Happy Valentines Day!

I know that today is a made up holiday but really who cares. Matthew and I never do anything special on these days because we know that we love one another. With that said we also feel like this holiday can still be put to use by just celebrating our love and the love that we have for our baby boy.

Clayton is having his first valentines day party at daycare and I couldn't have been more excited. As usual I went a little over board for his class but who cares. Firsts are meant to be special. I got him valentine cards to pass around plus two boxes of candy for the class and a few treats. Matthew laughs at me since I am almost always the only parent that brings stuff but to me that means that I will be the cool parent! I don't mind lol!

I hope everyone has a happy Monday!

Tater we love you and hope that you have a great day today.

Won, Tooooo, Fweee, Fore, Fibe, siiiiiix....

I met my mom and I had to do some grocery shopping last Saturday so we packed Potato up and headed for Wally.

Mom and I are not allowed to share a buggy from now on but this shopping trip will forever be a special moment in my heart.

The buggy was over flowing and and Clayton was sitting in the front of the buggy making sure to rearrange and occasionally throw groceries out of the basket while we were walking down the isle. It was pretty funny for him to watch mommy and maw catch all the loot.

We rounded the isle and I hear little whispers of numbers but I don't pay attention. Well after the third time I heard the reciting of numbers I looked down to see Potato with a Cheerio box. He was taking his little fat finger and pointing at the loops on the box. Then he would say Won, Toooo, Fweee, Fore, Fibe, sssixxx!

I flipped out 'quietly' because I did not want him to notice that mommy was about to have an emotional moment. I lightly tapped my mom's arm to get her attention. She and I were the first ones to hear Tater count! It was a very special moment to share and then I cried....in Wal-Mart....! I didn't give a rats ass either.

I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to Clayton's, Nanny and Parrain. They were so proud. Thankfully Tater did some counting later that day just for daddy.



Its moments like this that show me that I have fully embraced the mommy gene and I was built for this job. Its a full-time position and I don't mind putting in the over-time!!!!

A stitch in time.....

Tweet

A couple days before Christmas I got a phone call at work from Potato's daycare. I am never happy when I get those because I always think that something happened. Well I was right when I heard the director's sentence, "Hi Mrs. Randolph, we finally stopped the bleeding......."

Um.....(Dumb founded horror struck and sudden heart pounding!)

When I asked what happened she told me that Potato and another boy were playing with some trucks when all of a sudden the other boy decided to ram the truck into Potato's face! Yeah.... his FACE! The director nor the teachers did not know exactly what happened. Well that excuse did not work for hubby or me!

I called my husband and told him that I was leaving work to go and get Potato. He was already at home for the day. When I made it to the daycare I found that my son's lip was split wide open. I am not a queasy person but this had my stomach flipping. I grabbed him and started for the car not even caring that the director was trying to talk to me. I really didn't care what she had to say in the first place.

Hubby met me at the hospital and thankfully we got to try out the new pediatric unit and had no waiting! The dr was perfect and Potato did great....even when they put him in the straight jacket. He was so curious about all of the instruments and liquids that the dr was playing with. Well the calmness turned into a full blown panic attack when they placed a sheet over his face with a hole where his mouth was to be. Thankfully the dr worked quickly with the stitch.

I, of course, was crying. This mommy can handle her own when I have to but with hubby there to make it all better my emotions flowed.

Clayton almost immediately stopped crying when they took the sheet off of his face. To our happy surprise Santa and his elves her roaming around. Clayton was not into Santa but the 6 ft gorgeous Elves were allowed to come in the room and give him his Build-A-Bear Santa Bear. I swear the boy already has some smooth moves.

Well since the daycare could not produce any good reasons to why NO ONE saw ANYTHING we decided that he was no longer attending. He spent a week at my parents and a week at hubbies rents. Now Tater is in his new daycare....its PERFECT! more later....

This is a few days after and it looks tremendously better. Don't you just feel sorry for him?!?! Love that beautiful face!

Friday is HOPPIN day!

I so love the weekends! I actually love Friday work days as well. Is that weird? Oh well.

The real reason why I love Fridays is because I get to see Potato's art work that he did during the week at school. I have seriously fallen behind on posts about his schooling.

Soooo.... I can just tell you that he shines at school. He is teachers pet STILL. I swear they let that boy get away with murder and I think that is feeding the terrible two syndrome. I have a problem. I can't seem to throw any of the art away. I mean ANYTHING. Potato could scribble on a piece of paper and I just feel the need to keep it. I know he forgets it 2 seconds after he is done but to me its a work of art. My baby did this and I want to paste it on the damn wall!

Well DH and I have worked out a process as soon as I can no longer see the front of the refrigerator then I must rotate the art. I came up with a wonderful idea! So that I don't feel bad about tossing out these masterpieces I send them out to our loved ones. All I can say is that now everyone is chomping at the bit to have a piece by Pablo Picasso. P.S. that is his sir name for his art. LOL! I know I'm a genius!

I love being able to go to our friends and families houses and end up seeing Pablo Picasso streaked across their fridge, and some in frames. Swear the boy has a following! What do you do with your tots works of art?

I am hopping up down cause it's FRIDAY! I hope everyone has a great weekend! Please leave me a comment with your blog link so I can return the love!

Wordless Wednesday:Crazy Hair Day @ School

Meet the Po-Po

This morning I posted that Potato's day-care was having career week this week.

Post-it!

I will have pictures later!

Butterflies Day-Care Weekly Update(2 weeks worth)

I missed posting about the past two weeks so here is a summary.

Potato is really blooming and I can't believe how in just a few months he could possibly change that much. He has though. We thought that he babbled before but its nothing compared to now. He is also forming a lot of words.

Words:

Bad Dog: This past weekend we went and helped my sister-n-law at the Broussard Veterinary Clinic. She has to take care of all the dogs that are boarded over the weekend. That means to let them out of their cages to potty, clean the cage, and make sure that their water and food is full. Well I....the girl that sits at a desk 5 days a week .... was clearly out of my element. The dogs did exactly what they wanted and when they wanted too. My mom was laughing because none of them would listen to me and so she decided to start saying bad dog while wagging her finger at the puppies. And well there you go!

Mine: Well I am not sure I like this word. AT ALL. Everything is mine, mine, mine! It drives us a little insane because when we tell him no that the item is not his he whines. I am hoping that this word will fade out and hopefully a sweet words will come like I love you mommy! To much? I can hope!

Anyways-

The week of the 14th.

Theme: 7 days of creation

Letter: Uu

Bible Verse: Psalm 75:! Unto thee O God, do we give.

Art: Night and Day. Sun and Moon-to represent the seven days and nights in which God created all things.

Potato was only in school a couple days this week because he was not feeling well.

Last week

Theme: Colors, Adam, Apple Tree

Letter: Aa

Art:
A is for apple. He traced and cut out a huge green apple.
They also spelled out his name like this: clAyton.

They learned this week that Adam was the first man on earth.

Bible verse: Romans 3:23 All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Clayton picked the color pink for his art and inside the card it read.

Pink is the power that is calm and serene.
Use it to add peace and harmony to your scene.

I have no clue what it means I am just telling you what I am reading.

He also colored a picture of the Garden of Eden and Adam in the garden.

Butterflies Day-Care Weekly Update

Mothers Week!

The bible theme of the week was love, joy, and peace.

The Letter of the week was Oo.

They had graduation for the Pre-K class this week. I can't imagine my Potato being old enough to graduate from Pre-K. It's ok I just won't think about it ;-)!

The Student of the Week was actually one of Clayton's friends. Ms Silvia was very proud to hear that one of her babies would be honored this week with his picture on the school bulletin board along with: his DOB, the day he started school, teachers name, names of siblings, pets, his favorite color, food, tv show, movie, and book. I really can't wait for Clayton to get student of the week! We will have to do something special for him when he does!!

Butterflies will no longer be giving over the counter medications, on the advice of the Health Department. I think this is great considering the mass recall on children's Tylenol, Motrin, etc. They don't need to be held responsible for a medicine that we as parents request they give to our children.

They are going to start swim lessons soon but sadly they have to be 3 years old to start. It's nice to know that for the two week session it is only 65 dollars. I have not shopped around but I guess that sounds about right.

The past week I also found out that our Potato is really starting to come out of his shell. Maybe a little too much! He is starting to be put into time out. Did I really expect him to be an angel all the time?!? Even though this is happening Ms Silvia said that his listening skills are great
and he is still on of her BEST students!

Butterflies Day Care-Weekly Update

I am late with this update and I apologize! So while I am watching Dancing with the Stars I will wrap up Potato's week at Butterflies. As you know last week was Teacher's Appreciation Week so we were incredibly busy with being the class suck-up. We WON! Ms Silvia made Clayton a thank you card. How special!

The theme of the week was water! How perfect is that?! He was also very good at playing outside this week. Ms Silvia says that he has lots of friends and cares for each of them. My little softy.

The bible theme was prayer and respect. John 14:14 "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

Letter of the week was Ii. I is for ice cream and igloo!

Pre-K got to go on a field trip to Chuck E Cheese. Wow, I can't even imagine. Potato sadly got to eat rice dressing, mixed veggies, and peaches. I really don't think he missed out on much honestly!

If you did not catch Post 1 or Post 2 about his week make sure you go and check them out!

We also went back to the doctor for a check up and Potato weighs 30 and a mountain of a boy at 2foot 10 inches. I can't believe how fast he is growing. I was able to snag this picture last week as well. I am so blessed to have such a happy baby!

Butterflies Day Care-Weekly Update

This past week has been Clayton's best ever! Everyday we arrived at day-care there was a very confident boy walking to his classroom. There wasn't a tear or tantrum in sight. What a sigh of relief for Mr and I. We did not realize that when we put Potato in Butterflies that is was going to take an emotional toll on our family. Mr along with myself were constantly trying to reassure people that this was the best thing for our baby. I am not so sure why it took so long or caused us so much anxiety, but we had to set our boundaries as the parents. Along with all of that the day care is not cheap by any means, but you also get what you pay for and we pay a good penny. I am very proud to say that so far we have been doing it all on our own. It is a struggle each month but its made us realize that we spend a little to frivolously. Along with getting a financial planner we have set a budget for ourselves and so far it is working wonders. Credit cards are getting paid off and plans are being made for our future. The sense of accomplishment is enough to give me a little pep in my step each day!Anyway back to what this blog is about: Potato's weekly day-care update.

The letter of the week was E. His art was an elephant cut out.

The theme for the week was animals, Eve, Garden of Eden.

Clayton is best at playing outside. Duh!

He loved reading this week. I read somewhere that if you read to the mat least 20 minutes a day you are doing them wonders. I know that he understands practically everything we say because he is a pointer and nods yes and no when we ask him questions. This gives Mr and I confidence because he is not really saying a lot of words. He will do it when he is ready and every kid is on their own schedule no matter what your books say. He has been saying a few words this week and we could not be happier. Oggy(doggy), Kiddy-Kiddy(Kitty), Aunty or Gaggy(Aunt Claire), Deeedy(Daddy),Boo(then he pops out from behind something), and of course mastered Go-Go.He nods yes and no and sometimes we hear him say the words.

Bible verse- Proverbs 20:11
Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right.

Butterflies Day Care-Weekly Update

This past week Potato attended day-care for the full week for the first time in a while. Between being sick and/or us going on our family vacation Potato has been out at least one day each week. Thankfully he had a great week with much progress.

Butterflies weekly calendar says that the theme for the week was Plants & Flowers and the letter was Qq!! What fun?!? First Corinthians 16:13 was the bible verse of the week. "Be on your guard; stand firm in faith; be men of courage; be strong. Butterflies is also working on a web site: www.Butterfliespreschools.com. It also tells you who is the student of the week and I can't wait until my Potato can tell them his favorite color, movie, pet, and movie.

Clayton's weekly progress notes told me that the thing he liked best was being back at school. I personally think that Ms Silvia and Ms Julie were lost without their Potato kisses! What he was really good at this week was playing outside. No kidding!

Mr and I are so happy that our little man is adjusting well to school. It has been such a blessing and Clayton is developing such a little personality and HAS FRIENDS! I can't wait to see how he does this week.

"VERY!"

When we heard that we were going to have to put Potato in day-care we were scared out of our minds.

1. Will they give him the attention he needs craves?
2. Will they love him as much as his family and friends do?
3. Will he eat well or go on strike?
4. Will he make friends?
5. Are his teachers going to be honest and straight forward or try to sugar coat everything because I am the parent?

Clayton did have a hard first couple weeks but each day was an improvement from the one before. He loves his teachers and is extremely attached to Ms Silvia and Ms Julie. When I went to pick him up I always made it a point to watch him in the room for 10 minutes before I pulled him out. I wanted to see for myself how he was doing and how he was adjusting. It slowly went from him standing by himself quietly crying to him being connected to Ms Silvia's legs....crying. She was so sweet and to help him adjust Ms Silvia appeased him by letting him go where ever she went and do what ever she was doing.

1. He got to watch her change all of the babies diapers while the other kids had to sit at the table.
2. He got to sit at the activity table and have one on one time while the others had to get on their mats ready for nap.
3. She reassures him everyday that mommy and daddy will always pick you up in the afternoon.

I mean what more can you ask for? Well when I went and picked him up on Friday I was whelling up while I watched him play with the other babies, dance, and be overall in an incredible mood. Each Friday you have to bring home blankets and any thing that needs to be cleaned and ready for Monday. Along with that they send home your babies progress report and art for the week. This week was spring so he colored flowers and butterflies. The progress report consists of:

1. What your baby liked best that week? Potato=ART
2. What you baby learned this week? = Spring brings many colors
3. What your baby is really good at? Potato=Coloring and Playing outside
4. The letter for the week? R
5. Bible verse? Exodus 20:8=Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
6. The theme for the week is Spring.

They also do a check list everyday to make sure you have diapers, wipes, and extra clothing. Along with this list as you can see in the picture they tell you what your babies disposition for the day is and well this week was the best week for Potato. Very, Very, VERY!!!!

It's very hard to watch them grow up, but watching them become their own little person is such a rewarding experience.

First Week at Daycare!

Butterflies Day-Care Center......Mr and I went to the orientation on Monday and Potato started Tuesday. He is having a rough time adjusting to a new routine, new people, and learning that Potato can't always have what Potato wants.

Clayton's Nana has so much love for him, by rocking and cuddling, I guess he was just not ready to give that up. There were days that I wished Clayton could go to work and I could go to Nana's house and have run of the roost. Then there is Papaw! Clayton would practically fly out of the car seat in the morning when he seen that Papaw was picking him up. This meant riding the tractor and his four wheeler. Would day-care look appealing to you if you had this treatment? I didn't think so!

Expectantly enough Clayton has been having a hard time a but I know we have to stay strong because its what is best! Mr and I are a united front and this is what will help us through this rough patch. I just really hope that Clayton realizes that even though Mommy and Daddy drop me off in the morning and leave....they will come and pick me up in just a little while. He was not able to go outside and play this week because it was wet but I really think this will help because he loves to play outside. Then I found out that on Fridays they have WATER PLAY. If you know Potato this is HUGE! He loves the water and beats on our storm door while it is raining so he can go stand in the rain. My little fish!

Well I had to go and pick him up today because his molars are coming in and causing him to have a low grade fever. He is fine but they don't let them come back for 24 hours to make sure that it is not something else. Which is a good thing! With this time off I can only imagine how he is going to feel betrayed when Mommy brings him back on Monday. It will take time and no matter how much this is hard to watch the crocodile tears....Mommy and Daddy know whats BEST for the POTATO!

Day-Care

Today is a huge day for the Randolph family! Mr and I will be going to orientation at a local day-care center. Potato will start Tuesday and this has my stomach in knots. Even though their reading programs, playgrounds, classroom activities are all great I still have to realize that my baby will be with people that have no real connection with my child. I have never been so scared. Mr Randolph of course thinks of the worst things that could happen to him and is so not ready to see his baby go off to school. We knew that it would happen eventually but its a whole new feeling when it is actually here.

I worked at a day-care for two years so I know all the right questions to ask and where to look for red flags. We went for a tour on Friday and the director was taken aback by all of the questions I had and all of the places that I wanted to look at. Its a Class A school so it is the best of the best. I need to go get ready for our meeting but blogging this, even if no one reads, is a huge help.

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