cruising.

Searching for daddy a jeep. On our weekly drive around town.

There's nothing better than a little boy in nothing but a diaper.




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Right in the center of his forehead...

Dear Dora,

I've moved on. To blues clues. And Steve. And greener pastures. My mom told me that you had moved to Arizona to help with the immigration crisis. I hope boots is helping too. And tico. And Benny. And isa. And that freaky big red chicken. Oh...and swiper.

Love, your one true fan.

Ps. Here I am singing with Steve!



We gotta find another paw print cause that's our second clue! We'll put it in our notebook cause they're whose clues?! Blues clues!!!




We gotta find the last paw print cause that's our third clue! We'll put it in our notebook cause they're whose clues!?blues clues!



I mean. Look at that one big curl right in the center of his hair. How cute is he!? Adorable. Absolutely adorable.

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dad, stay.

last night we were coming back from conway. pratt and i had picked dad up from his office. and we all rode together. so it was around 8 by the time we got back home. as we pulled onto the main road, pratt realized quickly that we were dropping dad off.

i don't think he realized that he was coming home with us. that he just had to get his truck. instead, pratt thought that he was headed to work. and therefore, leaving him.

so. we pull into the parking lot and immediately pratt yells from the backseat, dad! stay!!! and points at clint to remain seated. like a sort of hitler-esk movement. kind of with his entire arm stretched out.

i laughed and asked him to tell me again what he wanted. clint turned around and looked at him and again, dad, stay! stay, dad!

we tried to explain to him that dad was not going to work, but that we were all three going home. and that we just had to drive separately. didn't buy it. wasn't having it.

so the entire way home, we had to follow clint's truck WHILE making sure it stayed in sight.

he loves his daddy so, so much.

a rough patch.

if i'm being honest, then i'd say this past week has been a hard one.

i don't know why. wait, yes i do. because of mother nature. that's all i'll say. in case there are any male readers. but i wasn't prepared. i mean, i knew. but when i found out i was pregnant in may, all i could think about was how i wouldn't have to buy any more ditties for quite some time.

heck, i even stopped clipping the coupons for them.

so it wasn't good. and then came the news that several of my friends are expecting babies right around the same time as i was. and suddenly i remembered what i felt like when EVERYONE was getting engaged and i had been dating a certain someone for YEARS I TELL YOU, YEARS. and he had yet to pop the question. and i was dying. anyway, it hurt.

it hurt because i was genuinely happy for these people. but i also yearned to be pregnant. and so i hung out alone for a while. didn't want to act like i was okay. because i wasn't. i felt sort of like simon cowell. when he talked to oprah. and he said that he hated acting like he was okay. that he was happy. but that given a few days, he would come out better. on the other side.

and so i'm feeling like i'm coming out. on the other side. maybe even a little better.

thank you to those of you who randomly emailed me. telling me you were praying for me. it's amazing what God will put on our hearts if we are listening. so thank you. thank you for praying for me. even when you didn't know what to pray specifically. i love you girls so much.

pratt is good. he's growing. and talking non stop. it's so great. he's such a joy to be around. except when he needs a nap. and then it's just horrible.

he's funny and cute. and sweet. and he loves other kids. if he had it his way, he would have coleman and leyton here all the time. every day.

he loves to hide. behind curtains. under his bed. in the laundry room. everywhere.

he answers any question asked of him on cartoons. it's so funny. i think he just repeats whatever was said last. so funny. we're in the process of moving most of his toys upstairs. we are making clint's office a playroom. we bought some great elfa shelving at the container store last week. clint put it up and it looks great. there are 12 baskets. and they will hold most of his stuff. i'm looking for a little table with some chairs too. we went antique shopping today but didn't find anything we really had to have.

i have so much to be thankful for. my life is better than i could have ever imagined. i will continue to accept things that break my heart. because i know that it just makes me more able to stand in someone else's shoes. and isn't that what life is really about? understanding and loving others.

absolutely. i think so.

have wonderful tuesdays.

Pictures.

Lots of pictures to post. All from my phone so I'm sorry about the poor quality...

Here is p enjoying a gigantic cupcake from Kroger. He's been asking for the potty and this is how we celebrate potty days!!




He loves hiding under his bed. While being totally naked.



I don't know. But I LOVE his face.



Playing around at dads office.









Enjoying a pop pop.



Silly bandz. Alphabet and numbers. Pretty cool.



His favorite hygienist showing him how to wear gloves. He loves brandy AND the gloves.





He now knows how to eat edamame correctly. He's so big.



Eating cheerios before bed.


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our prayers.

For about a week now, we have had a consistent ritual before bedtime. We read several of his favorite books while sitting on his bedroom floor. We say our prayers. We gather up Elmo, his b and his blanket. Turn on his closet light and his iPod nursery rhymes. Then he crawls into bed. Well, I put him in his crib. And then it's lights out.

It's really helped him to get back on schedule from all our traveling.

The prayer goes like this...

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
May the angels watch me through the night,
And keep me in their blessed sight.
Amen.

He bows his head, puts his tiny hands together and closes his eyes.

And at the end, he says, "amen".

It's the sweetest sound I've ever heard. Last night I was closing his curtains when I turned around and he was all ready for his prayer.

Hands clasped and head bowed.

I feel like in some small way I've done a good job. For all the reasons he will need therapy when he's older, I did succeed with one thing. One really important thing.

Tonight I got a picture of it...



Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he shall not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6.

our morning.

i took this picture this morning. i felt like it was the epitome of our mornings.

oatmeal. it's what he eats most mornings. the kroger brand. variety pack. blueberry, banana, peach and strawberry. banana is his least favorite. i don't blame him. he goes through the packs, holding them up for me to see so i can tell him what it is. every morning we go through all four kinds. he will think about it for a second, then we move on to the next pack. after i've named all four, he'll choose one. he'll dump the package in the bowl while i heat the milk. he always spills a little. because he's 22 months old. and i always take a deep breath and try to remember it doesn't really matter. because before i know it, he will be 22 years old and i will wish he was sitting on my countertop making oatmeal with me.

the tv. specifically, beth hunt on channel 7. she's his favorite. he will just smile when she comes on. it's pretty sweet. he's loved her since he was just a baby. when commercials come on, he points at the letters and numbers and recites them. and i praise him. and he smiles.

pajamas. those gap pajamas. there are none better. these are from last years halloween from nana. but i can't put them up just yet. he's still so skinny. they fit in the weight department. not so much in the height :)

his feet. they look just like his daddys. and i seriously think he could swing from limbs with those toes.

i can't hardly look at this picture without realizing just how old he is. he's so big. so tall. so grownup.

my heart hurts to not be pregnant. because i know he would love someone to play with. but at the same time, i'm thankful for the months ahead that it will just be me and him. because with all that goes on during the day, the countless moments it's just me and him, at night...when i'm putting him to bed, the old phrase, "you can sleep when you're dead" comes to mind.

and i wish i could stretch out our days. i wish that i could keep him this age.

some nights i sneak in his room and sit on his floor and just pray for him. for his life. for his health. for his daddy and me. i pray that we know what to do when something comes our way and we are overwhelmed.

pratt, i love you so much. thank you for the morning hugs. the random kisses throughout the day. we are such lucky parents.

xoxo, mommy.

wrapped.

Papaw Randy's iPhone now has Diego games on it. And if nana had an iPhone, hers would too :)



Can you tell how much he loves them?

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hide and seek.

Saturday morning pratt kept running from us into the front room. When summer and I went looking for him, we found him playing hide and seek. Behind the curtains. My Cynthia East curtains. Be proud of me...because I didn't freak out. Luckily, he had clean hands.

Anyway, he was standing behind the curtains being as still as a mouse. So I walked up to the window, and said outloud to summer, "I wonder where pratt is! I can't find him anywhere!!! Did he go outside!?"

When all of a sudden, he answered from behind the curtain in his sweet little voice, "no!!!"

Summer and I both fell out laughing. I said it again, "did pratt go outside?!" and again, from behind the curtain..."no!".

Here is a picture summer took. That's pratt behind the curtain in a diaper only. Then the curtain. Then clints pajama pant leg.

Now I'll never forget this sweet and hilarious moment.



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head, peas.

this morning pratt woke pretty early. i went in to get him and brought him back to our bed.

i put him on my pillow and snuggled up right next to him. we lay there for a few seconds and he asked for Dora.

as i up to turn it on, he said, "oh oh momma!" and grabbed for me. i explained that i was turning the tv on for him.

he looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said, "head, peas" as he tapped the pillow right beside his face.

i melted. and once i put my head down, he put his sweet little hand on my face. and ever so sweetly rubbed my face.

for the record, this is my most favorite age yet. i love him so very much.

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big boy.

Yesterday I dropped pratt off at clints office right before they closed. I had a shower to help host, so daddy was in charge.

I was almost to the party when clint called. He said, "uh, I don't have a carseat."

We had taken his out to take to Chicago with us. And I had left it in the garage. Don't call the cops...but this is what dad ended up doing...




I mean, could he be more proud of himself!? Clint said he sat just like that the entire drive home. Not moving a muscle.

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need to remember.

sometimes...no, most times i get overwhelmed with this job i have.

whether it's being hit in the face for no good reason or wrapping a double roll of toilet paper back on the roll because i refuse to throw away good tp, or trying to explain to a 22 month old child that it's not really sanitary to stick your fingers in your poop while having a diaper changed...

today, on this clean and fresh monday...i remembered why my life really is so easy.

i have a husband who loves me. and a child who keeps coming up to me and saying, "play? choo choo? peas, momma. play choo choo."

i can't complain. remind me of that next time i'm having a breakdown, please.

all done.

Without any prompting from me...

My child just took his pants off, took off his diaper, and sat down to potty. Once finished, he picked up the bowl, dumped it in the big boy potty and flushed!

He never said a word to me until he was all done.

This is, hands down, my proudest moment as a mommy.





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heading home.

Riding the moving walkway...with a little pimp in his step.



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Chicago. Part 2.

Today we went to the shedd aquarium. It's a pretty remarkable place. It's actually right next to soldier field.





The weather was perfect and we all had a wonderful time!

















These two pictures were taken right before the dolphin show. Note his hand on Michaels leg. So sweet.





Yes, that's nemo on pratts face! He had his first face paint today!!





Here are his new kid friendly headphones. From the apple store. He better like them for several years. Those puppies weren't cheap.





More pics to come. Have wonderful weekends!

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Chicago. Part 1.

We made it to Chicago safely!! Pratt really enjoyed his new iPod touch from his honorary aunt and uncle, Ashton and Jonathan. So thanks you guys for pratts wonderful new toy!!





This is a picture of lake Michigan on our way to the hotel. It's so beautiful here. The breeze, the water, the puppies on the streets. All of it.


We ate at a place called potbelly. Pratt had a pretty special chocolate milkshake with two cookies on his straw. He was pretty intrigued...


He and cookie fed the birds at dinner. She's a total grandparent. She wouldn't have ever let me do that...





We met the sweetest dog on the way back. Her name was leelou. And her owner was a little man, and he told us that she was 10.5 years old. Spencer says the owner is gonna die when leelou does. He told pratt he was the sweetest little boy that had ever been born.

He is really good with animals. I think it's because he's learned from Moose A. Moose how to pet a dog. You know, you ask first if the dog likes to be touched, then ask how to do it, then pet him. So sweet.


Cookie took him for a stroll down the hotel hallway just fir fun. See: definition of grandparent :)





And he finally fell asleep watching Diego on a ding. What a great day!! But we really, really miss our dad.


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Cottonelle double rolls.

Ever wonder how far a cottonelle double roll will roll?

Apparently pratt did...


Let's see. It will go through his bathroom...


Into the hallway...


...and into our bedroom.

This happened in 0.3 seconds. I swear he's a ninja.

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b.

last night after pratt fell asleep, i went in to cover him up. and check on him. because i do it every single night. i have since the day he came home from the hospital.

i thought this made me crazy, but clint's grandmother apparently checked on her kids even when they were in their fifties. so i don't feel so crazy any more. mamaw fulks went as far as putting mirrors under their noses. i'm not there yet, but just give me some time....

anyway, at one point during the screaming, he yelled, "my b! my b! i drop my b! momma, my b!" i honestly was watching him when he said it. and i didn't see anything fall at that point. so i just thought he was trying to get me up there. you know, the whole, well...since you're here. could you get me out of this bed and let me watch dora?!

of course you know where i'm going with this. i walk in, and what do i see right there on the floor?

his b.

well, i cried. big crocodile tears. i begged clint to tell me that i wasn't the worlds worst mother. and that he would be okay. and that he didn't hurt too much from my neglect.

i think it will be the last time i don't take him serious. i mean, what if it scarred him? it's possible that it did. it really, really is.

fantastic...

reunion. part one.

this past weekend, we traveled to eureka springs/beaver lake for the second annual pratt family reunion. last year, we didn't make it and so i wanted to make sure we were able to go this time. as a kid, there was nothing i loved more than christmas time.

christmas time was when everyone from both sides of the family would get together. we all lived so far apart, and so christmas always held such special memories for me.

i hope pratt feels the same way. only i'd love nothing more than for him to see his cousins and grandparents much more frequently.

we stayed in a house on beaver lake, which was beautiful. actually we crossed tablerock lake to get to the house. it's the same lake that's in branson.

i think pratt really enjoyed being the center of attention.

friday night we all met at my uncle, ryp's house. it's on several acres on the top of a mountain. right below him is the white river. if you stand on his balcony and look over, you can see it. northern arkansas is just fantastic. everything about it. here is the famiy looking at old pictures.

ryp teaching pratt how to start bonfires. trouble. that's all this is. trouble.

more pictures to come...