Neck'd

Why does my son love to be naked? Seriously, I can't keep clothes on the kid. I sound like a horrible mother who pays little attention to her kid, but I'm bordering on being the "helicopter" parent I bad mouth. The kid must have been Houdini in a previous life. Once I left him outside swinging to run inside (barely 40 feet) to grab the phone and when I returned he was still swinging but this time completely nude.

Even as an infant he preferred to be naked. My mom was shocked to check on her sweet 10 month old grandson asleep in his crib and to discover him still asleep but with diaper and jammies thrown on the floor.


Oh, and there was the infamous "Naked Spaghetti" night. I set the table and ran to tell Trey dinner was ready. I returned and there was my child eating spaghetti in the buff.


Today, he ran inside to go potty and returned within 3 minutes wearing a different t-shirt than he'd gone in with and NOTHING else. I said, "Logan, you need to go back inside and put your underwear, pants, socks, and shoes back on." He looked down and said, "Wow." Was he unsure how he became naked? He ran in and came back out in yet another t-shirt, underwear, and nothing else. "Logan!? You must wear pants outside!" Our neighbors must think the world of us!



I'm sharing pictures of Logan playing fetch with our dog, Banjo. I was folding laundry. One minute they were playing fetch and the next, fetch without pants. I just don't get it. Must be a boy thing. It is pretty sad when your nightly prayers include, "Please, Lord, clothe my son. In righteousness would be nice but in public would be be stellar. Thanks, AMEN."

I Want to Ride My Bicycle. I Want to Ride My Bike.

Logan's birthday gift when he turned 3 was a big boy bicycle. It was love at first sight. Seriously, a major fit went down in the middle of Walmart when he learned that he could not ride the bike he had picked out through the store. Mommy and Daddy questioned whether to leave with the bike, the kid, or the bike and kid. It was a doozy.

Anyway, Logan has been begging me to take him on a bike ride for several weeks. The begging started on a snowy day and hasn't let up. Now that the weather has become more pleasant, I've been more receptive to the begging. I told Logan the other night that if he went to bed without getting up we would go on a bike ride the next day. The next morning, at 6am, I heard Logan yell from the top of the stairs "It's wake up time! Mommy, get up for our bike ride!" I managed to put him off for several hours but then we began to prepare for the ride. Somewhere along the way the ride to the park became a ride and picnic at the park. When I started pulling picnic supplies out of the fridge Logan appeared with a silly basket. Not that I'm image conscious but the idea of walking a mile holding a basket was not my first choice...but there was no getting out of it...we HAD to take the picnic supplies in the picnic basket. I made sandwiches and packed pudding, apples and water bottles (reusable) and off we went. Logan is not a fast rider. He likes to watch the front wheel turn and tends to veer left into the grass A LOT. It was a LOOOONNNNNGGGG journey (barely a mile) but we finally made it, intact, without a fit, and ready to picnic at the park! He parked his bike and ran to the picnic table. I sat down, took one picture of Logan with his basket, and began unloading our goodies. Logan took one bite of his sandwich, looked at me, and said (if this is where you expect a sweet "thank you" or "great picnic, mommy" please stop reading now...) "Mommy, I gotta poop." Yep, it took us 45 minutes to ride 1 freakin' mile for him to need to go potty. If it were just pee, problem solved. However, it 'twas not...and we were not alone at the park. Soooo, we packed back up, helmeted up, and headed back home. (only took 30 minutes this time) We did make it home without an accident but threw the bike in the yard and went running into the house where he did not have to go to the bathroom after all. Yep. We both napped that afternoon. Hopefully our next bike ride/picnic is more successful.

Night at the Opera...ummm...Theater

I love live theatre, especially musicals. There is something special about a bunch of people crowding into a dark room with uncomfortable seating to lose yourself in a world of song and dance. I've never been a great performer and know my place is in the audience. My brother's place is on the stage. Growing up I think my brother struggled to find his niche. He tried sports, scouts, Camp Fire, but it just wasn't a good fit. When we moved to Arkansas my mom signed him up for Youth Theatre at UCA and the rest is history. (Warning...soapbox 103) I admire my parents for standing up to fuddy-duddies who questioned a boy singing and dancing. Once they saw how invested David was, they were equally invested as well. You've heard of the soccer mom? My mom was the theatre mom. One Christmas she even bought her son a case for his makeup. David took his passion for theatre and moved to NYC. As the eldest, type-A, practical to a fault child this seemed like a daunting and at time foolish adventure. However, he did it and can therefore live his life without that particular "what-if." I can't say the same. I don't know what my brother's "destiny" holds, but I know performing will always be a part. And I'm glad to be in his audience.

Ok, so where is this blog heading? Heck, I never know. Allow me to pull back onto the tracks and finish my initial train of thought. (get it, train...this thing on?) I recently took Logan to his first movie, The Princess and the Frog. (eh.) As I was leaving the movie theater, I saw a sign for the children's series at the Orpheum (Memphis' historic theater). I wasn't sure how Logan would do sitting through a live show but when I saw that there was a musical based on one of our favorite book series "Frog and Toad," I knew the show must go on! I bought tickets and began rereading the "Frog and Toad" books to Logan several times a week so he was fresh. A few days before the show I finally broke the news to my little cultured guy. I told him all about wearing fancy clothes, parking downtown, going to a play about "Frog and Toad," and that we had tickets. He was sold when I agreed he could carry his own ticket. I was nervous about managing my less than calm child in downtown Memphis between the parking garage and the Orpheum (and back). On the way to the show, he did great. He insisted on bringing one of his "Frog and Toad" books with him, which I thought was adorable. We sat in our seats (aisle because I anticipated, correctly, several potty runs...and I do mean runs...those sloped aisles are really appealing to a 3 year old boy) and waited anxiously for the show to start. Soon the curtains parted, the music started, and the lights came on. And we had a problem...men dressed in the tradition of "Frog and Toad" began to perform. To an adult or an older child, this isn't a problem. You simply understand that one man is playing Frog and the other Toad. However, this simply won't fly in the literal world of a 3 year old. Logan was quiet and polite but kept tugging on my shirt and whispering "but where is my Frog and my Toad?" Fortunately the show moved at a good pace and had funny songs to keep his interest. I don't think the entire night was a flop, far from it. Even though "Frog and Toad" were not what was expected, we will remember our first night at the theatre together. And if I had any anxieties at all, they were squashed when Logan told me at bedtime, "Mommy, I like our date today."

Monet, van Gogh, Picasso, and Logan!

It is amazing to watch my kiddo develop new skills. During today's art project he completely shocked me! I have a stack of plain white pillow cases stored away for a rainy day...yes, I'm a craft supply hoarder. Call A&E! I figured that since we are travelling back and forth between our house and my parents' house so often, Logan might like a special pillow to take with him. I found a pack of fabric markers in the craft closet and Logan went to town.

He is really interested in writing his letters and can do a couple solo and several more with minimal assistance. (In the picture you will see his name. In the interest of full disclosure...he did the L & O alone and I did "dot to dot" for the remaining letters.) He has decided he needs to do his own "dot to dot" every time he writes and L. Hopefully we can move past that soon. Logan is really active (really, really active) but will sit and focus on playdoh and art projects for a long time, if interested. He was in the zone (brow furrowed, head down, and tongue out) so I used the time to clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher.

His crafting always includes a constant narrative of each motion and today was no different. I had kinda tuned him out but heard him say "There is a spider." and "I made an L!" and "That is my daddy, mommy, and Logan!" Each statement was met with my distracted "uh huh", "that's good", or "you are working so hard!" When the kitchen was clean(er), I returned to the table to admire Logan's creation. I am so proud of what I saw...he drew a spider that looks like a spider! He made several 'L's! AND...TADA...a daddy (bald!?), a rather hippy (not as in flower child but as in junk in da' trunk), and a little boy! This is the first time his artwork has resembled what he was drawing! I can't wait to see what he makes or does next! I'm a proud mommy!

**NOTE: God was pretty smart today. Thank goodness I was reminded how special Logan can be because his behavior has been otherwise ROTTEN! Thanks, Big Guy for defusing the situation! :)