My Little Pumpkin

PDub is so cute right now.  I can't help it.  He just is.  His family took a trip to Legare Farms for some good ole fashioned fall fun.  There was a playground, hayride, petting zoo, and horse rides.  Oh yeah, and pumpkins!  What a great experience for my little pumpkin!

Yee Haw!~

This is the book, My PDub got Hooked!

When Mama at Law was expecting PDub, his Aunt Cat gave me a book for Mother's Day congratulating me on Grammyhood.  Now when PDub visits, he always sorts through the book basket and finds this book.  I can't give it a better endorsement than that!  And it just goes to show that books are a wonderful gift to expectant mommies and grammies!

Such a Silly Baby  is a rollicking rhyming tale of a hapless mommy who can't seem to go anywhere without having a hitch and getting baby switched!  He gets switched with the chimpanzee at the zoo, with the dancing bear at the circus, with a lazy sow at the farm, and with a buffalo at the Wild West show. Then, when she finally gets the child home for a nap, all the animals follow. What is it that PDub loves?  The animal sounds!  "Oo-oo-ee-ee! He got switched with a chimpanzee!" Each switch builds on the other.  "Grrrr Grrrr, Oo-oo ee-ee!"  Exercise your lungs while reading this one as the sounds continue to string together.  Add to the sounds, the colorful pictures, and you have such a silly book that no toddler will be able to resist it!

Thanks, Aunt Cat!  Oh, and by the way, with PDub, there was no hitch.  He didn't get switched!  Take one look at him, and you will agree...

Daddy at Law looks just like P!

~Such a silly... 

I've Been Working on the Railroad

All aboard!  The train is leaving the station!  PDub was here for a visit with Grammy and Papallama, and Grammy got to take not one, but two terrific train trips!  The first was on Saturday at our town's Squealin on the Square.  (That's a smokin' hot BBQ competition and festival.)  The festival featured among other things, Thomas the Train.  Grammy and PDub took the trip with Thomas down the street and back.  Twice.  We waved at the pedestrians and Papallama.  Twice.

After deboarding, we used some of our 'que-pons' to buy PDub time on the bouncy rides.  At first, he was not sure what to do in the bouncy house until a bigger boy arrived on the scene, jumped in the house, and began to do Olympic flips before our very eyes.  PDub flashed his famous grin and joined in the bounciness.  Just when I thought he was ready to exit, he would make like Tigger, and turn tail and bounce away.  "Oh, he's going to take a big nap after all this," thought foolish Grammy.

Next was the giant slide.  Again, he had to watch once or twice.  Then he was off to the races!  From the flailing that occurred when we took him off, I gathered this was his favorite of all.  Move over, Thomas.

The rest of the festival sort of fizzled from a two year old's perspective.  Only a balloon from a local dance shop made the walk around the Square worth the trip.

And the nap? It never happened.  Papallama took PDub upstairs and read him some stories.  "Read some books to me," suggested Papallama.  PDub obliged until....zzzzzzzz....Papallama was fast asleep.....zzzzzzzz.

WAKE UP! yelled PDub.

The next train trip happened the very next day at a very nice park in a nearby town.  The whole family got in on this one. This little train runs on actual tracks, goes over a wooden train trestle and under a covered bridge.  It was a hoot.  Or maybe I should say, a toot!

PDub played some more on the playground right there next to the depot and impressed us all with his jumping skills and fearlessness.

And most of all, with his ability to do it all without a nap.  Now, excuse me, please.  I am needing mine.

ZZZZZZZZZ~

Yes, He Can!!

So proud~



Good Night, Sleep Tight

My mother in law always put the girls to bed with this little rhyme:
Good night, sleep tight,
Don't let the bedbugs bite,
Wake up bright
In the morning light
To do what's right
With all your might.
 AND DON'T LET THE BEDBUGS BITE! (with an added tickle here)
It is one of those very sweet memories that they have grown up with, especially now that she is approaching her 90th birthday.
 
The recent news of real bed bugs is enough to give anyone a bad case of the willies, and I sure hope they don't migrate to the South, but something tells me they will soon join our lice, termites, ticks, cockroaches, and fireants.  Bugs love us down here. 
 

And just in time for their invasion, PDub has moved to a big boy bed!  He had finally discovered a secret his mama at law had known for several months.  He was more than capable of climbing out of his crib. 

 

He LOVES his new bed.  He has a pillow for his head now and still keeps the 'blankie' that his great aunt Bee knit for him.  He loves it so much, he is known to beg for a few extra minutes in the morning to just sit and be by himself in his bed to sing and talk and wake up at his own leisure. 

 

Now in thinking about books for this blog post, I wondered, "Bed or Bug books?"  How about one of each?  The first I came across is Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Bob Barner.  Mama at Law is not crazy about the outdoors, in large part due to the fact that is where bugs live.  She has already instilled in PDub the lesson that "spiders will bite you!"  Since we also have Black Widow Spiders here, I am okay with that.  But not all bugs are bad, and maybe this book would be a goodwill ambassador on their behalf.

A must have book for bedtime is Time for Bed, by Mem Fox. It has beautiful watercolor pages and a gentle verse sure to lull even the most energetic two year old to sleep.  It may even put Mama at Law to sleep, but then again, she's an easy target. 

Good night, sleep tight...

PDub Gets Skooled

PDub started a new school this fall.  And though change isn't easy, Mama and Daddy at Law felt like it was time to provide a little structure and routine to his day.  (Cause you know as well as I do that he will be in 5K in the blink of an eye!)

PDub is learning that his new school has some rules and boundaries, and that there is this word that grown-ups are starting to use that is not always to his liking.

LISTEN

But he sees a toy over there with his name written all over it...

LISTEN

But he wants to go outside and play...

LISTEN

Stop and eat?  Not right now...

LISTEN

Take a nap?  Are you serious?!...

LISTEN

Stay in this room when there's a big ole world out there to explore?...

LISTEN

It's a powerful word.  It keeps us safe.  It teaches us important lessons.  It tells us stories.  It is a comfort when we are troubled. 

But for now, LISTEN is a hard lesson for a two year old to absorb.  He'll get it though.   Maybe not the easy way.  But he'll get it.  And whenever he needs it, I'll be here to...

LISTEN.

Cocky Rocks! (and Reads!)

For the last few months, Papallama has been very busy.  Busy reading articles about Gamecock football.  Busy watching interviews with Gamecock coaches and players.  Busy gathering his Gamecock football tickets and parking pass.  Busy gathering the tailgate paraphernalia.

And it was all worth it! The USC Gamecocks kicked off their season this week with a big win over Southern Mississippi.  The crowd was electric and the team showed great talent, execution, and teamwork. 

At the beginning of the game, it is tradition for the band to play the 2001 Space Odyssey with smoke and fireworks, but my favorite part is this. A cage with a black drape hanging down is rolled out onto center field.  Once in place, the drape is raised.  As the music reaches a crescendo, the cheerleaders and players run onto the field. 

But don't look there! Watch the draped cage!  Out of nowhere, it's COCKY!!  He magically appears in the cage and comes out fighting, ready for action!  Each game it's the same routine, and yet each time I am excited to see him make his magical appearance. 

I just learned that Cocky is working magic in another way.  He is traveling around our state to visit children in grades K through 3rd grade to teach them the importance of lifelong reading.

Why that age?  According to the USC School of Library and Information Science, "Research shows that if children acquire strong reading skills and a love of reading by the end of third grade they are more likely to succeed academically and graduate on time. " Wow! I mean really. Wow! The Cocky Reading  Express places emphasis on visiting 'underserved public schools', and the children are given a book to take home with them.  The Cocky Reading Express is already receiving recognition for the impact it is making on literacy. 

Now if you read this blog, you know that I will make sure that PDub loves to read.  But most of all, I will teach him that the alphabet begins with U S C!

I just want to thank Cocky for the magic...on and off the field. 

Cock a doodle doo!