Floor Tantrums

Mark the calendar. Yesterday was the first time LR threw himself to the ground to express displeasure. None of the tantrums were major, but I'm sure he's just priming the engine. He did it twice for me during the day and once for Daddy last night when he wanted Daddy to take him outside. Speaking of Daddy, yesterday morning while LR and I played cars downstairs, Daddy got ready upstairs. When it was time for me to leave for work, I called out, "Derek! Are you coming down?" Daddy came down the stairs, LR looked at him and called out "Durk! Duuuurk!" I'll have to remind myself to just say "Daddy" from now on. He's getting much better with names though. He can now say his own name, but it comes out very much broken into 2 parts: Hud-san.

LR finally seemed to be mostly recovered from his illness yesterday although he's still napping a lot and he did throw up his dinner of zucchini, rice, and beans. Not sure what it was, but I'm glad it's almost over. He slept through Tues night, but didn't make it through last night. I think he's gotten used to sleeping in our bed again. *sigh*

LR has a favorite new expression, "no like." He uses it when I pick a book he'd rather not hear for the thousandth time. "No like." He uses it when he's finished with his dinner and pushes his plate away even though he ate all but 10% of it. "No like." He uses it when I walk in the direction opposite the way he wants to walk. "No like!" It's expressive, but annoying. Just right for a burgeoning two year old, I guess.

Tummy Hurts

LR woke up with a fever on Saturday morning. Because it was low grade and he was playing happily, we decided to try a run to Ikea. It was a little overwhelming to all of us and he fell asleep on the way home. When he woke up, his fever went up to close to 103 and he spent the rest of the day resting on me on the couch while watching A Bug's Life. (He loves the scenes with the bird.) Saturday night was a rough one. Very little sleep and lots of attempts to get the right medication into him. The problem is that he'll take Motrin, but it doesn't break a fever as well as Tylenol. Unfortunately, the Tylenol is gross and once I start giving him that, he'll reject the Motrin too. I picked up 3 version of Children's Tylenol, grape, strawberry, and meltaways, on Sunday hoping that he would like one of them. No dice. Every time I made him take it, he dissolved into tears and hiccups.

We're were supposed to host my book club's BBQ on Sunday, but I canceled it to keep the other kids from picking up whatever LR has. It was by far the nicest day of the summer so far and it was a shame we had to spend it inside. In the afternoon Daddy and LR decided to nap in our bed and LR woke up screaming. He was inconsolable. He was stiff as a board in my arms and clenched his fists and raised them to his head. When he calmed a little, I asked him if something hurt. He said, "hurt, hurt, tummy hurt, tummy hurt" and then cranked up the volume on his wailing again. It's the very first time he's been able to tell me what's bothering him and I felt completely helpless. I didn't know what to do that might help. He hadn't eaten much for the past 2 days, so it could have been hunger, or maybe gas, or upset because of the Tylenol. He drank a little water when he calmed down and the episode passed. Unfortunately, it wasn't the last one. He woke up at 11:30pm last night with the same thing and we were just considering taking him down the street to the hospital when he calmed down and fell back asleep.

During the night his fever broke and he slept much more peacefully. The fever spiked again this morning, but I'm hoping we're on the tail end of whatever this is.

Su-sha

About a month ago we exposed LR to sushi. We're not big fans of sashimi, but we like vegetarian maki. When he expressed interest in my dinner, like he always does, I unwrapped the seaweed from an avocado roll and gave it to him. He popped the whole thing in his mouth, chewed, swallowed and asked for more. I ended up splitting my dinner with him that night. He called it "su-sha."

Since then his sushi appetite has ramped up. He asks for it on site when we're at the grocery store. At Whole Foods they have a giant plastic sushi roll hanging above the sushi station, so he knows when it's coming. It's not really grocery store finger food, so I try to restrict him to crackers and grapes when we're in the aisles (despite mighty protests). In the past month, his pronunciation has improved. It's now "su-shi" and he eats 8-10 pieces on his own in a sitting. I stopped unwrapping the seaweed and started cutting them in half. He doesn't seem to have a problem with the seaweed as long as it's in small pieces.

I love that he's a good eater, but did he have to have such expensive tastes?

This week we went with friends to StellaBella, a great toy store in Cambridge. I could have spent hundreds of dollars, but I ended up with an adorable wooden sushi set. (I think my sister-in-law Lady M mentioned the same set in a blog post a while back.) LR loves playing with it so far. He uses the wooden knife to cut the velcroed sushi rolls apart and practices dipping the pieces into soy sauce using the chopsticks. It's really adorable. We spent the last play time this evening playing a family game of "sushi." I should contact Milton Bradley...

Have? Have.

LR's favorite new word is "have." He uses it both as a question "have?" meaning "may I have this object that you have but I dearly want," and "have," a command, telling Daddy or I "you shall have this thing this very moment." The first is the equivalent of "gimme," but much nicer. For example, in the picture I'm pretty sure he said "have" as he reached for the camera. The latter he uses when I ask him to share something. Usually his playmate doesn't know why she is receiving such a gift, but she doesn't often complain.

LR is just getting the hang of saying his name. It's usually in the context of "Hudson's turn," which comes out as "Hudnes tourn" or "Huds tourn." (It's not usually mommy's turn.)

A few pics

watching the cougars with Mommy









walking with Daddy at the zoo












sharing a bowl of raisins with King J

Bikes Rides and Other Fun

LR's obsession with rides is no longer limited to cars. On Saturday morning we took our first family bike ride. Daddy and I bought a Burley D'Lite trailer and hooked it to my bike. I was worried about 3 things before the ride.

1. would he keep the helmet on
2. would he enjoy the ride
3. would I be able to hear him
   

When we got to our drop site, he definitely wasn't thrilled about the helmet, but once he got into the trailer, he seemed to forget about it. For the first 10 minutes of the ride I could hear him in the trailer saying "Woah! Woah!" He really enjoyed it. We biked part of the way around a pond and then decided we needed to get home for a play date. When we got back to the car he was not happy that we had stopped. He kept saying "bike again, bike again." I'm thrilled that he enjoyed it and I was even happier to be back on the bike again. Since Saturday we've been out 2 other times. Once he and I went to a park by ourselves and then last night we all went for a quick evening ride before bed. The only trouble we ran into was that he didn't want to leave the park and I ended up with a sobbing child in the trailer for the first 5 minutes on the way home.

When we got home on Saturday morning, our friends came over with their daughter V. V and LR really enjoy playing together. It's the first time I've seen him engage in interactive play instead of side-by-side play. They chased each other around and giggled when the other one did something especially funny, like fall down. They have very similar personalities, so they're neat to watch. We headed out to the zoo and spent a very warm morning checking out the flamingos, cougars, and monkeys. Luckily it's a small zoo, so in 45 minutes we saw just about everything. After the zoo we had a BBQ with them and spent the rest of the day relaxing. Apparently LR made a big impression on V. Her mom reports that she woke up the next day asking for him.

LR is starting to put together lots of words. We've jumped from 2 words to 3 or 4 and sometimes more. He's feeding me words for songs if I "forget" them. This morning he was pushing his old bouncy swing and saying "one money, two show, ready set go!" It was a funny combination of what I say when I push him on a swing and what Aunt J taught him to do when racing.

His latest favorite game with Daddy is chase, but LR has certain rules that he likes to enforce.

• Daddy has to be pushing the stroller, the push car, or the dump truck while LR pushes something else of his choice.
  
• Daddy has to have both hands on the vehicle.
  
• Daddy can only stop when LR gets tired.
  

The best thing about the game is that LR has learned the concept of turns. When Daddy gets tired, he'll announce "mommy turn!" After I run the loop with him, he'll say, "daddy turn!" (He really prefers Daddy for this particular game.) He's even started to apply it to other things. When we tag teamed a diaper change last night after the bath, LR turned to me to pick him up and said "mommy turn."

I promise to get new pictures up soon. Our camera battery ran out, so I'm a little behind.

Wanna Go For A Ride?

I always associated the question "wanna go for a ride?" with dogs. Now I use it for LR. He gets really excited when I ask him if he wants to go for a ride in the car. For the first time he actively participates in getting into his car seat and buckling up. No more strong arming him into the car then into his seat. As soon as we pull out of the driveway and onto the road he announces, "fast!" Not sure if he's saying I drive too fast or not fast enough. Yesterday he was so intent on going for a ride that we ran an errand that wasn't particularly urgent. When we returned to the garage, he gave me his best sad face and asked "again?" I told him that we'd go for another ride tomorrow.

Grandma Nese sent a cute package of Cars (the movie) books last weekend. LR really loves them and we've read them many times already. I was especially interested in the book titled "Doc Hudson." (The others are "Sally," "Lightening McQueen," and "Mater.") He can say so many words now, but almost refuses to say his name. He refers to himself as "baby." Every once in awhile he might say "Hun," but it's still a ways from sounding like his name. I figured the book would offer a good teaching point. So after 5 days of reading the books to him he refers to them as "blue car," "red car," "tow truck," and "Doc." Oh well. Thanks for the books, Nese!

Last thing I keep forgetting to write about. Rocks. He carries them everywhere. I rarely get them away from him when we come in from outside and the result is that we have one on our bathroom sink, one in the living room, two next to the kitchen sink, and one on the floor in his room. Every time I come home I find new rocks in the house. When he's not looking, I toss them out the door. I'm pretty sure he's disassembling our decorative rock wall on the patio rock by rock.

Crash!

LR's friend R was born just a few days before LR. His mom and I took prenatal yoga together and we've had play dates since. They are similar in size, but have really diverged in personality in the last year. LR, despite being a child cared for by nannies, is on the aggressive side. (I only say that since that government study came out recently that says kids who were in daycare for multiple years are slightly more aggressive. Turns out they are .2 percent more aggressive than their non-daycare counterparts. Apparently they media took the study and ran with it, implying there was a great difference in aggression based on their early childhood care.)

LR always wants whatever toy other kids have. He chased R around because he had his new Thomas the Train toy. He tried to get it 2 dozen times before R finally took his eyes off the prize. Then LR played with it for a minute and dropped it again. LR and R spent a fair amount of time just running around the house. There's a lot of open space since we're not really unpacked yet. At one point LR announced "crash!" and ran chest first into R, knocking them both over. R's mom and I were both surprised. Since neither of them was hurt, it was pretty funny.

Yesterday LR did the same thing to me while I was crouched down cleaning something off the floor. I heard "crash!" and then felt him thump into my back. It really made me laugh. Thank goodness the rain has finally ended and we can go outside. Apparently someone has a lot of unused energy!

Meal Success

Sometimes I get into an absolute rut when it comes to cooking for LR. After the move it was convenient that he wanted corn dogs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but that phase seems to be over for the most part. So, now I'm trying to make good meals again. The other night I threw together some beans and brown rice with an onion I had handy. He loved it! Maybe it's just that he was hungry, but I was shocked by how much he ate. He also asked for corn as a side dish and then had 2 large helpings of it. He ate it again for lunch the next day. I feel particularly lucky that he's not fussy when it comes to food. He's now drinking out of a cup without a sippy top on it. But with each step forward... when he's done drinking what he wants, he dumps the rest on the table. *sigh* I only give him a bit to drink at a time and at least that minimizes the cleanup.

Toothpaste! Is it good that he asks for toothpaste first thing in the morning? I have to put (training) toothpaste on his toothbrush at least 3 times before he's satisfied. Guess it's really tasty. I also found a cool, cool, cool toothbrush that is translucent yellow, but flashes red for 60 seconds so that kids know how long to brush their teeth. LR carried it around for the first couple days and loves using it regularly. What a great invention!

NYC

Spent Mother's Day in Brooklyn visiting Gigi and feeding her treats. LR got a real kick out of force feeding Gigi some of the wonderful food Uncle Corbin prepared. She also brought him a book of Thomas The Train, whom he affectionately calls "Tom."

It was also his last opportunity to see Uncle Keeper and Aunt J before they go off to Arizona for the next 4 years. I'm already looking forward to visiting them. He also got a chance to view the city from our hotel room near LaGuardia. We were amazed that we didn't hear any of the planes since they flew directly over the hotel. We inspected the windows since we'll need ones like it to block out the noise from the busy road we live on now. Not that it bothers LR. He actually prefers to sleep in our room right now which is the noisiest room in the house. Don't know why he's having trouble going to sleep in his crib these days, but we're hoping it passes quickly.

Otherwise things are well. We spend most of our days outdoors. He loves the yard and has found things like the hose to play with. I was nervous the first time I saw him play with the loops, but it hasn't proved to be dangerous, so I just watch him carefully when he heads over to it. In the picture he's wearing a T-shirt our friends brought him from Orlando; it says "Thing 1" on it. It's perfect for him. He also still loves to push and ride in his wagon. The slide is not as interesting anymore which is making me second guess buying a little jungle gym for him. Not sure what sort of outdoor equipment he'd enjoy most. Probably one of those inflatable castles so he can bounce himself silly. The cars and trucks going by the house are a constant source of entertainment, but it's nothing compared to trains. It's either the Brio set, Thomas the Train episodes, or the full length of The Polar Express. He now takes the DVD out of the player and brings it to me when he wants to watch it. (He does it even knowing he's not supposed to touch the DVD player. I admire his dedication.) There are a few scary parts, but he loves it. I'm pretty tired of it, but that doesn't seem to matter at this point.

LR is in desperate need of a haircut. I think we're making a family trip this weekend. He's showing some serious bedhead in this last picture. (In all honesty, I did it to him on purpose while trying to wake him up from a particularly long nap. I kept running my fingers through his hair, combing it straight up until he finally woke up.) He's reading his new Thomas book in the photo.

Happy Belated Mother's Day Everyone!

Attack Turkeys

The other day I was standing in the backyard at one corner of the house and LR was standing at the other corner. He was exploring all the nooks and crannies in the yard... mostly the nooks with the most dirt. I heard the sound of something crawling through the brush in the woods behind the house. Our neighbors have seen deer, coyotes, and foxes, so I peeked over the fence just in time to see a large bodied animal slip under a bush as it headed toward us. It was only 20 yards away or so, so I sprinted for LR, scooped him up, ran the length of the house, into the garage, and through the door. LR was unsure what the rush was, but he didn't complain as we bounded up the stairs and into the guest room. I looked out the window and saw a large wild turkey wandering around behind the fence. I told LR that the turkey looked fierce, but I don't think he believed me.

In other animal news, LR chased a bunny out of our yard and giggles whenever the birds decide to hang out on the grass. He can really get up some speed now, although he looks like a marionette when he runs - high knees and swinging arms. He's much tougher to catch though. The animals and I are going to have to start taking him much more seriously.

Catch Up

First week in the house was a wet one. LR blessed the house with mud. If you look carefully in the first picture, you'll see his handiwork on the white corner of the house. It was just like finger painting, but more fun!

He loves running up and down the bulkhead doors to the basement. Initially he thought it was a slide, so he would walk up one side and sit and drag himself down the other. We went through a number of pairs of pants before he figured out the coefficient of friction was too high. Bummer. So I bought him a little slide for outside and he uses it to send cars, trains, and rocks sailing. Daddy is very proud.

I also bought him a stroller since he was scratching up the hardwood floor pushing around his real one. He loves the little blue one, but not the baby I bought to go with it. He slings the baby around by the collar of his shirt and dumps him unceremoniously anywhere. Sometimes he'll push him in the stroller, but not often.

Again, sorry for the delay in posts. We went through another stomach bug (which nobody wants to hear about) and a jury duty day for me. I'm also back to part time after 3 weeks full time and I couldn't be more thrilled. The weather is warming up and I can't wait to spend the afternoons playing outside.

Fear and Humor

Still don't have new photos of him, so here are some old ones from the time before I started this blog.

LR is starting to show signs of both fear and a sense of humor. Whenever we get close to the introduction of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, LR begins to whimper. When Buzz appears, the camera pans from his feet to his head and the music swells. LR hates it and wants me to fast forward through it every time.

The other day we were watching an episode of Kipper the Dog and a little bird was jumping around on the ground in front of Kipper. LR laughed and made me rewind it a couple of times before he'd let me move on. It's very cool to start getting insight into what he thinks is funny (and scary).

LR is still all about the corn dogs. I ran out last night so now he's trying to go a whole day sans fried tofu. Gigi arrived this morning and Daddy took the day off, so I expect they'll be able to handle him. Daddy reported that he recognized Gigi which is always a good way to start a visit.

We Made It

We're in our new home! Poor LR was sick from the Thur before the move until the Thur after. He didn't love his new room and was very clingy since he was sick, but Grandma Nese helped out and he was well taken care of the whole time. The day after the move, Daddy came down with the same rotavirus that LR had. That left Nese and I to try to unpack and tend to the wounded. Needless to say, we're still pretty much in boxes except for the kitchen. Grandad B showed up right after the move and helped install a water filter, baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs, and a gas line for the dryer. Don't know what we would've done without the two of them. (Dad, I ordered the icemaker kit. Coming back any time soon? *grin*)

LR is slowly getting used to his surroundings. He's constantly at the doors asking to go "shy-shy" which is "outside" or "cars" so that he can go sit in the car and press all the buttons on the dashboard. The hazard lights button is his favorite. After pressing it, he gets out of the car to inspect the lights on the bumper as they blink. Once outside, he runs to the gates in the fence and demands "shy-shy" again. I try to convince him that he's already outside, but he is rarely pacified. As far as he's concerned, any containment is bad. Unfortunately, when I let him through the gate, he makes a dash for the road and the kid is getting fast! We're just getting used to living on a very busy road. That's the only part I don't love about the house, but I'll get used to it.

We found out that we're surrounded by female babysitters. We have 16 and 14 year old teens on one side, a 13 and 11 year old across, and an 8 year old on the other side. We have at least the next 10 years covered! LR loves to go next door where they have a jungle gym. I'm hoping to get him a sandbox soon so that he won't mind staying in the yard.

LR's latest obsession: corn dogs. He wakes up and asks for a corn dog. He's had them for breakfast the past 4 days. It's a veggie corn dog, so it's not as bad as it sounds. He asks for them throughout the day. I try to keep him to 2 a day, max. We've made it through at least 4 boxes of them since we moved. It's also one of his first 2 word phrases. He can say "corn bread," "corn dog," and "tow truck." Oh, and while the grandparents were here, he named Grandad B "Papa."

Sorry for the lack of pictures. The office isn't set up yet, so blogging with photos will be a little tough until then.

Moving Tomorrow

Sorry the posts have been few and far between. We're moving tomorrow and LR has had the rotavirus for the past 2 days. Poor kid threw up 9 times yesterday. Luckily Grandma Nese showed up yesterday and has been wonderful with the sickie. Hoping the move goes smoothly and that LR isn't too traumatized on top of being sick.

Jump, Jump, Jump!

We had a great weekend! Daddy's brothers and sister-in-law came to visit and to help us paint the new house. Daddy worked them like mules during the day, but in the evenings, they came home to play with LR. LR just couldn't get enough attention. Aunt J made up a new game where she would say "ready" and crouch down. LR mimicked her movements. "Set," and they'd lean forward in anticipation. "Go!" and they were off and running. (As if LR needed incentive to run around the house chasing someone) Everyone took turns running with him last night while I was on the phone with Grandma W. I heard the screaming and giggling and then it all stopped as I hung up the phone. LR had thrown up from the exertion, but he didn't seem to mind. It only slowed him down because I had to change his PJs.

To make things livelier this weekend he started jumping off of things: boxes in the house, a large rock at the new house, and the couch. This evening he discovered he could climb up on the back of the couch. He'd say "down" or "jump" and that was Daddy's cue to get ready. Then LR would tumble down, sometimes somersaulting and sometimes just face planting. I really don't know where he gets it from. The look of pure joy on his face just before he jumps is worrisome to say the least.

Help!

LR has learned the word "help!" He uses it when he wants me to do something that he can't do. While in Babies R Us today, LR found a truck which required pushing down the hood to get the wheels to turn and a sound to play. The hood was tricky to push and if he didn't hit it right in the center, it wouldn't play. He would try a few times and then say "help, help!" It seemed like a new level of communication for us, which I definitely appreciated more than he did. He still drags us around by the finger, but I can see that conversations about Plato and Aristotle are just around the corner.

His latest obsession is the car. He can sit in the car for as long as I'll let him now, but he has to be free to roam. He especially likes sitting in the front two seats so that he can play with all the buttons and pretend to drive the car. God forbid I should try to put him in his car seat. Often he stands at the gate in the house and asks for "shy-shy" which means "outside." Then he'll ask, "car?" It's been so cold this week that I haven't wanted to take him out. I'm crossing my fingers for better weather so that we can return to our car/jungle-gym.

Picture Post

Trying on Mommy's shoes

Getting the hang of walking in big shoes.

Walking to the park with Daddy. (Check out the hat! He'll wear this one for a whole outing. No yanking it off or anything.)

Helping Mommy pack

Coming after the camera.

Climbing / dancing on Daddy

More dancing

Dancing turns to wrestling. Everyone wins!

Slip-Slop

First picture is of LR chillin' to Animusic 2. The second is of him surfing his Popper. He's a born quality control inspector.

Yesterday I left LR playing in his Learning Tower while I prepared dinner. He was pretty hungry, so I gave him half a banana. (The kid who has never liked bananas has decided he loves them.) He was chomping away, looking at the cute kid in the mirror in the dining room. I listened to him babble as I cut up some avocado. Eventually it filtered in that he was saying "slip-slop" which is what he says when he slips. He'd been saying it for a minute or two, I just didn't register it. Since he was in the tower, I decided to investigate. I turned the corner and found that he was, indeed, slipping, "slopping" and landing on his butt repeatedly. Sometimes that's a game to him - pretending to fall down - but this time I sensed it was more. I looked at the surface of his platform and saw banana mush. I picked him up and yanked off his shoes. When I looked down at the platform it occurred to me what had happened. You know what fits perfectly into the holes in the top of that Learning Tower? Bananas. It's like those holes were made for bananas. Why else would holes like that exist at all? It's obvious, really.

LR surprised me today by counting to 2. I thought it was neat, so during dinner when he pointed to a piece of food and said "one," I told Daddy, "he can count to two." LR, offended by the limitations I'd set before him, heard the number 2 and then counted to 6. We were pretty shocked. We've spent so much time looking at letters with him that counting has been an after thought. The most counting we do is when climbing stairs, but I guess it shows up in a lot of his books.

Today LR came with me to the bank to get a check for our house closing. (We closed. Yeayyy!) I had never been to this particular bank, but since it was on the way to the new house, I wanted to give it a try. LR was chilling in his seat with a book when a woman in front of us found a place to parallel park. She stopped, put on her blinker, checked the spot, looked forward again, took off her sunglasses, turned back around... I didn't have time to wait, so I saw the opposite lane was clear and went around her. From the back seat I heard, "Vvvroom!" Guess I really hit the gas, huh, little guy?

Oh, and yesterday while I had LR on the changing table, the wipes got stuck in the wipe warmer. "Damn," I said. "Damn," said LR, then "damn?" like a question, then "damn" once more for good measure.

"No" is the new "Yes"

I know it's odd, but I find it really entertaining when LR says "no, no, no, no," when he doesn't want to do something I've asked him to do. I know he's hitting that developmental milestone, but more than that, he's showing me a glimpse into his personality. I'm learning about things he doesn't like: getting into his carseat and having to wear PJs. The boy loves to be naked. New favorite activities include playing in the driver's seat in my car and running while pushing a large dump truck around. He has another large bruise on his forehead from where he face planted as a result of the dump truck "dumping" while he was running bent over and holding onto it.

Lousy night of sleep last night because he's breaking some new teeth, but I expect to get a better post with pictures up tomorrow.

Corndog Finger Puppets

We've had another busy, busy weekend. Yesterday we started a long day of errands with a blown front tire. I managed to hit a huge pothole on the way to Costco. It blew right on impact. We pulled into an empty parking lot and Daddy changed the tire while LR and I ran around. LR was not thrilled to get back in the car when we were finished. He ends up in tears more often than not now when getting in the car. The first time is fine, but any subsequent strapping into the car seat within a day produces screaming and tears.

Arrived at Costco and bought 2 new tires. They needed 2 hours to put them on, so we killed time by going to Panera for a second breakfast. Good thing since LR was starving. He scarfed down a blueberry muffin and half an apple. He giggled through the whole time we were there since I let him run around the seat of the booth. He tested our resolve on the "no standing on tables" rule by pulling his knee up to the table. He figures, different table, different rules. Today, in fact, he thought he was being smart by standing on a dining room chair and then turning and sitting on the table. Right. He's not standing on the table, so why should I have a problem with it. I actually didn't know if I should keep him from doing it for a minute. Then I saw the sly look in his eyes and knew that it wasn't a good idea to let him get a foothold on this battle.

Evenings with Daddy have been few and far between this week, but LR did get to play a few games of peek-a-boo around his easel with him. Daddy had an overnight install on Wed night. LR woke up at 5am and asked for him repeatedly. I had to show him that Daddy wasn't in bed before he would let it go. He even checked under the sheets for him. Most evenings, LR and I have had dinner without Daddy. Conversation isn't as stimulating, but LR cheered me up with his corndog finger puppet. Boy did we laugh.

One thing I keep forgetting to mention is that LR loves to play with the stacking dolls that my brother swingdaddy brought me from Russia. I only give him the biggest 3 sets, otherwise they become a choking hazard. I've been keeping them on the changing table and I can almost always distract him with them.

Today we had our first real tantrum. LR wanted to play in the car when we got home. I wanted to go in the house. We just couldn't see eye-to-eye. He really let loose, cried, screamed, stamped, dragged me by the finger to the gate. Daddy and I have to talk about a game plan when it comes to tantrums.

Climbing Higher

So beyond finding our house filled with boxes like an indoor jungle gym, LR has discovered that nothing is as fun as finding a high place and shaking your groove thing. His latest favorite spot is the fire safe we keep in his closet. A couple of times a day you can find him on top of it saying "hey, hey!" He only says "hey" while standing on the fire safe. No, I have no idea why he does it. Then he stomps around like the lord of the dance. Today he really liked when I accompanied him with the Mexican hat dance while clapping.


We spent some time playing on the deck today and I lobbed snowballs at him while he ate the snow he could pick up. Daddy discovered that nothing makes him giggle like a snowball exploding at his feet. He even laughed when I misfired today and hit him on the back of the hand with a chunk of snow and ice. Whoops!

A Whole Week and No Posts!

So sorry for the huge delay! LR was sick with what I think was a rotavirus all week. It was pretty gross. Poor kid lost a pound. I only know that because he loves to weigh himself every time he goes into the bathroom now. When he steps onto it without waiting for the triple zeros to appear, it comes up with an 'E,' but I think he likes that better than the numbers. He announces it every time like he's on a game show. "E!" Anyways, there wasn't much to report on that wasn't about us cleaning one end or the other, so I held off on posting.

This past weekend Grandad B and Grandma Nese came into town to help us out with the packing. Grandma Nese packed the laundry room while Daddy, Grandad and I tackled the basement. Then Grandad and Daddy sorted out a couple of electrical issues. We got a ton done and are forever grateful for their help. The rest of the time, Grandma Nese was on LR duty and he loved having her as a playmate. She brought him a laptop of his very own and he was entertained by it just long enough to allow the rest of us to have a quick Skype call with Aunt K in Spain. He did say "hi" to her a couple of times at least.

He's still asking for Animusic 2 at least a dozen times a day. I know the fascination won't last forever, but we are getting pretty sick of it. I couldn't resist snapping the picture on the right of him watching it at one point last week. I can't remember why the shirt was off, although I'm sure it had to do with vomit and that we had a 70 degree day last Wed. So, he was looking up at the TV and just happened to hook his thumbs into his diaper pulling it down. I laughed so hard I didn't think I'd be able to get the shot. I missed it the first time, luckily he did it again. I know, everyone... like father like son.

While the grandparents visited they got a chance to see LR's skill with letters. He has the majority of them down now and knows some of the sounds they make as well. We have letters on his play mat, in the tub, and on the magnetic side of his easel. We often use the chalk side to draw letters too. Apparently, we're bombarding him with letters. As for numbers he seems to know 2 and 9. He says "eight" each time we stand at the microwave waiting for his milk to warm. He wants me to count down the way I usually do. He also clenches and unclenches his hands as he tries to mimic the way I sign the numbers as they appear. So I don't know that he recognizes the number 8, he just knows it will prompt me to count (just in case I forgot it was my microwave duty.) Yesterday I had him take a break from the alphabet and put a piece of paper up for him to paint on. I put the paint in Dixie cups, LR in a smock, and let him at it. I had to show him what to do just once. Then he was off and running. He kept asking for more paint and he only smeared the radiator cover once. This time I was waiting with a wet paper towel, so no harm done. Wonder if I'll be so blasé about it in the new house...

On a sad note, on Sunday Grandma W called to let us know that LR's great-grandmother passed away in her sleep. It's hard to write anything about how wonderful a grandmother she was to me, so I'll simply raise a glass to her and promise to share my memories of her with LR.

Extrovert or Pain in the Butt?

LR is definitely showing signs of being an extrovert. When we go to the play gym, he'll grab whoever is handy, a mom or dad I know or one I don't. He doesn't discriminate. He'll run up to them, grab one or two of their fingers and drag them somewhere. I apologize to them and sometimes pry his fingers off theirs, but often they wave me off and tell me it's okay. Along with that he's become much more demanding. Animusic 2 is now the biggest point of contention. He asks for it first thing in the morning by asking "again?" When I ask what he wants again, he says, "mei" and swings his arms to indicate music. When I turn it on, he enters the couch potato zone and doesn't come out again until I shut it off. A few times he's started crying when I shut it off, but I think that's because he's been sick for the past few days. He's been hit with a little stomach bug, so I can't tell how good he feels most of the time. He demands computer time, stair climbing, and Animusic. Otherwise, he's still a typically happy kid.

With the time change LR is now taking afternoon instead of morning naps. It's driving the nannies crazy, but I love it. I come home from work, feed him lunch, then put him down for a nap. I get a few hours of work done around the house. It couldn't have come at a better time. There is so much to do in anticipation of the move. LR is really doing his part to help.

Today LR showed me how much he likes to watch the birds outside. It was warm enough to go out onto the deck without jackets, so we watched all the birds that had come out to sing. LR was pretty fascinated by them. Then he showed me his stomping skills. All I have to do is say, "stomp, stomp, stomp" and he'll start stomping around. He's such a little bruiser. Speaking of bruises. He has one for each of the past 5 days... all on his forehead. 3 are piled on top of each other, 1 is on the other side, and one in just above his hairline. That last one was from our neighbor's cement wall yesterday. He's obviously in toughness training: gravel for breakfast, concrete for lunch.

Sensory Deprivation Cont.

Yesterday LR practiced eating without using his hands. He ate an entire small plate of cubed cornbread by putting his face down to the plate and picking the food up with his lips. Look ma, no hands!

Sensory Deprivation

Not only does LR like to run around with a bucket over his head, but also he loves to close his eyes and take off running. It completely freaks me out. When I see other kids his age, they are trying to stimulate all their senses. LR is more into sensory deprivation. Is he getting an adrenaline rush from running around blindly? Both with the bucket and with the eye closing, he takes a peek every 5 feet or so. So far he hasn't run headlong into anything, but that day cannot be far off. He's actually had worse luck with his eyes open. Once yesterday and once today he tripped and went head first into something wooden: a table at the baby gym, and the stool in his room. One left a bruise, the other didn't. He also climbed his Incrediblock yesterday and fell off, hitting his mouth on the bookshelf next to it. It's a good thing he heals quickly or I'd have DSS at my door.

He's accumulating words so fast, it's almost not worth noting them anymore... but I will. Recently he picked up the signs for "cookie," "rain" and "house." He also says "house," "box" and after a video chat with my sister today, he said her name. Of course, he said it seconds after we hung up, but it was still pretty cool.

LR loves when Daddy comes home at night. Here's a picture of them playing with the Oggs in the dark.

Poor Customer Service

The other day I went to the grocery store and the automatic door shut in my face. Those doors have been broken for a while. I thought, "wow, poor customer service." LR apparently thinks the same thing about us. He could be playing happily, but if we ask him if he wants a bottle, he will run toward us pouting and works himself up to a whiny cry until the bottle finishes warming in the microwave. I guess if we're going to offer something, it should be ready immediately. Having to wait another 45 seconds is just torture for the poor kid.

He's teething again. It's waking him up at night and throwing us all off schedule. The teeth between the bottom four and the back molars are coming through. He's chewing on his fingers and drooling more. He's also had a runny nose for a week. Pretty classic symptoms, so we've been giving him Motrin before bed the last few nights. It's helping a little, but he's still been up earlier than normal.

Our family wants to give a shout out to LR's cousin Bud who turns 2 today! Happy Birthday, Bud!

Busy Days

Wed we went for a walk since the temps came up enough to melt the snow. LR really enjoyed it. I wish I could get more exercise, but he doesn't love being in the stroller and I don't like putting him in there if he'd rather be walking. I let him splash through a few puddles and carried him over the bigger ones. He stood and watched the cars go by for awhile, yelling, "Cah!" after each one.

Then we played in the driveway for a bit and he practiced shutting the gate in my face. Mostly he stomped around the icy snow and picked up any chunks of ice he could find. I had under dressed him a little and he was happy to go back in after not too long.























Thur LR took a tumble off a kitchen chair and landed head first onto the tile. The nanny called me at work to let me know, but LR had completely recovered by the time I got home despite a huge lump on his forehead just above his left eyebrow. I trusted Nanny M as an ex-rugger to know the signs of concussion and since he didn't have any and you can't ask him if he feels dizzy or nauseous, I told her it was okay to put him down for a nap. When I got home he posed for me with his sunglasses on. They're really too small for him, but he likes wearing them anyway. I thought shirtless was a nice touch. That evening he decided his soup bowl made a great hat. I agreed, so I took some photos of it.

Today he was with Nanny M in the morning and Nanny A in the afternoon since I put in a full day at work. Didn't get too much quality time with him in the evening. It was mostly full of dinner, bath, and bedtime routine. We're all looking forward to the weekend here!