Do you ever think about what a particular event or day will be like, only to realize that sometimes what you think will happen and what actually happens are two very different things? Let me explain.

Zac’s birthday was yesterday. Yes, we had a party on Sunday (which was a smashing success, thankyouverymuch), but I wanted to spend the day with him on his real birthday. I plan to do the same thing on Lilly’s birthday, of course.

Zac’s special day (the “in my head” version)

We take Lilly to school, and head out for the day. Zac feels special, walking out of school holding my hand, getting ready for a great day! We go to the park, weather permitting, before heading to the mall.

Zac does not enjoy shopping, but he LOVES the mall playground. Last time we were there, to see Santa, he did not get a place to play.

I can hear his squeals of delight while running to the playground. I let him play for as long as he wants, then we head to lunch. We probably head to either Jason’s Deli or Monkey Burger, and talk about fun things while enjoying lunch.

We head home, and Zac probably falls asleep. I let him snooze for a while, then we cuddle and read some books under a blanket. For the remainder of the afternoon, I ask Zac what he wants to do, and we do it.

We pick Lilly up early, and the three of us go to dinner. We sing Happy Birthday to our boy, and head home for a peaceful bedtime.

Is that too much to ask???

Zac’s special day (the “reality sucks” version)

The night before Zac’s special day, I tell him and Lilly the plan. Lilly throws the worlds biggest hissy fit about wanting to stay with Zac. I talk her down, eventually, reminding her about the special days she has and how this is important.

At bedtime, Zac sniffles and wimpers that he’s going to miss Lilly the next day.

Off to a great start, people.

Special Day morning, we get up and head to Dunkin’ Donuts for a special breakfast before dropping Lilly off at school.
This is the best picture I could get. And yes, my son looks like a vampire.

We drop Lilly off, and decide it’s too cold to play outside so Zac and I head home for about 30 minutes. I hear “I miss Lilly” about 17 times during those 30 minutes.

For. Pete’s. Sake.

We head to the mall, chatting excitedly the whole way. We get there, and turn the corner to the play area. I’m excited. Zac has to go potty.
So we do.
Back to the play area. I’m still excited.
Zac… sits with me. Climbs on my lap, in fact, and says that he wants to go home.

Whaaa???

I feel his head.

OH. CRAP.

Yep, he’s sick. We sit and talk and I hold him as he buries his head into my shirt. How did this come on so quickly? We meet up with a few friends who were dropping really cool things off for us, and head home.

At home, Zac naps for a bit, and then we do get our snuggle time in on the couch.

Eventually, I decide to take him to Urgent Care. Yep, he has Strep. Again.

My mom picks Lilly up and buys the kids treats while I get the prescription.

Happy Birthday Son.

~   ~   ~

In all seriousness, I am glad he was home with me when he got sick. I just feel SO badly that he spent his birthday sick. Still, we did get to enjoy cuddle time, and the medication makes him feel so much better and very quickly.

Today, my son turns 3.

As every mother throughout history has asked… Where has the time gone?

We had a party on Sunday. Today, Zac and I will spend the day together.

But, for now, a letter to three year old Zac.

~  ~   ~

Dear Zackary,

Today you turn three, and there are things I don’t want to forget. You are the sweetest boy, and you bend over backwards to “help” me and your sister. You carry (drag) my bags in from the car. You cater to Lilly’s every whim during imaginary play. You love helping make dinner and set the table. You open and close doors for us as well.
As three approached, you started testing. Testing bedtime. Testing behaviors. Never taking away from your sweet and helpful personality, but you’re realizing that you have choices and you’re practicing to make them on your own.
Bedtime? Bedtime is work. You want me in your room until you fall asleep. The moment you give that deep breath and sigh… and I know you’re down for the night… that is a beautiful moment for me.
You potty trained yourself in about a weekend. Can I just say, thank you for that?
You still suck your thumb and your have your beloved “Ball Blankie.” This blankie will not last another year, as it is falling apart so quickly. These are habits that I know we need to break, but it breaks my heart a little to think of you not needing these things.
You love books. And cars and trucks. Any book about a car or a truck is a serious win. You want to sit on my lap and cuddle with me often. This? I hope this never ever changes.
You love your sister more than anything. You eat well, but distract easily. At times, you get “crazy eyes,” and there is no turning back.
You are my main man, and you are growing so fast. You are quickly turning into everything I hope for you and more.
It goes without saying that I love you more than anything. Happy birthday son.

~   ~   ~

Zac has is a blankie boy. He is also a thumb sucker. This post is mostly about “Baa Bankie” (Ball Blankie), but Baa Bankie and his thumb tend to go hand in hand.

It would be easy to say that I hate Baa Bankie. He actually has about 17 of these blankies… cloth diapers with super cute covers in every boy-ish print imaginable. My friend Kim makes them, and gave Zac a bunch before he was born. Eventually, he fell in love with them, so she made him more.

Then, it happened. He only wanted one. Baseball Blankie… or Baa Bankie for short.

Kim has since made him two more with the exact same fabric (which she is now out of… pray for us). He grudgingly and eventually took to the two new ones. So, thankfully, we now have three acceptable blankies.

The thing is… tonight when I saw these two (the third is in the wash) laying on the floor… alone and deserted… it made me kind of sad.

One day, he’ll give up blankies. One day, he’ll stop sucking his thumb.
One day, he’ll want to cuddle less. His nose will run less. He’ll be able to get his own snacks and his own juice.
One day, he’ll need baa bankie less. One day… one day he’ll need me less.

Minutes after I saw the lonely blankies, I heard the beautiful sound of my 2 year old excitedly looking for Baa Bankie. He saw them, gasped hurriedly while running towards them. He picked them up, stuck his thumb in his mouth, and ran back to his room.

My heart? It swelled and tears came to my eyes. Because for now… for this moment… he is two.

Hey, my friend Bruna has a Friday linkup … you should check it out!

A while ago, I wrote about our morning chaos routine. It was pretty comical, if I do say so myself. You can read about it HERE if you {gasp} missed it the first time around.

This morning, the kids enjoyed their cereal and milk {KIX, if you’re interested} at the table, sitting next to each other rather than across from each other like they usually do. At one point, Lilly coughed and Zac reached over to pat her on the back.

It. Was. Cute…. but so not the point of this post.

My parents like to tell a story about when I was a kid. Actually, they tell plenty of stories about when I was a kid. Most of them are very embarrassing. Thank goodness they don’t blog!

Anyhow, in this particular story, I am a little girl at my babysitter’s house. My babysitter had a couple of older kids… boys I think. She also had a rule that everyone at the table had to finish their food before anyone could leave the table.

This was in the olden days of manners, after all.

The boys would get very fed up with me, because I was a very, very slow eater. This habit, by the way, stayed with me until I became a teacher and learned to eat entire frozen entrees in one bite. Sometimes still frozen. But back to the boys… They would whine, and moan, and beg me to hurry so that they could go play with whatever.

I was, I believe, Zac’s age.

Today, Zac reminded me of me. It must have taken that kid 20 sloooow minutes to eat that bowl of cereal. This kid was taking his suh-weet time for sure.

Now, let’s hope he’s not too much like me. As the story goes, one day I got so tired of hearing these boys whine and complain about my slow eating habits that I dumped the entire bowl of oatmeal on my own head.

Yep, that showed ‘em. Showed ‘em good.

~~~

PS here are these pictures in their original, iPhone form. Am I overusing Instagram?

What funny stories do you have from your childhood? Share one here!

This boy? This teeny baby boy? He’s now two years old.

If it didn’t say so on his cake, I wouldn’t believe it myself.

This boy? He is so amazing. He is talking up a storm these days! We have many conversations that go something like this:

Zac: “maaa ooooom!”

Me: “um, what?”

Zac: “maaa ooooooom”

Me: “You’re gonna have to show me buddy.”

Zac: Takes me by the leg and points, “maaaa ooooooom”

Me: “OH! You want to go to your ROOM! Got it!”

Zac: “duh mom.”

Or something like that.

This boy? He loves to laugh!

He will laugh at anything! My favorite is when I’ll just tell him something is funny. He totally believes me.

This boy? He loves to eat. Mostly fruit and anything with a “oooon.” You know, a spoon.

This boy? LOVES his blankies. And his thumb. And cars, trucks, buses, dinosaurs.

This boy? LOVES his mommy.

(I can say that. Lilly has always been a daddy’s girl, which I love! But Zac? He just has a soft spot for his mommy!)

I am one lucky mommy!

~   ~   ~

Dear Zackary,

Happy 2nd birthday big boy! I am so proud of you and of the little gentleman you’re becoming. Thank you for continuing to sleep well, and sleep early. Thank you also for waking up with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. Every day.

When you smile, I smile. The way you love your sister makes me want to cry. Even though she’s older, I can fully see you taking care of her as you two grow up together. You think it’s strange now, but this does include opening doors for her. You’ll see.

Zackary, don’t grow up too fast though. Slow down, unfurrow that brow, and stay the sticky sweet little boy that you are today. Also? Keep hugging me. I really, really love it! And I really, really love you!

Kisses, Mommy