3 Going On 13

I just look at my son with awe and amazement these days – he is growing up so fast.  Too fast.  I grabbed him last night and made him look me in the eyes and promise me he wouldn’t get any bigger and that he'd stay my baby forever.  Poor kid…he looked at me like I was nuts and said, “but I want to be a grown up like you, Mommy.” Man, I love my boy.

I really love his age, almost three and a half.  It seems like all of the sudden, we don't have a toddler anymore.  He wants to do everything himself, is crazy opinionated (“aaactually mom, I don’t like red grapes anymore, I like green ones now”), makes everything a negotiation and his vocabulary, whoa, the things that come out of his mouth. Yes, even when he shouted "you missed a spot, dammit” to the neighborhood gardeners the other day. It wasn't my proudest moment -- but the hubby and I got a pretty good laugh about it later and at least he used it in the correct context, right?

He is telling me things he is learning in school (a HUGE plus that all the dough we are shelling out for preschool is paying off) and has a new best friend.  His teachers let me know that there was a new boy in school and MDB and him are practically inseparable. I mean they hug in the morning like they haven’t seen each other in about 10 years…it is adorable.

This is going to come out wrong, but I really wanted him to have some friends his own age...that are boys.  While I know he will love this in about 15 years, he has spent his early years playing with mostly girls, mostly older girls.  My little one is a rough and tumble kinda kid…and the girls don’t always seem to dig his – how do I say it, tenacity and spirit.  MDB and his new, adorable friend (with an awesome mom to boot) played together for 3 hours without one single incident/tear/fight.  Amazing.  Needless to say, we have about 10 more dates planned in the coming weeks!

Lately, I've just been trying to sit back and remember this amazing time in his life.  Even last night when I was putting him to bed and he said in his most adorable little voice, “Can you get Daddy to put me to bed...your breath stinks."

What's In Your Wallet?

For those along on my journey to rid the world (read = anything that touches or is ingested by my kids) of toxic chemicals, I came across a really great resource today from the Healthy Child, Healthy World organization.  They developed clever Pocket Shopping Guides for everything ranging from healthy sunscreen to healthy cleaning products to safer plastics and more. 

Why I don't see myself making my own baby wipes anytime soon (Seventh Generation work for me), there are also some great tips on preferred brands, label decoding, ingredients to avoid, shopping tips and other resources all on a little, fit in your wallet, card.  Check 'em out, here!

It's the little things, right?