From the frying pan into the fire.

We recently took on the challenge of separating Payne from his beloved "nigh nighs". It broke our hearts to remove his most treasured comfort object, but his dentist said his bite was being affected by sucking on them in his sleep.

In a state of complete dread, we began "Operation Blanket Removal". The first 24 hours were tough, but we held fast. Surprisingly, it only took about two days for him to adjust. The slight issue comes in with HOW he adjusted.

Meet Payne's minions:



Now, Piggy and Puppy we're all familiar with. The newly aquired members of the gang are Bear, Giraffe, and Bunny (bunny was at his Grandparent's house during the photo shoot). I guess Payne is reinforcing the ranks to, um, strengthen his defenses against the forces of nightime evil? Now that the all powerful blanket shield is gone, proper adjustments in the line of defense must be made!

He sleeps with them all, and it's a struggle to get him to leave the house without the entire gang. He carries them smushed together, with his arms wringing all of their little necks. Poor souls.

If he starts sucking on them at night I may have to be committed.

A short chronology.

Sunday Morning:

The word "dapper" comes to mind.

Sunday Evening:

The word "dapper" doesn't come to mind.

Monday Morning:

Oh Honey, I'm right there with you.

The evolution of Mommy.

I've been summoned by quite a few names since Payne started verbalizing his needs.

The first was "Da!", generally screamed from his crib and roughly translated to "Nearest competent adult! I'm in need of assistance!"

Then came "Ma!". Hooray! He loves me and put forth the supreme effort of the "mm" sound to tell me so!

"Mom Mom" followed, which I loved. The most frequently uttered phrase for awhile was "Dee doo Mom Mom" meaning "Here you go Mom". It was cute enough that I didn't mind I was constantly being handed crumbs, shreds of paper, or bits of dog toy stuffing.

Now I've graduated to "Mommy" (throws cap in air), but Payne says it more like "Mah-mee!". I generally like it, but I had my first experience with what Dan and I call the "Lois" (Family Guy Reference. Sorry Mom.).


Payne: " Mah-me! Mah-me! Mah-me!....Maaaaah-me! Maaaah-me! Maaaaah-meeeeee!"

Me: "WHAT! What is it Payne?!"

Payne: "Um"....(profuse gibberish)


Since alcohol is out, this may drive me to increased consumption of caffeine and artificial sweeteners. It's a good thing he's cute.

Funny stuff of the day.

Today Payne and I stayed in for the most part. It's cold and I wasn't feeling motivated to run around, so I had a cleaning day instead.

What is a boy to do when his Mom is vacuuming and he doesn't have a mini-vacuum? Why, a golf bag looks strikingly similar...





Yep. He followed me around the entire house "vacuuming" right behind me. He even knows to yell at the dogs to be quiet throughout the process. They enjoy barking at and occasionally attempting to bite the vacuum. Payne was periodically stopping his vacuum and yelling "Dewwa! Eddow! Noooo!". I'm such an awesome role model.

I was folding laundry and Payne was puttering around. He stopped for a second to look in on me, saw I was folding a receiving blanket, gasped loudly and said in what can only be described as a tone of complete reverence "nigh nigh!". Little addict.

We went on a short trip to the grocery store and I saw a coloring book based on his favorite cartoon (Dinosaur Train), so I grabbed it. He was looking at it as we left the store and pointed at one of the Pterosaurs on the main cover and said "Tiny!". Um, that's the very specific name of that very specific character! There are FIVE of them on the show and they all look almost exactly the same! So, err, how early can one qualify for MENSA membership? (cough, cough).

I end this disorganized post with a random photo. Ta-Da!


A Tupperware top hat? Awesome! Or, as Payne would say "D'ass coo!"


See ya later!

Oh My Cute...

Is there anything more adorable than two pajama'd toddler boys immensely enjoying the company of one another, while sharing two identical stuffed rabbits?

I think not.


Right before this they were pointing out the different designs on their jammies to each other. I died.


The "artfully distressed" rabbit is the one J.P. loves the most. Go figure.

Why did we not better capture the cuteness, you ask? Well, as Dan so aptly put it: Getting a photo of two busy little boys that are hopped up on Super Bowl junk food in which both are looking at the camera and no one is moving at mach 5 speed to blur the image, is the domestic equivalent of getting video footage of the rare snow leopard taking down a mountain goat...in a blizzard.

I'm dedicated, but not so dedicated as to camp out in Aimee and Jason's living room for months, living on freeze dried chili, while aiming my camera at all juvenile life form activity from behind a potted plant.

I'll happily take my blurry memento of these two buddies. They were so much fun to watch!

Haaaaa ha ha ha! (deep breath...snort)

Nice gams, kid.

I may or may not have laughed until I drooled when Payne clicked out of my closet in my ballet wedges.

We took pictures, and then we got him some more manly shoes to play with because Dan and I were both getting a little weirded out. Heh heh.

Cartoons are best watched

while completely engulfed in a sofa cushion, didn't you know?

Hell, after seeing this, I want a giant pillow under which to watch t.v.