Almost Two

My little baby is almost two. He isn't such a baby anymore. He acts like a big boy with occasional tantrums. He is more and more vocal every day. He asks for the things he wants. Sometimes he wants the windows rolled down, sometimes he wants you to sit down, sometimes he wants his vitamin. Rest assured, he will let you know. Unfortunately, he regularly changes his mind before you complete the initial request. We're working on that one.

Last weekend, I took my car through one of those drive through car washes at a gas station. I had single-handedly lowered the Harris County bug population, and this was my quick fix. After pulling into the wash, James and I realized that Cullen had never been through the car wash before. He kept going back and forth between getting upset and pretending to be brave. He was not a fan of the high pressure rinse cycle.

On Sunday morning, a good friend of mine asked to take pictures of Cullen for her portfolio. She has so much talent, and you can tell she really enjoys what she's doing. If you need photos in the Katy area, get in touch with me, or look for Laughery Photography. Desiree is precious and great with kids! 

On Monday morning, my iPhone decided that it didn't feel like saving photos anymore. Perfect timing for Halloween. This picture of Cullen in his costume is from a few weeks ago when I first got it. I guess I'll have to dress Cullen up again later for a mock session. The only picture James got has me in it, and that is not going on the blog. Cullen got the hang of trick or treating after two stops, but that's also when he realized that he could just say thank you and still get candy. We made four stops total and headed home. 

This Sunday is Cullen's birthday. His second birthday. We have quite a few people coming over to celebrate, and we're really looking forward to it. How could you not look forward to a child's birthday? Between Cullen's birthday and other Scout orders, I will be making 6 dozen cupcakes, 8 dozen cookies, and 2 dozen brownies over the next four days. I'm exhilarated and worn out all at once. My main goal is to make it through Friday. If I can get to Saturday morning, we'll be fine.

On a less positive note, I wanted to share a little parenting gripe. Last Friday, I sent Cullen to school with a little sweatshirt to wear during outside play time. James picked Cullen up from school, and his sweatshirt was nowhere to be found.

I check Cullen's bag before we take anything home each day to make sure that we have all of Cullen's things and only Cullen's things. Not all parents do this. More than once, something of Cullen's has gone home with someone else. Each time, it shows back up the next morning. It's the decent thing to do. You bring back the things that don't belong to you. This time, the sweatshirt didn't reappear.

So here we are on Wednesday, still with no shirt. I'm cheap. I own that. I had only planned on buying Cullen one sweatshirt this fall and planned to carry it between home and school until he grows out of it. We all know that won't take long. Not only has the school posted a sign about the missing shirt, Cullen's teacher asked each of the parents if they had seen it. One of those parents lied when they said they hadn't seen it.

I'll be the first to admit that I am really ticked off to be buying him a new sweatshirt today. They aren't expensive, but I'm a coupon gal, and I have no coupons for this one. You see, we have a cold front blowing in this afternoon, and Cullen will need a sweatshirt at school tomorrow. I'll also admit that I will totally remove a sweatshirt from a kid tomorrow if I drop Cullen off at school and see someone else wearing it. His name is on the tag, and he is the only Cullen Shuler at that school. I honestly hope it happens. I want that parent to be so embarrassed, because I will throw them under the bus. Then I will give them the evil eye.

All that being said to remind parents with kids in school to pay attention to what they take home. It might be handy to not have to buy a sweatshirt for your kid, but it's quite the inconvenience for the other parent. And that other parent might be me. And I might be tired and cranky. And I will totally call you out on it.

xoxo ashley