45 Months Old

Rocco's little personality is so cute lately. He truly keeps us laughing... a lot. One of the things that cracks him up still is Max and Ruby. We found these cartoon characters on nickjr.com, and little man has become really skilled using a computer mouse. He'll find Max, wherever he is hiding, and click on him. As soon as he does, Max takes off hiding again. The funniest part is when he is found in the bathroom and runs out as a naked bunny. This just sends Rocco over the edge into laughing hysteria.

Hide and seek is one of Rocco's favorite games. We have made a special hiding spot in his closet, equipped with a little Thomas couch, multiple flashlights, and some magnetic games to play while we're waiting on daddy to come find us. When Jason opens the doors, Rocco will hide his face in my lap. He still thinks he is hidden. Jason will "give up" and leave. We'll just giggle like we got one on daddy.

Not only does he like to hide himself, he also likes to hide objects from us. When I'm taking a shower or just working near the bathroom, Rocco will sneak the rolling laundry cart into another room. His squealing laughter lets me know he's done it again! Once I find it, he'll hide it one more time. And on and on...

He's such an animated talker. The little phrases he says even tickle us. When he tee tees really fast, he'll say, "Whoa! That shot out like a mighty rocket!" Other times he'll just say something like, "See! I told you Rocco had to tee tee!" And oh the stories he can tell. They begin with "One day..." And he'll continue to make up a story about the trains, or a birthday parade, or anything else you can imagine. When it comes to playing with Diesel 10, Chick Hicks, or any other "bad" character, he uses his "bwha, ha, ha" evil laugh. It's pretty funny.

Being an only child growing up, I can relate to Rocco. I liked my toys and never had to worry about sharing (unless the neighbors came over). The other day I asked Rocco if he wanted a brother or a sister. He replied, "Nobody in my house! Rocco wants to be the only kid!" Oh my...the perils of sharing. On Christmas Eve we thought he was getting sick. At the end of our Christmas gathering at Papa's house, he became limp and clingy to me. He claimed that his throat hurt. Once we got home and focused just on him again, he was back to his ol' self. Seems that when cousin Colston or another kid gets more attention than him, he doesn't like it too well.

He may be growing up, but he is still my baby. He still asks to be rocked while going to sleep. It's the most precious time... just ask his nana who watches him during the day. And he just may be the only 3 1/2 year old that drinks a bottle while going to sleep. But that's okay. He's only a baby once.

In so many ways he's becoming a big boy. He's still potty trained, but I admit that at times he barely makes it. He often waits until the last minute to tell us. My advice to him as I help him is, "Keep it in the park." We've clearly defined the parameters of the park, and he does rather well! Rocco can pull his pull up and pants back on, but most of the time he acts like he can't and just depends on us to help him.

He is such a blessing to us. I know I've said that hundreds of times before, but it is so true. My Little Peanut (who calls me Big Peanut and Little Mama) brings so much laughter and love into our lives. The other day he gave me a big hug and said, "That's the best lovin' in the world!" Wonder where he's heard that before ; ) ??

Where's Waldo...I Mean "Where's Rocco?"

Bet you can't find the cutest kid in the world in the midst of all these Christmas presents!! We are truly blessed by our Lord, Jesus Christ. We had a wonderful Christmas celebrating His birth. Santa came...so did 2 sets of grandparents, 1 set of great grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and of course Rocco's parents. In spite of all the toys and candy, Rocco knows that the big celebration was for Jesus.

Here was Rocco's expression when he woke up and saw that Santa did indeed come. He was all smiles. One word came out of his mouth, "TOYS!!"

Here's his current fleet of Thomas the Train Engines. Honestly I don't know of many engines we don't have. Most of them are die cast take along but a few are wooden. We also have the Trackmaster kind that run around the track. Yes, we are keeping Energizer batteries in business.

His newest trains are the twins Donald and Douglas. Santa also brought chicken and the eggs by special request of Rocco.

He has the best imagination. He talks non-stop when he plays with his trains. They get into all sorts of predicaments (falling off the couch, getting stuck in a Tupperware bowl, running into laundry, tipping over, and on and on). Someone always has to rescue or help them, and he'll usually bring the Sir Topham Hat car to scold them.

Singing at Church

For the last month, Rocco has been practicing his 3 Christmas songs at church every Sunday night at 6pm. Donna B., Tabatha R., and Nana Carolyn have been his teachers. His age group has been working on 3 songs with the pre-school music teacher, Ms. Teresa S.

At home and at nana's we've been working on the words to these Christmas songs, trying to get him to learn all the words. By the time the big moment arrived, he was ready. He was the first one to walk right up on that stage and stand in front of the microphone...not shy or afraid one bit afraid. He was followed by Teresa's son, Matthew (pictured on the left), and the youth pastor's son, Jack. The three did a great job. They started out with Away in a Manger. After that song, someone reminded them to sing loud. Right in the microphone, Rocco assured them. "I will!" he said. The second song was Go Tell It On the Mountain. For the finale, they shook their bells and sang Jingle Bells.

My parents came down to see him sing this morning. Tonya, Sydney, Drew, Jason, Nana, and Granddaddy were also there.

Later that evening we had a candlelight, communion service. It was probably the most beautiful and memorable Christmas service I've ever been in. I told Rocco it was a birthday celebration for Jesus. He enjoyed blowing the candle out.

We're having a lot of fun with Santa this year, but Rocco knows what it's really all about. When I ask him, "What is Christmas?" He replies, "Jesus' birthday for Christmas."

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

...especially when you have a three year old in the house. Take the regular excitement you would feel at Christmas and magnify it times ten. Rocco is beside himself with anticipation. He told Santa that he wanted the trains Donald & Douglas AND an art set called Splatster.

The first year we had to have Rocco and Santa's photo digitally fixed. They took a picture of Rocco smiling while sitting on a chair. Later they took a picture of Santa standing behind the chair with his hand up to his mouth whispering, "Shh". They creatively mixed the two photos. It looks like Santa was right there behind him. In real life, Rocco was too smart for he heard the rustling of Santa sneaking up behind him. He didn't want the big red man next to him. The second year we saw the exact same Santa. Rocco was very cautious and tried to keep his distance. Santa even sang a sweet song to him. We didn't have to "fix" the photos but Rocco still was not in Santa's lap.

Thankfully, this was the year Rocco enjoyed Santa. He sat on his lap and Santa even read him a Christmas story about Jesus. The pictures turned out great. And since he's been such a good boy this year I'm sure he'll find just what he asked for lying under the tree on Christmas morning.

Question is, "Which tree will Santa put them under?" We love Christmas trees at our house. This year Rocco helped out with all of them. The tree in the living room...

the tree in our bedroom...

the tree in our kitchen...

and the little tree in Rocco's room.

My Birthday

I turned 33 this year. After getting off work, I was greeted with a surprise by Rocco and Carolyn. When I opened the door to Gary and Carolyn's house, there were 3 cupcakes on the kitchen table, one for each of us, and one had a candle burning on top. There was also a card on the table. Rocco had made up a story about a parade for momma's birthday. Carolyn typed up what he had said. That was really special.

Later that night, Jason and Rocco gave me some presents (pajama pants, a pink sweat suit, and some much needed socks). We also went to a Japanese steak house. It's our favorite place to go eat. I put on the crazy Japanese hat and wig while they sang to me and banged a gong.

On Wednesday night, Rocco and I met my family at the Dari Dip for my family party. After opening presents, we drove across the road to see the light show. Rocco and I got out of the car, even though it was freezing cold, and danced to the music. He copied every thing I did and just laughed and laughed. The lights were synchronized to the music, so it was really neat.
Earlier this week, Carolyn made a delicious chocolate cake for me. Jason's immediate family gave me gifts on Sunday.

Great birthday. The best part was being with my family. The downside was that I lost two uncles this week. My cousins, Stephanie and Stacy, lost their dad to cancer on my birthday. Jason, Rocco, and I were the last ones to visit with Roy before he died. He was very sick with cancer and did not respond to us during the visit. I sang him a song and Jason prayed for the family. We left his house around 9:30 that night after eating my birthday dinner. He died right before 11pm. The 9th of this month would have been his 60th birthday. Stephanie's birthday is also on the 9th. Here's a picture of Stephanie and her daddy that I took last January.

When I was at Stephanie's house Dec 9th wishing her a Happy Birthday and consoling her from her dad's passing, I got the call that Uncle Len had just passed away at his house. He had a heart attack. Unlce Len was almost 60 as well.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

"Chance of snow tomorrow!" the forecasters called. Yeah, right. We haven't seen a good snow since the blizzard of 1993.

The weatherman was only partially right. Just a few flakes dusted the ground...and that was only if you were up at 7am on a Saturday morning to see it before it melted. So, we had our snow day inside. A Christmas present I ordered came yesterday in the mail and was loaded with packing peanuts. How perfect!

I dumped mounds and mounds of them from the balcony onto our kitchen floor. Rocco squealed with delight.

Let it snow!! Bring on the snow angels!