A Word of Advice. . .

Don't chase your 1 year old around the bathroom with the waistband of his pajama bottoms on your head with the striped legs hanging down like long ears. It doesn't go over so hot. Just take my word for it.

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Yet another big day for the Family Haynes. We went to the YMCA this morning and swam in the pool. (Yikes. A bathing suit? In January? Yeah. Yikes. Trust me.) Kingston had a great time. I have to admit that it is a bit tricky to change out of my dripping suit while attempting to make sure the crawling semi-naked baby didn't either crawl into the hallway or crawl into an unsuspecting Y-goer's bathroom or shower stall. More than once I nearly forgot that I was not entirely clothed while chasing Kingston through the locker room. Lucky for me, there's not too much going on in the locker room on a Saturday morning. That is, except for the 2 little 9 year old girls who asked me to help them with a number of things such as pinning the straps of their bathing suits so they wouldn't fall off (to which I heard them whisper "she was really nice" as they went around the corner!) and shutting their lockers tight and untying a knot in their bikini string.

This afternoon we went for a bike ride to the park. It was a bit chilly for a ride but we went for it anyway. Nana and Grandpa met us there for a quick visit on their way to K-Mart.

The boy loves to swing. Is this pure pleasure, or what?!

Climbing, sliding, etc. It was a good time.

Until. . .

Time to leave. 3 big things wrong here. 1. Nana and Grandpa were leaving. 2. K was forced to put on the dreaded helmet. 3. It was cold as all get-out. Kingston was pissed! He cried a good portion of the 5 minute ride home and dropped his pacifier twice. His face was a juicy mess what with the tears, snot and drool, and had to have been freezing by the time we got home. As I was getting his helmet off, my frozen, hard, too-long nails pinched his little neck and the crying started again. Oops. Good times.

Overall, we had another fun day. Man, I can't wait til the spring when the weather warms up and stays warm. That will insure easier bike rides and trips to the park.

What Fun!

It was a gorgeous day on the Outer Banks today. It started off a little cloudy and rainy but by mid-day, it was perfect. Nigel went surfing down South so Kingston and I spent the morning together. We went to the grocery store and took naps. I opened some windows in the house and when Kingston and I found ourselves in his room post diaper change, I realized that he was reaching up for the window and just gazing out at the trees. Immediately I knew what I had to do. Get that boy outside!! I put on my shoes, we got the wagon out of the van, and we went for a stroll up and down our road until Dad came home.

After Kingston had an afternoon nap, Nigel got the bikes out of the shed. I had put together Kingston's bike seat yesterday to get us prepared for the next sunny day. We put Kingston in the big box that the seat came in. (Yes, for some reason I seem to be obsessed with putting him in boxes!)

Of course he was cute as can be peaking out of the box! He found the handle slot and played peek-a-boo for a bit.

Then when Nigel snuck up on him he went in for the kill!

So back to today. . . We decided to take a ride over to Pappy's house, about a mile away. We were nervous that Kingston would freak over the helmet so we put him in the seat first, then strapped on the helmet. I think he was so interested in the seat that he forgot about the giant ball on his noggin! He didn't mind a bit. So off we went. I couldn't stop staring at the cute little fella! He was having so much fun.

The bike ride was a huge success. I can't wait for more beautiful days when we can ride all around town. We have lots of fun friends close by in our neighborhood that I can't wait to visit by bike. Look out neighbors, here we come!

Happy Mothers Day!

I'm not big on holidays-for no reason other than we just don't make a big deal about them, probably partly because they can get expensive if you let them. I have always taken an uninterested approach. Until now. I was so excited about Mothers Day this year. It now has a direct meaning to me. Of course, I have always had a mother to celebrate, but now that it is a holiday to celebrate me, it is a lot more fun!!! I think I like this day better than my birthday. I am so proud to be a mother. I am so proud of my son. I can't think of anything I'd like to celebrate more. I hope Kingston never has a hard time finding a card for me on Mother's Day. I was looking for a Mothers Day card for my mom and thought-what if I needed one that just said "Happy Mother's Day" because none of the other sentiments applied. (Of course, all of the cards described MY Mom, but not everyone is so lucky.) They all said really sweet things about how your mother has always been there for you, encouraging you, caring for you, etc. I hope those cards always apply to me. They don't apply to every mother.

I had a great day today. It started off early when Kingston and I made my Mom's day by meeting her and my dad at church at 8:30. My favorite preacher from the past, Mr. Presnell, was back to preach this Sunday as a celebration of our church's 150th birthday. Now, I will admit, I don't go to church these days. I would go a lot more if Mr. Presnell was our preacher. I really love him. He speaks to me unlike any other preacher I've had since he was last here. The whole church issue is a blog for another day. . . So after church I spent some time with Mom and then headed home. When I got home, I was surprised by my Mothers Day gift. Nigel bought us 2 new bikes! He wants to buy a baby seat for Kingston but they were sold out and he wants me to pick one out that is the safest. (Anyone have any suggestions?) After that we went out to lunch at Red Drum. Nigel watched Kingston this afternoon so that I could go to Birthday Suits and spend my gift certificate that Mom had given me for Mothers Day on a bathing suit. Yeah, I tried again. It was just as painful this time as last. But, I did come away with a suit. It looks pretty good and I just kept reminding myself that it will only get better from here. I mean, I'm not going to gain any more weight this summer-if anything, I will lose it. So I am pleased with my suit and I can stop thinking about it. This evening we have just relaxed and Nigel cooked a lovely spaghetti dinner for us. Kingston went to bed early because he was exhausted and now we have the evening to ourselves.

What a great day! Now back to work tomorrow. Poo. Oh, well. At least I got to experience my new favorite holiday from the honoree's point of view! Happy Mothers Day to all of my great mommy friends. Hope you enjoyed your day as much as I did.