Thursday, January 30, 2014

Play-Doh (or 'doh-doh')

Today started with taking you to the gym with me.  This went well, except that they reported to me at the end that you were hitting other kids when they wanted to share toys for you.  That broke my heart a bit; I hope we can get this fixed, you don't normally do stuff like that.  Then again, you aren't around other kids enough for us to show you, which is also frustrating.
We went to Jimmy John's for mom to pick up lunch, and when we pulled up, you said, "Chips!"  Yeah, we've been here too often (darn their convenience and speediness!)  Back at home, Andrea never showed up (she texted that she was sick yesterday, so am guessing that is still the case), so I finished lunch and had a shower while you watched some TV.  You then wanted to play with the 'doh-doh' (Play-Doh), so we laid out the mat for you in the living room so that mommy could watch you while she worked on doing a thorough cleaning that she started yesterday.  You played with it for pretty much the entire afternoon!  Guess that 'Fun Factory' lives up to its name lol.  The only thing you asked me to do was to open the other colors for you when you wanted to switch; you've even learned to put away one before asking for a new one.
Another quirky thing: I turned on 'Friends' at one point, and you looked up at the screen during the part where the word is up there and said, "Friends", repeating it a couple of times.  I have no idea how you know this, because they don't say that in the theme song, nor do we point it out to you.  Got me puzzled on this one, little buddy.
Then we had to take you to Lyn's to be babysat while mommy taught math review.  She reported that you only got upset once--you tried to join the dogs behind the couch and got tangled up on the cords.  Some M & M's apparently fixed the problem afterward lol.
Back at home, you went right back to the 'doh-doh' and played until bedtime.  Glad you like it so much :)  Now if we could just get you to not cry so much when it's bedtime...love ya, little guy.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

92

Just going to make this one short--as I said, I plan to post each day, even if it's only a little one (sometimes I just don't have it in me to post the whole day).  Today was mainly a cleaning house day, then shuttling you to Kailey's with me, then to Kristina's for babysitting.  The evening was spent with daddy, who is quite worn out from you getting up a little earlier than usual lately.  And yes, no nap for you again today (you took a three hour one yesterday, though, despite your vehement objections when I put you in the crib for it).
Just before bed, you were being very playful and wanted to run around a lot.  I remarked that I should count how many times you circled me (after you had done it probably a good 20-30 already).  I think the counting might have encouraged you to keep going even more lol.  You paused only a couple of times, one of which was to take a swig of 'chocate milk'--made it to 92.  Seriously, I sat in the floor and you ran 92 counted circles around me, you crazy energy-filled boy lol.  Hope it means you'll sleep well :)

Monday, January 27, 2014

Two, nine, TEN!

Soooo...this past week was way too busy all around, am bummed that I had to break the trend of posting every day.  Let's get caught up:
Two mornings ago, first thing, you flung yourself backwards at me during diaper change attempt and hit me super hard right in the middle of my nose, causing me tremendous pain, but thankfully no mark left.  This is consistent with your new hatred of diaper changes, the origin of which remains a mystery to us.
Yesterday morning, thanks to mommy having a new algebra review to teach on one Saturday morning each month, we had to get you up extra early and take you with us.  Though you didn't care much for the getting up early (and neither did we, I assure you), you were well-behaved for daddy as you waited on mommy to finish teaching.  We then went out to Anyway's for lunch, very yummy, though you didn't eat much, and found out that you don't care for Caesar salad lol.
I went to teach a lesson after that, and a little while after I returned from it, we all went to Meijer to do grocery shopping together.  Well, that was the idea anyway--you fell asleep by the time we were at Army Trail Road, so daddy offered to stay in the car and wait while you rested.  Thought you might wake up before I finished, because there were a lot of great sales, so I stocked up, taking me just about an hour to shop.  You woke up right as I was headed to the checkouts lol, thus you guys stayed in the car and waited on me.  Went back home, unloaded groceries and then mommy made manicotti for dinner.  You called it pizza lol, yet wouldn't try it.
Today, despite that we put you in bed only a little earlier last night than usual (thinking you needed it since you got up so early), you thought getting up early again was needed, like around 8:45, ugh.  You were a bit testy all day, but still your playful and fun little self.  I was gone for lessons for a good part of the day, so I have to rely on what daddy reported lol.
In the evening, you amused us by first of all chanting "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" over and over while the theme to the Cosby Show played (the one where they have the dark grey solid background).  No idea where that came from at all lol.
Later, you got your Spiderman ball out to play with daddy.  We keep trying to teach you 'catch'--so far, you only kind of get the idea.  The amusing part is that, for whatever reason, when preparing to toss the ball to him (or me), you chant (very purposefully), "Two...nine...TEN!" and then throw it.  Just love this lol.
At bedtime yesterday, you were looking in the closet and discovered the toy drum set that Grandpa Kerry got for you (it's an old Fisher-Price plastic one).  You requested to get this out and play with it, absolutely love it, played with it again tonight before bed.  Let's sleep in tomorrow, 'kay?  Love ya.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Another no nap day

We started today with some Price Is Right and 'chacaht' milk for you :) Mommy headed off to a lesson, while daddy watched you, of course.  Since my lesson time was a slight conflict with dad's office hours, the solution was for me to meet him at campus and pick you up there; he decided that doing this gave him a great excuse to go out to lunch with you at Wendy's (plus he had some coupons to use lol).  He reported that you both had a great time and posted a super smiley pic of you on Facebook, too.
Right around 1, met up with you guys at campus and picked you up to take you back home, where it would soon be time for my lesson with Andrea.  You were well-behaved for this, thanks in part to your re-discovery of the 'Into the Snow' DVD (with Bubble Guppies and Team Umizoomi).  After the lesson, I had to scan some pages to send to dad to print off for the algebra review thing this Saturday (he was supposed to take the paper copies, but left them on the couch *d'oh!*).  I was worried that you would try to "help" with the copier (read: take over the duty), but instead, you decided that the ball pit was far more interesting and played in that while I did the scanning, sitting on my lap for just a little bit of time during it.
Then, it was off to Kailey's house once more, where you enjoyed playing with the little LED finger lights they have, and asking about the coin machine several times lol.  This time, we came back home and I got to stay with you for a change because my normal lesson at 5:30 was canceled.  I used this time to clean the kitchen and discover that you had put the Nutella in the lazy susan lol.  It was also during this time that I had checked the mail and found that Nana Linda had sent your missing piece (number 8) for the wooden clock toy.  You were quite pleased about this; after figuring out where it went, you sat in your room for a while and talked to the clock lol.
Dad came home around 20 minutes before I had to go out for a lesson, and I informed him that you had not yet had a nap today, but acted like you were going to when we were in the car.  Even so, you did not nap while I was at lesson, either, and were still wide awake when I returned around 10:20pm.  You had some homemade mac n cheese with us, then ran around a bunch before we decided you had to be put in bed.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

So. Very. Busy.

Once again, the evening has melted away far too quickly.  But I still wanted to at least tell you what's been going on.  The other night, mommy had accepted a tutoring job that is on the atypical side--they asked if I could write out solutions for problems so that a student could learn from that.  I didn't figure it would be too big of a deal until I started actually writing it out.  It took FOREVER (well, it seemed like it, anyway).  It seriously ate up all the free time I had after you had gone to bed.  Thus, no entry for that night.  The next night (last night), it was similar, except that I had informed them I would only do the ones he has questions about and/or needs corrected.  This went better by far, but still left me with nearly zero free time for writing.
Tonight, I had to do my school work and find worksheets/prepare for a new algebra workshop that I will be teaching Saturday.  So there went yet another evening.  *sigh*  Hope you can forgive me ;)
Nothing majorly out of the ordinary has happened over the last couple of days with you, apart from your wacky not-wanting-to-nap business.  You had only a short nap the other day, then yesterday you had to give up and take like a 2.5 hour one, but today, despite your short tempered manner at times, both daddy and I failed in the two attempts (one from each of us) to get you to nap.  You simply stood in your crib hollering and refusing to give in to sleepy town.  I'm not ready for you to stop napping yet, please go back to enjoying them, would you? ;)  love you lots and hope to get back to my usual entries after this...

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Haven't forgotten...

I'm just posting here really quickly to say that mommy hasn't forgotten about blogging, but the last two nights have been exceptionally busy.  I'll tell you more about it in the next post :)

Monday, January 20, 2014

Good boy, doggie

Today started much the same as many days, with all of us getting up together, then me heading off to go to a lesson, while you and daddy remained at home.  While I was gone, he posted this little story about you to Facebook:

Avery just climbed into my lap, curled up, then barked and panted. "Aw, you're a good dog," I said. 
"Puppy," he corrected me. I started petting him like a dog, but he stopped me and said, "I'll do it." Then he started petting himself and saying, "Good boy, doggie." 

LOL! We do say 'good boy!' to you a lot, but not doggie!  I wish I could have been there to witness this.  Daddy also reported that you were trying to sing the theme to "Peppa Pig", another thing I would have loved to hear.  So much cuteness! 
I went to the gym after my lesson, then to Savers (a nice thrift store) to take advantage of the 50% off sale on clothes and shoes.  I got you some tops, a pair of shoes, some toys, and the best find of all: a toy chest/shelf combo, only $8 (looked it up later and they go for around $75 brand new...)  Sure, it has a drawing of a dinosaur or something on one side, but nothing structurally wrong or otherwise.
Bringing this home gave me all the more reason to focus on getting your room cleaned up and slightly rearranged.  Since you grabbed the window blind the other day, daddy and I both agreed it was time to get your crib out of reach of it (has not been a problem up until now).  We also had to take down your baby monitor because it quit working, which is a big bummer, but also a little convenient, because the outlet we had it in is now freed up and enabled us to place your crib in front of it.  (You keep pointing up where it was, though, and asking "green?" (the 'on' light was green for it))  Worked on your room (daddy helped, too) until had it reorganized and the toy chest in its newly created spot, with the side that is drawn on coincidentally against the wall so no one will notice it (unless we rearrange the room lol).  This made your room so much more open--you have much more floor space now!  It also means you have far easier access to the closet doors--you took advantage of this fact nearly immediately, opening and closing them over and over.  You seem to really like the new toy chest and took to digging out stuff I had put in it within minutes of completion lol.
You took a short nap in the evening without complaint, got up not too long before I had to go out for a late lesson.  I grabbed a pizza for us while I was out, and you enjoyed some with us--still won't hold the piece and eat it yourself, though, as you really do not like getting your hands dirty from it lol.
One of the toys I got you today was a grab bag of plastic foods and dishes.  You have some already, but I wanted to add to your collection (since you enjoy playing with them so much and probably will for quite a time to come).  Took them to the bathroom sink to wash them, and of course you had to 'help'...yourself to playing in the water as I 'did the dishes'.  You kept playing around with the water after I was done, so I left you in there to have fun while I worked on laundry in my room (which is connected, so I could keep an eye on you).  I came downstairs for something and you followed me; it was then that I saw you had managed to completely soak the entire front of your shirt and top part of your pants.  You had the most puzzled look on your face, like you knew you wanted to tell me something was wrong, but not sure what to say.  You finally came up with "Wet" and patted at your belly.  So, yes, we had to fix that, got you in your "jammies" (as you have learned to call them from Grandma Judy lol) and then it was bedtime (where you got even more toys out of the chest lol).  Love ya!

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Dance!

Today, not long after we all got up, you made us laugh by bringing both the toaster and an entire loaf of bread to dad and saying nothing, just stood there with your arms full--pretty sure you knew you'd be getting your point across lol.  Mommy had to leave for work, so it was just you and daddy for a few hours.  When I returned, dad reported that you had done the same thing with the popcorn popper while I was gone, so you had some of that, as well as a bunch of other food.  Must have been on a hungry day--every so often, you have days where you eat so much we begin to wonder if you aren't part cow lol.
We had a relaxed afternoon and evening.  You kept perking up every time a commercial came on with music, so I decided to see if I could find a music channel with videos to put on for you.  When I did, you took to it right away and started dancing with each song.  I got a video of this, which I have watched a few times tonight, it's so adorable and funny.
Dinner was cheese fondue, and you helped grate the cheese!  Yes, you also ate some of this with us, continuing the piggy streak.
After dinner, you decided you needed to throw your blankies behind the couch (this has become a new fascinating area).  In going back to retrieve them, you re-discovered dad's old keyboard/synthesizer that he gave you.  I moved stuff aside so that you could come out via going under the end table on that side, but you chose to haul the thing all the way back around the way you got in--a pretty amazing feat, considering the keyboard is not exactly light and small.  You played with it and said "Dance!" when you turned it on and the demo/samples started playing, then got tickled about figuring out the volume control.  You would turn it all the way down to no sound, then a little up for a moment, say, "Nope!", giggle, and turn it back down.  It was so ornery and cute, made us giggle, too.
All this and you made it through the whole day without a nap, too!  This also happens on occasion, which is alright as long as you aren't fussy, which you pretty much weren't.  I'm guessing that your little body clock is going through some changes right now, so we'll try to do what we can to accommodate it :)  Love ya, little guy.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Climb!

Today was a pretty typical day for us--started with you and mommy going to the gym while dad went to work.  You got mad at me when we were getting in the car because it was 14 degrees outside and I was trying to hurry you up into the seat, so I just put you in rather than let you climb.  You fussed, whining "Climb, climb, climb..." until I turned on "Butterfly", then perfectly fine as we headed into the gym.  When we came out, I let you take the time to climb into your seat, which you can now do pretty much all on your own (you have a little trouble with your foot getting stuck as you turn around, though).  After the gym, we stopped at Costco to grab a slice of pizza (of which you again ate a pretty good amount :)) an headed back home.
I began making cookies after lunch, as Andrea had texted to say she would not be coming today.  You ate some of the ingredients and insisted on sampling the dough (this is now routine, it seems lol).  A bit later, dad returned and had some fries to share with you.  Since you had had pizza, you ate less of these than usual.  You weren't acting tired yet, so we didn't try to have you nap.  I'm kind of wondering if you are now wanting to shift to a later nap time (if so, woo hoo! that would be very convenient...).  You did climb up on dad's lap and lay across like yesterday, but didn't fall asleep this time.
I left to go to the only lesson I had for the day, and when I returned, you were asleep in the floor just under daddy's feet (which were propped up on the footrest of the recliner).  It was quite funny--looked like you had simply run out of batteries and planted flat on the floor, atop your blankies.  You napped for about another hour after I arrived, then we made some more 'meh-ehls' (noodles) to have with leftovers from last night for dinner.  This time, you and daddy were doing the noodle cooking, and after seeing him eat some uncooked noodles, you decided to give that a try, too, and enjoyed crunching them as much as he does.
After dinner, we played with you in the living room floor--you like to run around in circles A LOT, with daddy, mommy, or both of us in the middle as you do so.  You also like a silly thing that daddy started with you where he raises his arms and says, "I'm a tree!", then you run at him, he says, "Timber!" and falls over, swooping at you as you pass, tickling you after he catches you.  When you want to play this, you now come over to us and take us by the hands, attempting to throw them up in the air and saying "tree!"  We have a lot of fun with this goofy game :)  All of this is great for running out your energy, so by the time it's bedtime, you are ready to do some calm playing in your room, wind down, and get to sleep.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Sleeping on daddy

This morning, dad got up with you just before mommy woke up.  I cleaned up the kitchen, you had some "jeh-ee toast" (toast with jelly), and then I had to be off to work.  When I returned, dad had tried to put you down for nap, but you did nothing but cry, fuss, and fight it for a half hour.  He had to leave for work just after I arrived, and since you were still unhappy, I retrieved you and sat you in the recliner while I prepped both some lunch and dinner (for later, of course).  I shared the mac n cheese with you while you watched Bubble Guppies, and then you started to perk back up and by the time it was time to leave for Kailey's house, you were happy once again.  You behaved well at her place, as well as for Nikolina (Kristina's younger sister) while she babysat you at our place.
When I arrived home from lessons, you were lying across dad's lap in the recliner, asleep and looking as adorable as possible :)  It wasn't too long before you were up and around again, then decided you wanted a bath.  Oh how you love being in the tub lol!  You played a lot, I took some pix, and then dad came to take over watching you while I prepped some egg noodles to go with dinner.
When you finally got out of the tub, you were very happy to sit next to me on the couch and eat a bunch of my egg noodles lol.  At bedtime, we played with your set of matching cards--has been a while since we got those out--and you were able to name nearly all of them!  The really impressive one was when you said "dog with spots".  You objected only slightly when dad hoisted you into the crib, and I think tonight you went right to sleep for a change :)

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Cook!

Ok, today's entry is going to be a tad shorter, please forgive (I'm just elated that I have kept up with it so far for every day this year!).  We went to the gym this morning, that went well as per usual, then returned just a bit before Andrea arrived for her lesson.  This time, you decided you needed to investigate the left lower side cabinet of the china hutch, a place you normally don't ever get into.  You discovered the extra dishes down there, and managed to get a plate off the top of the stack (they are a little heavy, so this was no small feat).  You brought it over to me, then after giving it to me, you pointed towards the stove and said a word I couldn't understand, paused a moment, then said, "Cook?" I repeated back, "Cook?" and you said, "Cook!", which I then realized meant you wanted me to make some food on the stove for you lol (duh, mommy!).  I made you some rice, which you ate very happily just after Andrea was gone.
Tried to get you a nap following that, and I think you did actually try to nap--you were quiet for a good half hour or so--but then I heard you chattering to yourself.  I waited, as sometimes you do that and go back to sleep, yet about 15 minutes later, you shouted, "Mommy? Down!"  I was actually trying to rest at that time, too, so after I got you out of the crib, I returned to the couch and watched you play from there.  You were very good for me, tried to join me for a little bit, then returned to playing and watching cartoons lol.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Oopsie-day-zee-zee

Today seemed to go by super fast, at least for me.  Poor thing, you woke up with a diaper problem--you were standing in your crib, saying "Help, help, diaper" and grabbing at it.  I think it was bothering you and you had made an attempt to get it off, but failed.  It was halfway hanging open in the front and your pants were sort of down on your hips.  This meant your bottom edge of shirt and waist of the pants were pee-soaked, so we changed you out of that immediately and got you all fixed up.
The morning was spent mainly on cleaning, then Andrea came over for a lesson.  While she was here, you mainly watched Bubble Guppies, but occasionally felt the need to check in on us in various ways, such as randomly piling all of your blankets on the end of the table where she was sitting, then 5 seconds later removing them, carting over to the other end of the table, then right back to the living room lol.  We both commented that we'd love to know what in the world is going on in that toddler brain :)
Just after she left, I put you down for nap and thank goodness you were ready, as this was the perfect time to get one in.  While you napped, I prepped for dinner (to have fried chicken) and soon enough, it was time to get you up and out the door to head to Kailey's for a lesson.  You were groggy, but once you came around you were fine with it and had a good time over there (no face scratching this time, thank goodness).  You kept saying "Kay-ee's house", which cracked up everyone.
Then it was back home for Kristina to babysit you until dad got home, which apparently went well once again (yay!)  Dad reported that you were very good for him, even while he fried the chicken legs.  I came home to a happy you and daddy, which is always very nice on these long work evenings.  And to a yummy dinner!  Extra yay for that.
After dinner, you looked quite the mess, so I decided you should have a bath.  You love taking them usually, tonight being no exception.  You went straight to the tub (a word you had said a few times today, actually) and had a fun bath.  You peeked around the curtain playfully and giggled a lot.  I even managed to get your hair washed without too much fuss, amazingly.  When it came time to drain out the water, you kept messing with your nesting cups, so I figured to leave you in until it was drained out.  Thing is, I heard you grunting a little and saw you squatting...yep, there it was, you just pooped in the tub.  This is the sort of thing that would merit saying "oopsie-daisy", which you say for some reason as "oopsie-day-zee-zee".
You looked like you might not be done, so I tried to get you over to the potty chair.  This just made you mad, so we ended up with poop smears all over that, then back to the tub to prevent any further messes.  You were fascinated about what you'd done and wanted to touch it, but I kept you from that, despite your objections.  Thankfully I was able to get it out of the tub and into the toilet easily, then get you diapered and out of there so I could scour the tub and sanitize the cups.  Yay for Clorox wipes that made cleaning off the potty chair super easy, too.  Then it was off to bed, where we did our usual ceremony of playing with the blankies as I give them to you one by one, teasing you a little with them (I toss one end at you and then draw it back before you get it and say, "want it?...nooope!")  This time, with your hair a little damp yet, I think the sensation of shaking your head was more amusing than usual, as you did it for a long time, enough to actually dry your hair a bit lol.  Sweet dreams, little guy...

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Screaming in Costco

Yes, the title says it, that was the craziest point of today.  You and I went to the gym this morning and you enjoyed yourself just fine there--they complimented you on how well you know your colors (you were pointing them out for everyone :)).  We then headed to Costco, a brief trip to get some diapers, cat litter, milk, and Grape Nuts (which you like, by the way).  Not long after we'd gotten in the store, you were displeased that we were not already getting the pizza and 'spite' (Sprite, which is what you call a lot of sodas lol).  You wailed and carried on like I had just done the worst possible thing to you ever (by not letting you down and out of the cart, etc).  I got you calm and distracted for a few minutes while in the diapers aisle by having you tell me what numbers were on the boxes, but that only lasted until we got a couple aisles away.  In the checkout line, a lady felt so bad for you that she offered to take you out and hold you, but I assured her you would be fine and that you were too heavy anyhow.  Sure enough, as soon as we were done with checking out and over to where the pizza was, you started calming down.  And oh did you eat pizza!!  You do like it and usually enjoy, but today you were scarfing it down rapidly--bet you had at least a third of that huge slice!
Back at home, we made chocolate chip cookies together...well, sort of.  You sampled many of the ingredients and the batter after each ingredient addition/mixing, so quality check was in place lol.  You helped me with laundry (by taking out the stuff from the washer and piling it in front of it before I could get down there, then after we brought the dry ones up, piling those on the couch and declaring 'done!').  Put you down for a nap and then it was off to work just after daddy arrived home.
He reported that you woke up a bit on the fussy side (you napped for 3 hours, probably because you got up nearly an hour earlier than usual this morning), but then you lightened up and giggled a lot while watching cartoons :)
You sat by me on the couch to share soup and chips before it was your bedtime, so apart from the Costco thing, it was a pretty good day, I think.

Monday, January 13, 2014

What?!!!

Once again, mommy had to leave this morning just after you woke up, so you and daddy had the morning together alone until I came back for a little bit.  While I was back in-between appointments, you started going through the lazy susan again, stopping at the 'cacorn' machine, then taking it out and bringing it to the living room.  Daddy obliged and made you some (yes, in the living room lol), and you happily munched a good amount of it.  I had a quick lunch and then it was off again for more lessons.
When I returned, you were still down for a nap, which dad reported went far better than yesterday (whew!).  Mommy rested on the couch until you got up, then started making dinner.  While I was doing so, you returned to the lazy susan, this time digging out the toaster and carting off with it to the living room.  You handed it to daddy and kept saying 'toast', so he made you some (in the living room, lol), which you loved as usual.  After you had finished this, dad returned the toaster to its spot, and then Tabitha started whining/meowing at the steps to the basement.  He went over to the doorway and said in a very exasperated tone, "What? What?! What?!!", gesturing with his arms out in front of him.  Just after this, you walked over to the same spot and began imitating exactly what dad had been doing lol!!!  Dad started laughing so hard, as did I.  You had no idea why we were laughing so hard :)
During dinner, you entertained yourself with the popcorn that remained from earlier.  Dad hadn't put the popper away, and since we wouldn't make more for you (even though you wanted us to do so), you took the popcorn pieces one by one and filled the popper back up with them.
After dinner, it was back to the lazy susan to obsess over the hot chocolate maker.  We gave in and made some, as it did sound quite good for dessert.  You sat on mommy's lap and drank a pretty good amount of it.  The funny thing was, you kept trying to call it 'hot coffee', which I blame on Nana Linda (she shares a tiny bit of coffee with you when you are visiting her).
You are really starting to get your numbers in order now, and we've been trying to teach you how to count with your fingers.  Tonight, I started with one, two, then you pulled up another of my fingers and said, 'three!', then made me open my hand and said, 'five!', then counted 'six', 'seven', 'eight' by just pointing at the fingers already up.  Pretty impressive!

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Twelve!

This morning, mommy had to leave just after you got up (to go do lessons), so didn't really see you until after I got home in late afternoon, post-lessons and grocery shopping.  When I did arrive home, you were napping, and dad reported that you had been good most of the day until he tried to have you nap.  You  objected vehemently, crying for an hour total before finally giving up.  And at that, you only napped for a short while before we heard you fuss.  I went to get you; you were still face down on the blankies and saying "help, help", in a whiny sort of way, but not moving much.  I picked you up, blankies and all, and we went to the living room, where I sat on the couch with you and you got comfy on my lap, as we reclined in the middle of the couch.  We watched "Adventure Time" and you barely moved, even when dad came back up from downstairs.
I then recalled that I had brought home a cookie for you from earlier in the day and had daddy fetch it from the car.  This made you happier, and eventually, you woke up and started getting more energetic.  Soon, you were up and around, running all over the place and playing with both me and daddy off and on.  You ran circles around daddy, of which I took pix and will post to facebook probably tomorrow.  You had some 'tah-sta' (pasta) for dinner with us as well, so that was happy.  You kept playing until we had you go to your room to wind down for bedtime.
There, you were playing with the shape clock again, and to our surprise, this time you identified the all the numbers, including 'telthe'! (twelve)  You also played with the stacking blocks again, thankfully less frustraing for you this time than the nights before (think you are starting to understand how the sizes work :))  Hope you sleep well, little dude, love you lots!

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Lettuce

Today you were back to being your usual self (yay!).  You and I went to the gym (you, of course, to the kids' zone/day care) this morning, which you haven't got to do in quite a while.  You were happy to be there and beelined to your favorite toy there--a spiraling mountain for Hot Wheels.  After this, we returned home, got cleaned up, then it was time for mommy to go off to work and daddy to come home to be with you.  He reported that you were good for him, too :)  Perhaps it had something to do with him sharing fries with you for lunch lol...
After I had finished my lessons, it was late and I called daddy to see about dinner.  We ended up choosing to go to Olive Garden and had a super nice waitress who had a 3 year old with nearly the same birthday as you.  The funny thing was, you would only eat one thing among all that we had--not soup, not breadsticks, no pasta, no mozzerella triangles--you chose...salad.  Yes, lettuce from my salad, specifically.  You ate a pretty good amount of it, too!  This is the second time you've had salad that I can remember; not long ago, I had made one for myself at home with one of our dinners and you surprised me by not only eating it, but liking it, too.  What made this time so hilarious was that you would go "omcrunch" each time you wanted another bite.  (We taught you that it was 'lettuce', which you repeated, but you also kept going "omcrunch").  Such a silly cute little guy you are...

Friday, January 10, 2014

Moody day

Today dad got up with you just before mom woke up, and you seemed to be in a good mood as usual.  But then, and throughout the day, little things that didn't go your way would send you into meltdown mode.  Yes, you do have these bouts sometimes--generally it's not an all-day thing, though.  It usually just means you are tired/need a nap.  Perhaps you are partying in your sleep lol.
You were very happy to help me put away the lights in their boxes (finally found where they were!); I love when you help and actually enjoy it.  Then you were quite upset that I decided your blankies had to be washed.  I guess I should have left one out for you, but I think you would have been upset anyhow.  We tried to have mac n cheese for lunch with you, which went well to start with, but after you decided you needed to be the one in control of the spoon, it went quickly downhill.  You got mad because you still haven't mastered how to angle the spoon, so the macaroni was falling off half the time.  After a few times of this, you'd had enough and wouldn't eat any more of it (even though I'm sure you were hungry for it).
We then took daddy to work.  Just after dropping him off, at the light to exit from the campus onto Swift Road, a lady in a minivan was coming full speed through the red light.  It scared mommy a lot--thankfully I saw her and was able to stop my vehicle in the intersection, which I think made her realize there was a red light in front of her and she managed to stop just in time as well.  Thus we ended up stopped almost perpendicular to one another, her with a puzzled look on her face and the guy next to her as well, and me with jaw dropped, realizing that she could very well have killed me, you, or both of us.  I cried a little on the rest of the trip back to the house.
Back at home, put you down for your nap and you did not object, so this meant that you'd get in about an hour and a half of nap before we'd need to leave for the lesson (where you get to come along).  When I went to get you up, you were still sleeping peacefully, hated to do it.  You got up well, though, and we took 3 of your 6 blankies for the car ride.
At the lesson, you did great until the very end.  Once again, your memory amazed me; at this house (which you have been to several times now), around a month ago, you were interested in a machine that was in the floor in the corner of the dining room (where I conduct the lesson usually).  This machine sorts coins, and they demonstrated it for you with the coins I had in my purse that day.  Today, you saw the machine again, and even though there were no coins around, nor was it turned on, you pointed it out and exclaimed "coins!"  Wow, bud, just wow.  Like every other house we visit, you love the laundry room and always want to go there.  This time, you didn't want to leave, and in your terrible toddler fashion, showed us this by thrashing backwards when I went to lead you out of the room.  Either my nail or yours (nor sure which) grazed your cheek and actually drew blood, so you got even more upset.  Had to get you calmed down again before we could leave, making us slightly late for getting back to the house.  On the way home, you were still upset and wailed "blankiiiiiiiies" over and over, which I am guessing was because you only had 3 of the 6 (which I why I think the 1 blankie laundry solution would not work).
At home, thank goodness you calmed down after getting all the blankies, and you were babysat by Kristina (neighbor girl and student of mine) until dad could get home (about an hour later).  She reported afterwards that you laughed and had fun the whole time, thank goodness!
For the rest of the evening, you were good, except during the poopy diaper change, dad told me (I was out at a lesson).  Hoping you have a good sleep tonight and a better tomorrow.  Love you :)

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Fit, stack, hide

Again today you slept in past 10, as did dad, so mommy chose to be the only one to head to the gym this morning.  When I came back, you, my little candy fiend, had managed to find (and unwrap) the Cadbury Egg I had in the candy drawer (which will soon no longer exist within your reach...).  You had half of it in your hand and said, "chacate ball, help" to me, because the middle part was squishing out and you don't like to get your hands dirty (you are an odd little duck lol).
I cleaned up and then we had to take daddy to work (today was still very cold and his vehicle is still buried under a mass of snow).  On the way back, I stopped to get a sandwich from Jimmy John's.  Upon seeing my purchase, you noticed the bag and said, "Chip?"  I had you say 'chip, please' and then shared some with you as we drove the rest of the way home.
In the afternoon, I tried to have you nap, but it didn't work out--guess you weren't tired enough yet.  Probably for the best, because it was soon time to go fetch dad, then head to my lessons.
At bedtime, you were playing with your stacking boxes.  These have a number (1-10) on one side, some object in that quantity on another, some other random things on the other sides, and a shape on the top.  One side of each box is open so that you can nest the boxes if you like.  They also stack very nicely, which is what we taught you to do with them first.  You know the word and concept of 'stack' as well as 'hide', because when you stack sometimes, you put the bigger ones over the smaller ones.  We then showed you how they 'fit' together inside each other, so you have been trying to practice this lately.  You get frustrated, though, because you haven't quite got the idea down yet.  I showed you to set them next to each other to 'make stairs'; you like doing this, too, except your 'make stairs' go up and down lol.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Lights, all done!

Today you actually got to go out for a bit, yay!  Since it is so cold and the roads are still icky, mommy gave daddy a ride to work today and will do so for the next couple of days as well.  This means you get to ride along as well, of course :)  Your favorite song is "Butterfly" by Superbus, which you sing along with nearly every time we play it.  You request it just about each time we are in the car, so now I just play it out of habit lol.  You sing 'bur-fly' and 'ah-ah-ah-a-ah', and sometimes imitate some of the other sounds in the song.  It cracks me up every time, just too adorable.  When we got back from taking daddy to work, you took a nice long nap.  During this time, I decided the Christmas tree really needed to come down, which I was able to get done and put away (well, mostly...mommy accidentally broke the plug connector/fixture in the crawl space while doing this, so the tree is not in the correct spot in there yet...) before you woke up.
When you came into the living room, you knew something was different, you looked around for the tree, but all you saw were the lights from it, sitting in piled strands on the floor (because the boxes for them are in the back of the crawl space).  You exclaimed, "Lights, all done!" and then pointed to each strand and repeated this, to make sure we knew each one was 'all done' lol.
After my lessons, I decided I didn't feel like cooking and ordered a pizza for us instead.  You like pizza, but don't always want pizza when we have it.  This time, there was no doubt you wanted it--you ate nearly a whole large slice of stuffed crust (including that part, yes!)  The funny thing was, you would only eat it if daddy was holding it for you, no idea why that was necessary (or desired--usually you are mister "I do it!" when it comes to such things).
At bed time, you were identifying the numbers and objects together in your numbers books, such as one cat, six balls, ten yo-yos (you say woh-wohs).  You also spent a lot of time having us spin the top for you so you could watch from all angles.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

another great indoor day :)

Perhaps that will be the title of the next few posts lol.  Nah, it's just that today was the bitter cold day outside--so super cold that the schools were all canceled, even daddy's.  I went out for my workout at the gym (we were going to all go, but thought it would be best to not take you out in it) and then for my lessons in the evening.  It was indeed super cold, I assure you!
Dad said you had a great day, apart from requesting "moo-ools" (noodles) and after he made them, you wouldn't eat any, silly boy.  Tonight when I arrived home from lessons, you were both at the table, munching on the 'cacorn' leftover from yesterday.  You informed me that 'cacorn, all done', and then identified "mommy and daddy", pointing us out, and repeating this a few times.  You also remembered you like to identify "daddy's eyes, baby's eyes" (we're not sure if you just can't pronounce your own name or you just know that you are a baby).  I then made omelettes for us plus rice/quinoa mix.  As I was cooking, you identified the eggs (and wanted to help me crack them, but I was too quick for you ;)) and the bacon (of which you had a piece).  Your curiosity got the best of you (as always) and you grabbed the bowl with the beaten eggs, part of which landed in the floor.  Thankfully, we had more, so no one had to go without an omelette lol.
The evening ended with you pushing around your shopping cart with your blankies in it, you snuggling on my lap for a bit to watch "The Daily Show", and then chanting along with the audience for Stephen Colbert (you say 'tee-un, tee-un').  Another great day with you (and yay for mommy keeping up with the blog!)

Monday, January 6, 2014

Another indoors day

No much to report from today, as it was simply a day spent indoors for you.  Mommy had to go out for a lesson, but that was all.
The Christmas decorations are still up, as I like to keep them up until the 6th of January at least.  I'm sad that it will be time to start taking them down tomorrow, as every morning, as soon as you are up and see the living room, you command "Lights on!" over and over again until the tree is on, the snowman is on, and the lights around the bookshelf are on.  However, you have discovered that you can turn the tree (no small feat, it is a 9 ft tree and rather sturdy!) by pulling on the lower branches, so it's a good thing we'll be putting that away soon lol.
While I was cooking, you were spinning the lazy susan around, saying "round, round, round, toaster, round, round, cacorn (popcorn popper), round, round, round, hot chacate milk (we have a hot chocolate maker)" over and over again.  You stopped on the popcorn maker and said, "my cacorn? my cacorn?", which meant that you wanted to have some popcorn (you love popcorn).  I was busy cooking, so I had daddy make it for you at the kitchen table and you guys sat there together and munched.  You didn't want any of the fried chicken I made (despite the fact that it is awesome!!), but you did eat a few bites of my salad (never done that before!) and seemed to like it (fingers crossed for that to continue!).

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Late Christmas gift

Today was a good day, much like the others (this is 4 days in a row for the blog, dear A-man!) mommy posted about recently.  Mommy had to work this morning, then came home to you and daddy in the early afternoon, daddy exasperated from searching the house for 45 minutes and not finding your winter coat that mommy had hung near the dryer the other day to dry (from the playing in the snow).  Once that was taken care of, you two went off for a short neighborhood walk while I had some lunch.  You ended up at the neighbor across the circle (Maria from Columbia), where I found you on her porch "helping" clean the snow off the railing, and daddy helping shovel the driveway a bit.

Later on, at bedtime, you were playing in your room as usual, and this time, despite the fact that it was sitting there for the last two days on your floor in plain sight, you discovered a wrapped present that we chose not to give you at Christmas (didn't want Nana Linda's carpets to suffer lol).  This time, you tore it open happily and as soon as you had just one corner revealed, you exclaimed "Doh-doh!", which is what you call Play-Doh.  This gift was the "Fun Factory" for Play-Doh, which is basically a simple press contraption with a few different shapes in which you can churn out the dough.  We laid down a mat and let you have at it for bit, showing you how it worked, and you enjoying it so much you did not want to stop.  Pretty sure you will be wanting to play with it first thing in the morning :)

Though you did seem to go to sleep for a bit, you got up around 1am and started chattering to yourself quite a bit.  You eventually tossed the blankies out of the crib and started yelling about this, so mommy had to come in, rescue them from the floor, return them to you and tell you to get back to sleep (thank goodness you complied; hoping this blankie thing does not become a habit...)
Love and hugs, mommy

Friday, January 3, 2014

long bath

Three days in a row...hope I can keep this up once vacation time is done...
Today wasn't a super exciting day by any means, and I'm sure many days won't be, yet I will still write a little entry even so.  This afternoon, after I got back from working out, you decided you needed a shower/bath, too.  You still hate having your hair washed because the water gets in your eyes, but you calm down from it a lot faster than you used to (thankfully :)).  You like having the water from the shower sprayed into your mouth (you swallow it and declare "mmmm water" lol) and you usually play with a set of nesting cups that are numbered 1 through 8 on the bottom.  I watched you for a while, then dad took over (you were in there for quite a while!).  During his turn, dad reported that you had the cups lined up on the tub edge and were naming them by number and color, getting most of them right even though they were not in order and you couldn't see the numbers.  So smart!

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Snow day

Ok, two days in a row, let's see if I can keep this trend going! :)  I plan to write each day, even if it is only a little bit.  As you may recall from the last post, we've gotten a bunch of snow to start this new year (a great beginning if you ask me (but not dad lol)).  We decided that we needed to clear out the driveway so that we could get out and go to the grocery store, etc, so we went out to snowblow the driveway, all of us together.  Thought you would like to play in the snow, thus we all got very dressed (in layers) and went for it.  You weren't totally sure at first, but eventually you had a bit of fun throwing it in the air and just trying to walk through it (we have about 8 inches).  After, we came back in, you had a nice warm bath, and then took a nap.  You have been in a good mood all day :)  Currently you are playing in the floor with dad, just before we'll put you in bed.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Happy 2014!

Alright, new year, and once again, mommy resolves to write more often and consistently :)
Thing is, you keep us so busy!!  I could not possibly write all the details of everything that has changed and developed since last time I blogged, so we'll just have to settle for some current stuff.
Obviously, you just had your third Christmas.  It was quite a time!  Because week 8 of classes was just before that, you spent the week before Christmas at Grandma Judy's.  Though you had a great time during the days, you really gave her a terrible time at bedtime each night, sometimes keeping her up to 3am!  Mommy and daddy came on Saturday (you had been there since Sunday), braving some icky weather to get there.  Thankfully there was just enough of a break in the precipitation to let us get there (we slid around one corner just before grandma's, that was all).  We thought perhaps being there would make you sleep better, but this was not the case.
The day after we arrived (Sunday), we had early Christmas with grandma Judy, complete with a nice turkey dinner.  You enjoyed opening presents, much more than last year.  Jonathan was there, so you two played together a little.  Sleeping the second night went better, but still on the rough side.  We wondered if it might be because of your teeth (think your 2 yr molars are still trying to poke through).

The next day, we departed and headed to Nana Linda's.  There, you still fought the sleep, but not quite as bad, thanks to BabyFirst channel lol.  We had a great ham dinner on Christmas, lots of playing with uncle Kevin (you not only remembered his name, but also that you played on the kitchen floor last time you were there and wanted to repeat that), and of course some present opening.  It took you forever to open the few presents that you had because you were in a fussy mood and kept getting distracted by everything else going on.  Of particular interest to you was dad's gift from nana, a wheeled cooler.  We turned it upside down and you played with the wheels more than anything else the whole day lol.

On Friday (second day after Christmas), we left there and headed towards Iowa.  En route, we stopped by "Auntie" Suzanne's parents' place in Waynesville for a quick visit with everyone there.  You entertained them quite well with your fascination of turning on lights and fans and going up and down the stairs.  You also enjoyed the many cats and dogs there, probably scared them a little, too lol.  After that, we made it to Aunt Diane's place in the evening.  Cousin Rick was kind enough to hook up an antenna to the TV in the room where we were to stay, which made for a much easier time getting you to sleep.  We discovered you like watching 'Bewitched'.  You only fussed a little when we turned out the lights, mommy figured out that using the "L" formation like at nana's worked better for getting you to sleep, so that also helped.  Since that went much better than expected, we decided to stay one more night and return on Sunday.

When we got back home, you were elated.  You ran all around the house, very excited.  When it came time for bed, you impressed us quite a bit with your memory: a day or two before we left, while playing in your room, you had been telling mommy that the star piece to your Team Umizoomi toy was in the corner by your dresser.  I had looked there, as had you, but we didn't find it.  Here it was, two weeks later, and you started saying and pointing there again.  This time, daddy looked and found it in the file box (you stuffed it in the hand hold opening).  Unbelievable!  You were very content to sleep in your room again, no fight or fuss whatsoever.

Last night, daddy and mommy went out for a date night to celebrate both our anniversary and New Year's eve.  While we went out, Lyn watched you, which you enjoyed very much (you love her dogs and fans lol).  We got back from dinner about 15 minutes before midnight, then hung around so we could count down to the new year all together :)  You tried to count down with the timer on TV, but the numbers were too fast so you mainly just shouted out whatever numbers you thought of.  We then returned home and got you in bed, once again without trouble, whew :D

Today we are just staying at home because it is snowing quite a bit!  It started last night, so we had to be extra careful while out then.  We'll probably go out and play in it together at some point today or tomorrow.   Happy new year, little guy!