Toys, Boys, and the Joys of Summer!

Well, my summer vacation is coming to an end. It is very bitter sweet. I have had a lot of fun with Roman this summer but am looking forward to getting back into a routine and I know he misses his friends. This has been another month filled with many joys and laughter. Yes, a few tears were mixed in there as well but that is what life is all about. We are who we are because of all our ups and downs.
Rick and I were so fortunate to be able to take an adult vacation for a week away from Roman. Nana and Poppy came down to watch Roman while we went to Palm Coast, Florida with my brother and sister-in-law. The anticipation of leaving Roman was a little overwhelming and there were tears shed when it was time to say good-bye. I had never left him before and the thought of not being there if he asked for me was hard. I knew he would be in good hands so off we went. To my great surprise, he had a wonderful week-ate much, slept in late, played hard, listened well, and smiled often. While in Florida we enjoyed hanging out at the pool, eating out, visiting Epcot Center for the day, swimming at the beach, and we even got to go moonlight kayaking with the dolphins. It was such a needed trip and I am so thankful for the time I had with Rick. It is confirmed...we are still in love! As we returned home, we flung the door open and Roman's eyes were as big as a full moon. He ran so fast to hug us. The feeling that overwhelmed us was amazing. Even though he had a great week, we realized that he did miss us and that smile on his face let us know that he still needed us. Hence the reason for the song I picked for the blog this month.
We have had many play dates with friends and parties with neighbors. We are so blessed to have many great people in our lives to share these moments with us. Other fun activities that we did this summer were going to the Durham Museum with friends, story time at the library, swimming at the pool, walking around the neighborhood, and watching planes at the airport. One of Roman's favorite things to do is go to Target. Why you may ask? Well, he has learned that mom is a sucker and he will get a surprise. So, he will always ask to go to Target. He says, "Go Target". I say, "Why do you want to go to Target?" He says, "Mom, Target has toys. Roman new blue car." Ok, so I have opened up a can of worms. Hopefully a car for .99 will continue to satisfy him for awhile or I will go broke.
Roman continues to show signs of obsessive behavior like his mother. He lines up all the toys and there is an order to it. You can't even get close to these lines of toys or he yells. He is very detailed oriented and notices everything. There is a video clip to show just how crazy he is when it comes to lining up his toys. Beware, we were not being cruel to him but we wanted to capture the memory of this bizarre, crazy behavior which I know I have passed on to him.
He is becoming very inquisitive and wants to know all. He is asking questions like, Where are we? What are you doing? What is that? He is talking great and continues to work on potty training. He has transitioned to the big potty where he says, "Mommy, hold my shoulders." He pushes really hard to force the pee out. It is hilarious. The other day I was in the bathroom blow drying my hair. He was suppose to be in his playroom. When the hair dryer went off, I heard screaming coming from his bathroom. He had shut himself in there. When I opened the door I could not believe my eyes. There was a whole box of tissues and a roll of toilet paper in the toilet. He said, "Mommy, I had to go potty." Thank God he did not try to flush the toilet.
One obstacle we faced this past month was bath time. Roman went through a little time of hating his bath. He would scream, not sit down, and act fearful. I figured out that he was afraid of the drain. After a couple days of being creative, I came up with an idea. I gave him a turkey baster and paint brush. I told him he had to help mom clean and paint the bathtub. It worked-bath time ever since has been back to normal. A pre-requisite to being a great mom is that you have to be creative and think on your toes. This is actually done on a daily basis.
We just returned from a long weekend in Rochester to be with friends. It was nice to see everyone and Roman had a blast with Nana and Poppy and their dog Lupo. We enjoyed a day out at the Park Ave. Festival and Roman walked about a mile barefoot. He was awesome on the plane rides and insisted on sitting and keeping his seat belt on. I was so proud of him and he made the trip a lot easier.
Well, on July 24th my parents celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. They are a great inspiration to what a truly in love couple should be. I inspire to make that record. Rick and I celebrated our 6th anniversary this month and I love him more and more each year. I am truly blessed to have such a kind, loving, compassionate, hard working, understanding man for my husband. For him to be the father of my child is the icing on the cake.
I am continuing to run and work towards the half marathon in October. It has been super hot this summer but I am persevering and working through it. Rick has been riding his bike and we are both enjoying the outdoors. We are looking forward to the cooler weather as we are pretty done with the heat. I am not sure what is in the air but many of our friends have recently had babies and many more are due to have them. We wish them all well and hope they are making great memories for themselves.
Summer may be coming to an end but there is always a new season on the horizon to look forward too. Remember to check out our photos and videos. They are located on the right side of the blog.