kdo egg hunt.

how excited is this little guy to have his first easter egg hunt!?

he carried the eggs around all morning long. we stopped at walgreens and filled them with his (and his momma's) favorite candy: plain m&ms.

he sat in the back of the car while i filled the eggs. and every once in a while, he'd catch a stray m&m and gobble it up before i could grab it from him.

and here he is using them as a pillow. he's so weird. he does this with anything and everything. puts it behind his head. hilarious.

how do you spell 'grandpa'?

i love hearing stories from clint's family about him when he was little.

one of my favorite stories came from grandma. apparently, one day when clint was staying with them, he wrote his name on grandpa's new front porch swing.

used a black marker and everything. wrote "clint" on it.

when he went to show grandma, she said, "oh clint. grandpa is going to be so upset. that's his new swing."

and without missing a beat, clint said, "how do you spell 'grandpa'?"

so cute, huh?

and so today, when i was attempting to clean the kitchen floors, i hear pratt saying, "uh oh. uh oh" over and over again in the den. i didn't know what i was going to find.

when i walked in, he was standing at the recliner. where he had done this...



lucky for him, the magic eraser really is magic and his daddy never had to see what pratt had done to his favorite recliner.

and grandma, i asked clint if he got in trouble and he said no. that he never, ever remembered getting in trouble for anything he did at y'all's house. why am i not surprised? oh...because nana will never, ever get on to pratt for anything either. grandparents are the best. :)

bubbles.

pratt has discovered how to blow bubbles on his own. like with his own saliva.

sounds gross, i know.











clint's response when he saw it happening: "wow. he really is smart. i didn't figure out how to do that until i was in like...the 3rd grade or something."

and that response pretty much sums up what goes on at our house from day to day.

pick a winner.

so. no, this isn't about boogers.

it's about horseracing. and racing forms.

and how pratt already...at such a young age...can pick a winner.



and coco, there were highlighters involved...you just can't see them. but i think you can see their markings on his left hand. a green one to be exact. i knew you'd appreciate that.

the park.

it is 77 degrees outside right now. 77. really pretty warm.

so we went to the park. and for the first time, pratt slid down the slide all by himself.

i'm pretty sure he could/should have done this alone by now, but i'm overbearing. and i worry. but today, i let it all go. and let him crawl up the slide and slide down it all alone.

he LOVED it. the entire way down, he screamed and laughed. so funny. i had to catch him or else he totally would have slid off and been airborne. you know, at 22 pounds, a strong wind might pick him up.

he also loved looking for fish in the creek. and seeing bubbles.

oh, and he held his first ladybug today too. there were several of them on a piece of the jungle gym. he thought they were great. i showed him how to put his hand out and have them crawl on. he kept laughing and was so careful with them. such a gentle little guy.

hope you all enjoyed your tuesdays too!

18 month stats.

we had our 18 month check up today.

and well, it's official. we got the wrong baby 18 months ago. here's why.

our child is in the 95% for height. go back and read that again, folks. 95%. that means he is as tall or taller than 95 out of 100 kids his age. this was funny at first. like when he was 22 inches at birth. and then he continued to be tall. and i continued to say it would eventually catch up with him. but no. apparently, he will be tall. our doctor said that you can usually double their height when they are 2 years old and see how tall they will be. so, if he continues on that path...he will be somewhere around 6'1" or 6'2".

so, he currently measures in at 35.5 inches.

now for the uh, worst news. he weighs 22 pounds. which puts him in the 8%. yes. the dude is skinny. super dooper skinny.

he should be drinking around 32 ounces of milk a day. gross. i hate milk. and pratt isn't really all that cool with it either. he doesn't drink juice...but water. and so he told me to only give him milk in his sippy cup. no water. i wish someone would tell me no water.

he also told me to start putting butter and cream in everything he eats. he really did say this. and not to let him get full on fruit. the kid easily puts away 5 cuties and 1 cup of strawberries everytime he sits down for a meal.

he told me that i could feel good about taking him to sonic and ordering everything on the menu. i won't go that far...but we will try to fatten him up. and from now on, pratt's nickname is jack spratt.

everything else was good. he still has a pretty bad cough, even after starting the zyrtec. so dr. s started us on singulair for kids. it's a powder, i think. i'll mix it with water. he told me to try it for a month. he thinks that it's maybe asthma and allergies. if this doesn't work, we will go to an inhaler. so my prayer is that this will work. it's just nice to have him be concerned about it. he heard him cough and said it did sound terrible, and that a runny nose and cough in a toddler isn't "normal".

as we were leaving, dr. s. said, "bye bye pratt." and pratt said the same thing.

then dr. s. said, "i love you buddy."

let me just tell you. i almost started crying. right there in front of him. i love that man. i really do. he's the best pediatrican we could have ever been given. he was referred to us by the doctor in the nicu at st. vincent, and man...i should write dr. zuerlein a thank you note. because he really is the best.

people don't just say those things. and when someone does, you know they mean it.

pratt blew him a kiss and we got our vaccine and then we headed to sonic for french fries and a banana milkshake.

we are so thankful for our healthy little boy.

dear pratt.

dear pratt,

your daddy cannot handle putting you to bed. well, he can do it, but as soon as you cry, he's done. and he can't leave you in the bed.

your mom...well, i can. because i know that sleeping is good for you. i mean, i won't let you be upset for more than 5 to 10 minutes...but daddy...well, daddy won't let you be upset for more than 5 seconds.

here is proof.



he's leaning over your bed, rubbing your face. most likely singing you to sleep. this was after he swayed back and forth with you for a good ten minutes. you wouldn't let go of him tonight. he loved it. he really, really loved it.

we love you. sweet dreams.

love, mean ole mommy who makes you sleep.

dear pratt.

dear pratt,

today you are at the horse races with your daddy. just you and him. well, and poppy and uncle jeff and lindsey. and many others...but you and your daddy rode together.

this was all his idea. he said early this morning, "pratt...would you like to go with me to see the horses?!". you shook your head yes, and looked at me. like, "is that okay? you think that's okay, right mom? because i want to go. see, i'm smiling. i can't wait to go see the horses!"

your daddy is so good.

so good to me. so good to you. just so, so good.

never forget that. and when you're 16 and you want to go somewhere that we know you don't need to go, and we tell you "no", please remember that it's only because we love you. promise. it's not because we are trying to ruin your life.

it's actually the opposite. one day you'll realize this.

until then, know we love you. so, so much.

love, mom.

meet fish.

we had such a wonderful friday.

clint was off and so it always feels like a free day. like it doesn't count as part of the weekend, but it feels like it. like an extra saturday or something. heaven. it's really heaven.

we started by eating breakfast at ihop. pratt loved dipping his egg into ketchup. and his bacon. and his hashbrowns. and every piece of fruit in his fruit bowl. and for dessert, he dipped his toast into grape jelly.

after a long morning, pratt took a nap. dad finished up his outdoor work, and we headed to the zoo. after a small detour due to us not knowing when the front gate closed....we made a stop at petco instead.

we've been wanting to get pratt a fish. clint had several fish/tanks when he was a kid...and he secretly still wants a big aquarium. so, we thought pratt might like one too. but not a big one, just a small glass bowl.

uh, he loves the fish. when i asked him what he wanted to call him he said, "tt". i don't know. i don't know what that means. but i think we'll just go with "fish" because that's all pratt can say.

oh, and pratt discovered his sippy cup labels while we were waiting on dad to get some spring water at harps. he thought it was hilarious to put it on his forehead, eyes, fingers, etc.

oh, one more thing. pratt has figured out how to eat edamame. like, holding the pod and pulling out the bean. he was so proud of himself.





clint, thanks for spending your days off with us. those are for sure our favorite days. we love you.

our morning.

i may never return to facebook.

today, i got 3 loads of laundry done. pratt's bathroom AND our bathroom are clean. like bleached clean. like used a toothbrush on the sink clean. i'm about to tackle the refrigerator...i'm just wanting to upload pictures first. and this was all while MY CHILD WAS AWAKE.

i had forgotten how productive i can be.

i must credit the portable dvd played too, though. because i totally brought it up to his room and let him watch veggie tales while i cleaned. and we even drug in the baby swing and he rocked in it while learning about jonah. and how he refused to go to ninevah.

here are some pictures from this morning. he has so many faces. he found this pacifier which he has never used, and every once in a while, he thinks it's funny to use it. and he never has both houseshoes on. i think he takes one off intentionally when i'm not looking.

nana!?

pratt and i just ran something out to a friend of mine. she lives in the same neighborhood as nana.

when i got back in the car, i turned to pratt and said, "ok. all done."

he threw his hands up and said, "nana!?"

i told him that she wasn't home, but we'd see her soon.

and again, "uh. nana!? nana!"

so, nana...watch out. pratt can now find his way to your house :)

and pratt, nana said this made her day. :)

dear pratt.

dear pratt,

time goes by way too fast these days. with every day that passes, you seem to grow up a little bit more...right in front of me.

we've been busy playing outside with bubbles. digging in the dirt. picking up rocks. and walking down to the mailbox and back up the driveway. we've been to the park a few times, too. daddy will be off this friday so i'm hoping we can enjoy the outside together. you pretty much love to do anything, as long as it's outside.

your hair is what i'd call strawberry blonde. with the most wonderful curls i've ever seen. and your eyes are gigantic. brown. very much like your daddys.

you have the sweetest smile. and when you grin, your eyes smile too.

cookie took this picture of you tuesday night and it's exactly what i see when i close my eyes.

i love you so much. you make me and your daddy so incredibly happy.

love, mommy.

ipod.

pratt discovered his daddy's ipod last night.



he loved it.

he kept trying to flip to the next song like you would on an iphone. so funny.

ps. grandma teddy bear, YES, that is clint's blanket that you gave pratt. but this is probably one of the first times that pratt has had it. because clint won't let anyone else have it. he says we don't appreciate it. and when he gets it, he goes on and on and on about how great it is. :)

hiatus.

i'm off facebook for a week.

why? well. i saw where a friend was doing it last week, and i thought about it then. thought about how much time i waste looking at people's comments/updates/pictures. basically being nosey without them knowing.

and more than ever before, pratt really requires my attention. as does my house.

yesterday we were getting ready for church and clint was ironing his shirt and pants. and it hit me. i never iron his clothes for him.

i'm at home all day, with the exception of mondays/wednesdays and i don't iron the mans clothes. i mean, come on. what do i do around here?

oh, that's right. i nose around on fbook. and read gossip about celebrities on superficial.

i should have given this up for lent. but i didn't. so i'm doing it now.

i just want this house to be clean and in order. i'm tired of baskets of clean clothes sitting around needing to be folded and put up. i'm tired of the kitchen constantly looking like it needs to be clean. i'm tired of looking at the old toothpaste in my sink that every single morning i think, "i'll clean this today", yet i never get around to it.

will i be perfect and always keep a clean house? no.

but in the end, what's more important...facebook or my family.

i've toyed with leaving fbook forever, but i just can't do it. all things in moderation. i just have to figure out what that moderation is.

until then...i'm off. wish me luck. it will pretty much be like that time i tried to stop eating candy. i seriously almost died the first two days.

have wonderful mondays.

i'll post much more later.

bunnies.

friday cookie took pratt to have some spring pictures taken with melanie mcknight in hot springs.

she did some pictures of him around christmas last year that were awesome. and she was doing a special easter package that included some of her bunny rabbits.

mom said that pratt was on his best behavior and that he loved the bunnies. he pet them for a long time, gave them his b to lay down on and even tried to feed them m&ms.

i cannot wait to see the pictures! this is one mom took when pratt was meeting the bunnies for the first time.

thanks again cookie for taking him. i should start rolling coins now to afford the pictures :)

love you.

a princess birthday party.

madeline had her four year old/princess birthday party yesterday!

pratt had a wonderful time running and playing amidst all the beautiful princesses that were in attendance.

he most enjoyed decorating and eating his own cupcake.

at one point, i noticed he kept trying to grab madeline's boa from the back of one of the chairs. i gave it to him, wrapped it around his neck and took a picture. all before clint freaked out. and once i snapped the picture, i quickly realized that he was only interested in it for the feathers.

what he really wanted to do was pull out all the pink feathers. go figure. typical boy.

happy birthday sweet madeline!

magic.

is there anything more magical than bubbles?

i don't think so. and neither does pratt.









happy thursday!

eighteen months.

aka 1.5 years.

aka i'm having an ha. as in "heart attack".

his new words:
maa ma: mama (i waited sooooo long for this. it's music to my ears.)
ta too: thank you
b: blanket/pillow
mor: more
peas: please
da da da: dora
bye bye
ball
bubbles
doooog
berry: strawberries
ya ya: yoda
bath
juice

oh: as in "oh my" and the letter "o"

he recognizes and can point to several letters. like o, p, t, e, a. sugar gave him the game bananagrams for christmas (for later), and he loves to get those pieces out and name them. those and the letters in the bathtub from nana. his favorite letter is o. for sure. if he sees a circle, he starts screaming, "o! o! o!" until someone acknowledges that yes, indeedy...it's an o.

when you prompt him to spell his name, and you say, "p r a...", he will smile and yell, "t t!" so sweet.

he knows several of his shapes too. like star, square, triangle, circle.

it's so crazy what all he knows. more than ever before, i realize how inaccurate iq tests are for kids as young as 3 and 4. i mean, it's all in the exposure. they are like sponges at this age. if they see it, it interests them. i realize that genetics play a part...but more than that, i believe in exposure. i think so very much of it is in what they see, what is told to them. what they experience. which makes the problems with our education all the more depressing. (getting off my soapbox...)

if allowed, he would stack blocks all day, every day. seriously, he would.

his favorite movies are veggie tales. he likes dora, diego and yo gabba gabba.

he's started piling things up. in piles in the living room. like random things. books, shoes, puzzles, blankets, cups, etc. just random piles of things.

he prefers to sit in your lap when being read to. he will walk up to you, turn around, and plop down in your lap.

he dances anytime music is on. and he has his daddy's shoulder move down to a t. oh, and instead of snapping his fingers, he opens and closes his fists.

he loves helping me around the house. when he spills something, he points at the papertowels and does the "gimme" sign. and then he will clean up his mess. yes. he really will. it's pretty funny. he loves to throw things away. and dig cardboard out of the recycling bins.

he gives kisses and hugs on command. today when he went down for a nap, he made a kissy face when i layed him on his pillow. i leaned down and kissed him and he said, "ta to". and before he goes to bed, he wants to kiss everyone in the room. he gets upset if you forget and try to take him upstairs before it happens.

he is extremely happy. even though he constantly has a runny nose. and a cough. i've decided it's allergies. and we've started him on zyrtec. we will go to his 18 month appt in a week, and we'll talk to our doctor about it then. neither clint nor i had allergies, but who knows. since pratt had rsv at 6 months, i think the likelihood of him having allergies is higher because of this.

he is cutting teeth right now. maybe the incisors? is that right? i should know this. he has his four front top and bottom teeth. and has four molars. he's getting the ones next to his front teeth. bless his heart. i know this isn't fun for him.

being with him is so much fun. this is my favorite age so far. he can and will happily walk to go "bye bye". or walk in a store (with my assistance). he loves to hold hands. he loves to play at the park. he loves to be held when he's tired.

he is a wonderful eater. he still loves "berries" aka strawberries and would prefer to eat them all day long. he loves beans. and grandma's cookies. and the only place i can find these is dollar general. they are the mini ones. he takes them apart, eats the vanilla icing and then puts them back together and eats the cookie part.

every night when i lay my head down, i thank God for all our blessings. and at some point in the night, i get up and walk in pratt's room. i check his breathing and then cover him up. i have no idea when the lunacy will stop.

my money is on never.

my boys.

dear pratt.

dear pratt,

tonight you are staying with cookie, poppy, sugar and spice.

they took you to eat at purple cow. from what i understand, you were a perfect little guy. you ate corndogs. well, sort of. you ate the hot dog out of the corndog. and you had a sugar packet. or maybe several. i didn't ask.





sugar said that you love the "i got your nose" game. she and spice would take your nose, you would grunt for it back, and then say, "more, more" when they gave it back.

when you guys got back to the condo, you had a bath. and then cookie told you that you needed saline in your nose. and apparently, you'd point to your nose. and then laugh hysterically after they sprayed it.

you got pretty sleepy, and spice asked if you were ready for bed. you nodded yes. it was then that you stuck your face out to everyone. i think they quickly realized that you wanted bedtime kisses. so after kisses, spice took you to your room/walk in closet.

about this, it's okay. it sounds bad, but it's not. it's a big closet. and your crib is in there. sugar and spice will be sleeping only feet away tonight.

well, spice took you down there. and he sang to you. "nah, nah, nah, nah...hey hey hey goodnight!"

he put you down, but you weren't having it. so, from what sugar said, he went back down to get you. they didn't hear anything on the monitor. and so about ten minutes later, spice came back upstairs.

they asked him how he got you to sleep. and he said that he "tickled (your) face." apparently, spice loves to have his face tickled and it helps him fall asleep.

what a wonderful uncle you have. what a wonderful family you have. so, so many people love you.

i love you to the moon back.

mommy.

ps. i just texted sugar to tell her how much i appreciate her loving you.

i said, "thank you for loving pratt so much."

and she said, "not sure if i will love my own any more."

oh sweet sugar. sweet, sweet sugar.

my first flowers.

yesterday pratt and i went outside for a while. it was a bit chilly, but i figured it was good for him. you know, to be outside and all. i think that kids stay inside too much these days. watch too much tv. too much veggie tales.

and this was completely unprompted on my part. promise.

but here's what happened.

this...

and then, yes...he walked over and gave them to me.

here they are. my first flowers from pratt. i'm crying thinking about it now.



and while i'm thinking about it. i'm going to get him to initial something now. something stating that he is not able to marry until i'm 85. or have been dead 15 years. whichever comes last. and no, i don't care that that makes him a weirdo. he's got "weirdo" in his genes. so that's kinda irrelevant.

happy weekend!