Heavy! Heavy!

Heavy! Heavy! I heard that a lot this morning as we got ready to leave for John's first day at MDO this fall. It was a short day. Only three hours. But I still had to pack a lunch. I switched back to the backpack diaper bag since there wasn't as much we needed to carry. For grins and giggles, I loaded him up with the backpack and lunch sack. He kept saying, "Heavy!" Of course, he calls most things "heavy" these days. The lunch sack was kind of heavy because it had two blocks of ice in it, but not unmanageably so. The backpack was just large for him. Shortly after I took this, he took off the backpack and then carried each one on an arm, hands raised high.

His first day went well. When we went to the door this morning he peered in to see what was going on before he started the drama cry. I gave him a hug and kiss and quickly handed him over to Ms. M. When I went to pick him up, his teacher Ms. J said he didn't each much lunch but that he followed directions really well. They had done a lot of walking today and she commented that he actually held the rope the whole time. (When they move from one area to another, they get this rope out that has rings on it and each child gets a ring to hold.) He was crying when I got there, and Ms. S was holding him. Often times the kids will start to cry when other parents show up. He was the last one to be picked up and he was SOOOO happy to see me. When I asked him how today was he kept saying "play, play." I guess he had a good time. We'll see how his reaction is to going back tomorrow.

When we got home, I ate some lunch and then John and I played in the den. The light was good and I couldn't resist getting the camera out for some pictures. He likes to be serious when I hold the camera up to my face. I like these serious ones.

After dinner, John and John were playing in the living room. JHP decided he wanted to play with the wooden blocks, which are usually under the chair. He fished them out and started taking the out one by one, looking at the pictures on each one and identifying the picture. I was amazed that he knows so many of the names of the pictures. There are 28 blocks and most have two pictures. I'd say he knows the name of at least half of the pictures.

Later he walked over to the number puzzle and started systematically taking each number out, bending over, and lightly brushing the edge of the number on the rug before dropping it to the ground. John and I watched the whole process unfold and looked at each other questioningly. So we asked JHP what he was doing. I'm not sure he answered. We still don't know. John and Daddy filled the puzzle back in and took them out again multiple times while JHP discovered that there were pictures underneath the wooden numbers. At one point Daddy asked where the fishies were and John went and fetched the wooden block that had a fish on it. I don't think I should be surprised about anything that will come out of his mouth in the future. I have few reference points to compare to, but it really seems like he's so young to be talking this much and that fact amazes me.

He did two things today that I'd never seen him do. At dinner, we was being quite silly. He kept babbling and then he'd look at me and start blinking and squinting, while scrunching up his nose. It was funny looking, but at the same time kind of disturbing. The second thing he did while walking to get the mail. As he was walking, he started shaking his head side to side, which resulted in a wobbly walk. Our uneven sidewalks are not the best place to practice this. He continued once we were indoors which was even more of a hazard since he could easily walk into things. He must have been in a silly mood to come up with these on his own or maybe he saw it in school today. If that was the case, it won't be the last thing he learns there, good or bad!

-EBP-

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Puppy love

When we got home from dinner, Daddy and John spent some quality time on the couch together. John has taken to asking for "help" with his drawing and he wants you to draw a ball. We draw circles and explain that they look like balls on paper. I guess Daddy was holding the puppy and showing John how soft he was. Then he used the puppy to tickle John. Daddy ended up chasing John across the couch.

-EBP-

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Mine!

Just a funny picture! John was playing on the couch and Daddy had the TV on. I was down on the floor trying to get John to peak over the cushion and this is what I got.

At dinner tonight, as Daddy was feeding him carrots, John threw his hands up over the arms rests of his chair and sat there for a few minutes. He was protesting about something I can't remember. It almost seemed like he was stuck, but he wasn't. Just trying to use the arm rests, I guess.

The funniest picture all day and one that I really don't remember happening, even though it was only a few hours ago. He looks like he's holding his milk close in case Daddy tries to steal it. But, I'm sure Daddy wasn't going to. He doesn't drink milk, which I'm sure will become an issue in our house one day.

The day was pretty non-descript. Daddy mowed. John and I puttered around the house, doing some cleaning and playing. We went to lunch. And John napped and Daddy and I sat still for too many hours. Dinner. Bath. Laundry. And soon it will be bed-time. Such a glamorous life we lead!

-EBP-

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Getting ready for a new school year

We were eating a snack this morning to pass the time before it was time to go to the school for John's Meet the Teacher. He was serious one minute and clowning around the next. I've found that if I peak out from behind the camera I get the best looks in return. He was in a good mood (more or less) today. Only problem was a loud whine when things didn't go his way. The last couple of days he's been SUPER impatient. About everything. Can't make the toy do what he wants on the first try. Whine. Can't get food fast enough. Whine. Can't get Momma to hold me. Whine. (Never mind that he asks with a whine, too!) Can't get my point across. Whine. So much fun! I've been trying to make him stop and try again with the toys. Or tell him to stop and wait for Momma to get food made. Or tell him to stop and use his words to ASK Momma to hold him. Most of the time, he gets follows my lead. But when I tell him to ask for what he wants, most of the time I get this teeny-tiny, high-pitched voice of unrecognizable sounds. I hope this gets better. It's really wearing on my nerves.

Check out the new stickers I've gotten for John's things. At school, EVERYTHING must be labeled. So I bought these cool vinyl stickers that have his name and a little vehicle on them. The neat thing is that they are supposed to go through the dishwasher unscathed. We'll see how that turns out. I also got John a new lunch sack with this initials on it.

Meet the Teacher went pretty well. He has three teachers, Ms. M, Ms. J, and Ms. S, whom he had for the last half of last year. His class is a four day a week class of older one year-olds and younger two year-olds. One teacher teaches all four days and the other two work 2 days each. He's the youngest in the class because he just turned 18 months old and he'll only be going 3 days per week (MTuTh). It's kind of a strange schedule, but I had my reasons. We already go to a Bible study that has childcare (that we pay for a portion of in our study fees) on Wednesdays. Bottom line is that it's cheaper than an extra day of MDO. And I do have the option to send him that day of I make prior arrangements since his spot is guaranteed (he's not sharing it with anyone). Everyone was real nice and I think he's going to have a great time in there. Monday's our first day and he'll only go until noon next week.

When we first got there, he was a little hesitant and I had to carry him into the room. They tried to engage him and he did succumb, only to realize I was still there and come running back to me crying. Oh, the drama! We did this a few times and then I left him to listen to the Director speak. Afterwards he was happy to see me and Ms. M said he spent most of his time drawing. I guess I need to be dragging out the crayons more often.

When we went to get in the car and leave, I opened the front door to start the car (and the A/C!). John climbed right in and got all excited as he got situated in the driver's seat. He pulled his little tush right up to the edge of the seat and dangled his legs so that he could easily reach the steering wheel. He's done this a couple of times before in the truck. He's always SO excited when we let him do this.

It's amazing to me how much he wants to be like us. He wants to sit in our chairs, drive our cars, play at our computer. Yet - he still doesn't want to eat all our food! Hopefully, this will turn around soon. It will make packing his lunch for school so much easier!

-EBP-

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A new toy

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I'm not sure what was up with the basket of toys today, but twice, he climbed in. And each time I had to help him out. Can you tell what the before and after is? He got another haircut. That's number four. I think it might be a bit short this time. The lady asked how short and I said number 3 on the sides and blend in on the top. But how exactly do you tell her how short (or not) you want it? Anyway, he was more nervous this time than last time. He actually whined some and held out his arms once she started up the clippers. It took a few minutes before he settled in. But finally, it was done and he looked so cute!

After the haircut, we went to Target and did some shopping. JHP needed some larger t-shirts. And we got him a new toy, which he loves! When we were playing at J's house earlier in the week, she had a little MagnaDoodle Pad that he played with. We have one here, but it's small and it has a sharp-ish point that I was concerned he might use on some wood furniture. So ,we bought him a bigger one. It's made by Parents and it has some "stamps". He loves it! I already can move the eraser up and down to clean the board. I'm sure he'll have hours of fun with this. He's really in to drawing lately, although it's not discernible what those drawings are yet. Someday soon!

-EBP-

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Snack time!

We got off to a really slow start today. Maybe not in the way you think, however. John was up early (before 700a), unfortunate for me. He had breakfast and I was eating when a friend called. It wasn't a short call. Before i knew it, it was was 900a. A little more puttering and 1000a rolled around. I decided I needed a shower. John didn't want to be left out so we both hopped in. After the shower, John was ready for his snack. I sat him down as I got ready and then decided I'd snap some pics. Looks a bit coy here, huh?

By the time I started thinking about what to do next, it was past 1100a. So I decided to just lay low and we hung out here the rest of the day. We played some more and read some books. And I swept and mopped while John watched his favorite TV show that I had recorded, Imagination Movers. Then it was time for some me time - nap time for JHP.

I hope to get something accomplished tomorrow. Just not sure yet what.
-EBP-

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Drawing

After lunch today, I pulled out the big drawing guns: the TaDoodle markers. Armed with a big sheet of paper, a highchair, a bib, and the kitchen table, John set out to do some drawing. And he did. And he got some marker on his hands and arm. I tried to get a good picture of his hands when he was done, but it wasn't gonna happen. He refused. He had fun drawing and putting the TaDoodles in the docking station. It would sing songs based on what color he put in the ring. Then he was "all done."

After dinner, we went to the park. It wasn't too hot out and there was a little wind. John took a turn on the swings and then climbed the big play structure. He likes to go up there, but since he's got to warm up to slides, getting him down them requires some coaxing. He didn't submit to Daddy's, and he and I ended up going down the big steps, which are really a big stretch for John even if he goes down backwards.

He kept an eye on me trailing behind on the way home for some reason. He kept looking back so often, I figured I snap a picture of that red-cheeked, sweaty-haired, serious little face. I told John N tonight at dinner that he's a perfect blend of the two of us. He gets his seriousness from me and his silliness from Daddy.

-EBP-

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Not your normal Monday

Instead of doing our normal Monday grocery shopping, we went to play at J's & B's house today. We had a lot of fun. B was super excited to have someone besides Mom to play with and so was John. The visit was pretty good if you discount the hiccups / spit-up and the rolling down the stairs that occurred. (No worries! John was fine although I think he might have a bruise on one cheek.) They were all reading a book when I got up to get the camera. John started to follow and I encouraged him to go back to listen to the book. He decided he needed a new place to sit, much to J's surprise. Forgot to warn her that John likes to sit (and bounce!) on your back (or belly) if you are lying down. Oops!

We had to go shortly after because John lost all patience. Like everything. All gone. If a ball rolled out of his hand, he whined and fussed about it. I guessed he was really tired and we headed home. Unfortunately, little hints of the same behaviour were very obvious after his nap. Even when the littlest thing didn't go his way, WAH! In one case, I asked him if he wanted some water and he ran the other way in a big huff! I sure hope he leaves that attitude in the crib tonight. If not, tomorrow will be a long one!

After Dad got home, John tried to follow him into the back of the house. When he couldn't get through, he decided to roll the balls he had with him under the gate, only to discover that he couldn't get them. He tried to follow head first, but that didn't work. So he turned around.

And tried to go feet first. He didn't get too far. Only stuck. Momma had to fish him out.

An update on my mushrooms from yesterday: they blossom overnight and this is what they looked like this morning at 730a. By early afternoon, they were wilting and by evening, they were plum whupped. Such is the life of some mushrooms!
-EBP-

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Orange

One of John's favorite activities these days is to get up in the chairs at the kitchen table. If he's not in his seat and you vacate yours, he'll attempt to scale it in a heartbeat. I'm a little leery of the wooden chairs that came with the table because they are unsteady and we've already broken two of them. But he can most easily get up on these. He requires assistance to get up on the folding chairs. If he tries too hard himself, he ends up getting his head stuck.

I picked out JHP's clothes today, leaving them on the bed, and left Dad to dress him while I was in the shower. Dad dressed himself and was surprised to discover that they would be wearing matching outfits today: orange shirts and khaki pants. It was cute and not intentional! So I needed a picture.

John's recently been saying, "ho ju" a lot. And neither John nor I knew what he was talking about. Until yesterday. I figured it out. He's been saying "hold you". Because we always ask him, "Do you want me to hold you?" when he follows us around with his hands outstretched. When I finally asked him that in response to his question, he seemed so pleased that I finally got it. Now we are trying to get him to say, "Hold me, please". He'll repeat it, but I'm sure it will be a while before it's ingrained enough to break the "ho ju" habit.

John N went to put some ant treatment down in the yard after lunch today. He was trying to water the stuff in, but the water pressure was making a racket inside. I went to let him know so that JHP wouldn't be woken from his newly started nap when I discovered these growing out of our potted palm on that back patio. This is the third time I've seen these. The first time it was single big one. John had never seen these until today. He thought they were kind of funny looking.

After dinner tonight, John happened to notice that they had puffed up. I recollect they don't last very long. So I'm sure tomorrow they'll be all gone or at least well on their way.

-EBP-

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All about hats!

Did we do this to him? Uh, no. As we were getting him undressed this morning to put on some real clothes, he decided that he was going to put his pajama bottoms on his head. He succeeded, but before I could get the camera, he'd taken them off. As soon as we had put him on the floor, he grabbed some navy blue shorts off the chair and was trying them on for size. Did we cause this obsession by our experimentation earlier in his life? Or is this normal? I'm just not sure.

Dad managed to convince him that his Astros cap was more appropriate for wearing on the head.

This evening I was folding some clothes of John's and when I went to put them away I figured I'd take a few minutes to clean out the drawers a little. As I rummaged around, I found two of the hats that my mother (Nana) made him when she was here the second week of John's life. After looking back at photos, there is a third, but I must not have rummaged around deep enough to find it. Anyway, I put one of the hats on one of John's bears. He immediately pulled it off and tried to put it on. I figured we'd take some pics of the bears wearing the hats, but the session turned into John trying to wear the hats. Thanks to Dad's diligence and some give in the hats, we succeeded with one and made do with the other.

I'm thinking if it wasn't white and yellow, this little skullcap might just be in fashion.

Looks like a little blue yarmulke!


For grins, I thought I'd include a photo of John wearing one of these hats when they were first worn. I think this is the first hat that Mom made. It's very silky and made of Bamboo, I think. And it was a bit big for him and didn't want to stay on. I could not find a picture of the yellow and white one on John. I think it was way too big for him. The third one Mom made fit the best from what I remember. I'll have to dig that out tomorrow and see how it fits John now. His head has ONLY grown 14 cm since he was born. Just might fit!

We cleaned out some toys today, too. We've purged the play areas of "baby" toys. We also consolidated all his books into one place - the bookshelf on the hallway. He's got the two lower shelves in the middle bookcase. And there's plenty of room for more.

-EBP-

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Jumping on the bed

We went out early today and ate lunch when we got back, leaving plenty of time to play around before a nap. After doing a few other things, he asked to get up on the bed. I obliged and joined him. He likes it best when I get on there with him. He was being his normal silly self. I figured I'd grab the camera and see what I got. This is one of the few times he sat still enough for me to get a focused shot.

A little while later, we were played "Timber!" against my better judgement. He doesn't quite free fall, but enjoys it nonetheless.

The rest of the day was tiring and ho-hum. We did make it to SNBNA's for dinner, resulting in a later than normal bedtime for JHP. Let's hope he sleeps in anyway.

-EBP-

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Cookies

After dinner tonight, I decided to make some cookies. John is always very interested in what I'm doing when I'm baking so I decided to let him watch by putting him up on a step stool. I decided on oatmeal cookies. Once I got everything assembled that I needed I put him up on the stool. He didn't want to taste the oatmeal. I don't blame him. It's kind of dry. It took a little convincing before he finally tried the brown sugar. After working it around in his mouth for a bit, he finally said, "More, more!" I told him he could have more when we baked the cookies. I didn't tell him that it would be after his bedtime, but I didn't lose any credibility because he still doesn't really get the concept of time yet. Then we watched the mixer combine the dough.

He kept trying to play with the bananas, which hang right next to the stand mixer. As a distraction I gave him the sticker that had been sitting there since Monday. It was the one he brought home from the doctor, pulled apart in the car, dropped on the garage floor, and I picked up and stuck back to the paper when he abandoned it. I wasn't sure it had much stick left. I was wrong. If you look closely in the lower part of the picture just left of center you'll see the paper that stuck when he tried to pull it off. His words: "Uh-oh." You can also see both of us int he reflection of the bowl.

Our next step was to scoop the cookies out onto a tray for freezing. I always do this so that I can have fresh baked cookies when ever I want and I don't have 50 cookies lying around for me to eat an any moment. As I was scooping, a little finger found its way into the dough before I could catch it. "More" was the response after he tasted it. After that, I had to be vigilant about the little fingers keeping clear of the dough!

-EBP-

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