Telling Time With Trees: the 2014 edition

No, I haven't forgotten about the blog, but life has been far too busy to keep up with the Diva Domain. I'm not ready to officially retire from my part-time writing passion though, so I'm going to make an effort to post at least once a month.  So here we go.  March 2014 - the annual Tree Picture.  

The weather this year made it pretty impossible to get a good picture the one or two days the tree was in bloom.  Mother Nature can't make up her mind, so when it warmed up at the end of March, about half the flowers bloomed on my parents' Chinese Magnolia tree.  Then the cold snap came and killed all of them, and then the second round of blooms came, and now the cold has gotten those, too.  All that to say, I'm glad we got these pictures when we did.

Here's Mommy, age 21, pictured with Bradley, age 5

2014

You know it's March when Kentucky fans are still wearing their Blue for game days

Mommy & her little kindergartner

And now for a walk down memory lane...

2013

2012

2011

2010

Here's a fun one:  the spring of 2008, I was 6 months pregnant with Bradley, so technically this was our first picture in front of the tree!

Easter 2008

Telling Time with Trees

Each year when my parents' Chinese Magnolia is in bloom, Bradley and I take a picture in front of it.  This year's photo was a rush job at dusk on St. Patrick's Day.  I realized suddenly that the flowers were just starting to bloom, but with my class schedule, it was likely that the flowers would be gone by my first free night on Thursday.  I'm glad we snapped these when we did because due to the finicky Tennessee weather, the cold snap killed all the blooms.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I'm going to pick him up for this picture as long as I'm able

Something new this year

And now for a walk down memory lane...

2012

2011

2010

 I love the tradition, and I love the few precious days when this tree is in bloom.  Hurry up warm weather and get here, the flowers are way ahead of you this year, and I'm tired of wearing my winter coat everyday.

A Few Firsts

Bradley hit a couple of major milestones recently that I wanted to quickly stop and mention, in the middle of working on case briefs for my Torts class on a Saturday night.  Don't feel too badly for me.  Last night I got to go downtown and join the masses of Blue and see Kentucky play Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament...  On second thought, yes, feel sorry for me!

Big news number one:  Little Man is FINALLY potty trained at night, as in almost 5 years of buying diapers and pull-ups is at last OVER.  I was getting concerned and yes, admittedly frustrated, at the hassle and expense of buying pull-ups, but like many other kid milestones, there was nothing to do to speed up the process but sit back and wait for his body to make the connection on his own, and it came in its own sweet precious time.  I am thrilled!

Second piece of exciting news:  Bradley had his first-ever T-ball practice today.  It was both well-organized and chaotic at the same time.  Many dads were on the field running drills with the kids (Alligator - Skate Board- Throw it to First; get B to show you that one in person if you have the opportunity- it's adorable), meanwhile the head coach did batting practice with each kid one at a time.  Opposite of soccer, I can proudly say that Bradley was one of the better players on the field and he really seemed to get it.  And boy, does that kid have an arm!  Long term, I'm still thinking pitcher or quarterback.  So maybe t-ball will end up being a sport better suited to his abilities and interests.  As a sports fan myself, I am excited to begin the ritual of spring baseball and support my little guy on the field.  And who knows?  Maybe I will make some mommy friends of my own during this venture.

Swing! Batter Batter Swing!

When they weren't fielding a ball, they were playing in the dirt

Alright, peeps, back to the grind I go.

Gallery Night: Preschool Style

Last night Bradley's school held an Art Exhibit night.  All of the classes worked on various art projects to display, some modeled after famous artists' works.

4A's art inspired by Kandinsky

The artist and his work (B's is the middle one, bottom row)

The preschool was hopping on a Friday night - a far cry from his previous daycare's lame attempt at nighttime events.  These parents and kids actually showed up!  Bradley had fun running around with his friends, and I had trouble keeping up with him through the throngs of people.

Caught playing with a friend

Diarama made by B and a few friends

And of course, what gallery night would be complete without cheese and crackers, and a little sparkling grape juice?  They really know how to host an event!

Bradley's class made objects out of clay as one of their projects

He's been in a bat phase for a while

This cracked me up

Painting with Salt

Bradley was channeling the minimalists' with his art - less is more!  Some of his classmates' sheets were filled with color, but this little one just has not patience for art.  When he was younger, I thought it was just a matter of maturity.  Now I've come to accept that it's just boys being boys, so when it comes to him drawing me a picture, or sitting down to attempt an art project with him, I'll take what I can get.

Reaching a milestone

For his 4th birthday, Bradley got a really cool Spider Man "big boy" bike with training wheels to graduate from his piece-of-crap plastic tricycle. I don't care if I age myself when I use the phrase sincerely, "they just don't make toys the way they used to!"

As our driveway is sloped and we live on a hill, there isn't anywhere for Bradley to ride here, so we have to head to the park to get some pedaling practice in. Here are a few pictures from our first venture at the park:

And one from the 4th of July neighborhood bike parade:

I was so proud of him on July 4th because they had the kids all ride around the roundabout in our neighborhood, which turned out to be up and down a hill, and much further than I thought the parade's path would be.  

Last week however, we went to the park one night after dinner and Bradley was able to ride the entire mile loop around the park. My wheels are spinning (pun intended) and I am hoping to have a new exercise buddy! If he can pedal, I will have someone to go running with, or at least next to! I have visions of sugarplums and mother-son workout time dancing around in my head.  But for now, I am just proud of him for learning how to ride, and excited that he has reached this "milestone."

Bradley the Bookworm

This summer Bradley participated in the library's summer reading program.  I was delighted to discover they have reading programs available for pre-readers.  My summers were always spent doing reading programs at the library, and it is important to me that Bradley's love for reading is nurtured like mine was.

Grandma B was able to take Bradley to the library for story hour and to check out books, and thanks to her, Bradley participated in the reading program.  Here's a picture of his bingo-card-like check list of activities to do in order to win prizes.  

After 6, Bradley got an orange water bottle, and after 12, he was able to pick out a book of his choosing.  Bradley immediately went for the book about stars and constellations.

We make reading aloud every night a priority, and I hope his love for reading continues as he gets older.

B-Hind: age 3 3/4

Catching up on some random pictures from the past few months, this is Bradley at age 3 3/4.

Darth Vader Obsessed

Blowing Bubbles... remember when you were a kid...?

Franklin Main Street Festival with Grandma & Papa

His first-ever play at the Nashville Children's Theatre:  "Click Clack Moo"

The Green Lantern mask McDonald's toy from the fateful Cheeseburger day

Watching a book on the computer at the library

Swinging in the back yard

3 Goggles Up!

Riding a horse and blowing kisses at the Franklin Main Street Fesitval

Blowing dandelions

Drawing a picture of his family

Trying on his hat different ways- this was my favorite

Hawaiian shaved ice at the Franklin Main Street Festival

Making a silly face

Nightmare on Elmo Street

Ever wonder what kids dream about, or worse- what gives them nightmares?  What's so traumatic about being three, you might wonder, that it would rouse you from a dead sleep?  Well I'm glad you asked.

Two nights ago Bradley woke up crying in the middle of the night.  When I got to his room, in between the sobs, he exclaimed, "I don't like my little monster truck!  I want a big monster truck!"  Now mind now, it's not like he's in a "monster truck phase" or something.  He rarely plays with trucks, so this was totally out of the blue.  Good thing it was dark so B couldn't see me laughing silently at his predicament.

He settled down pretty quickly and fell back asleep.  The next morning I asked him if he remembered dreaming about monster trucks, and I asked him what upset him so much.  He told me that he dreamed he had taken a monster truck from a little girl, and that Grandma B took the truck away from him!  At this, I couldn't stifle my laughter.  Since Grandma is almost always the good guy, and I as the single parent, am always the bad guy, I relished this opportunity to laugh at Bradley being so upset with her.

So that, my friends, is what three year old nightmares are all about, and apparently Grandma B is the Freddy Krueger of Elmo Street.

Bradley's Bracket

I grew up in a household that was basketball crazy.  Every March, we would each fill out our NCAA tournament brackets and post them in the kitchen to compare our picks.  Laura & I used to fight over who got to highlight the winners after each round.

Now the bracket picks legacy has been passed on to Little B.  Mom sat him down and went round by round and asked him who he thought would win between each school mascot.  Check out this winning bracket:

Humorously, he has the Kentucky Wildcats playing the St. Bonaventure Bonnies playing in the national title game.  Let the traditions begin, and let's go Wildcats!

The Tree of Life

Spring has sprung in middle Tennessee.  We had such a mild winter that all of the flowers and trees are blooming, and Easter's still nearly a month away.

Mom & Dad have this beautiful tree in their backyard which we've identified as a Chinese Magnolia.  Every spring the tree blooms these gorgeous flowers, and less than a week later, the flowers fall, blanketing the yard in soft white petals resembling a spring snow leaving the branches bare until the leaves come in and take over.

The past several years I've made a point to take a picture with Bradley in front of the blooming tree, and so I thought it might be neat to see the passage of time in pictures:

2010

 Bradley age 21 months

 2011

 Bradley age 2 1/2

 2012

 Bradley age 3 1/2

And no, I haven't yet seen the Terrence Malek film for which I wittily named this post, but I'll get around to it eventually.