Reading at Lunch

WATCHER be WARNED: This is a long video. I find it adorable, but then again, I'm biased. I just LOVE watching him "read" and the chatter he produces with it. Just another day in the life, nothing earth-shattering, but I can't get enough of it. :) I had recorded a second (well, it was first, really) video prior to this of him "reading," then he threw down that book, exclaimed, "Big Bird ABC's" and this reading came about. Enjoy!

Urban Living Excursions!

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As you might notice, B and I got to be among the first (thousands) to ride the new Light Rail, Metro Phoenix's newest addition to make the crazy commute easier and hopefully more efficient for those nearby. We are not so lucky to have it close enough that we'll be able to use it, but all riders could ride through tomorrow for free, so we decided to venture out.

Aside from the fact that we had to wait THREE cycles to get a train BACK because it was so full and the other riders were completely insensitive to the fact that I was travelling with a little one, the light rails are clean & attractive, comfortable, and he kept shouting, "faster, faster" as they accelerated between stops. Got one of him ON the light rail, then at our stop in between where, thank heaven, I had animal crackers to satisfy him during the frustrating wait. Altogether, not a bad way to explore & show him one more fun type of "train", which he loves!

Merry Kiss-ee-mess!

As little man says, "Merry Kiss-ee-mess!" Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas...ours was wonderful with a not-so-little man running around adding joy, wonder and assorted humor to every minute.

Brendan's Top Ten Christmas Moments:

10) The third (?) piece of candy to ever cross his lips...the much beloved candy cane which creates an alarming mess of sticky, red baby slime that he LOVES!

9) The flashlight. Need we say more?


8) Riding home from Grandma's tonight, "Brendan home right now. Brendan tired." Upon donning his new Christmas jammies and rocking for a little while, he said, "SOOO tired" and asked to be put in bed! :)


7) As we pulled open his sun-block curtains after his afternoon nap, a hummingbird was nose-to-nose at his window, looking in. I had turned my back to get him and didn't see right away 'til he declared, "Little hummingbird FLYING! HOW CUTE!"


6) "Daddy, HAVE COOKIE! DADDY! COOKIE!!!" (someone wanted a LITTLE bit of dessert!)


5) (in car): "DRUMMER SONG! HEAR SOMETHING....DRUMMER SONG!!!!" (when Little Drummer Boy came on the radio)


4) "HOW cute! New books!" (upon opening several new books)..."how cute" was uttered SEVERAL times today!


3) Opening ONE present this morning then declaring, "Dinner's ready" and promptly consuming a banana, breakfast casserole AND an orange for breakfast.


2) Talking to Grandma's cat, "Hi kitty. Come on WALK!" (the cat was busily snuggling in his cat bed)


1) Playing with the nativity scene. When prompted about what was Baby Jesus' Mommy's name?, he was reminded, "Mary" to which he piped, "Mary Christmas!"


Merry Christmas to all & to all, a good night!

Green Beans, Day #2

I don't know what it is. I'm not even sure if I should discuss it for fear of jinxing it. Two days in a row now. TWO. He has eaten green beans eagerly, and even uttered, "umm. ummm" while consuming. why am I slightly alarmed, some may ask? In the past, we have days. He might want & eat them one day, then the next day they're the worst thing I could ask him to consume. Even on a good day, not many are getting eaten. Now, it's 5...6...and no complaints. Even with "All done" uttered, and a few left on his plate, he'll concede to eat (3) more (hurriedly) to make a tent w/ his napkin. As he, and only he can utter: "holeee moses"!

The GRINCH!!!!!

Though slightly chaotic & somewhat crazed, we had a VERY fun morning. Aunt J & Uncle M (along w/ Baby J), clued us in to the reading of Grinch @ a wonderful, local bookstore, and pix w/ the green guy afterwards. Little did they realized how MUCH B LOVES "Ginch," so attending this suaree was a MUST on our holiday to-do list!! Though it was somewhat hard to get B to SIT during the reading (though finally convinced w/ a gingerbread cookie!), he DID sit and listen. Must to her delight, Aunt J's appearance was the highlight of the a.m. ~ he exclaimed in the middle of the reading, "AUNT J'S HERE!" at the top of his lungs. (oh dear). When Grinch himself snuck up behind the storyteller, B uttered not a peep, much to everyone's shock!! :)

Look Who's Here!

Alas, we've been having such fun that we've not even had a moment edge-wise to get pix posted of B's latest visitors! Take a peek & see if you recognize them:




Yesterday, B dragged the grandparents (x3) and his parents to the train park up the street, one of his FAVORITE places, so that Grampie could ride the train. Here is the little aficionado checking out the lay of the land:

I L Y

for once, it needs no words...

Hi

This little man's gregarious self makes me laugh...just from a random a.m. walk...

Countdown, anyone?

I am excited for the Holidays, don't get me wrong. But the more I look @ this picture (and others like it that will NOT be released 'til closer to Christmas [sorry Grammie]), the MORE and MORE excited I get.

Last night, well, the wee hours of this a.m. (3 a.m. to be exact), I was in B's room after a rough time coughing. After tiptoeing in to close his window, thinking he was asleep, I was greeted with, "Good morning Mama!" Mind you, this is 3 a.m. And he was totally perky. Crumbs ~ I guess karma has a way of coming back to bite us, doesn't it? Anyway, after picking him up to snuggle & get him back to sleep, he was in my arms, HIS arms outstretched in question pose (make THAT one part of your next yoga routine, yoga auntie M), saying, "OUTSIDE?! NOISE?! OUTSIDE? MEN! ROOF! NOISE!" Haha ~ it didn't occur to me 'til I was better rested that perhaps he was thinking about Santa, as we've been reading Elmo's Night Before Xmas book? There definitely WEREN'T men (or noises) on the roof @ 3 a.m., but perhaps this little Xmas hat has gone to his head...."who knows?!"

"Mama, Kiss"

It amazes me how little man finds a kiss truly curative...today he was buckling the straps together on his diaper changing table when his fingers got stuck & he pinched them. He whimpered, held his tiny fingers out to me and said, "Mama, hurt. Kiss it better." One little kiss & he was totally appeased. If only all ills could be cured so easily!!!

Round #6

I've been in absentia the past few....we fought yet another bout w/ round #6 of croup. Poor little man. He's on the mend but it's been a stressful few days!

Triumph!!!!

I feel kind of strange blogging about this, but I'm too excited NOT to!!! Over the course of the last week, potty training has taken a notch UP towards the big leagues...I didn't mention it last weekend, on the outside chance that it was a fluke, but last weekend he contributed his first solid matter to the potty. THAT was a big first, and he's peed occasionally this week (usually right before bed time he asks to go). Then, this afternoon, he said, "Mommy, potty", so we dropped what we were doing, ran to the bathroom, and it was the first time I've seen him pee a STEADY stream, and he'd taken off a completely diaper to do so. THEN, as is common as we're putting on his jammies, "potty, potty." I always feel a LITTLE frustrated because I wonder if it's a stall technique, but after tonight, I'll never question again! :) He said he wanted to go on the little potty, so he hopped on & proceeded to pee a steady stream, not very much. THEN, he hopped on the big potty and did BOTH!!!!! We'd just CHANGED a poopy diaper, so I didn't even think he might have more stored up, but sure enough...made both contributions as I cheered him on!!!!!!!!! Yeah little man!!!!!!

Random Fun Stuff...

Two pictures I had to share ~ our new happy hibiscus in our front yard, and Mr. B sporting Mommy's flip-flops!

Mutterings of Little People...

I wish that random, spontaneous moments were captured to fully shed light on this little one, his personality & his vernacular. He says two things, appropriately in context and of his own volition, that absolutely SLAY me no matter how many times he uses them. The first is:

"Oh dear"

Note, in toddler talk without the oral motor control, it sounds more like, "o deaw." I can't help but grin everytime I wonder what he's "oh dear"ing...could be anything from a piece of food he's dropped, to something/someone falling or having a blooper...you never know what will prompt it, but it makes me laugh. The second is:

"Good job"

He LOVES to congratulate anyone and everyone (including television characters or himself) on ANYTHING they do that's laudable. Today, this included a brief moment on one of his favorite DVDs, "Little Einstein's Christmas," when the character uses his "Christmas Wish" to help another little character/teammate. We were sitting, snuggling & winding down before we went to his favorite "Red Chair" to read his bedtime stories, when this scene flashed before his eyes. I commented not one breath, when he said, "Good job Rocket! Help Annie!" (or something VERY similar) I loved that he was praising the characters for good behavior, that he had a string of SEVERAL words, and that he recognized the benevolence of his little cartooned friends. Though he does not watch a lot of TV, I guess I can feel less guilty that he does watch it?!?!! :) Maybe we'll make a point to watch it just so I can hear him echo, "Good job!"

Fuzzy.Green.Pajamas.

need i say more?? :)

All in a Day's Work...

Should we start the bidding at $50? Ha ~ child labor laws aside, we could really hire him out. He LOVES to vacuum! :)

Trick or Treat!

B's first trick-or-treating experience was nothing short of a BLAST. He toddled/ran around the block which was farther than we'd planned, but he was getting his toes wet w/ the whole, "knock on door, say trick-or-treat, then walk away" thing, so it took a bit of practice (e.g. he quit trying to go IN people's houses!) and we figured hey, let him wear himself out! Our "last" stop was OUR house so you could get a peek of him in costume, with the pumpkin. too cute! he loved all the decorations @ the houses, referring to several as "spookables" (from his fav Halloween movie) and surprisingly didn't get scared apart from the last house we visited. He repeatedly gave away candy as he was meandering between neighbors, got to hold hands w/ two older neighbor girls & joined them for a few houses...we couldn't have asked for a better night all around! :) We ended the evening w/ a little "It's a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" before we convinced Superman to retire! :) ENJOY & Happy Halloween!

For Grampie...

Dear Grampie,
I know how much you love dandelions, so I pick them at the park & do my best to further propagate the species. I thought you might want to see me hard at work.

Love,
B

Leading up to the Big Day...

We've been waiting for Halloween...oh, so patiently.

B got to go to a "trunk or treat" with Grandma & Daddy with Cousin Baby J, where he also met up with Batman. We also carved up a few pumpkins to prepare for the big day!

Overheard...

Overheard on the monitor this a.m. while I was getting ready & letting him chat to himself:

"Mommy Hi. Good morning hi. Mommy? Mommy! Good morning! Good morning hi!"

Waking up & getting ready to that happy little voice (and he wakes up like that 99 days out of 100) is quite possibly one of my favorite things of ALL time!

Bologna? BOLOGNA!!!

The things we learn @ daycare never cease to amaze.

Today, I asked little man what he wanted for lunch. The adamant and very definitive response caught me totally unawares: "BOLOGNA." NOTE: I've probably not eaten bologna in twenty years, since I had ketchup & bologna sandwiches with my Dad. Yuck. (sorry Dad)! B has cultivated his liking for bologna @ daycare, apparently. I was tempted to call her and inquire what KIND she bought, so I'd buy the appropriate kind for his palate, but thought better of such a call. We ventured to the store to buy said bologna, and when asked by the deli man if we wanted a sample, I passed it over to him, to which he promptly piped, "THANKS!" HA ~ will talk for bologna, AND use his manners, apparently! Normally, he'll only sign thanks, under duress, but this was unequivocal! :) The joys of a 21 mo. old! :)

H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N

9 days and counting? Less than the time since I last posted an entry. :( Sorry! Needless to say, we found the Halloween costume. He's going to a "truck-or-treat" festival w/ Grandma on Friday night to test-drive the costume, then will partake in the Halloween Parade @ my old school the morning of Halloween, followed by a few houses of trick-or-treating on the block!! :)

why we love pumpkins

Potty Update

Today was his 3rd successful attempt to actually make a contribution in the potty! Yeah B!

Pumpkin Heaven

A few weeks/months back, I had to put AWAY Brendan's Halloween books because he LOVES them, and wanted to read them OVER & OVER. I had to at least hide them so we weren't preparing for Fall/Halloween in the middle of our heat roast here. SO...I hid them away, he found ANOTHER Halloween book we've been reading until I finally succumbed yesterday, and brought out all of the fall decorations, along w/ the hidden Halloween books. The video doesn't do justice, but we've read each of the new Halloween books @ least four times today, and he's been RUNNING around the house, playing with the decorations, declaring, "pumpkin! ghost! pinecones! (in our fall leaves), pumpkins" and has been carrying his little monogrammed trick-or-treat pumpkin from Grandma Laura that he'll get to break in this year (at least a little). SO...still a month to go, we have to figure out what he's going to be, but we're in FULL Halloween/Fall swing @ this house!! :)

fun with silverware!

I love the tippy toes in this one...my little helper when we were getting ready for dinner. :)

Video, Take III

OK...third video. It started off as an attempt at capturing his memory reading, which you get a glimpse of, but it needs to be better planned in the future...anyway, it's a glimpse, but then turned into him coloring and chatting. Of the three to ignore, I almost contemplated NOT including this, so feel free to ignore this, but if you want another Brendan snippet, you have it! This will give Auntie M viewing pleasure for a FEW days @ this point! :)

Chatter II

I am not going to post all (3) new videos in the same blog entry because Blogger MIGHT have a breakdown. It doesn't like the format the videos are in, or the memory, or length or SOMETHING...so here's the (2nd) video, titled Chatter II, since that's all it is, really, by popular request from Auntie M., who loved the first one. I tried to recall his newer additions to the vocab bin, so there should be some words you've not heard yet!! :)

Past Due!

OK, OK....so apparently, we're overdue for a video update. By popular request, I'm adding not ONE, not TWO, but THREE videos (yah, prob. overkill, I know!) for your viewing pleasure! Our schedule is a little screwed up this weekend...after he didn't get to bed 'til a few min. before 9 last night after getting to view his horsey pals, he woke up last this a.m., then indulged in a 3 1/2 hour nap this afternoon, so he got to bed late tonight too. WHICH means we're probably in for a late a.m. tomorrow; NOT good as we need to be at the babysitter's by 8! Glad that he got Mommy's sleeping genes, though. :)

The Little Protege

He makes us laugh. All the time. I had a candle open house this weekend, so of course, one of his new words is "candle." Even funnier is his new discovery, and this just as I type, of a holder I got at our last team meeting, a pinecone looking contraption w/ a votive holder. Perfect for MY son, the pinecone guru, who now also says "pinecone" and is contenting himself playing w/ the votive, the little votive holder, and taking them all in & out of the pinecone very happily. :) One of Sandra Boynton's books, "Blue Hat, Green Hat" has had him in stitches all weekend...we'll try to get a video but he giggles & shrieks w/ glee when reading it, and read it four consecutive times w/ Scott the other night before bed. :) He's also been on a fruit kick, particularly with apples of late. He's already eaten two bananas & one apple today. :)

Other new-ish words:
snuggy (for his "snuggy blanky"
carousel
fire duck
turtle
dolphin
candle

there are others...will add them later.

cheers for now!

More Words...

The vernacular of the baby has now spread to include:

overalls
teeth
neck
please (peez)
tickle
candle (if you can believe that one!)
quesadilla (which he calls 'dee-yah')
tortilla ('tee-yah')
fire truck....just to name a few.

I, however, just looked @ the clock & realized what time it is, so no more musings on his chatterings, I've got to sleep! :)

Chatterbug

I officially admit that I can no longer keep track of his chattering. The words per day, if I miss a day of blogging, are too many to keep track of in my head before I make it to the keyboard!! :) That's apparent on the video I've attached ~ on video, with him live & captive, I couldn't even remember them all to get him to SAY them!! :) Some very recent acquisitions in the word department include:

Today's Words:
Tickle
TV

*He actually woke up from his marathon nap this afternoon & was content just playing in his crib. When I went in he was still just lying, relaxing, so I started to tickle him, and after several tickle attacks, he actually said, "please tickle!" and kept signing please & nodding his head because he wanted MORE tickling!! :)

Then words from the time since I've last blogged:
Ladder
Moose
Mouse
Beep-beep
Ziti (you can guess what he had for dinner)
Cookie
Milk AND Please (now says both, doesn't just sign)
Circle
Oval
Nose
Tummy
Mall
People


...to name a few. I know there are more...my brain capacity just won't go there right now! :)



This weekend was a good one, in spite of the fact that it's still in the hundred+ degree heat. We went to the train park yesterday, and he got to play on the playground equipment before riding both on the train & carousel when they opened!
Yesterday afternoon, he shocked the stripes off of us when he said (and with his whole body made the shape) "circle" (sounds more like stirkel in his language), then proceeded to find several circles around the house. After being introduced to the concept of oval vs. circle, he also was showing us appropriate oval vs. circle shapes. Insane. Didn't see that coming, or the fact that he also knows and will show you a star shape either!

We also had several (albeit brief) car rides and he got to play with his little friend, Ben, today, which required a 3 1/2 hour nap this afternoon to recover! :)

He also got a haircut (awhile in the coming!), so there are a few questionable spots, but he looks much more presentable.

The curls to which we bid adieu:


Locks shed:

Our Walking Dictionary

Each day, the words that pop out of his mouth amaze me. I am just trying to keep TRACK of them, to keep a running record here, but know I've neglected to list some SOMEWHERE along the way!

Here's a list for today thus far:
sticky
apple
people
pumpkin
fox
fork

We were at the mall this a.m. to play on the indoor play area for a change, and he went wandering out and into the mall...I asked him if he wanted to go see the "puppy" store, so we wandered over to the pet store. Good vocab practice and he was eagerly pointing out ALL the puppies, but heartbreaking to see sad dogs who deserve to not be cooped up! :(

Yesterday's Words:
bug
puppy
happy

He's asleep now, so we have a brief respite from NEW words, but I'm sure there will be more to come! He seems to have his Mama's gift for gab! :)

The Royal Potty

Per one of my recent posts, we did buy him a potty this weekend, after much debate. He has, a few times, said the appropriate word when he did something in his diapers, is curious about going to the bathroom and dirty diapers, etc. SO, I decided that we could at least get the potty to have for him here to look at, talk about, as he nears "readiness"...

We opened the box yesterday. Within 15 min. of it being open, he wanted to sit on and try the potty, so we took his diapers off. Hey ~ can't hurt, right? He sat on it, figured out how to position himself, etc. Then, he squatted down next to it for a bit, got back up, walked around it and I realized there was a puddle on the floor. He had peed, RIGHT on the floor next to the potty!!! I felt slightly relieved after battling with the "Do we, don't we" potty debate.

Today, we got back from the zoo, and he said, "potty" and ran toward the bathroom. After sitting on it, getting off, sitting on it, getting off, he crouched next to it and peed right on the floor. SO...we're CLOSE...literally & figuratively! At least it's easy to clean up (floors can always use a washing/mopping) and he's at least aware!!

A Day @ The Zoo...

B has gone to the zoo several times, but Scott has been hankering after another visit, especially given his recognition & vocab for so many more animals, now! SO, we headed this a.m., a perfect activity for a holiday a.m., as it's starting to cool down and there weren't many people there!! Little did we expect his vocab to include the word "baboon" after today, but that quickly became his favorite word!!! Take a peek...

Peek-a-BOO!

He manufactured this game himself...



again, things that just make me laugh. he's done this, now, a few days in a row & does it just to make me laugh. :)

New words of the day:

STUCK (after he got lodged in the kid-car grocery cart, and proceeded to holler, "STUCK, STUCK, STUCK" at the top of his lungs after I asked him if he WAS stuck...

POTTY (yes, you guessed correctly that we bought him one today to start "practicing," to which he vehemently shook his head "YES" that he wanted to buy it! :)

DUCK BOOTS

Very much like Auntie Meg when she was little, little B has very explicit ideas about he wants to wear...and for the last two days, it's been the duck boots. I'm the first to admit...the boots are ADORABLE, but who would really want their feet in rubber, knee-high galoshes? Apparently, my son. :) Here are a few pix of him IN the boots, but he grabbed them first thing this a.m. to wear to the babysitter's...new staple of the wardrobe, anyone??

STOP!!!!!!!!!

Recently, he's acquiring anywhere from 1-3 words/day. It's remarkable & I would not have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes. Among recent words added are: "step, body, duck boots, sippy", etc. One BIG addition is the reason for the title: "STOP"!!! We've been looking @ stop signs and have a little (albeit not the best pix/quality) of him practicing his recent vocab below, then more of a story afterwards!



SO...brief replications of "STOP," which, as you can imagine, makes car rides QUITE entertaining!! :) My puzzlement came, however, at CostCo yesterday, as we're in the diaper aisle and he's shrieking, "STOP! STOP!" HA ~ not exactly what you want your child to shriek in public, but we didn't get any stares, I was just trying to figure out what prompted his vocalizations. Lo & behold, I followed his line of vision, only to see that Huggies wisely has a red octagon on the sides of the box, with "STOPS leaks" written over top. As my son pointed boldly to the diaper box, he was faster than his Mommy to realize that Huggies had included such a sign on their box. I was amazed & blown away! :)

Airplanes. Mama.

I/we survived my first separation from little man over the past weekend. I flew home to be with my family for my grandfather's funeral, and B stayed home with Daddy so as not to totally screw with his circadian rhythms after changing triple time zones twice in 48 hours. SO...how did the first separation go, many inquired??

Just fine.

I didn't sob, he didn't sob (well, after regaining his composure when they left me @ the airport), and Scott was fine! Phew!

On our way to the airport, I told B to find his stuffed airplane when he got home and to snuggle it since Mama was going away on the airplane.

Never one to slack on the parental requests, indeed, Scott found B curled up, sound asleep the second night w/ airplane affixed under his arm. SO sweet.

Since my return last night, however, and my absence tonight for a Vendor Fair for work, B saw an airplane when out for a walk with Scott, pointed to it, and said, "Mama!" while signing airplane. Will he forever think I've been scooped away by an airplane when I'm not with his person? :) Those little hardwired brains NEVER cease to amaze, though!!

Cottage Cheese & other sundry things...

I can't help it, but I just love his little chippy voice.

In case you are wondering, the two words he's saying are "doorbell" and "cottage cheese", both of which he decided to spontaneously parrot. They have since become a cornerstone in his vocabulary. For example, tonight, at dinner, "B, do you want fruit for dessert?" He whispers: "Cottg chee" but as soon as I started telling his father what KIND of fruit was in the fruit salad, he began signing, "strawberry" "grape" "watermelon" and conceded to eat the fruit instead of having a SECOND helping of "cottg CHEE" for the day! :)

In Memoriam...

At the time this picture was taken, Brendan was much more "subdued" if you will, and certainly not as mobile as his last visit with Great Grandpa. At our last visit in July, Great Grandpa was a LITTLE overwhelmed at the absolute level of activity and curiosity of his only great-grandchild. :)



We are all thankful that Brendan got to know his great grandpa, even if he will never fully appreciate his suspenders! He will be missed. May he rest in peace.

Fork Firsts!

I will put the video up as well, but I took an "action sequence" with the camera. Eating lunch today, I was cutting up watermelon for him, and he went, "THAT, THAT" because he wanted to use the big fork to eat...with much success!! See below for proof! :)

"I Love A Parade..."

Another video from our trip back East...thanks to his Gram, B got a lid + wooden spoon parade, much to his glee. (His father thinks it's an unholy racket & can't stand it...) SO, we got footage of the whole clamorous event, coupled w/ the persistent complaints from the canine companions!! :) Thanks Grammie!

I graduated!!!

Today was a big day for the little man...we were about to have dinner, and B was w/ Daddy, playing on the Wii for a second before he/they sat down to dinner. I sat to cut up B's food, then ran into the kitchen to grab his milk. When I came back, he was sitting in MY chair, using our regular silverware to eat his chicken! We modified it a BIT by putting him in his highchair, lowered to the table so he didn't have to use his tray, so he ate @ the table, WITH his own (little) fork, and scarfed down red bell peppers for the first time as well!!! Graduation day!

Here were his thoughts:

Big Boys Can Do Slides!

His most recent acquisition in the talent department ;) is the ability to go down slides 1) by himself and 2) frontwards!! He graduated to the 12 ft BIG slide today but here's a sneak-peek @ the little one!!!

Yeah Jennifer!

B had a first today ~ he went to "daycare" to test the waters and will continue to go 2-3 full days a week so that I can get work done @ home and don't have to keep the house from falling in while I try to simultaneously get work done! :)

Much to our relief, he survived today with flying colors. He was at the door, hand ON door, nodding, "yes yes" because he wanted to go in. I know things were looking good from the get-go. He proceeded to run right in and join the other little ones, playing and having a great time. I was able to leave, sans tears, and came back to find a happy baby, eating raisins, who shook his head "NO" when I asked him if he wanted to go bye-bye. Hallelujah!!

Ready for Halloween

Well, our little pumpkin-head seems to not notice that our calendar has August written on it rather than October. His most recent finding has been the Halloween books on his bookshelf. He wants to read them (and there ARE more than one!) EVERY day, and LOVES the pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns in particular. Some of you know of his fascination for specific objects (e.g. pinecones, trash cans, sprinkler heads, flags to name a few)...well, add pumpkins to the list. I'm eagerly anticipating Sept/Oct, when I can justify having the house decorated for Fall, and we'll start to see pumpkins at other houses. I can already hear the, "WHA IZ ZAAAAAAAAAAT?!!!!!!!" shriek as we walk around the block/park/neighborhood and he spots the pumpkins everywhere! :) Here we come Halloween!

If You Give a Pig A Pancake...

...she'll want some syrup to go with it." Thus begins one of his favorite reads these days...



One of B's favs (thanks Hannah & Mike!), "If You Give a Pig A Pancake." We're still trying to work with him to leave the book jackets ON, but at least he likes the contents!!! :)

What's Yours is Mine, What's Mine is Yours...

I'd realized that when having kids, anything goes...you lose your privacy (for the most part), and anything and everything is superceded for your little one. Case-in-point, yesterday, that made me laugh...

I was eating a bowl of cereal with fresh blueberries on top after B had already eaten, declined further food, and was happily playing. Took that time to feed myself and sat down on the floor with him while he played to eat and keep him company. Enter ET neck. His neck craned all the way up, he exclaimed, "Waz ZAT?" and pointed with his little chubby fingers to my blueberries. In no time, he hoisted himself to my lap, where he dove into my bowl with said chubby fingers, and proceeded to retrieve, and quickly consume, all but a few blueberries. Funny to me that he preferred the ones submerged under milk, so needless to say, this was not a neat recon project!! :) So much for my blueberries, but hey, there are more, and it was worth the chuckle to start the day!

BATMAN!!!!!!!!

One of our favorite PJ outfits, which he's soon to outgrown. :( HOLY SMOKES BATMAN!

Off the Charts!

Well, appropriate given our last posting, but we have the official #s that back up our "growth-by-highchair" experiment. He just had his 18 mo. well-visit, and blew us all away with how much he HAS grown. He weighed in at just shy of 30 lbs., and is 34" tall, so he's 90th percentile for both height & weight!! :) No surprise there, I guess!

At the Beach

In addition to getting some R&R @ Casa de los Abuelitos, B has also journeyed into Philly for a mini family reunion, seen his great grandparents, and gone to the beach in this journey East. He has found mini frogs (1"!), collected NE pinecones (very different from ours @ home!), and got to perch in a lifeguard boat @ the beach. Some pix below of the adventures at the beach. He really enjoyed it (especially digging in the sand), but was not terribly thrilled w/ the waves after one knocked him on his back after he was already sitting at the water's edge. A fun & memorable journey none-the-less, and certainly a novelty he doesn't get living in the SouthWest!