Monkey See...Monkey Do

Lawson is becoming quite the copycat. He watches everything I do and then tries to do it all on his own. It generally results in me laughing my head off and running for the camera!

Yesterday, Lawson and I cleaned house and did laundry. In the middle of the activities, Lawson decided it was time for a diaper change. He reached into the diaper bag, pulled out his changing mat, unfolded it and laid down with a diaper and called for me to come do the honors!

Afterwards, he decided some pants-removal practice wouldn't be a bad idea....

My little pants-less wonder found my flat-iron and proceeded to drag it around, "fixing" his own hair.

Finally, he helped me sort laundry. And yes, it does take twice as long when he "helps". He also snagged the stain stick when I had my back turned and proceeded to treat the clothes like he sees me do. What a goofball. Needless to say, after I took the picture, we went and got a nice long handwashing in!

Just Because...

I took this picture of Lawson wearing an outfit his Great-Aunt Fran bought him and wanted to show it off to her. I liked the picture so much, though, I thought I'd share it with everyone. Isn't he cute?

Handy Lawson

I bought a storage thingy for Lawson's toys the other day and we put it together last night. Lawson was a big help! His fine motor skills are really quite good and I was impressed as he tried to copy me.

Here's the finished product. I still need to fill it with the toys currently strewn all over Lawson's bedroom floor and then put it in the closet. It was a fun project to work on together, though!

Future Stuntman

Lawson enjoys lots of quiet activities, but in order for them to be really worthwhile, it's necessary for him to "kick it up a notch"....


He likes to scribble, but only if sitting on the edge of the seat, ready to crack his face on the table at any moment...

He loves to read. The reading chair is nice, but this is way better!

And sorting laundry is never a simple task. Falling into the hamper while reaching for a sock at the bottom just adds a level of fun that Mommy never considered...

Snow Day

We got a pretty good ice storm yesterday, which closed down my school and gave us a nice "snow" day! It was fun to spend the extra day at home with my little guy. But we didn't just lounge around. No, we stayed very busy.

First, we cleaned the house. Lawson was so inspired by my vacuuming, that he ran and got his vacuum so he could help.

He even tried pushing my big ol' Kirby, but the blasted thing still weighs more than he does! Nice try, kiddo...

After all that work, it was necessary to take a break and catch our breaths. What better way than by sitting in the reading chair with a good book?

And we can't take life too seriously, now can we?

And let's not forget how important it is to keep up with friends on email, Facebook, and The Baby Board!

It was such a fun day, but it's back to work tomorrow!

Dinner With Grandpa

My mom went out with a friend last night, so Dad joined Lawson and me for dinner. We had a nice evening together! Grandpa and Lawson spent a little time just chillin' with Laurie Berkner (Lawson's favorite musician) while I cooked. If you look closely at Lawson's temple, you can see the nasty scrape he gave himself whilst attempting his latest daredevil stunt. Awesome....

If you remember a post I made last month, Lawson loves to help out in the kitchen. He wants to be picked up so he can see what's going on on the stove, he adores the salad spinner and likes to do it himself, and he runs all over the house with my kitchen utensils. Now his favorite thing to do is to actually stir up the dinner. He did an excellent job last night of preparing our noodles! I think I may have a little chef on my hands!

A Quiet Weekend

Sorry I haven't posted much these last couple of weeks. Lawson and I are staying busy, getting settled into our routines, but there's not too much exciting stuff to report on. In the interest of keep this blog alive, I took a couple of fun pictures yesterday.



My old high school friend, Amy, came over yesterday afternoon. I hadn't seen her in over a decade and it was great to get caught up. Lawson thought she was hilarious and he entertained us with his monkey-ing around as he tried to get her to smile at him. But before she arrived, we had to do some general housecleaning. Lawson was very useful with the dusting part. He even pushed around his toy vacuum while I pushed the real one. Too cute!

Once Amy left, Lawson and I had a quiet evening. He decided to show off his trick, otherwise known as "how many binkies can I possibly enjoy at once?". He's got three of them in his hand (there's one behind the orange one), not to mention the one in his mouth! One of these days, I WILL capture the hilariousness of Lawson with two in his mouth at once. I never seem to have the camera handy when he does it... Crazy kid!

Saturday Morning...

It's a good day for lounging around....

But Lawson also takes time for important phone calls. By the way, he crawled under the covers with the phone on his own - just made himself comfy!

Lawson's First Haircut

What a momentus occasion! Mom, Dad and Mary Beth joined Lawson and me as we trekked off to Cool Cuts 4 Kids for Lawson's first "do". They were a little pricey, but the stylist earned every penny... (I have a great "before" pic of the back of his head in a post from this weekend in case you missed it)

Isn't this cute? How cool to get your hair cut while sitting in a firetruck!!

Of course, it would be much cooler if there wasn't a lady with a water bottle and a pair of scissors sent to scare the bejeezus out of you....

The stylist did a wonderful job and was so patient with my screaming child. I was positively amazed at how she managed to cut everything so straight with Lawson flipping out and wiggling like crazy! That's talent!

Whew! The ordeal was finally over and Lawson simply collapsed from exhaustion. All that screaming really takes it out of a guy...

After the trauma was over, we headed to Braum's to have some ice cream to celebrate his new big-boy haircut. The ice cream made him feel better and he was all smiles again. I just love his new cut! It's a little sad because I think it makes him look so much older already. What the heck happened to my baby?

Of course, now that his hair is this short, I'll have to keep taking him in to get it cut. Can't wait...

A Well-Rounded Boy

So yesterday was my 33rd birthday and I spent the evening with my wonderful family. We had a fantastic dinner and settled in to watch one of my Christmas presents: Mamma Mia! I let Lawson watch a little of it since I figured he'd enjoy the music. He sure did... here's a little video of him dancing to the title song. Sorry it's so dark - it didn't seem that dark in the room. Oh, well - you'll get the idea.

Mamma Mia!

While dancing is still one of his favorite pasttimes, he's also fascinated by how things work. I bought a small shelf the other day and Lawson helped me put it together this morning. He loved the whole screw and screwdriver thing! Please excuse the horrid mess we made.

Curls!

Tomorrow, we're taking Lawson to the salon for his very first haircut. I knew he was ready for many reasons:

1. This past week, for the first time ever, Lawson was mistaken for a girl. It's those gorgeous locks!

2. When it curls, it's really cute, but when the weather is cold and dry, his hair just hangs straight and it looks awful!

3. His bangs are crazy-long and they're almost always in his eyes. It's a wonder he doesn't run into furniture more often!


Today was nice and warm (80 degrees!) and that always makes for a good hair day, so I thought I'd snap some pictures for posterity. This photoshoot was kind of fun, as I was purposely trying to get the back of his head...

I'll be sure to post pics of our adventure tomorrow!

Hilarious Bathtime

Lawson has squirt toys to play with in his bath. He's had them for months and months and I always play around with them, squirting him as he bathes. Well, he just discovered he's able to use them on his own...

Hilarious Bath

Christmas with a Little One...

We had such an amazing Christmas this year. Lawson was much more into it and that made it fun for all of us. He was so interested in the tree and all the decorations!

Here he is on Christmas Eve morning, wondering what all the fuss is about:

Here's a nice shot of my baby and me on Christmas Eve, after church:

Our little musician entertained us with some nice Christmas carols. He seriously loves "playing" on the piano:

Look out, Jerry Lee Lewis... you've met your match!

The moment he came down the stairs Christmas morning, the fun began:

He immediately leaped on this riding pony toy and played with it all day. It was hard to get him to focus on the rest of the presents.

Once he discovered this toy, it was even harder to get him to open more. Some day, I'll look back wistfully at this Christmas, when my kid was joyously happy with one new toy...

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there."

Well, I hope Santa comes tonight....Lawson's not so sure he wants that guy in our house.

"Merry Christmas to all,

and to all a good night!"

Howdy Y'all!

Sorry for the gap in posting. Most everyone knows by now, but Lawson and I have officially moved back to Texas. The reconciliation with Brad crashed and burned and so we're starting our new life here. My family has been so wonderfully supportive and Lawson is so happy to get to see them so often.

I haven't taken many pictures in the last few weeks, since we've been very busy with the move and getting settled. All the turmoil has been tough on Lawson and he's been a real bear. He's thrown some wicked temper tantrums here lately! I'm hoping once we get a little more settled, he'll calm down a bit. I'll take some pictures soon and get them posted.

Mommy's Helper

Lawson is completely fascinated by what goes on in the kitchen. He loves to be picked up so he can see what I'm cooking on the stove, he carries kitchen utensils around the house all day, and he's obsessed with my salad spinner. It's one of those where you press down on the top and the lettuce spins around and around. I showed it to him once and now everytime he hears it spinning, he comes running so he can help. Look out Emeril!

Owie

Lawson's been hurt before - he crashes into furniture and scrapes his knees on the pavement when he falls down. But last night, he got (what I'm calling) his first major owie. He was playing with the drawer on the end table and got his finger caught underneath in the metal track. Ouch! He took a pretty good chunk out of his flesh and he bled pretty bad. Poor kid! He cried and cried, but it was all better once we got a band-aid and some hugs and kisses.

We just have grown-up band-aids, so you have to look closely at his finger. I need to buy some brightly colored kid band-aids...

Fun in Boston

Our trip to Boston wasn't just about turkey. We had such a fun time just hanging out with the family and enjoying each other.

For example, no visit with my nieces is complete without some "beauty salon" time. They used to just brush my hair, but they're definitely getting more complex in their talents...

Lawson and his cousins got along SO well. As you read in a previous post, Lawson adores these girls, and the girls were so enamored with him, too. They helped with all his diaper changes, his meals and especially his baths.

Bathtime was so much fun, in fact, that we decided to bathe all three kiddos at once. Lawson was a little uncertain at first, but he settled in and wound up having a blast!

Thanksgiving

Last year was technically Lawson's First Thanksgiving, but he was only 9 weeks old. He slept in his infant seat through dinner, so this was his first real opportunity to join in the festivities. He ate a little of almost everything, although the mashed potatoes were his favorite.

Earlier in the day, he watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with his cousins for the first time, too. He loved the Sesame Street float!