"Boby" and other things

so i'm sitting here watching a Baby Einstein with toby and rob before it's time for toby to go to bed. yes, we used to watch Lost; now our addiction is Baby Einstein. look from what heights we've fallen.

but life is good. it's not easy, this parenting thing, but, it's going better. today was my first "official" day back at my part time job at church. it went OK, felt good to get up early and get showered and go somewhere for something.

OK, who am i kidding, it did NOT feel good to get up early. but, i have been feeling increasingly draggy these past weeks, eating way too much junk late at night, not drinking enough water, usually forgetting my vitamins, and getting no exercise excdept for the occasional pushing of the stroller on a walk with Toby. basically, i've been going to pot. and after a particularly draggy and depressed Monday, having had a cold for a full week and generally not feeling energetic enough to parent a two-year-old, i decided ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH.

today i was up at 6, did pilates and showered before Toby woke up. Took an envigorating walk this afternoon too. and tonight there will be no eating junkfood after supper (sad, sad day) but something needed to give. and i DID feel good today--at least, better than the last few days.

poor little toby, on the other hand, had  a pretty hard time with the babysitting factor! i took him to church and had a couple girls there who were going to watch him while i worked. he screamed a LONG time. later in the morning he spotted me int he hall at one point, and that was kind of the end of it. after much screaming i gave in and he got to hang with me and th girls in the office the rest of the time till i left. this afternoon we went for a walk and stopped at the neighbors who have kept him several times. he was unually wary of them this time, expressed no interest in seeing their bunny, and hang out suspiciously close to my knees the whole time. when we decided he'd stay there while i went on a powerwalk, it did not go over well. i had mixed feelings, but left him there, screaming for me.

it seems like this last week or so he's very mommy-focused, perhaps becoming "babysitter" wary. i'm a little uneasy how it's going to tomorrow at the babysitter, and next week when we start the routine for real. he's had a much harder time in the nursery at church these past coupld times than the first few times. i guess this is part of the journey and something he has to go through as he learns to individuate. (i feel sorry for all the caretakers who have and will hear that strong, piercing Toby-scream; there's none quite like it).

have said that, our second trip to the library story time went much better this week, and there was no screaming as somehow i was able to lure him away with the new books we checked out. (yay mommy indeed). it probably helped that i took him away from playtime with the other kids so he could play with the thomas train set to his heart's content. he managed to do OK and hold his own, despite the greedy kid who carried up to four cars in one arm while pulling two around on the track. ;-)

boy, is this kid learning fast! every day i am AMAZED at what he repeats, and what words he suddenly starts using that I didn't realize he knew - it's just amazing! i love watching and hearing him learn. this week he's also learned to jump off the first step, and he's so pleased with himself.

today, we were putting puzzles together and he wanted me to do it. so i started putting it together, and each time i put in a piece he clapped his hands and yelled "yay mommy!" ssssoooooo stinkin' cute! it's so cute when he puts more than one word together, which he is doing more and more, like "train another" and "get up" and the other night he threw out a new one, when i was on the floor playing with him..."stand up!" i had no idea he knew that. today we were playing with stuffed animals and he was petting a little kitty, and suddenly, "mommy, ot! ot!" for soft - wow, when did he learn that? there's new words like that every day now, and i'm sure it's just gonna multiply exponentially. i LOVE watching him learn.

we also went to his first circus the other day and he had his first pony ride~! he loved it! --as evidenced not by how big he smiled (he didn't smile, just looked wide-eyed and curious the whole time) but by the decibal of his scream when we took him off after his turn. oh Toby!  will try to upload and post some photos soon.

his cute little "Boby" is now turning into "Toby" more of the time. ah, the end of an era!

love it. ;-]