Superman!

This morning as we woke up to our lazy Saturday morning and began preparing for breakfast, Rocco went running around the living room couch shouting something. He was holding my physical therapy exercise band in the air and pretending to lassoe. In a few moments I realized he was saying something I had never heard him say before. "Superman!" He was evidently on a rescue mission. I gave him a kitchen hand towel to add to his Thomas the Train pajamas.

Along with his newly made cape, his morning hair was flying all over the place. He kept running in circles around his train table and jumping over toy hurdles. I later joined him with my wet hair pulled up in a towel. He kept saying, "Superman!" I chimed in, too. "Supergirl!"

Rocco's First Hunt

Jason took Rocco out on his first hunt last night in our back field. They didn't see any deer, but they had a good time together. Jason said that Rocco will learn with time how to be more quiet and still. The important thing for now is that they had fun and made some memories. Nothing quite like father/son time hunting.

One Fall Afternoon

The weather was so beautiful this afternoon when I got off of work. Since Jason went hunting at the farm, I decided Rocco and I should have some fun of our own. Once I picked him up from Carolyn's we went home and played on the swingset. I pushed him in his swing and helped him slide. He still isn't a big fan of the slide and wants me to hold his hand each time. One time I just sat there at the bottom of the slide, refusing to hold his hand. As he held on to the side bars, he began to slip. Next came the usual phrase, "Help, I bout to fall!" I told him I'd catch him. As he kept on sliding his panic turned into laughter. His giggles and my persuading encouraged him down the slide. He was just fine but would NOT do that again. He insisted I hold his hand next time. I guess in some ways he is just not a daredevil. Rocco usually errs on the cautious side. He gets that from his mama.

I believe his favorite thing to do at the swingset is to blow bubbles off of his tall fort.

Mama's Little Boy

This picture was taken on my parent's front porch before church Sunday morning. Rocco and I spent Halloween night there after trick-or-treating at their house and my grandparent's house.

Halloween 2009

Halloween this year was very special because every young cousin in Jason's family trick-or-treated together. We met at the bank downtown a little before 5 and took pictures. It was hard to get everyone to smile and look at the camera all at the same time. This is the best shot I got.

As all the family walked downtown, they looked a lot like a traveling caravan.

The youngest kids (Colston - fisherman, Sydney - ladybug, and Rocco-Indian) were pulled in wagons. The older cousins (Drew-nerd, Chloe-zombie, and JJ - twister) just walked.

Rocco had it made! There was a slight drizzle that night, so I held the umbrella over him. Daddy pulled him, that is until the cousins wanted to help out. Chloe pulled Rocco, and JJ took his candy bag to all of the houses. He just sat back on his soft pillows and ate candy. It was quite cool that evening...check out his toboggan, Indian look.

The leaves were absolutely beautiful. Jason and I paused to have our picture made downtown under the prettiest tree. I loved the orange covered ground below us.

After we trick or treated downtown, Rocco and I quickly headed up to see my family. My niece experienced her first Halloween. She's just 8 months old. Daelyn was the cutest little fairy. All Rocco had to say was, "Boo!" and she would just cackle. They play so well together. I think they're the cutest pair.

Trunk or Treat

Rocco came to my school this afternoon for the annual Trunk or Treat. This is the third year he has come. It's a neat event where the students' parents park their cars in front of the elementary school and decorate their trunks with treats. Most of the kids dressed up today for the big event. I went as Lucille Ball. Some of the other teachers participated, too. Here is Autumn as a tough, biker girl. Many kids didn't know who I was; one kid thought I was Amelia Bedelia, but the adults definitely knew. The red hair, large spoon and medicine bottle I carried around with me was the clue that helped them most. VITAMETAVEGAMIN!
This year Carolyn brought little man in his costume. He is an Indian this year, but if you ask him what he is dressed as, he'll tell you, "India."Rocco loaded up on candy at this year's trunk or treat. He didn't stay very long because it was nap time. . . and just like his mama he gets cranky when he is tired. Tomorrow is one last chance for him to dress up again. We're supposed to Trick or Treat with Drew and Sydney. It's not like he needs any more candy though.

3 years and 7 months old

Our sweet Rocco is a little package of big giggles. It doesn't take much to get him tickled. To begin with there's no place he's not ticklish. The best spot to get him is under his chin. He's caught on now, but I used to say, "Look up, Rocco." When he did I'd kiss him under the chin. He'd get so weak from being goosed that he could barely ask me to stop for laughing so hard. If you want him to laugh without tickling him, just say the word "bootie." That gets him going, too.

The latest thing this month has been his rhyming. It begins early in the morning and goes all day long. If you were listening to us in the morning, you'd hear...


Mama: "Get up, pup!"
Rocco: "No bo."
Mama: "You can't sleep, peep."
Rocco: "Sleep all day, lay."

And on and on the nonsense words go. It doesn't matter if they make sense; they only have to rhyme. In fact, one of his new favorite books for us to read to him is Toad on the Road. "They are low on gas and need a fill up. At the store, they add the bill up." And from there we have to stop reading the book for a minute while Rocco rolls over on his side, laughing so hard he can hardly breathe, and finally regains his composure. He laughed so hard the other day just because I told him that mama wore pajamas but didn't kiss llamas.

Disney's CARS are still his favorite toys, but I'm glad to say that he decided this month that he liked his trains again. That's a very good thing considering we spent a lot of money on his videos, trains, and tracks. It was kind of sad just seeing them sitting around not being played with. At least for now Thomas is back in business.

His imagination is certainly not limited. While playing at nana and granddaddy's during the day, he'll often gather his trucks and pretend to have a parade. On other days they'll have a party. He also has his trains and trucks talk to one another. He'll change the pitch of his voice and go, "Oh, no...Henry says.....What you doing?....says Thomas." Another activity he likes to do while playing is to write "important messages" (as he calls them). We have a small cardboard mailbox. He'll take a notepad, scribble on it, place some stickers on it, and tell you that he has a message for you.

One thing he does often is say, "Help me. I'm 'bout to fall." He could be sitting on the floor and tell you this. I don't know where he got this, but I guess it is his way of getting attention...not that he is lacking any.

CANDY!! That's what gets Rocco excited. Several times a day, he'll ask for it. Of course he has to rhyme when he does so. "Gum mum?" he'll say.

The last thing I'll mention is the fact that he likes to cross his eyes. I'll tell him not to, but he just laughs and does it again. He claims that Aunt Tonya taught him this, but she denies it. It's really cute when he does this, but I tell him he's gonna get stuck that way. At least that's what my mom always told me.