OK, now, in order to get the full affect of these Toddler-isms, the phrases that have me in stitches on a daily basis, you have to imagine them in a munchkin voice, with the biggest, most sincere brown eyes looking up at you.

Will you clean my butt again?
{yes, this is the second post this week showing the kiddo’s naked butt}

Can you close the sun?

I don’t know about thaaaaat!
{I have no idea where he got this phrase from. Ahem}

And finally…

Milk, you go outside and play GOLF {said in a menacing, 2 year old voice.}

What is the funnies thing your kiddo has said to you this week?

This post is proudly linked up with Seven Clown Circus, 5 Minutes for Mom, and It’s a Blog Party.

Toddler-isms is a post from: Alli 'n Son

Which makes summer picnics, all the more special.

Few things in life warm my heart like seeing the excitement in the kiddo’s eyes at seeing his Dad-oo.

P.S. I’m looking for guest posters for my weekly Thank You Journal. Interested? Let me know!

This post is proudly linked up with Seven Clown Circus, 5 Minutes for Mom and It’s a Blog Party.

Summer Loving is a post from: Alli 'n Son

You may be surprised by the phrases the kiddo has been repeating lately. Things like:

“I’m driving momma BONKERS”

and my personal favorite

“Oooohhhhhhh Child”

I’m not exactly sure who he heard utter these phrases. But if anyone asks, I’m pleading the fifth.

It is however, impossible to stay mad that this face. And the arms that wrap around my neck in a bear hug. And the tiny voice nestled into my neck that proclaims, “I LUV you!”

This post is proudly linked up with Seven Clown Circus, 5 Minutes for Mom and It’s a Blog Party.

Sure He’s Cute…But is a post from: Alli 'n Son

P.S. I’m blogging over at Justine’s place today. Stop by and check out a snapshot in the life of raising a boy.

When I was pregnant, we decided against knowing the gender of the baby. Well, by we, I meant me. I didn’t want to because I romanticized the notion of a surprise, but My Guy compromised with a “Fine, you get the first, but I’ll get the second” as if we were trading chores – You do the dishes this time, I’ll get the next round. The entire time I was carrying my baby, many seasoned moms and grandmas alike swore that I was having a boy using extremely accurate and scientific predictors: belly’s bigger from the side than the front, carrying the bulge lower, ass isn’t widening as much, my preference for lemons over ice cream, etc. – that last part was made up. (But then again, aren’t they all?)

As far fetched as those methods were, I started to believe them myself. In fact, up until the very end, I expected to be greeted by a penis, I mean a boy. So much so that when the baby was finally out, My Guy and I had neglected to inquire about the gender. For the first few postnatal seconds, we were just so elated to see our baby and hear the healthy set of lungs that it didn’t occur to us to ask or to look down there.

When the doctor announced, “It’s a girl!” we were both momentarily stunned. What?! And then we yelled for joy. We might have also given each other a high five. I think I was secretly relieved – I might have willed myself to expect a boy because I was afraid that I might be disappointed if it wasn’t a girl. It’s not that I have a preference; I just thought I would already be in familiar territory with a girl so the parenting gig would be easier. Hah! How naive I was. Now that I remember my own girlhood, I’m beginning to have second thoughts about raising one.

As a lover of lists, here’s my Top 10 Challenges in Raising a Girl (in no particular order):

1. I am not a fan of pink. And while we don’t frequently opt for things of that color, others, like friends and relatives, do. If you’re an “other”, please note: orange and green are nice too. Plus they match our furniture better.
2. Cell phone overages – my cell provider only has a 5,000-minute max for nights and weekends; judging from my teenage years, I know that’s not going to be enough. She’s going to need to get a part time job just to cover the bill. But since she won’t be old enough to drive, I will have to shuffle her back and forth to support her habit.
3. When we’re finally the same size, we will have to share our clothes because I have to be frugal for her college education. (Read: I will borrow her uber hip jeans and too-cool-for-school t-shirt on the sly, and she’ll yell at me for showing up at her school dressed that way.)
4. She will demand to know why I’m the only mom who doesn’t allow her to paint her nails at age 5, and I’ll always use the same flimsy excuse, “we’re Asian, that’s why!” in place of the real explanation, “because I don’t like it (and my mom didn’t allow me to do it either).”
5. Preposterous wedding costs – I don’t understand why we still have this archaic practice where the parents of the bride have to pay for the wedding. I mean, I have to spend all this money for someone to take my daughter off my hands, but what if I like having her around (because she does the dishes, laundry and yard work)? Shouldn’t the groom and his family be the ones to pay me for her years of experience in child labor that will benefit their future home? Clean dishes, immaculate clothes AND a well-manicured lawn? Come on!
6. I have to behave role-modelish, and that’s so not my style. But I am beginning to realize that parents are often damned if they do and damned if they don’t. If I’m perfect, she will resent me. If I’m imperfect, she will resent me. If I’m normal, she will resent me. If that’s the case, why sweat something I’m bound to screw up anyway?
7. As if an insolent tween isn’t difficult enough, I will have to deal with her pubescent angst AND the monthly spike in mood swings and hormonal outbursts. It’s a really good thing that these teenagers…that they… I’ll get back to you on this one. Still struggling with the silver lining here.
8. She will date at age <insert any number here>, and I will think she’s too young, but she will pretend she isn’t dating, and I will feign ignorance. Then she’ll come home with puffy eyes and listen to ungodly loud music one day to drown her sorrows from the first/second/third breakup. And I will have to console her without knowing why, even when I do.
9. I will also be worried about certain questionable characters she’s dating, but if I said anything, it will just increase their appeal to her by 83 percent. Consequently, I will stress about my indecision – Should I say something? Should I let it go and see what happens? - and no matter what I end up doing, it will be the wrong thing.
10. A boy (or a girl – it doesn’t concern me either way) will someday NOT break her heart and she WILL tell me all about this person; I will then see the happiness in her eyes and realize the time has come for me to let go. I know this will happen if I have a son too, but when it’s my daughter, there is a need to panic – who will lend me their my jeans when she leaves?!

The list may seem exaggerated, but remember, I am the same woman who convinced herself she’s having a boy so she isn’t too disappointed if it isn’t a girl. Similar theory here. (You can call me ridiculous; I’d like to think of myself as complex, even enigmatic). Truthfully, I’m just doing what I can to prepare myself for when she leaves our nest because I know when that time comes, my heart will break into more pieces than I can count to see one of the best things that ever happened to me go.

But I suppose once I re-purpose her bedroom into my hobby space and take that long-overdue Mediterranean cruise, I’ll get over it.

This post is proudly linked up with Seven Clown Circus, 5 Minutes for Mom and It’s a Blog Party.

I Wish I Had a Baby Boy {Guest Post} is a post from: Alli 'n Son

Oh wait, those are the petting zoos in my head The real things are much less exciting.

Bunnies. Kittens. Ducklings and Ducks. Cows. Goats. Chicks and Chickens. These are the things our petting zoos are made of.

But it turns out that petting zoos aren’t supposed to delight me.

They are supposed to delight little boys.

And delight him it did.

I just love looking at old things through young eyes. Don’t you?

See more WW at Seven Clown Circus, 5 Minutes for Mom and It’s Blog Party.

Chicks Man is a post from: Alli 'n Son

And a sweet, sugary doughnut. Or two.

Linked up with Seven Clown Circus, 5 Minutes for Mom and It’s a Blog Party.

Sweet Goodness of Life is a post from: Alli 'n Son

The idea of this meme is to go through your photos, select the 8th folder and the 8th image within that folder. That works, if you are organized, which I am not. So I went through iPhoto, picked the 8th “event” of the kiddo and the 8th photo in that event. Here’s what I found.

At first this photo didn’t mean a whole lot, until I started looking at the photos surrounding it. This was taken just a few weeks after the kiddo broke his leg and had a cast put on. It was also taken shortly after I quit my job.

That took my breath away. Thinking back to our first few days and weeks together. Learning all about each other, the ins and outs of caring for a toddler full time. Trying (and failing) to keep my sanity in tact. Trying (and again failing) to keep the house clean and orderly, with dinner on the table every night.

Ever since this photo was taken, I’ve been trying to come into my own as a stay-at-home mom. Which has taken longer than I expected. I’m still trying to find my identity. But I look back on this photo with fond memories and the sense that I am in the exact place in my life that I should be. And that is a great thing.

This photo represents beginnings and endings. While it hasn’t always been an easy transition from working to stay-at-home, it’s been worth every single second. Every mistake was countered by rainy days cuddling on the couch. Days that resulted in tears from the kiddo and myself were encouraged by days of constant play, learning new things, and just plain being around to witness firsts.

While the photo itself isn’t anything extraordinary, it’s meaning is.

Now it’s your turn. I’m supposed to tag 8 people in this meme, but really I can’t pick just 8. If you are inspired, and if your photos are well organized, go for it. And let me know when you do, I’d love to come over and check it out.

The Thank You Journal is coming up again this Thursday. What are you thankful for this week? Link up!

This post is linked up with Seven Clown Circus, 5 Minutes for Mom and It’s a Blog Party.

18 Months and Remembering is a post from: Alli 'n Son

At the end of the party of course gifts were handed out. It just wouldn’t be a party without gifts now would it? To my surprise, I won an awesome gift for the kiddo. The cutest little train engineer costume by Milo’s Creations that I’ve ever seen.

Actually, I’ve never see anything quite like it. In a good way. A really good way.

This adorable costume comes with all of the pieces. An adjustable engineers hat, a red bandanna (which I could not convince the kiddo to wear), adjustable navy blue and white pin striped bib overalls, and to complete the look, gloves. If you want, they will also embroider it with your child’s name.

I think we have Halloween taken care of this year. Add a toy train that the kiddo can pull behind him and we’re all set. How cute is that!

Discourse: I received a sample of this costume from Milo’s Creations as part of  5 Minutes for Mom UBP 2010. I was invited to review the product in exchange for the kiddo’s name embroidered on it. All opinions are mine. Read my full disclosure policy.

This post is linked up with Seven Clown Circus, 5 Minutes for Mom and It’s a Blog Party.

Chugga, Chugga, Choo-Choo! is a post from: Alli 'n Son

Here are just a few of my fave photos of the kiddo from the celebrations. More photos will come, as soon as I finish editing all of them.

Soaking up the sun…

Chilaxing with Dad-oo (yes, I said chilaxing)…

Hanging with the future Mrs. Kiddo

It was a beautiful weekend. Perfect weather. Great friends. Fantastic family who spoils us rotten. And our very first trip to Trader Joe’s, where I of course came home with a one pound chocolate bar. In addition to the HUGE box of gourmet chocolates as a thank you for playing photographer. So if you see me in-real-life in the next few days, expect me to be a few pounds heavier.

This post is linked to Seven Clown Circus and 5 Minutes for Mom.

Memorial Weekend is a post from: Alli 'n Son

Thursday is coming up fast. Do you have your Thank You Journal post ready?

Find more WordFUL/Wordless Wednesday posts over at Seven Clown Circus and 5 Minutes for Mom.

Words Can’t Express is a post from: Alli 'n Son