Tuesdays (and Thursdays) with Sully

I've always been someone who loves consistency and routine.  Those words are generally synonymous with boring, but they give me a sense of peace.  And keep me from acting like a disorganized crazy person on a daily basis.  Even when there's no schedule I like a general plan

So now that Max is back in "school" twice a week we have a much better sense of structure than we did over the summer.  Our days seem more purposeful.  I also have much more on my plate this time of year.  Which, counter-intuitively, makes me a thousand times more productive.  If I have a board meeting, a class party to plan and errands to run...I'll get everything done.  If the only thing on my to-do list is one measly basket of laundry to fold...it will sit in its sad little basket for two+ days.

Anyway, with this new weekly schedule I get to enjoy more one-on-one time with Sullivan.  He's increasingly curious and is so receptive to new things lately.   I try to make good use of the time we have alone when I'm able to give him 100% of my attention.

So after we drop Max off in his classroom...

"Bye, Max!"  He's not even aware we're still there.  Too busy with the morning's welcome activity of sorting dinosaurs by color.

...we head home so Sullivan can take his morning nap.  But when he wakes up our only goal is F U N!

On Tuesdays they day is ours.  We usually do an activity at home followed by a little outing prior to picking up Max in the afternoon.

Cheerios Book is a favorite activity.  Aunt Jenni gave Sully this awesome book for his birthday and he loves it!  He places all the Cheerios in the book where they belong...with much concentration.

But he mostly just likes eating the Cheerios...

I love attempting outings that make most people question my sanity.  ("You have a one year old at a museum??")  However, I've found that kids do much better than you expect in most circumstances.  And sometimes they don't.  Eh, what can you do?  Smile apologetically and move on.  Sullivan is the best date ever, though. He lets me linger in the exhibits and is even a great conversationalist over lunch on the museum grounds.

"Mom.  That is a giant birdie.  Shall I point at it over and over just to be sure you see what I'm seeing?"

Pic A: Sullivan in Shuttlecock shock.                                                         Pic B: Totally over it.

Sometimes we do nothing other than play with my sunglasses.  This child loves shades.  It gives him such a sassy little attitude as exhibited in the photos below...

Other days we color...

Or we go on a nature walk.

Baby tree-huger.  Literally.  Also likes to examine flowers.

Sullivan is also a boy to the core.  Cars and pretend power tools provide serious entertainment.  I watch him in awe of the innate "boy-ness" of his personality. 

Did I mention that my dude loves shades??

On Thursdays we head to a momma/toddler music class for an hour after his morning nap.  He's always loved music and dancing so I decided he'd appreciate that over a class like Gymboree.  His favorite part of class is the other babies.  And the maracas.  This boy can rock the maracas.  He can also chuck them pretty forcefully across the room.  Anything that is even kind of round his fair game for throwing.  I'm afraid we're close to getting kicked out of class for this behavior.

After a fun hour of dancing, singing and playing music we sometimes have a little lunch date.

Seriously.  Sharing chips and salsa with the cutest guy in the whole restaurant.

On this particular morning Sullivan slept in so late I decided to skip his morning nap...and have a little breakfast at the french bistro across from Max's school after we dropped him off instead.  Sully and I ordered Quiche Lorraine and a baguette with Nutella.  He barely saved any for me!  My little piglet.

Sometimes we'll head to the zoo on a nice day.  Here we are during the morning bird feeding.  They literally swarm you.  I had birds on my head, on my arms...Billy would have freaked (slight bird-phobia).  I think I might have pushed Sullivan over the edge too.  He started out unsure of the whole thing but I kept encouraging him to get closer and closer.  As soon as the bird looked him in the eye and squawked loudly, it was all over...

"This is scary, mom!"

Sullivan, I cherish these days so much.  I soak up every bit of your sweet personality.  We have an easy way together.  Like our personalities are well matched.  It's funny to realize this when you're so young, but I can tell that we'll always have a quiet understanding.  I love you so much little man and look forward to many special days together.