Random thoughts

There are so many things that I think about lately. How blessed I am to have Ty, he is such an easy going little guy. How did I get so lucky? I would never attribute his behavior to me, he is just himself, easy going. He spent about 2 hours yesterday helping me clean, organize and get rid of toys. I thought there would be some definite objection to getting rid of some things, but no, he never said a word. And he helped the whole time, without question or compliant. This is not to say he doesn't have his occasional moments...but they are not long, not that dramatic and are few and far between. The one thing we really have the hardest time with is getting him to eat. He is about 35 lbs and 42-43 inches tall...and he "doesn't like" anything. The one semi healthy thing he will eat is apple slices. Usually we have to force him to eat 3-4 bites of dinner, and that is about it, even if he likes what we are having. He will eat cereal in the morning sometimes but thats not an every day thing either. Its frustrating and hard because it isn't like I can force him to eat, and I know he will when he is hungry but its hard not to get frustrated with him when he just won't eat.

He starts t-ball tommorrow. I am excited to see how he does. He told us today he didn't want to play with other kids because they always "push him down". He has a very active imagination...lol...I really hope this is something he will enjoy. I also hope I can get the sweaater he insists on wearing off of him for t-ball as it is 90 degrees outside and the whole winter sweater thing is fine indoors but he will overheat outside for sure. This is just one of his little eccentricities. He also is usually in a spiderman costume and cowboy boots.

There are other things on my mind...I guess things that bother me, that I don't talk about a lot but think about quite often. One is my neice, Dylan, she is a really bright child, and has always been absolutely wonderful to Ty. My brother (her dad) and her mom split when she was 2, she is almost 7 now. My brother's current wife (they have been together since Dylan was almost 3), S, does not seem to like her very much. This makes me just beyond sad. Dylan can be a little annoying at times but she is a kid, can't they all be annoying at times? Her mother sort of took off, has visitation (which she gets out of whenever she can) and seems to be less than interested in her. I feel so bad for this wonderfully bright child. S complains that Dylan tries to mother their youngest dd Marley and it gets annoying, so she admits to actually screaming at Dylan about it. Marley is a year old, I would think she could actually start playing with Dylan....maybe I am wrong here but Dylan played with Ty when he was that age. And screaming? I think some kids are really good at just tuning you out, and maybe a better approach would be to touch her shoulder, get on her level and talk to her....she is a smart kid and she deserves a little respect. My brother seems oblivious to most of this, and I can't imagine letting someone treat my child this way. I think a little time/seperate attention to her (they are busy with 5 kids) might go a long way towards making her relationship better with S. I also think that Dylan will grow to resent Marley, S is all over that little girl, she pays no attention to anyone but her. Its sad, and I do see Dylan one day choosing to live with a mother who is indifferent versus one who thinks she is annoying.

My nephew has started playing football at his middle school. There have to be about 50 kids between the A and B teams for the 7th grade. He loves playing. My folks have kept him pretty busy, since he seems to make some bad decisions when he has time on his hands and not so great friends to hang out with. He plays football every day after school and Saturday, does gymnastics 2 times a week (afer football) and has guitar lessons once a week. Needless to say he is busy...but he really does love it all, so I guess its fine. We go to his games. Its hard to see him with all the other kids out there and they are on the far side of the field. I have managed to get a few good pics of him. We think he may be on the team to impress girls...lol. He has been able to spend some time with Ty lately, which is great, he is so good to his little brother, Ty couldn't be more thrilled then to get to hang out with Josh.

Peter Parker


Spiderman


Josh playing football...he is number 18