

He was four-years-old here.

What a cutie! Even if he was refusing to eat his dinner...

I should post this recipe soon (the meatloaves). Mmmm...so yummy! I'll try to remember. And find the time. ;)

Jump to this morning... Camden had a two-hour delay with school because of some snow (we've had a very unusual amount of snow for North Carolina this year!), and my errands still had to happen, so he tagged along before school. When I dropped him off, after we said our goodbyes and he was walking away from the car, he turned around, grinned, and blew me a kiss.

Ah. I really love that kid.

Now, I'm off to write all of this down, date it, and possibly have him sign it to prove that he said/did all of this. He might be singing a very different tune soon! (The attitude is already kicking in, and with him just being ten...and knowing how I was when I was a teen...I know it can - and surely will - get much worse! I'm trying to prepare myself for it.) I might need a reminder of how sweet he really is under that occasional attitude. ;)