brought to you by the letter B

Ball. Bear. Bird. Baa. Boat. Baby. Boo. Block. Bee. Bye Bye. These are his favorite words. He uses other consonants also, but these are consistent. He knows what these words mean. I'm not sure why he picked B words, but he's certainly mastering them quickly.

We played this morning a good bit, and I love watching him flirt with himself in the mirror. Such big smiles he has for that baby in the mirror. He likes to talk to the birds outside his window, too. And there's something so cute about the fact that he still folds up his legs and feet when you take his diaper off, crossing them just like they were in utero when he was all folded up. He looks so sweet like this, and his feet are still so tiny (it's a wonder they can transport him so well).

I wonder if I've been holding off on the praise too much. I tell him how good he is, how good his new skills are, but when he was getting words right last night when we were identifying things, I brought out the old "YAAAYYY, Dennis" and clapped my hands. He was delirious with happiness, repeated the "YAY" over and over, and came over to clap my hands for me when I had stopped. He even said "Yay, Dennis", which I haven't heard in a while, and is possibly the funniest thing he says. He's certainly not hurting in the self-confidence department, and we're very happy that he's so sure of himself. I hope he's able to hold on to that in future years.

He's beginning to try to stack blocks instead of just bulldozing through them. He's showing interest in learning to eat with the spoon--if we dip the spoon, he can get it to his mouth (and most of it even INTO his mouth). He's growing up, faster every day.

His passport arrived in the mail, less than 2 weeks after we applied for it. I didn't even pay the fee to expedite it. He can be International Baby now. Nothing glamorous in the works, but he might get to cross the border into Canada when we travel to the far northwest in June (as long as I have a notarized letter from Daddy that I'm allowed to leave the country with him). And we can now flee to Mexico should the need arise... Ha ha. We kid about that, sometimes, but any fantasy I have about fleeing involves Alaska. Can't wait to take Dennis there, but it'll be a few years yet. I hope to show him my favorite parts of the world, but more than that, I hope to discover new favorite places with him alongside. He's already seen Vegas, and he experienced everything a seven month old could hope for there! He's been to the Statue of Liberty, but he was still in the belly then. Bet that doesn't count. It's a big world out there, and he's already showing a love for travel. I hope he still likes flying. I expect that I (and many fellow passengers) will find out in June!

cow pajamas

Dennis came to visit me for my dinner break tonight at work. He shared my chicken sandwich, fries, and Coca-cola. He held out a fry for me, and when I opened my mouth to take it, he was so proud of himself. He thought it was so fun to feed Mommy that he spit out what was in his mouth to give to me. I thanked him but told him that was ok, he could keep chewing what was already in his mouth. This is not the first time he's tried to feed me in the manner of a mother bird. Sweet, but disgusting.

I slept a bit late this morning, (they very sweetly let me do it), so I missed some playtime before work. Yes, I was still catching up on sleep from this weekend, and yes, I needed it, but I was so sad when Dennis was going down for his morning nap as I was getting up. It did, however, give me the opportunity for a nice long shower, a rare commodity when there's an active toddler in the house. After his nap, we played a little. He was feeling cuddly, so we snuggled and he held my thumb in both of his tiny hands while he sat in my lap. There's something about a baby holding your hand in his tiny ones that just makes you melt. He waved bye to me as I was driving away. It was such a nice surprise when David was able to bring him to work for a visit, since I work an hour away from home. They were out running errands that brought them near me.

He was so exhausted earlier that David just let him fall asleep in his clothes, and we got him up and changed him when I got home. Dennis said "pj's" when we were putting his pajamas on. His Daddy shook up his chocolate milk before handing it to him, and he shook it himself before drinking it He kept saying a weird "caaa" sound, and I couldn't figure out what he meant until he pointed to his stuffed cow as he said it. We picked up the cow from his place of honor (on the floor) and said cow a few more times, then squeezed cow's tummy to make him moo. Then we both mooed for a bit, and then he smiled and came over to hug me. It pleases him so much when we understand what he's telling us. I just can't believe how fast he learns! It's a miracle to be able to watch his mind developing. What will he say tomorrow?

Home again

We were both off work today, recovering from our trip. We're all 3 a little sick still, and hope that resting today will help us get well sooner. Dennis was ecstatic to have both of us home with him, and he had a wonderful day. He was full of laughter and smiles today, and this is the kind of day that makes me wonder why I waited so long to become a parent. Not to worry, there are sometimes days when I wonder why I didn't wait longer! He was such a joy today, talking and playing, trying to make us laugh.

Today he said "juice" and "milk" and, when I was telling him about cows, "moo". The funniest thing he did was to walk out of the room when I got out a fresh diaper--when I said "Come back here", he said "come back here" and kept walking out. I couldn't help laughing, and he came back to see what I was laughing at, and then he cracked up. He kept walking out into the hall, laughing, and coming back in to watch me laughing. He finally came over to me to let me change his diaper. Too funny.

He has learned to climb into and out of small chairs, and he's so proud of this skill. He can also bend over and pick things up, and can get up and walk without pulling up on something else, though he'll still pull up if something's handy to help him stand up (so will I, come to think of it). He learned to give kisses today, and it is so sweet to have him kiss me, though it is a bit of a slobbery experience. He was very huggy today, and I delighted in the few snuggles I got in before he got busy doing other things.

We found an uber cheap bike trailer on our way home from the beach trip, and tonight we set it up and took him for a short spin (we took turns riding him up and down the driveway). He just screeched in delight, smiling and giggling during the ride. After the bike ride, we played with Thomas and Percy and Dennis (his Take Along Trains), and he dismantled the tracks, and then dismantled his foam alphabet mat. We enjoyed reading his Touch and Feel Farm Animal book (he said "dog" when he petted the dog), and then we had supper. He kept waving his arms and smiling at us and telling us things like "ah ah ah ah". Then, before we knew it, it was bedtime, and he went right to sleep. Time flies when we're spending it playing with him. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

babycamp part 2

Day 3

He didn't sleep through the night last night either. He did sleep through dinner (miraculous), but again at 3 am he had to cry for a bit. It would have been a shorter bit if I had managed to find the pacifier, but it was dark, we were in a tent, it was wrapped up in my bed sheet from where I fumbled around trying to get to him when he started crying. It was 3 am. Not my peak performance time by any means. He apparently decided it was time to even the score, and cried loud and long enough to wake Chloe up, and I'm sure that everyone in St. Andrews Lagoon Campground in sites 1 through 75 heard their choir of unhappiness. All told, they settled down quickly enough, especially once I plugged in his pacifier and she heard that he wasn't unhappy anymore. We noted that they were not the only two babies that cried in camp last night. There was a family nearby with what must have been 12 little ones with them. It was probably only 8 or so, but they were never still long enough for me to even attempt to count, and by the time I saw that there were definitely more than 5, I was already questioning the sanity of our fellow campers. They brought a herd. I'm not sure exactly how many toddlers constitute a herd, but they certainly qualified. There was also a gaggle of 12 and 13 year old girls that took possession of the bathhouse, so we were suitably intimidated. I know, deep in my mind and heart, that Hell is full of (and run by) 13 year old girls. Not that they are bad and get sent to Hell, mind you, they're in their version of Heaven, all together with all the time in eternity to talk about all the crap that 13 year old girls talk about. This is what makes it Hell for everyone who is sent there. I know what I'm talking about. I WAS a 13 year old girl at one time (nearly 20 years ago) and I could barely stand myself.

We left camp earlier than we planned to. Does this ever happen? We were up, it was getting hot and humid, and we were sick of sand. Seemed prudent to pack up and head out, so we did. We took even longer getting home than we did getting down to Florida. Several of my family members live in Dothan, and we thought (correctly) that they would enjoy a visit from Dennis. He showed off his increasingly proficient walking and talking skills and performed general acts of extreme cuteness. He learned some new words this weekend, "bird" and "beach". He is steadily working his way through the B section of the dictionary. I know he knows other letter sounds, but B words are his favorite.

He watched the Jungle Book on the way north tonight. I was never going to be one of those mothers who let her child watch DVDs in the car. I caved. It's wonderful for long trips, and here's why. He's one. He can't play the alphabet game or punch buggy or road bingo. He can't identify license plates or play "cow". He gets bored, and I can only sing for a half hour or so. I'd rather him not sleep the whole trip away, because then we'd all be up all night. So he got to watch a DVD, and all of us were happy. He watched it in increments, because we stopped to let him walk around and play, and sometimes he was just enjoying looking out the window. For the other hours, the ones where he screeched in boredom, he got to watch Baloo and learn the Bear Necessities of Life. Good stuff.

We had an exciting half hour in Montgomery when the car overheated, but Daddy saved the day, as usual. We apparently have developed a radiator leak or coolant system leak, but David was able to stop safely on the side of the road (conveniently across the street from an auto parts store, so we know God was looking out for us) and let it cool down and add coolant and stop-leak. It worked. No trouble at all on the way north after that, and he'll take the car in for repair if he can't find the leak himself. He and I both felt horrible that we were nearly stranded with a baby (like we were letting him down somehow), but we feel so blessed that it worked out the way it did. Dennis enjoyed the break, sitting up front with me and pressing all the buttons on the air conditioning system while the car was off. And then we took him to a new Cracker Barrel, so all was happy and good. He was radiating adorableness in Cracker Barrel, so much so that waitresses and other diners (MANY of them) stopped by our table to comment on how cute he is, and how great it was to hear his laughter while they were eating. He was such a hit there, and was so proud of himself, that we actually considered maybe eating there again next Sunday night just to see if the magic was still there.

He's in bed now, sacked out hard, and I already miss the closeness of the tent. I'm happy to be on a bed that's not on the ground, but he's in his room, and I can't just look over and watch him sleep or listen to those sweet little baby night noises that he hardly ever makes anymore. Separation anxiety. They warned me about it, but I thought it was going to cause Dennis angst, not me! Already I am thinking ahead to our next vacation. He loves to travel, loves to see and experience new things, and I love experiencing things through his joyful point of view. He is one much loved and much appreciated little guy.

babycamp part 1

Day 2
It hasn’t been as heinous as we expected. We spent a long time getting here yesterday, stopping to say goodbye to Gran and Pop, stopping by the lake house for something we forgot, shopping for last minute necessities at Wal-Mart, stopping at Sike’s and Kohn’s mall for baby Teva sandals, checking out the Florida welcome center, and then getting stopped by every other red light in Panama City. We had hopes of setting up camp while it was still daylight, but we had no such luck. Fortunately, Dave and Ellen and Chloe arrived before we did, and Dave rigged a super light from a tree in our campsite. Setting up was easy, and we had a FABULOUS seafood dinner at Montego Bay restaurant. Dennis and Chloe were pinnacles of baby cuteness at dinner, totally charming our waitress (and, by the way, the most kid-friendly waitress we’ve ever had the pleasure of tipping—babies’ food came out first and quickly, and she brought crackers for them to share before the food came without us even asking). Dennis offered Chloe his crackers a number of times, and sometimes she took one. Sometimes it was pre-tasted, sometimes it was a fresh cracker. They tried to get each others’ sippy cups. They shared their dinners, hers was fish, and his was grilled cheese, and both babies liked everything. They were happy and sweet and talkative (and grabby).

After dinner we retreated to camp while Chloe and family shopped at Wal-Mart. We turned in and Dennis and David went to sleep pretty easily. I had difficulty because some campers in the site next to ours arrived after midnight and set up. David and I each got 4 hours of sleep, but they were a different 4 hours (him: 12am to 4am, me: 2am to 6am). Dennis slept from 11 to 6, with one wake up at 3am where it occurred to him that he was not in his crib, not in his room, and not even in his home state, so he cried for 2 minutes. I picked him up to comfort him and he pretty much went limp in my arms as he fell back to sleep. He woke up all happy and adorable this morning, smiling through his breakfast, waving at the other campers on his morning wagon ride… We met his godmother for breakfast at Mike’s Diner (another FABULOUS eatery) and then shopped for a screen house to set up at our campsite, sort of like a big 10 X 15 baby kennel. Worked great! Babies were contained. The sand, however, was not. We spent the day hot and dirty, trying another wagon ride to get a breeze going, and eventually deciding to swim in the lagoon. Water temp was nice, water grossness factor was not so nice. Dennis loved floating in his baby float, though, and it was hard to get him out of the water long enough to walk to the Gulf beach side. Chloe napped through the lagoon. If you asked her, she would deny that she was ever there. She woke up when we hit the beach, though, and she and Dennis had the best time playing in the sand, digging in it, crawling through it, licking the sand toys, ‘helping’ their daddies make castles. Then we took a dip in the considerably colder water, and Dennis had reached his limit. It was too cold to sit in the float, but it was perfectly fine for us to occasionally bend down and hold him out where he could reach out and pat and splash the water (convenient for him, backbreaking for us). We followed this with more sand playing and a game of pizza Frisbee (Frisbee looks just like a pepperoni pizza), then a rinse, back to camp, and (YES!) showers. Dennis sacked out before he even dried out (but after I excavated him from an extremely poopy swim diaper). We tried to wake him to join us for a spaghetti dinner, but he decided to stay asleep even sitting up, so we let him. It was a full, fun day. We break camp and head north tomorrow, but I’m sure we’ll squeeze in some fun along the way.

Not so much

I didn't get to spend much time with Dennis today. I woke up when I heard talking coming from his room, and I went in to find him sitting happily in his crib and babbling to his room. I think he might have been talking back to the birds he could hear chirping outside. Or he could have been calling aliens. Hard to tell. I brought him back to our room to snuggle (i.e. to wake up Daddy), and he climbed all over us and pretty much forced us to get up. He was in a sunny mood this morning, and I love when he wakes up happy.

We played and danced for an hour or so, and then I had to go to work, and I worked 13 hours today to try to make up time I missed by leaving early Sunday. It was an easy day at work, just long. David tells me that Dennis had a good day as well, playing in his Grandma's lake cabin. Dennis even left me a voicemail message today, and it made my day. I suspect he had help dialing, but I can't be positive. He once called his Gran by pressing the redial button on his Daddy's phone, and we didn't know he had done it. She called back to see why we had called her, and we admitted that we didn't, but that Dennis apparently did. She was very pleased that Dennis was already calling her.

He visited all his grandparents today. At his Grandma's house, he emptied a couple of cabinets, and now those cabinets are his toy cabinets. He apparently enjoyed putting in and taking his toys out of them. And he had a short visit with Gran and Pop on his way home, where he redecorated his room before bed. David warned me that going in to check on him tonight would be hazardous, and he's right. There was toy carnage everywhere. I can't wait until he has Legos.

Tomorrow night we will be camping. Internet access prospects probably not so good, so there may not be a Dennis update for a couple of days. On the other hand, we might have to sneak off to civilization (for ice cream), and in this case, I will update. I am excited and a bit apprehensive about the trip. I know he will love the togetherness, and playing in the sand. I don't know how well we'll do all in the same tent, since I am one of those middle of the night bathroom go-ers, and won't be able to do this without a lot of zipper noise and flashlight beaming (to get out of the tent and get to the bathhouse). He is not a heavy sleeper. He'll be in his pod tent inside our tent, though, and maybe my bladder will be strong, so it could be fine. We'll find out soon enough. At any rate, we will be a little older, a little wiser, and a little more enriched after this weekend!

Blabbermouth

Dennis talked nonstop today. He started in at breakfast, commenting on the speed with which I brought food to the high chair. He ate some applesauce and cereal, and some flavored rice puffs. About halfway through the food, he decided he was finished and threw a puff onto the floor and yelled out something that sounded like "haaa eeeeee". Then he looked intently at the entrance to the kitchen. He yelled it again. I looked behind me, didn't see anything, and then I realized what he was doing. I yelled out "Honey", he repeated it "ha eeee", and our golden retriever, Honey, came running into the kitchen to eat what he'd dropped.

We had a van picnic for lunch today, as in, we met Gran at the gas station to get fried chicken, and we ate it sitting in her van while it was parked at the gas station. Dennis sat in a regular seat with a lap belt over him while we ate, and he must have felt like a grownup to be out of his carseat for a bit. Sounds strange, but one of the gas stations in town has the best fried chicken and potato wedges of anywhere around. Is it a southern thing, gas station fried chicken? Good stuff, at any rate. I also bought some moon pies (yes, southern, I know, but I didn't get an RC). Dennis had a corn dog. I handed him part of the hot dog from inside the corndog, and he said "hot hot". It was actually not hot, so I'm presuming that's dennispeak for hot dog. Cute.

We bought a new carseat for Gran's van today, and he waited not patiently at all while I installed it. He did enjoy the shopping trip to Wal-Mart, though, grabbing spice jars off the shelf and walking exactly where he wanted to walk. He made some new friends this way, and I got a nice tour of the meat cooler section, following him around while he touched the packages of bacon, sausage, and hot hots. Post Wal-Mart, we spent the day at Gran's, where he filed some important papers for Gran (read: transferred from manila folder to floor, for easier reading). We played outside in the garden, checking out the fish pond, waving to the fish and yelling "hey" to them over and over. We loaded some pea gravel in the Tonka dump truck, and unloaded it, and reloaded it, and unloaded it... We went for a wagon ride around the block and then learned how to put the sippy cup back in the cupholder on the high chair after we finished drinking from it. We made brownies, while Dennis cruised the kitchen and said "hey doggie" over and over to Max, Lady, and Sniffles, as he could see them through the storm door. He patted Lady very nicely and chased Tiffany around the house trying to give her equal attention (she was having none of it). He tried to eat and drink from the dog bowls, but we managed to stop him in time and redirect him to open cabinets and grab pots and pans and other assorted items. We opened and closed his plastic Easter eggs, putting them in the bucket and dumping them out repeatedly. We played patty-cake over and over and over, and he's actually starting to clap his own hands instead of trying to clap ours for us. It was a busy day, with an agenda entirely determined by Dennis. I wonder what he has planned for tomorrow.

Happy Earth Day

Dennis and I celebrated Earth Day this year by buying recycled (and recyclable) fabric shopping bags (and using them) and changing out a few more lightbulbs with compact fluorescents. And we talked about how many diapers he's contributing to the landfill, but he thinks that's ok because he's saving so much energy by not running the washer and dryer constantly. Oh, and he wore a cute t-shirt that features a large planet Earth and the words Earth Friendly, though I cannot possibly imagine who thinks that babies are earth friendly. And we saved gas today by bumming a ride to Birmingham with Gran. Our dogs got into the trash today and ate some--I think that qualifies as recycling.

We took him shopping for pretty much the whole day. Gran was looking for a stroller to keep with her since the one I use is too short for her to walk comfortably pushing it. It's real work finding the perfect stroller. We put Dennis in many strollers to test them. We had to find one that was lightweight, had a reclining seat, had a decent sunshade, had storage underneath, was easy to fold, was easy to push, and had non-stainable fabric that was light enough in weave to be suitable for hot weather. We bought one and then found one at a different store that was even better, so we had to backtrack to make the return. The one she ended up with met all those criteria plus had 2 cupholders and an ipod dock and speaker. And it's red. Very cool. Dennis slept all the way through a Target shopping trip in it, and he had enough room to sleep with his elbows out and his hands behind his head. I think it's a winner.

He said "juice" today, and "booger" again, and when his Gran asked him if he was done drinking, he said "uh-huh". We went and visited Pop at work today, and when we drove away from his work, Dennis said "bye Pop" repeatedly. When he spoke to his Daddy on the phone tonight, he said "hey Daddy". Mostly his acts of brilliance today were physical. He pushed the shopping cart around some, and he walked all over the place in the stores. He found a toy he liked and grabbed it and headed for the nearest shopping cart which actually belonged to someone else. He was undaunted. He picked the toy back up and walked with it straight toward the cash registers at the front of the store. He found a rocking chair he liked at one store and sat back in it and kicked off a shoe, then leaned forward and back to rock it a little (he's just learning how to do this), giggling the whole time. He managed to get out of the chair, and when I went to scoop him up to put him in the stroller, he escaped and went back to the rocking chair and climbed up in it. It was a nice chair, and in retrospect I wish I had purchased it for him, if only because it was the longest I'd ever seen him sit still in a chair. Tonight when we got home, he was demonstrating his walking skills for Pop, and Pop was surprised at how fast he's gotten.
He actually almost got away from us earlier today when he walked under a set of shelves to get to the next aisle. Fortunately he was so impressed with himself for this feat that he wasn't paying attention to me coming around to head him off when he got to the next aisle, and I was able to catch him before he ran somewhere else. I'd better be starting my diet soon so I won't lose him in those hamster tubes that serve as playgrounds at certain fast food places around here.

Lots of giggling today, and that's my favorite thing, hands down. He was helping us shop for pocket shirts for Pop, shirts that are increasingly hard to find, but Pop has to have that pocket for his pen and notebook. I think it'd be simpler to get him a purse. At any rate, Dennis had a big time grabbing all the shirts that he could reach from his stroller. This was a major source of his laughter for the day. He certainly livened up our shopping day. It wouldn't have been near as fun without him. Life in general wouldn't be near as fun without him.

That's the kicker

The first time Dennis kicked me (and I actually felt it) was just after his godfather had given me some Mozart cds to play for him in utero, shortly after I loaded the first one in the car cd player and it started to play. He wasn't much for major kicking episodes during the pregnancy. He was more of a whole-body-repositioning-flop kind of baby, and when we watched my stomach as I lay flat in bed at night, we could watch large portions of baby moving under my oh-so-stretched skin. We would guess at what we were seeing: that was a foot, or an elbow, and that big thing must have been a head or a butt... He would only kick me when I turned onto my left side (the side that the baby books and doctors tell you it is best to sleep on, for purposes of circulation and reduced workload on the heart, etc.). He HATED when I tried to sleep on the left side and would vigorously kick at the bed (through my stomach) until I rolled over onto my right side. I barely remember what those kicks felt like.

Until last night, when I brought him into bed with us because I heard him in his room coughing, and I was worried about him. We called my work (a 24 hour pharmacy) to get the correctly calculated yellow triaminic dose for his age and weight while he looked at the bottle and oral syringe and cried at us to hurry up and give him the medicine. (mostly it was loud "hhhhmmmmmmmm"s) He LOVES medicine. Scary, I know, but I think many babies do because kids' meds are so sugary. Heck, I might like taking antibiotics again if someone would prescribe that bubblegum flavored pink liquid amoxicillin for me. That stuff was great! At any rate, we underdosed to be on the safe side, and laid him between us with his head propped up to allow sinus drainage. This lasted about 3 minutes. He rolled over and laid across my neck, then he rolled over and flopped on his daddy, then he came back and rested his head against the portions of my face that I needed to use to breathe. When he finally got comfortable, he was perpendicular to us with his feet against my left side, alternating between kicking me and tickling my side with his toes. Deja vu. Only this time I was being kicked from the outside. And the feet are considerably bigger these days. He went back to his own room after an hour. He always does and always sleeps better. It doesn't comfort him to be in bed with us, it comforts me. And then it makes me REALLY uncomfortable, and he goes back to his crib. He never cries--he just stretches out as if he's thinking 'FINALLY! My own bed!'. You'd think I'd learn.

This was a tough day for Dennis. He woke up whiny, which is certainly not the norm for him. He whined when we put him in the high chair, whined when we handed him his cup of milk, and whined while David opened up the applesauce. He whined between applesauce bites and through his diaper change and while getting dressed. He whined when I left to go to work (I whined some too). David reported that he was a bit whiny for most of the day. I have a few theories. One--he's coming down with the cold that I have, and he didn't sleep well last night, and he didn't feel good. Two--those molars that I saw peeking through when we were at the doctor's office and she shined that light in his mouth have decided to move on through, and he didn't feel good. Three--he's a baby, and he felt like being whiny today. Could be any of the above. Tomorrow I don't work (hooray!) so I can spend the whole day with him. Maybe, hopefully, perhaps, (please!) he'll be in a better mood.

Chocolate croissant

Today was one of those rare Sundays when I had to work, so David took Dennis to church this morning without my help. We don't take Dennis to the church nursery yet. He went once, and he did well, but we kept him with us for the duration of cold and flu season, rather than put him in with the other *germy* little children. And now we like having him in the service with us, for the most part. He apparently did well this morning, walking to and fro in front of the pew, playing with the shiny buttons dangling from the jacketed arm of the man sitting in the pew in front of him, and flirting shamelessly with the women sitting behind him. He didn't even eat an offering envelope today, but he did manage to mangle one beyond recognition with those busy little hands.

I begged off early from my shift today so I could go home and blow my nose in peace without watching all my coworkers bathing in hand sanitizer every time I coughed and liberally lysol-ing the phone and keyboard when I walked away (though I do appreciate the necessity of such, I wish it had happened BEFORE I caught the cold that was going around there). I met David and Dennis and accompanied them on an errand to the lake, where I watched Dennis walk around and around and around the room, checking the cabinets periodically to see if maybe THIS time one of the child proof latches had failed. So far, so good. He watched his grandmothers and his daddy go out on a boat (he said "boat" and "bye-bye") and come back. We took his diaper off to change him, let him walk around for a minute naked, and he went and peed on the floor. Again. While holding a book in his hands. (just for the record, the book was Winnie the Pooh, and it managed to stay dry) So we're tossing around the idea of buying one of those seats that goes over the toilet and letting him sit there for a minute after we take his diaper off, just to see what happens. He may not be interested, but the doctor said he might potty train early since he's so gung ho about peeing on the floor whenever his diaper comes off. I wonder if he'd pee sitting down, as so far he's always been standing. I could buy him a potty to go on the floor, but how much aim could a 13 month old possibly have? I know he's just starting to understand about body functions, but earlier he brought me a diaper and sat down in front of me, clearly asking for a change. I plan to wait until he's completely ready before attempting potty training, but I do wonder if these are signs that it might not be the nightmare I fear it will be.

Dennis had a nice time visiting with his grandmothers at the lake house today. Both Gran and Grandma shared their chocolate croissants with him while he stood on their feet and begged pretty much like our golden retriever would. He LOVES chocolate croissants. Or chocolate turnovers, they're called. They come from Arby's, and they're delicious and flaky enough to make the kind of mess on the floor that babies and dogs love. Speaking of mess on the floor--we were pretty sure Dennis might have eaten roach parts today, but it turns out (after 3 people examined his mouth) that what he picked up and munched on was a piece of bread that he had 'stored' on the floor under the table about 10 minutes before. We don't have roaches at home, thank goodness, but I'm sure if he saw one he'd be curious enough to try and taste it. They should make mouth guards for babies. Oh, wait, they do! Pacifiers!

I'm starting to see streaks of independence. He didn't want me to hold the Capri Sun packet while he drank from the straw, but if I gave it to him, he immediately turned it up. Not what you should do if you're drinking from a straw, but he pitched a big fit when I took it back. And when he finished it, he was furious at me for taking it away and throwing it in the trash can. I had to let him walk around holding a ceramic coaster tonight because he insisted. He wasn't hurting it, and he eventually put it down in favor of something else. And he cried when we tried to take it away, pitifully, like it was his favorite toy ever. This is only the beginning, I just know it. He's starting to have his own opinion about things, and he's putting us on notice. This year might be even more interesting than the first one! I can't wait to see what comes next. (not sarcasm--I really can't wait)

Home front

Not much to report today--I am sick, sick, sick! Dennis is a little congested, but not feverish. He did sleep very late this morning. At 10:00 I asked David if he'd heard anything yet, and we went in to check on him. He was just sleeping late, maybe fighting whatever bug gave him fever. He woke up happy, fortunately, but he was a bit pitiful today, needing lots of hugs and several long naps. The doctor told us to feed him a diet heavy in starchy foods for the weekend, so he couldn't be happier about mealtime. He discovered cheddar cheese rice cakes today, which he quite liked. They could hardly hold a candle to the french fries and rice and bread and pasta that he also consumed, though. I am so glad he takes a multivitamin!

I cleaned his room today, and he followed me around wringing his little hands and wondering where all his toys were going. He had them arranged just like he likes them, strewn about the floor. He didn't immediately pull all the Audobon birds off the shelf, as usual. Instead he brought them to me, one at a time, so I could identify them and play the bird call for him. He has a goldfinch, a red headed woodpecker, a great horned owl, a red tailed hawk, a chickadee, a cardinal, and a northern flicker (also known as a yellowhammer, which happens to be our state bird, a fact I did not realize when I purchased it). We buy him one whenever we are in a park gift shop that carries them. Anyway, his room looks much better, and when he went to sleep tonight, there was only one toy back on the floor. We did play with his blocks today, and he delighted in knocking over whatever structure I built. He actually stacked two of them up for a moment before coming to his senses and demolishing as usual.

I heard several new syllables today, not sure I could repeat them as they couldn't be classified as English (barely even Earthspeak), but it sounds like he's trying to carry on conversations. Very cute. I can't wait to hear what he tells me tomorrow.

All Clear

We just tucked Dennis in for the evening. He sacked out earlier, and we let him sleep in his clothes. I just got home from work, and I usually visit him for a few minutes when I get in. I don't know if I'm starting a bad habit in waking him, but I like saying goodnight to him. We changed his diaper, put his pj's on, and I read him his bed time story (tonight: How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?). He went right down with no complaint, as usual. I don't know how long that will last, the going to bed without complaint, but it's wonderful! He does cry at naptime for a minute or two, but then he settles right in! Maybe he'll take after his Daddy, who can sleep anywhere, rather than insomniac Mommy, who hates going to sleep (but hates getting up even more).

We had to visit the pediatrician today. We were scheduled to go on Monday for a follow-up on his ear infection, which bested 2 rounds of antibiotics. He has had fever the past 2 days, and we thought we might as well go in and get him checked, since he was kind enough to actually get sick during doctor's office hours. It was a good visit--his ears are 100% clear, which means no tubes (a relief). That 3rd round of meds must have worked, but it wreaked havoc on his digestive tract, something we are just beginning to get over. His blood test revealed no sign of infection, so his fever is viral in nature. And I came down with a cold today, so I suppose that's what he has. So far he's only had fever, not major congestion or cough or anything (I, however, have all of the above, and I've washed and sanitized my hands so much that the top layer of skin is coming off). We might be in for a long weekend. Or we might be fine. Time will tell. We're just happy his ears are all clear now. He's only had one ear infection, but it was a stubborn one.

We're gearing up for Dennis's first camping trip next weekend, at a state park near the beach. His best baby buddy is coming along as well (and her parents, of course). I hope he'll enjoy camping. He does nap in a tent a good bit of the time, as he has a Pea Pod baby tent that David takes with him to work, and we plan to put it in our tent when we camp. (He tolerates the Pea Pod so much better than a Pack n' Play, and we're not entirely sure why.) His tent has a nice air mattress that zips into the bottom, and I plan to spend the week trying to locate an air mattress for Mommy and Daddy's tent! We like to be comfortable too.

Little Einstein

Today was a brain breakthrough day--every time I turned around he was doing something amazing. I woke up when I heard him saying 'uh-oh' in his crib. He actually says it "uh-uh-oh" or "uh-uh". We got up and played, as usual. I noticed that he was arranging his foam blocks by color. He picked them up, studied them, and then placed the red ones together. He started on the blue ones but got distracted and moved to something else. Soon after that I saw him pick up a toy starfish and a star bath toy, notice that they were shaped the same, and start to match up the points by placing them side by side.

After that, he walked over to his giraffe ball sorter toy, pressed the button for music, and started tapping out the beat with his hand on the giraffe's head. He pressed the button again and again, and the last time, walked away from the giraffe and 'danced' to the music. His dancing is a sort of swaying while flapping his arms up and down. I suppose you could call it the baby funky chicken dance. We don't have high hopes for him ever appearing on Dancing With the Stars, because he inherited absolutely NO genetic material that has anything to do with dancing. David and I find it difficult enough to walk upright most days without stumbling or bumping into something.

We headed to Gran's house where he said "dog" when he saw Max as we walked up. Once inside, he greeted his Gran, then walked straight to the dog food bowl (ok, so he's not a supergenius--or maybe it was some brilliant science project on taste testing or crunch factor?). He started to walk around and pick up various objects (measuring cup, pen, etc.) and hold them up and say "diss?", which we interpreted to mean "what's this?". We named the objects for him, and some names he repeated.

At lunch, he gestured to the things he wanted very clearly, and imitated the way I played with his kid's meal toy. It's as if he aged several months overnight! I love watching his mind engage, and I love how he smiles so big when he figures something out. I remember before he was born feeling overwhelmed by the number of things I would have to teach him, and I still feel that way sometimes, but he's learning so quickly. It's an awesome privilege and a great blessing to get to watch him grow and learn.

Klingon

Dennis was clingy today, as sometimes happens when I go to work after spending a day with him. He loves his Daddy, of course, and needed lots of attention today. I think it's good that we both get to spend so much time with him, sharing the care, but it's so hard to leave him when I have to! He was basically happy, he just wanted David very close by all day. Some days he's more independent, but today wasn't one of those days.

The newest milestone we're watching for: knowing Mommy and Daddy and using their names discriminately. He certainly knows Daddy, and says Daddy whenever he sees David. He rarely says Mama, although he used to say it a good bit. We think he can tell who's who, because when we ask him "Where's Daddy?", he will look at David and he does the same for me. And this morning, he marched across the bed, fell into my arms, looked me straight in the eye, smiled hugely, and said Mama. Naturally, I'll be buying him a car next week...

I had hoped he wouldn't learn to screech, but I'm pretty sure I heard him doing so this evening in the background when I was on the phone with David. It was a gleeful screech (well, several gleeful screeches), but loud. Everyone told me it was inevitable, and they were right. He was extremely tickled over something, and I heard maniacal giggling and screeching. Wonder how long before he does it in church...

Speaking of church, he does tend to offer commentary during the sermon. We are trying to teach him to say "amen", which would be more acceptable than some of his other words (for example, "booger", which is a new favorite). And if a sermon was getting a little long, a nice round of amens from Dennis might speed things along. Who knows? He certainly likes church, especially the singing and the tasty offering envelopes and the big hymnals with all the great pages to flip and the opportunity to break loose and crawl under the pew to go visiting. It's amazing that we actually manage to worship, but we do. Happily so.

Day of Bay

The word of the day was "bay". I don't know what he was referring to, but he said it often. He also said 'open' and 'doggy', and this morning surprised me with 'caterpillar' when his dad was inching his Hungry Little Caterpillar toy along the floor. An actual word in context. Without prompting. Those are still unexpected at this age, except for 'ball', which he gets every time.

His primary activity today was opening and closing doors. Room doors, cabinet doors, curtained doors... all of them fair game. He seems to instinctively know how not to smash his fingers. He's learning to get off a bed or sofa by turning around backwards and lowering himself down. And he's learned to hold on to a doorframe to help himself over a threshold or up and down one step to get into a different room. I never realized how much there is to learn about mobility.

He turned 13 months old yesterday, and last night while he was sacked out on the couch with his dad, I looked over at him and still couldn't believe that I actually have a child. It's a little thrill every time I see him.

He walks like a pro, and he constantly amazes me with the speed in which he does so. Tonight his gran and I turned our heads for a moment, and he headed straight for the toilet. We intercepted, and washed his hands, and just minutes later repeated the process. I hope he's this fascinated with toilets when it's time to potty train!

I love that he's such a good sport. We took him shopping for hours, moved his carseat from vehicle to vehicle and put him right back in, drove him to the lake and back, and he was so sweet about it. I feel so blessed to have such a good-natured son. I wonder if I'm naive, that all little ones are sweet at this stage. Will he still be this way at age 2? We can hope!