playing with my cars

I awoke this morning (way too early) to the sound of a little voice calling "hellooooo" over and over. I don't know if he was calling me, his Daddy, the dog, aliens... But I'm the one who responded, and as soon as I walked in the door, he said "Hey. Car." And then he pointed to his car. He wanted to get up so he could ride in his car. Since it was STILL DARK OUTSIDE, I changed his diaper, kissed him, and put him back in the crib. He cried two measly little cries and then fell back asleep. He didn't wake up again until almost 9:45! This time he woke up saying "EAT EAT!", and we went in there and got him up and fed him breakfast. He dawdled over breakfast (and so did we) so long that we didn't make it to church this morning. After breakfast, he got to play with his cars, which he happily did for an hour or so. He climbed in the Little Tikes car and backed it all over the room and then climbed back out and rolled his Hot Wheels and Mega Blocks cars down the ramp his Daddy helped him build. I think he could roll cars down that ramp all day if given the opportunity. He loves it, and he says "yaaaayy" when they roll down. He is only 1, though, and sometimes the poor cars skid all the way down the mountain on their sides instead of on their wheels. Still working on those fine motor skills...

Speaking of wheels, we had a lesson about them this morning. I identified the wheels on his toy cars and then on his big car and showed them how they spin around. He touched each wheel and spun it himself, then said something that sounded very close to the word wheel. Gosh he loves cars. And trucks, too, as he let me know when he saw one on a poster today, pointing vigorously and saying "truck, truck". It sounds a little more like "kwuck", but we know what he means.

He helped us grocery shop today, and he was very very sweet. We let him ride the little automated put-2-quarters-in-it-and-sit-in-it-while-it-rocks-and-goes-nowhere car in the arcade after we were done. He liked it okay, but really preferred the actual sit-in video games. He climbed up in the seats and steered for all he was worth. His favorite was the 18-wheeler type game because it had the biggest steering wheel. He had to stand up to steer, which he thought was hilarious and he giggled the whole time.

We had dinner at the lake with Gran and Pop and Becky and Bob, and we enjoyed ribs and Boston butt, peas, rice, potatoes, rolls, carrots, and German chocolate cake. Dennis ate himself silly again and was in such a good mood after dinner that we just enjoyed watching him. Gran and I took a short boat ride and returned to play with Dennis. He kept putting our shoes on our feet for us, and after a while started marching around the room and saying "bye bye" and waving. We got the hint and packed him up and brought him home. He stayed awake for the long car ride back and joyfully headed for his cars as soon as we got him into the house and into his room. We let him play for just a second before getting him ready for bed, and he went right to sleep. I suppose I should find pajamas with cars on them so he'd get excited about putting them on. Today he wore his overalls that have the blue and white stripe pattern like a train engineer's. He chose them because he wanted to wear his engineer cap and was pleased to see that the overalls matched. He looks good in overalls, just like an all-American little boy, and the hat was just too much cuteness. He mostly liked putting it on and removing it, so I didn't manage to snap a photo while it was on his head. I did catch him playing with his cars, though...

What I forgot to mention yesterday: We ate lunch at Shoney's and our waitress/server/whatever came by to refill our drinks, and she picked up first my glass to fill it and then David's. Dennis watched with big eyes while she took our glasses, and he stealthily but quickly grabbed his sippy cup and hugged it to his chest while warily watching the waitress. We assured him that she wasn't going to take away his juice, but he wouldn't let go of the cup until she was well out of sight. He didn't even take a drink from it until he was sure she was gone, and even then it was a while before he put it back down on the table!

Pretty soon it will be time to go in and check on him and put the little blanket over his legs while he sleeps (my favorite nighttime activity). He doesn't look at all like a baby anymore except when he sleeps. It's then that you really notice the sweet curve of his cheek and those long, long eyelashes resting on it. He sleeps hard and every night in a different position so I never know what to expect when I go in. He doesn't often sleep with his little butt in the air these days, but sometimes he still does and it always makes me smile. I can't imagine how that's comfortable, but he must think it is! I love going in there and watching him sleep. He's so peaceful and happy, and some nights I can hear him laughing in his sleep. Watching him just makes my heart fill up with love for him. I still can't believe I'm a mom sometimes, but sometimes I can barely remember life before. I wouldn't have it any other way now.

feed me constantly

Supper tonight was a real treat--homemade spaghetti and meatballs, chocolate drizzled pretzels, rice pudding... Bob worked hard to cook some incredibly delicious food, and he may be sorry he let us know that he could cook so well! The dinner company was nice as well, with Becky (Grandma) and Bob hosting us at the lake house and we were joined by Gran & Pop and David's Uncle Kenny and Aunt Wanda. The weather outside was stark humid misery, so we all squeezed in and ate in the nice air conditioned cabin. Dennis was in a state of food-induced bliss for much of the evening. He loves spaghetti and the mess it creates, and this was exceptionally delicious spaghetti, and he ate 3 baby helpings of it. Then he enjoyed rice pudding and pretzel cookies and garlic bread, as much of it as he could coerce from the other diners.

He really performed for us tonight. He laughed and talked to us while in constant motion. He opened the cabinets and pulled out the tupperware canisters, which he set in a line on the floor. Then he took turns sitting on each canister, plopping down and staying for a few seconds before moving on to the next canister, like musical chairs except that it didn't ever stop. Bob taught him how to walk in Grandma's shoes, but he only managed to master walking with one of her shoes on at a time. He would take a step with his bare foot then drag the shod foot forward to meet it. For some reason, the height of entertainment for him tonight was to push the kid-sized plastic outdoor chair back and forth and all around the cabin, which he did for at least 20 minutes while we all watched. The height of hilarity for us was when Dennis opened the bathroom door while his Grandma was in there, knowing he wasn't supposed to open it and giggling maniacally the whole time. He also learned to open the refrigerator all by himself, a skill I was hoping wouldn't manifest itself for a long time yet.

He was certainly in party mode all day long, and I'll bet he sleeps extra hard tonight. Having been fed so well, I'll be we all sleep extra good tonight!

My Great-Granddaddy rocks!

Dennis had a lot of fun today, just as I had hoped he would. We met up with Gran and Pop and went to shop for some shoes for Pop. Dennis had the run of the sporting goods store, running all around and checking out everything. We rode up and down the escalators over and over while Pop debated the merits of the Merrells he eventually decided to purchase (2 pairs!). We played with basketballs and volleyballs and several single shoes and then had a tantrum when it was time to get back in the stroller. To distract him, I presented my cell phone (which I have already damaged all by myself so didn't much worry about what he'd do to it) and he quieted right down and tried to call China to get the final tallies on the Olympics. At least that's what I think he was doing, punching in all those numbers before hitting the green send button.

After shoe shopping and snacking, we visited with Pop's parents at their house, and we had such a good time there. Granddaddy is 94 years old, and just a minute after we arrived, he was sitting down on the floor and playing with Dennis and his new toy car. I can't believe he can still get up and down so easily! When Dennis had exhausted himself of his new car and mega-blocks set, he found all the remote controls and pushed some buttons on the DVD player then sorted some magazines, a pencil, and a stapler on the coffee table. He sorted them right onto the floor! He did, to my amazement, grab the pencil and scribble on a piece of paper that was handy. I don't know if he's even seen a pencil before but he certainly knew what to do with it. Bright little guy.

The most fun he had was running around in the backyard in the nicest, thickest, greenest grass he's ever set foot on. Granddaddy went in and got a basketball and football to play ball with Dennis, and Dennis had so much fun kicking and dropping and fetching and rolling the balls and equally as much fun ignoring them so that he could check out the beautiful flowers, the windchimes, and the bird feeder. He was beyond exhausted but cried when we went back inside. We said our goodbyes and hoped he'd nap in the car. Since he didn't, we went to the Whole Foods market and loaded up on food and diapers and recycled products for the house. He enjoyed driving around the little car on the front of the shopping cart, taking his shoes off and trying to put them back on while driving. Maybe he's been watching us a little too closely in the car! Granted, I might take off my shoes, but they are always slip on backless clogs or sandals, and I have never to my knowledge bent all the way over headfirst to bite my shoe while I was driving down the road. So maybe it wasn't imitation after all.

We met up with Daddy after he went and saw a movie and the three of us went to eat at Chick-Fil-A. Dennis enjoyed the indoor playground, and David and I have now climbed to the very top of the hamster tubes because Dennis wanted us to. Scary for us, fun for him, but at least we know now that those things will really hold some weight. Not that we were in them at the same time, but still being high up in a plastic tube is unnerving when you are a full sized (and then some) adult. Dennis giggled all the way down the slide both times, and I am hopeful that in a couple of months he will be able to navigate this structure without our assistance. It was a LATE night for him, but he did manage to squeeze in a whole bunch of fun to make up for being somewhat confined with us all week at the job site. It's going to be a great weekend at the lake, I just know it!

getting the job done

We left the house after midnight, but we have finished our work on it. Dennis wasn't as happy to be there today, but he was still very good. He was tired of being in the play pen, so I let him out to wander for a while. He liked that the house has a circular route from the kitchen to dining room to living room to foyer to den to kitchen, and he walked the circle many times. I was sitting in the living room and I could hear him giggling from the den as he came into the kitchen and prepared to 'sneak' up on me in the living room.

Another reason he enjoyed the freedom to walk the circle: Daddy's tool box was in the den. On the first go round, he brought a screwdriver with him. Gran had stopped by and was sitting on the floor in the living room with me, and she grabbed it from him. On the next pass, he brought a hammer. I am amazed that he didn't hurt himself with it. He dropped it but missed his little toes, thank goodness. He picked it right back up (though it was half his height), and I was too worn out to chase him, so I said "Take that to Daddy." I heard David groan when Dennis got to him, and then I heard the sounds of tools being put away.

He wanted to help us today. David had to install a fireplace mantle, and Dennis walked into the den and found the mantle on the floor, face down, ready for David to work on it. Dennis circled it and tried to climb on it first, then grabbed a toy car and rolled it around on the mantle. He abandoned the car on the back of the mantle when he found a chisel, which he picked up and waved around then applied to the mantle. The pictures show him with the chisel. He left the car on the mantle, and I decided to leave it there too, so that David could find it when he came back in to work on the fireplace. It was a statement for sure, one that said "Dennis was here."

He also tried to help when David was grouting the tile he installed in the shower. By helping, I mean that he stepped right in the grout and then walked on the marble a couple of steps, leaving Dennis toe grout prints in his wake. David trapped his foot and held it up for me to wipe, but it was more than a paper towel kind of job. I had to hold his leg over the sink and run his foot under the faucet to de-grout him completely. He's like a tornado of catastrophe and mess, exactly what you want on a job site. But at least he's fun. He laughed so much today, and I couldn't help but laugh along with him. He also learned to say "ice cream" but I don't want to talk about why he knows it now, because as you know, I never let Dennis eat junk food. Not. He enjoyed that ice cream right along with me this afternoon. He appreciates the finer things in life.

the boy who saved dinner

We were hard at work at the 'job house' today, and Dennis was right there with us, watching me paint. He really has been wonderful about letting us get work done while he watches from his play pen. He has toys in there with him and is content to watch us or an Elmo video. He learned how to say "movie" yesterday and now asks when he wants to watch one. This is probably a hallmark of my bad parenting, but at least his videos are for the most part educational ones. Granted, we did watch The Incredibles, which is not educational but happens to be my very favorite superhero movie.

As long as we kept him fed and 'juiced' and freshly diapered, he was a happy work buddy. He accompanied David to go and get supper tonight, and they arrived at the Winn Dixie deli just as they were closing up shop. I think the deli lady went ahead and gave them food because Dennis is just so cute, even though she'd already put the things away. When she had wrapped up the food and passed it to David, Dennis looked at her and said "thank you" (which, in Dennis speak, sounds like "dake-yuuuuuuu") and she said that made it worth it right there. We never know when he's going to say thank you because it's not always associated with you giving him something. It is maybe 50% of the time, but many times he'll just be walking around the room and saying it to himself. It's one of his more adorable tricks, for sure. And tonight he happened to say it at just the right moment.

When we got home tonight, he grabbed my keys from me and tried to insert the Blazer key into the house doorknob. We'd already unlocked the house, so he didn't get too far in this attempt. He did keep my keys though, all through his diaper change and getting his pajamas on. I had to take them away just before we put him in the crib, but I substituted Froggy and he was just fine about it. He went to sleep instantly, as it was so late when we got home. He'd already been sleeping for nearly 3 hours when we left the job site. We are aiming to finish up the job tomorrow, and because Dennis has been so wonderful, I plan to take him somewhere special on Friday. He deserves a chance to run around and do something really fun.

Ace is the place

Two trips to the Ace hardware store today gave Dennis the opportunity to show off how much he has grown. It's really a small town institution, that store, and the kind folks that work there have been watching Dennis grow up from almost birth. The first 14 months of his life, David took him to work with him every day, and David's work involved many trips to the hardware store. They are always so excited to see Dennis, and the first day he ever walked in the door under his own power was a real milestone that they got to see. Now that I'm David's occasional assistant, I get to go in with them and see every employee take time out to come up and talk to Dennis and try to get a smile from him. It's like he's visiting his fan club, and he does some random act of cuteness just for their benefit whenever he goes in.

This morning, he was wearing brand new overalls with tools embroidered on them. He looked unbelievably adorable, and all the people in the store commented on his outfit. He was so cute that we had to stop by so he could see his Gran (who bought the outfit for him) for just a minute. It's a good thing we did, because he wet the overalls while he was napping, and we had to change him into his Shrek t-shirt and shorts. He was wearing that outfit the second time we visited Ace, and they all noticed that he'd changed. He did some serious shopping, walking around and picking up items and contemplating them before putting them back. My favorite part of the day was watching him walk up and down the aisles, talking to himself very seriously and choosing very carefully a plumbing turn-off valve from one aisle and a 120 watt halogen floodlight bulb from another aisle. I don't know what he had in mind to do with these items, but they were very important to him, and he carried them all over the store. When we were about to leave, I had to put them back, and he got very upset until David handed him the toilet repair kit we'd come there to purchase. He studied it very seriously and barely looked up from 'reading' the directions on the back in time to say "bye bye" to his fan club.

He supervised my work again today, hanging out in his pack and play in the kitchen. He watched a movie when I had to be otherwise occupied in another room, and he played with his shape sorter and some toy cars. He was very very sweet again today, and I have hopes that he will supervise us right into finishing up the house we are working on by the end of the week.

An interesting note: he wore his Teva sandals today, and he grew out of them while I was watching. I am perfectly serious. They fit this morning when we left home, and tonight his toes were hanging over the ends of them. They went straight from his feet to a shipping box to send to Mirella. They were Caedmon's originally, and it will be nice that all 3 kids will have enjoyed them. We already know that they make great Pacific beach shoes--Caedmon and Dennis both used them for this! Thankfully enough, we have the next size up already, also from Caedmon, and we tried them on him tonight and his feet are just now big enough to start wearing them. He has plenty of growing room left, and I know these sandals will take him on as many (or more) adventures as the first pair. He wore them in the lake, at the water park, at the beach, around town, in the sandbox, at the playground, in the sprinkler... I suppose it's more evidence that he's growing up, and I hate that I got a little nostalgic over shoes, but I did. I remember picking out that pair of sandals when Caedmon was a tiny baby, never even thinking that one day my own would be wearing them. And now they are moving on, for Mirella to enjoy.

Maybe tomorrow's post won't have anything to do with feet. But I'm not promising anything.

supervisor

It rained today, so we found some indoor work to keep us busy. We are refurbishing a rental house that wasn't treated too nicely by the last tenants. It happens to be the house I lived in from age 10 to age 18 (and when I came home from college for a few years after that as well), and I have some fond memories of the place. My brother's room old room still has glow in the dark stars painted on the ceiling, and the bathroom we shared still looks much the same as it did, save for a weird kid-themed paint job where the wallpaper used to be. We used to lock each other out of that room so many times... Dennis will not experience that here because we only have one bathroom. And if he locks us out of it, we'll probably just take the door off the hinges. Perhaps we'll add another one in a few years--the house certainly has the space for it.

We took Dennis with us and put him in his dreaded pack and play while we worked. Surprisingly, he didn't cry. He amused himself with a couple of toy matchbox-type cars, driving them up the mesh sides of the play pen and occasionally throwing them over the edge for the thrill of seeing them crash on the ceramic tile floor. None broke, amazingly enough. Yes, he's too young for matchbox cars, but he doesn't know that. He didn't put them in his mouth (much), but instead rolled them around like boys usually do with cars. Must be instinctive.

He finally bored of the cars and spent some time watching me scrub the kitchen cabinets, stove, and floor, inserting commentary when he felt it was necessary. He was my pint-sized job supervisor for quite a while, then decided to entertain himself (and me) with weird physical antics. He flopped down on his back and put his legs in the air and waved them, then brought his feet down as hard as he could to pound his shoes on the bottom of the play pen. It made a fairly satisfying noise, so he giggled and did it a few more times. He rolled around on his back and smashed his face into the mesh and made dinosaur noises for a while, and then he took to trying to eat his shoes while they were still on his feet. I'll say this for him: he never got bored. I was quite amazed. About two hours into the job, Gran and Pop showed up with food, and we took a picnic break. During this time, he figured out how to open the shuttered doors between the dining room and living room, so we blocked them with his diaper bag. Not five minutes later he stood there and studied the situation then moved the diaper bag out of the way, opened the doors, and took off for parts unknown. After we finished eating we put him in the play pen again while Gran gave us the long to-do list for the house, and then they took him with them to the lake and to their house. They played with him in his playroom, fed him supper, and put him to bed. He was sleepy when we picked him up, but happy, and they reported that he had been extra sweet. They don't babysit him often because we're pretty much always around, and he's an easy kid. But he certainly enjoys his time with them and will probably spend more time at their house now that we've set up a baby friendly room for him to play in with lots of room to run around and plenty of climbing opportunities (though some of those climbing toys are actual furniture and not Fisher Price in design...).

He chortled happily while I changed him into his pajamas after we got home, and as always, I played with his feet. Nearly a year and a half after he came out of the womb he still folds up those fat little legs whenever you take his clothes off. I have to un-pretzel him to be able to get his diaper off every night, and I still have not tired of playing with his perfect little feet. Cute little toes, small perfectly shaped feet, toenails that look just like Daddy's... This coming from someone who usually HATES feet and shudders whenever they come near me. Baby feet are precious, though, not that every part of Dennis isn't precious... Some of what comes out of him isn't so wonderful, but he's 100% adorable. Not that I'm at all biased, not me...

road buddy

Dennis came with me today as I gave a friend a ride from Helena to Montgomery, where she met up with her sister to take her the rest of the way to Dothan. Their mother has been in the hospital for two months, but is doing much better, but my friend lives in Pelham and has been going back and forth between the two places. This time she'll be buying a car down there and didn't want to take an extra one with her, and we were happy to give her a ride. Dennis loves her little dachshund, Sadie, who came with us on the journey. He was much better about the car ride today than he has been of late. We left the house before 9 am, and he was a little sleepy on the way north and didn't have much to say. On our way south, he got chatty and started the Pacifier Olympics (tossing it everywhere but where he needed it), and then was just a touch fussy when it passed his naptime and he was still in the car and still awake. He was very pleased to discover that our drop off point was a McDonald's, though, and was somewhat mollified by chicken mcnuggets, apple slices, and an opportunity to play in the indoor Playplace. There was another child there, a boy a couple of years older than Dennis who mentored him in learning the bottom level equipment in that particular Playplace. The steps leading up to the high level hamster tube play equipment were a bit tall for both children and neither attempted the climb. I found this to be fortunate, because I have a bit of claustrophobia about these places and dread the day I will have to climb all the way up in those tiny tubes to fetch my child. I have now been in one (at the children's museum last week), but it was pretty low and fairly large inside (it was a connector hub for two tubes) and not too intimidating. They never give a weight rating on those tubes, either. I like to know that what I'm climbing up won't collapse on me because I weigh considerably more than the average 2 to 5 year old.

He slept all the way home from Montgomery, slept so hard that his pacifier was hanging onto his lips by mere millimeters, maybe glued there by some leftover drool that had congealed on the silicone surface of the pacifier. It fell out of his mouth once, and he blinked awake, grabbed it, reinserted it, and promptly fell asleep again. Once home, his Daddy carried him inside and set him in the crib where he continued his nap. I also took a nap, a rare guilty pleasure, and I only allowed it because I stayed up way too late last night. I was sleepy at 10 pm last night, which is almost never the case as I am practically nocturnal most of the time. But I decided to watch a movie I rented and stayed up way too late laughing way after it was over. Since we got up early to travel, I was ready for a nap when we got home.

We had supper with Gran and Pop tonight at their house, and we ate in front of the television (yes, Dennis too) with the intention of watching the closing ceremony of the Olympics. And we did actually watch the ceremony some, but we found ourselves caught up in the season finale of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (which came on after Dennis went to bed in his pack and play at their house). When it was over, we watched the rest of the closing ceremony and some of the more exciting footage from the different events. We didn't watch much of the Olympic coverage while it was on (I don't have cable or satellite at home and the picture is fuzzy at best on the local channels), but we did happen to catch some of the women's gymnastics while we were staying at the lake house. Being not the least bit athletically inclined myself, watching those girls contort that way amazes me. I wonder if Dennis will participate in any sports. He won't have inherited any natural ability from either of us, so that might hinder him a bit. We are avid hikers, and I am actually a decent swimmer. We both Scuba dive, though it has been a while since I have been under, what with having a child and all. David played football in school, but I don't think he was first string or anything. Technically speaking, I played basketball in high school but saw very little game time and after a bad bout of mono was relegated to team manager instead. No big sports legacy from us. But we know enough to teach him to throw and catch and run, I suppose. I'm hoping we don't have a big Little League future ahead of us, but if that's what makes him happy, that's what we'll do. Right now his favorite sports are running, climbing, and crawling through tunnels. He ran down the driveway a good ways today when we were leaving to go to his grandparents' house, and when we called for him to stop, he turned around and waved and said "bye bye" and then ran further away. David had to go after him and bring him back. And while at Gran's & Pop's, he climbed up onto the top of the old school desk and would have gone higher if there was anything to climb higher onto. He's just learned to crawl through tunnels and delighted in crawling through the Great Plastic Play Structures that inhabit the playroom over there, thanks to a previous tenant of a rental house that left several hundred dollars worth of baby paraphernalia behind. It gives him a safe indoor place to be active, so we're pretty happy about it. He'll grow up playing in there, and I'm sure the toys and games and furnishings will grow more sophisticated as he does. It will be amazing to see.

well groomed

Dennis got his first professional haircut today. David needed a haircut, so we stopped in after lunch and decided to let Dennis get a trim as well. He was tired from not napping and full from devouring his kid's meal, and these are apparently the perfect conditions for a haircut experience. He was good as gold and sat happily in the booster seat on the barber chair without wiggling or complaining. He wore the smock to catch his hair without a whimper. He enjoyed watching himself in the mirror and playing with the water spray bottle that the stylist used to wet his hair pre-cut. Even the electric trimmer didn't bother him, amazingly enough. The stylist was so great with him, and she let him feel the vibrations of the trimmer with his hand before she put it up to trim his around-the-ear-hair. She also gave him a large plastic hair clip to play with, so he was well distracted. He even behaved nicely while David got his hair cut, occasionally laughing as so much hair came off Daddy's head and landed on the floor. He was a happy customer. It went so much better than when I cut his hair a few months back, which involved his Gran and me distracting him with maraschino cherries and trying to cut between vigorous head swings. Today was so much better. From now on, we're going to ask his Aunt Lisa to take care of styling his hair if she wants the job. She cut hair for years and years, and Dennis thinks she's pretty special and might behave wonderfully for her as well.

It was a rainy, rainy day here. Dennis (and possibly David) napped while I went grocery shopping this afternoon, and I returned home in time to be there when Dennis woke up. We played in his room, setting up his train tracks and rolling the cars and trains around the room. I spent a large part of the day trying to convince him that he does not need to stand on top of his train table, much less dance across it. He did fall off the table earlier today, but that didn't teach him not to climb on it. As of tonight, it has been removed from his room. I was so sure he'd miss it, but when he woke from a nap and found all that free space on the floor, he giggled and danced across his rug. I suppose we'll put the table somewhere else for a while.

He got a bubble bath tonight. Bubbles weren't my intention, but I admit to adding some Bedtime Bath to the water as I was filling the tub. It bubbled up briefly but then the water went clear again as Dennis and David got into the tub. They played with his Backyardigans Pirate Ship (can anyone tell me what a Backyardigan actually is? have never seen the show...) and his wind-up scuba diver and Dennis enjoyed splashing about as he always does. When Dennis got out of the tub (read: when I lifted Dennis out of the tub and into a waiting fluffy Rubber Duck towel), David sat back and turned on the jacuzzi jets. Dennis wanted to play in the jets, so I put him back in and he giggled as the water currents tickled him. Well, when you turn on the jets, any bath product foams and foams prolifically. Suddenly there were 3 inches of bubbly foam on top of the water. Dennis was fascinated by the way it clung to his skin. He kept holding out his hands in front of him, looking at the bubbles that coated him. He ate some of it, shook some off of himself, patted it on the water, scooped some up... It was a very scientific bath experience for him. My favorite part was when he stood up and he had bubbles covering his tummy, turning it white and soft like you might find on a teddy bear. They took a brief shower to de-bubble (and Dennis very much likes the word "bubble") before I got him back out and took him to his room to re-diaper. He smelled so sweet and his skin was so soft (you know, like a baby...), and I put his footie pajamas on him and turned him loose. We read The Foot Book and his Touch and Feel Farm Book. We colored with his crayons for several minutes before it turned into a game of Keep The Crayon Out of The Mouth. And though we were trying to keep him up until 8, he just kept rubbing his eyes. We put him down at 7:30. He said "rain" today and then "sleep", so he must have already learned that it's really nice to sleep to the sound of rain outside your window.

I decoded another Dennis word today. Lately I've been hearing a lot of the word "bah boo", and I didn't know what it meant until he covered his eyes with his hands and then spread his hands out wide and said "bah boo" and smiled. Oh! It means peek-a-boo! I get it now. It's a game he loves playing with us, and we can't help smiling when he accidentally puts his hands on his forehead or on top of his head instead of over his eyes. We still pretend we can't see him and act so surprised when he pulls his hands away. And we say "peek-a-boo" of course, which makes him giggle. It's amazing that I can spend hours doing this kind of stuff. Says a lot about the diminishment of my taste in sophisticated entertainment... Which coincides nicely with my new problem with forgetfulness and random occasions of pure stupidity. Yes, I'm a parent now! And I just love it.

I like trucks and boats

During what Dennis considered an exceptionally long wait for supper to finish cooking, I was desperate to distract him. I read Green Eggs and Ham, but this was a mistake because the book is all about eating (duh!), and 'eat' is a word that Dennis knows and loves. David heard the tirade that I was experiencing and came in to check on us and I asked him if he could help me search the bookshelf for any books with pictures of trucks or boats. That's the only part of Green Eggs that he enjoyed ("I will not eat them in a boat, I will not eat them with a goat...") because he could point to the boat and say "boat". David found a series of Random House Pictureback books that were his as a child (I had some of these, too), and Dennis loved the pictures in the Busy Wheels and Busy City books, and there was one book all about boats and another all about trains, and one about all different kinds of trucks. These bought me another 15 minutes of peace and happiness. He loves all kinds of cars and trucks and identifies them on the road and in parking lots. He's very much into transportation, pointing out all the boats that go by when we're at the lake (he can hear them coming and starts looking immediately). Trains don't tweak his radar, though. We point them out to him, but he just stares and doesn't respond. They are so big and loud that they are probably still a little intimidating. We need to find one that isn't moving and let him see it. Maybe a trip to the railroad museum is in order...

We spent all day at home, because yes, we DID catch the stomach virus from Dennis. It's a darn good thing I bought a giant pack of mega rolls of toilet paper yesterday. We are low on baby wipes again, though, which is a little troubling. We did enjoy the day in Dennis's room with him, playing with his blocks and cars. He can stack blocks now as well as demolishing the stacks we make for him. And he worked hard connecting two Mega Blocks (like big Legos) together on his car track--he snapped them together and took them apart and snapped them together again repeatedly. The parenting book says it's time to get him the junior Lego and Duplo building sets, and I'm going to leave that task to David, who has been waiting for this moment since the ultrasound that confirmed we were having a boy. David certainly enjoyed putting the car track together and racing cars with Dennis. Dennis did a good job of putting the car on the track just right so that it would roll down. His manual dexterity increases by the hour, and I just love watching those constantly busy little hands manipulating and sorting and touching. It's all part of learning how he works in the world, I suppose, but it feels like I have a front row seat to watch the emergence of the skills that have passed the 'survival of the fittest' test through the ages.

Speaking of manual dexterity, I watched him climb onto a chair and reach out for the doorknob to his closet (where I'd stored his shopping cart for a while, because I'm tired of picking up the "30 pieces included" with it 8 times a day). He turned it, but not quite enough to open it. But gosh, is he close to figuring it out! Time to start using our deadbolt on the front door, or he'll be in the woods before we know it.

He seemed to be feeling much better today. We did have to wash his bedding yet again, but it wasn't as visibly horrifying as yesterday morning. Thank goodness for that! And it was actually a good thing that we haven't accomplished any potty training thus far, because he would have been competing with the two of us for that coveted toilet spot in our one household bathroom today. That would have been bad.

I just know we'll all be better tomorrow. We have some bad weather coming from the tropical storm, but maybe not until tomorrow night. I'd like to get him to a playground again tomorrow since he's been cooped up for a couple of days, yesterday in the car and today in the house. We'll see what happens.

Hey, did you know that Pizza Hut makes a dessert that is basically doughnut-like breadsticks with chocolate pieces all over the top of them, and it comes with Hershey's dipping sauce? Well, yeah, they do, and I wish I didn't know about it, either. But it sure is good...

another day, another mess

David woke me up this morning by yelling "Do you want to bathe Dennis or do you want to clean up his bedding?". Dennis apparently exploded sometime early this morning and when David heard him giggling around 8:30 and went in to get him up, he discovered a festival of poop. Dennis never acted like he felt bad, but that much diarrhea is just not natural or acceptable, so off we went to the pediatrician. In case you're wondering, David got the bath, I got the bedding (and then a bath). It was EVERYWHERE!

Our pediatrician checked him thoroughly and pronounced him perfectly fine save for a stomach virus that's going around that he probably got from the playground. Oh, good. Just when I discovered a great outlet for baby energy it led to a great inlet for baby germs. We are not to worry, Dennis is fine and will be back to normal in approximately FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS. I am going to have to buy more (and bigger) diapers. Oh, and he's contagious (yippee), so we have to be diligent about our handwashing. On the plus side, he is to eat starchy salty and sugary foods for a couple of days, which he couldn't be more thrilled about. All day long he kept saying "eat eat". After a bout of light whining in Ross with Mom and me(yes, I took my sick baby shopping, but the doctor said he didn't need to be confined at home since he was feeling so well), he asked for "eat" so sweetly that we started hunting for a snack. The doc recommended applesauce, bananas, mashed potatoes with salt and butter, saltine crackers, and things of that nature. We took a little liberty with that and stopped at Edgar's bakery for banana pudding. It was so good that he took it upon himself to wield the fork and feed himself at the pace he wanted. Yes, a spoon would have been better, but we went with what was available.

A Wal-Mart trip (because running out of toilet paper is nearly as bad as running out of diapers), a dinner at Full Moon Barbecue, and a long car nap later, we found ourselves at Gran & Pop's place to help them install the new portable air conditioner/mood enhancer (because nobody's happy when it's too hot). Dennis enjoyed playing in his playroom, crawling through the big plastic baby toys and pushing the buttons that made those toys spew forth baby friendly music. He giggled and danced and refused to go down for a nap, so we stayed in the playroom until David finished the installation and then we came home. No more bad diapers for the rest of the day, so I have hope that maybe I won't be doing emergency laundry again tomorrow. But just in case, I didn't bother putting the crib bumper back on, which means that I will be summoned to his room a few times tonight to retrieve the pacifier that easily fell out of the crib because the bumper wasn't there to catch it when it 'rolled' out of his mouth.

He was so smiley and sweet and adorable today that it made up for the yucky stuff. Funny how that always happens. We sure do love that little guy (yes, even when he isn't smiley and sweet and adorable, which fortunately is rarer than when he is).

welcome back, Gran & Pop

We picked up my parents from the airport tonight as they returned from visiting Michael & family in Washington. They could leave a car at the airport, especially with gas prices the way they are, but we like to drop them off and pick them up. Dennis was especially excited to be at the airport and ran around and around exploring. He climbed up on the baggage carousel but I convinced him to come down before it started moving. He scaled a couple of luggage carts and then ran off and found the down escalator. He wanted to go up it, and I tried to explain how difficult it is to go up an escalator that is moving downward, especially if you've only been walking for 6 months or so and are less than 2 & 1/2 feet tall, but he was not to be deterred. He stepped on it and shot backward, and I scooped him up before he had much chance to react. (I wonder how he'd feel about a treadmill...) I located an up escalator and we rode up, and then he wanted to go down the stairs himself, which he did quite well. He alternated between a death grip on the handrail and tiny steps down or sitting down and scooting down on his rear end. As soon as we reached the bottom (where my back spasmed painfully from bending down and holding his little hand all the way up and all the way down) he took off running. I scooped him up (really needing ibuprofen) and handed him off to David. David followed him back to the escalators and rode up and then entered the DO NOT ENTER section and rode the down escalator back down. Arrrggggh. I wanted to ride the down one, too, but all those Secure Area DO NOT ENTER signs were apparently easier for me to read than they were for him. True, there were 5 people in the airport at the moment, and we were 2 of them, but I know better than to violate the policies of the TSA. Better to suffer down the steps than be strip-searched, I always say. Of course, no one stopped David and Dennis, and they rode happily down.

He got a bit fractious after this, so we played ride the horsey (I bounced him vigorously on my knee) until I spotted my parents descending to the baggage claim area. I told Dennis that Gran and Pop were here, and he looked way over to the escalator and saw them waving at him. He grinned so big, and I set him down then, and he RAN to them, smiling and laughing. His Gran scooped him up and kissed him and he just smiled and smiled. He had missed them. And they loved the warm welcome, said it was SO cute seeing him run to them like that. He fell asleep as soon as we got back into the van to head south, and gosh did he cry when we woke him up to put him in our car. Of course, it was midnight, pretty late for someone who goes to bed and to sleep at 8 pm most nights. He mostly slept through the diaper change and pajama installation and sacked out almost before he was completely set down in the crib. He was fun today, all day, and he enjoyed everything we did, from the setting up of the new playroom at Gran & Pop's house to having dinner with Aunt Lisa & Robert to going to the airport. The picture is him playing with his shopping cart in his room earlier. He's a champion shopper.

earning my mommy badge

Some people discount the theory of evolution, but I see myself evolving daily. Maybe not from a chimp to a human, but from a post-college thirtysomething wife and working woman into a mother. It's a big change. My life revolves around the little guy now, not around me or around David or travel or gadgets or money... The only constant between then and now is the presence of God in my life--He has been front and center throughout my evolution, and thank goodness for that or I never would have made it.

I still don't always feel like a mommy. I feel most like a mommy when I'm fixing Dennis a meal. My mind sees that as a direct correlation, taking care of another person's acute physical needs, therefore I am responsible for that person, therefore I am a mother. Teaching Dennis things is fun, and that doesn't always feel like parenting. It feels a lot like playing, which is why he has so much fun learning things. I am astonished by how quickly he picks things out, how he learns to mimic our behaviors without us even realizing it. Today he grabbed a set of teething keys that he probably hasn't touched in six months, pronounced "keys", and made for his car and tried to insert them in the 'ignition'. Brilliant! He watches us. He does what we do. If we dip a chicken finger into sauce and eat it, he won't eat his chicken finger until we let him dip it as well. He says "thank you" all the time now, and I'd like to think that maybe we actually have nice manners for him to imitate.

Back to the motherhood issue--after an extremely easy day yesterday, the kind of day where I wonder why in heck I waited so long to have a child, the answer came to me at 2:30 this morning. I heard him tossing and turning and whimpering a little through the baby monitor and went in to check on him (another task that feels motherly). He was glad to see me, and he stood up for a hug. The hug revealed wet pajamas, and the wet pajamas came off to reveal a disgustingly poopy diaper. I cleaned him and dried him and put on a new diaper, and he never cried a bit, just watched me taking care of him. Just when I had the new diaper installed, he leaned up a little and threw up all over me. He tried to lay back down on the changing pad, but then choked on the next big launch, so I turned him on his side and let him finish. I called David for help because Dennis and I were so slippery that I couldn't safely pick him up and move him to the bathtub. Poor David. He's always been a sympathetic vomiter, and this was so hard on him. I only wanted help for a minute, but he cleaned up the whole changing table and floor while I bathed Dennis and myself. Dennis was happy in the bathtub, splashing and playing like nothing had happened, and after we were clean, I handed him up to David, who was holding out the dry towel. He bundled Dennis right up, and that's when he started vomiting again. David turned a nice shade of green but managed to keep from imitating him. He went swiftly back into the tub for more bathing, then into a clean towel, then to his room, where he wanted to play in his car. At this point, I heard an explosion from the southern end of Dennis, and sure enough, we had to put on a third clean diaper. We got him in clean pajamas, and just when we set him down in the bed, more throw up. Not much this time, but he cried and cried like the other times because he had no idea what was happening to him. We cleaned him up and cleaned up the bed, then put him down on a large towel in his crib (just in case). And I slept in the rocker recliner in his room, one we put there for just this purpose, though this is the first time it's been slept in all night. I'd like to thank the people at La-Z-Boy for a fairly decent night's sleep despite its brevity and despite the circumstances. The recliner was my great-grandmother's and is vinyl and impervious to the substances that come from babies, and it has been the perfect nursery rocker. (We have another special rocking chair in there as well, a wooden one that rocked baby David and his sister and all his cousins. Dennis likes to climb up in this one and rock himself silly like he does with his Cracker Barrel rocker at the lake house.) The point of this is to say that last night, I REALLY felt like a mother.

I am happy to report that Dennis was fine today, happy but still a little tired. He ate light things and didn't throw up at all, though he nearly burped us out of house and home. I had the stomach bug myself today, though a milder case than what he went through last night. Tonight we were well enough to accompany David to Lowe's to buy supplies for an emergency plumbing job (thankfully not our plumbing!). The pictures are of Dennis enjoying the heck out of the shopping cart shaped like a car with steering wheels. Bless those kind merchants who provide these carts. Not one little boredom screech was heard from him because he was busy driving his 'car' all over the store. Thank you Lowe's and Winn Dixie and Publix for shelling out a little bit extra for the cart that makes the shopping experience so much better.

Tonight I am one tired mother, for sure, and I feel like I've earned another stripe, or at least the sick-in-the-middle-of-the-night badge. Funny how being thrown up on isn't a big deal when it's your toddler that does it to you. Same with poop, but to a lesser degree. Poop is still poop, and it's never fun to be surprised with it landing on your person somewhere. Just now I've come to the conclusion (again) that parenting is filled with gross moments. But those moments just make you stronger and make you realize how wonderful the sweet times are. Tonight after we changed Dennis into his pajamas and handed him his Froggy and pacifier, I read him Goodnight Moon, and when I finished he said "yay" and then "thank you". And then "night night" as we put him in the crib. How sweet is that!

some days are golden

He was so good today. It was almost unbelievable how easy it was to mother him all day. He was agreeable and pleasant and fun, just like the old days when he was happy 100% of the time. Not a single tantrum, no big crying or whining... The way I'm writing this sounds like he has become terrible, and that is not the case, not at all. He's still a very easy child, but now that he has opinions about everything, he is not as easy as he used to be.

We played all day in his room, and he helped me clean up the toys that were everywhere. He wanted to sit in my lap and listen to stories. He only asked for cookies a few times, and he didn't get upset when they weren't forthcoming. Okay, I admit, I did give him ONE Oreo after lunch, but he asked very sweetly, and he deserved it. Little bugger split the two cookies, kept the side with the creme on it and threw the other side to the floor (where Honey quickly grabbed and ate it, and yes, I know chocolate is bad for dogs, but half an Oreo is nothing to an 80 pound dog). Dennis savored his creme covered cookie so well that I didn't have much cookie residue to wipe off him.

We went to the park today, a different park than before, and we were the only people there. He enjoyed sliding and swinging and riding on those animals-on-springs where you rock back and forth. He climbed the play structure a number of times and went down the slides all by himself. He liked when I pushed him in the swing and then got in the swing beside him and kept our swinging parallel. But mostly he enjoyed walking on the gravel track around the park. I wonder if he thought that maybe Mommy needed to be walking the track and nominated himself as my personal trainer. Nice thought, but the pace he set was pretty easy for me, especially since my short legs are MUCH longer than his short legs. We didn't stay on the track, as we occasionally got distracted by picnic tables that made for some nifty climbing structures. I don't know why he ignored the actual climbing structures in favor of the picnic benches and tables, but he did. I had to take him back over to the playground a few times after we'd wandered to the opposite end of the park, and he was always thrilled to see the slides. Not that he didn't know where he was at all times... He was very careful to orient himself frequently. No matter where we were in the park, he would glance up, locate my Tracker, and point and say "car". He knew which vehicle was taking him home! When he was ready to go, he grabbed my keys, pulled out the Tracker key, aimed it at the car, and started walking. I was so impressed that I just followed and held him up and let him insert it in the door lock. He was so proud!

We had dinner at Shoney's with his Grandma, and he charmed all of us. He enjoyed his meal as he always does. Tonight he had a fork and spoon at his disposal, and he used the fork to repeatedly stab his placemat or to pick up food and then use his hands to get the food off the fork and into his mouth. We're working with him on using eating utensils, but they are still just novelty items to him. He'll get there. We all had to learn to use them at some point.

He went to bed happily and quietly, just as he did for both his naps today. He was just so good. So many happy smiles and giggles. And we had so much fun playing together. If only all the days could be like today... But then I suppose I wouldn't appreciate the good days as much.

elmo knows

We didn't have much energy around here today. We got to bed late after coming home late, and we slept late on top of that. Our major event was a trip to Prattville to buy lumber at Lowe's. Dennis spent a good bit of the day in the car, poor fellow, but we did break up the monotony by 1) switching up vehicles (he got to ride in Grandma's truck) and 2) stopping at Bass Pro Shop to look at the fish and boats. He got his first pair of real Crocs today--his feet are finally big enough to somewhat fit into the smallest size. We got him a brown camo pattern because that's what was his size, but thinking about it, they will match his fall clothes pretty well. That is, they'll match the kinds of clothes I plan to outfit him in this fall. I don't have many fall clothes for him yet save what Caedmon has passed down to him and a few awesome long-sleeved t-shirts that Gran picked up for him at the end of last season. I suppose we'll need a couple of pairs of khaki pants and another pair of jeans, and maybe a button down or two, and that should take care of it with what he already has, unless he has a major growth spurt. I'm not overly worried about shopping yet, as it will be shorts weather for some time to come. And he's still wearing 9 month and 12 month shorts, some of which he wore last summer! They are shorter on him this year, but still almost knee length. He is not a long legged child.

The highlight of his day was his visit to his Grandma's house where he ran around and around, playing with the toys in the grandchildren's closet. She had bought him a special board book about Daddy kisses and he gave it a cursory reading before tossing it onto the floor, which is how he treats most of his new things these days. It's a good book, though, and I imagine we'll add it to the board book rotation. He spent much of his visit trying to wreak havoc with the kitchen trash can. It has one of those swinging lids and it just fascinates the heck out of him. There wasn't any trash within reach, but that didn't stop him from walking in there every 6 minutes or so to check and then try to add things that weren't actually trash. He managed a juice box all on his own today without wearing it all, and I was so proud. I shared my glass of ice water with him (always risky--he's bad to backwash), and after the third sip, he pulled away and pursed his lips and spit water out all over my leg. It was more a concentrated stream than a spray, and it soaked me. I couldn't do anything but laugh because it was so unexpected, and such a good shot as well.

He played with his new Elmo learning laptop in the car pretty much nonstop, and when I was following David from the lake in the Blazer after we'd dropped off the lumber, David reached his Elmo limit. I got a desperate phone call from him asking "How many shovels are there?". There are pictures that accompany the number pad (and 8 different scene cards to use) and Dennis doesn't even know what a shovel is so didn't know to press the number 2. He had pulled the lever that makes Elmo ask him a question but never answered the question, and Elmo continued to ask him over and over again how many shovels there were until David reached a moment of insanity and grabbed the laptop. He was driving and didn't have time to count shovels so he called to ask if I knew! It just so happened that I did know, because Elmo had badgered me with the same query some time earlier in the day. David pressed the 2, and all was well, and Dennis got his laptop back. We bought it because he open and close it and can push the buttons and Elmo will tell him the number he pushed, or the color, or the shape... And then will use a comparison, as in: "2, there are 2 shovels", or "red, the number 4 in the picture is red", or "circle, the wheel on the wheelbarrow is a circle". We thought it might satisfy his button pushing need and save our laptops at the same time. I just wish it was Oscar's learning laptop, or Cookie Monster's, or Ernie's, but instead we are stuck with Elmo's nauseatingly cute little monster voice. It is the first toy I've seen him spend over 30 consecutive minutes playing with, though. Kudos to Fisher Price for that.

The laptop stayed in the car when we came in for the evening, and tonight while getting ready for bed we had a Drive-Thru story time. I read a rather long Dr. Seuss tale (The Sleep Book), and Dennis didn't want to get out of his car and sit in my lap while I read. No problem. But then it turned into an I'll-play-with-every-toy-in-my-room-while-Mommy-sits-there-and-reads story time, and we'd just cleaned up. We paused the story for pajama and tooth-brushing time, and David was scooping him up into the crib as I read the last page. We had a quick kiss and getaway, and when I checked on him a few minutes ago, he hadn't really moved from the position he went down in. Tired little guy. Yesterday was a big day. And he's probably tired from the screaming fit he had when I put him down for his nap without Froggy. Oops. Froggy was in the car somewhere and I tried to substitute Elmo or Snoopy, but he screamed like I was killing him. I wanted to think that maybe it was time to try and substitute a replaceable stuffed friend, instead of the One of A Kind Froggy, but it was a no go. I ran to get Froggy, and when I handed him to Dennis, Dennis promptly shut his screaming mouth, clutched Froggy to his chest, sat down, laid down, then went to sleep, all while I stood there at his crib side and watched. Amazing. And scary. I'm going to have to buy fabric to make another one as well as tattoo our phone number on Froggy and offer a reward if he's ever found away from Dennis. We watch him like a hawk whenever he goes into a store with Dennis (which we try to avoid), and we always are asking each other "Do you have Froggy?". Froggy is our other child.

Now we are all in bed, recharging from yesterday because we never really got it together today. We were tired and cranky and disjointed, all 3 of us, and maybe a good night's sleep will put us all back together. The pictures! Oh, yeah, gotta explain those... He was napping and it was time for supper. I went in to wake him and he didn't want to wake up. I called his name, he opened one eye to a slit and looked at me, then closed it back and pulled Froggy up over his face. I asked him if he wanted to get up and play, and I got nothing. But then I said "Do you want to eat?" and both eyes popped open and he stood right up and held out his arms. He walked right to the kitchen for supper. I mistimed it a bit, and he was in his high chair about 5 minutes too early but was extraordinarily happy to munch on an Oreo appetizer while he waited. It's possibly the happiest he was all day.

a day at the museum

We took Dennis and Chloe to the McWane Science Center in Birmingham today and he enjoyed himself very much. We took him inside and turned him loose, and the first thing he did was find the stairs. We went to the third floor, where there's an exhibit for small children that involves lots of different activities. What he was most interested in was any vehicle that he could steer. All those neato science exhibits, and what Dennis wanted to do was drive the cars. All the cars. As many times as possible. He also liked playing with the crane and the conveyor belt at the grocery booth because both things had wheels he could turn. He got a stinky diaper somewhere in this exhibit, and we actually had to carry him out screaming because he wasn't through playing yet.

He also enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit and actually used the brush to clean off fake sand from the fake dinosaur bones in the archaeological dig site they had set up. His favorite was the giant water table, though, and this was probably Chloe's favorite as well. Fortunately for us, they had protective "stay dry" aprons for the children to wear. There were all sorts of scoops and bowls and colanders and funnels in a big water trough that the kids enjoyed playing in. And Dennis went in his first "hamster tube" type play structure today as well, and we discovered that we can actually fit in there to chase him down, thank goodness.

We totally wore out the children (and ourselves) and we're so thrilled with how much they enjoyed the museum. It was a fun day. I've never seen so many excited looks and delighted smiles. He couldn't believe he could run everywhere and touch everything! It's a place where we don't have to say no so often, a place where he's encouraged to try out and experiment and climb. We almost bought a membership but hesitated because it's still free for him to go in. And we haven't visited the museum in Tuscaloosa yet... Going to wait and see what he'd enjoy the most before joining up anywhere. I'm also going to research and see which membership offers reciprocal discounts with other area museums. We did this at the Anniston Museum of Natural History one time and enjoyed using that membership to get in other places cheap! Which reminds me... That's another great place to remember to take Dennis!

EAT cookie!!!

This post ought to be sponsored by the people at Oreo. He likes them so much that he learned to say cookie today when asking for another one. Perhaps we have erred in that his first introduction to the Oreo cookie was a Double Stuff one, so he'll have high expectations of them now. He actually said "eat cookie" today when he spied the package on top of the counter, trying to convince me to let him at it. Do you know how hard it is to clean Oreo residue off a one year old? It mixes with the drool and gets everywhere, and Dennis, thinking it was falling out of his mouth and he might miss some, shoved his hands in his mouth to make sure he got all the cookie. Picture blackened hands with Oreo creme on them, and a black ring around his mouth, with a few drops of black on the collar of his shirt. Now, picture his big toe with Oreo creme on it from where he grabbed his foot in a fit of cookie ecstasy while he was eating one. It takes a lot of wiping to clean up after an Oreo. But it's totally worth it.

The day passed quickly in a whirlwind of Dennis chasing, trying to keep him from climbing up and falling off all the furniture. He escaped from his pea pod when I put him down for his first nap. I heard his feet stomping around and ran in to check, and his pod still appeared zipped at first glance. I wondered if he channeled Star Trek and beamed out of it, but then I saw that he'd escaped from the side zipper. He didn't have a morning nap, but took a pretty long one midday. To stave off afternoon boredom, I thought it might be nice for us to take a swim. I bundled him in a life jacket and donned one myself and we hit the water. He was happy with it for about 15 minutes before he stuck his face in the water and got upset enough to want out. Oh, well. Back upstairs and off with the swim diaper and swim trunks and life jacket and wet sandals... So much prep for a quarter of an hour of water play.

He enjoyed another spaghetti dinner tonight. He didn't say a word at dinner, just kept on steadfastly stuffing his mouth with noodle after noodle. His whole face was orange afterward, so more wiping was required. And then we took him to the playground, just as it was getting dark. There were several other children there, all a little older, and after swinging and sliding on his own, he went over to play with them. They helped him get up on the big play structure and then all slid down the slide with him. He was in the middle of a kid chain going down the slide. They were screaming, as kids do, and it must have put him over his comfort threshold, because when his feet touched the ground, he ran for the playground exit! One girl asked him if he wanted to slide again, or to swing, but he didn't even pause and just kept heading toward his stroller. He had fun, though, and we thanked the kids for helping him. He must have decided it was bedtime! We couldn't get him into the car fast enough! Now he's in the backseat chanting "eat" and "Pop" while we head for home. I'll bet he sleeps hard tonight.

17 months

He's 17 months old today and growing like a weed. A cute, chubby weed...

We took Pop to the airport today to fly back out to Washington, and as soon as he got out of the van and said goodbye, Dennis began to cry. He cried for 15 minutes and nothing I could do or say stopped him. He even cried at Gran over the speakerphone, and Caedmon tried to talk to him as well, but he was not to be consoled. He loves his Pop very much and didn't like him leaving, not one little bit (wow, someone's been reading too much Dr. Seuss).

My intent was to take him to the mall and entertain him until it was time to meet Ellen and Chloe at the playground. We got to the mall and he'd fallen asleep in his car seat, and I hated to wake him. He needed lunch, though, so I loaded his stroller full of baby gear and then got him up and loaded him as well. We went inside, and he seemed to enjoy looking around. We got lunch and ate by the carousel, and I changed his diaper (just slightly wet) before we rode the carousel. We got on and chose a nice white pig with black spots to ride, and as soon as I plopped his little rear end in the saddle, he pooped. Big. Explosive. Poop. And we were trapped on a moving ride. He cried a little but then the little boy riding the bear next to us began entertaining him. When the spinning stopped (after dispersing the smell throughout the entire Food Court), we got off and I held him while I pushed the stroller to a store with a nice big bathroom. The first diaper change happened in the Food Court restroom and it was tight quarters.

We got to Belk (formerly Parisian) and I was accosted on the way through by the Clinique makeup people and someone with perfume samples (this I understood). Finally we got to the restroom and I changed him, and he chattered happily again as we were leaving. I thought we'd take a little time to shop, so we went to the toy store and the Disney store, and when we walked into Children's Place, he rose up out of the seat of his stroller, screamed and pooped again. Explosively. Uh-oh. I only brought two diapers into the mall. He cried and cried, so we went back to the parking deck and I changed him again and settled him happily in his car seat. I thought we'd go on to the playground and hang out for a while and maybe he'd nap in the car on the way. Five minutes down the road, another scream, another explosion... So I canceled his play date and headed home. As soon as he got a clean diaper on, it happened AGAIN. He was miserable. I'm thinking we shouldn't have let him eat that entire box of raisins last night despite his insistence to do so.

The poop fest stopped after that, and he was busy getting into stuff, so I set up the sprinkler and let him play. This kept him entertained for about six minutes, and then he climbed up the steps to go back inside. He had a snack (not raisins) and played with his toys, and then he came over and snuggled on my lap like he does when he doesn't feel well. We spent the remaining time until David got here with supper watching Sesame Street and the Berenstain Bears. He ate supper like a champ, though, and since he got it all over him, I started a bath for him. He was delighted and kept sticking his hand in the flow to check the progress of his bath water. He giggled all through the bath, which lasted until David pointed out a tiny little poop nugget that escaped when Dennis passed gas in the tub, just floating along. Grossed out, I scooped Dennis up and wrapped him in his towel, and we put on his pajamas and put him to bed. He was ready. I sure hope his little tummy feels better tomorrow. It wasn't a very nice way to spend a 17 month birthday.

master of the playground

Sniff, sniff. He's big enough to climb up and slide down ALL BY HIMSELF. And he's so proud of himself for his accomplishment. I took him to the playground just to see if it was still wet and yucky from yesterday's all day rain. The sand was wet, which must have only served to enhance the taste of it, because from the time he got his hands in it, he kept trying to eat it. The playground equipment wasn't too wet, though, and he got to try out the baby swing. Someone had stolen the baby swings from our park earlier this year so we hadn't been in a while, but there they were, nice new ones. And, we were VERY pleased to discover a brand new playground being constructed with money from a federal grant from the Soil and Water Conservation people. There was a sign from the National Park Service proclaiming the new park was on land specifically reserved for recreation and naming the area the Gateway to Adventure. It's all brand new playground equipment over heavily mulched areas, and I can't wait until they finish it, which looks to be soon. It's SO big and nice, and there are play structures there that I've never seen in other playgrounds. What a fortunate little guy he is to be coming of age to play on a playground just as a wonderful one is being finished!

I can't believe he climbed up all by himself. There was a little girl at the playground just a couple of weeks older than him, and her folks had just taught her how to climb up and seat herself on the slide, and seeing her was all the encouragement Dennis needed. He climbed right up and seated himself on the slide and slid right down to me with one of the biggest smiles I've seen on him. I'm so proud. It was so cute that we had to back to the park after meeting his Daddy for supper so that we could show him the new skill. When we went back, we had the whole playground to ourselves, so Dennis got to play on all the play structures. He tried out every slide, and we think he liked the tube one the best. He ran all over the place, and I'm looking forward to all the good sleep he's going to do tonight. I'm worn out, too, from running back and forth from the steps (where I stood behind him to make sure he didn't fall backward) to the bottom of the slide so I could catch him when he came down. What fun! Tomorrow is a Birmingham day, and I can't wait to take him to a playground there on our way home!

ride the dog

We had a nice day, playing inside while it rained and rained and rained outside. David brought Honey to the lake once she got back from wherever she ran off to this morning, and Dennis was overjoyed to see her. He climbed on her and off her and over her, again and again, and she just stayed there patiently enduring it. She's such a good dog, so sweet to put up with the things dogs have to endure from toddlers.

He 'helped' David build some block masterpieces and then gleefully destroyed them, all the while saying "boom boom". He's quite the little demolitions expert. And quite the climber as well, scaling the rocking chairs with ease and standing on boxes. He's mastered the on/off switch for the television, happily and purposefully cutting off Elmo mid-song this morning.

He giggled a lot today, and that's always so much fun. Every day he seems more grown up, asking for "eat" and "juice" and "side" to let me know how he would like his day to progress. He decided when to take his own naps today, getting into his pod all by himself and waiting for us to turn out the lights. More and more he's asserting his independence and dictating what he wants, and since his demands are in line with the behavior we'd like to see, we've happily complied with his requests. He's a real little person now, with his own ideas about things and a healthy curiosity about his little universe. I really want to start taking him to the playground more often, but the weather was a bit uncooperative today. I know he's ready to start climbing the equipment and going down the slides, with careful supervision of course, and I can't wait to share his delight in outdoor fun. I'm looking forward to autumn now, with milder temps and more hiking trips.







We've enjoyed a good bit of summer water play, and we'll continue for at least another month, but I'm starting to anticipate the return of my favorite season. I can't imagine a more fun outdoor buddy than Dennis, and I can't wait to take him to the pumpkin patch and to the fair and everything that comes with fall. All the kids are back in school around here, and I can't help but think that next year he will be old enough to start preschool a couple of days a week. I'll bet that year passes more quickly than I can even imagine.

Rip Van Tinkle

He slept a good bit today. I awoke at 9 am, wondering why I hadn't heard anything from his room, and so we went to check. He was lying there, quietly playing with his Froggy, and he was happy to get up when we went in there (nearly 14 hours after he went to bed). His Daddy fixed him a nice breakfast and played with him some, and then I got up and played with him as well. He acted sleepy again around 11, so I asked him if he wanted to nap, and he voluntarily got into his pod and snuggled in. Still a little sleepy myself from staying up too late last night, I napped, too, and was surprised when David came in to say he had to leave for his appointment--I had napped nearly 2 hours, and Dennis had been down that long as well. He was happy to wake up and have lunch, and we played and played while David was gone. Around 3, I thought it was probably time to change the diaper, so I got out the supplies and realized that Dennis only had 1 diaper left in his bag. Scary. But David was going by the house and was due back within a short time, so I put that diaper on him and then called for backup. Dennis promptly pooped in the last diaper and it was FOUL, and after 10 minutes I couldn't stand it anymore. Just then David called and said he had to go show a rental house and would be delayed. Having just removed the poopy diaper, I was in a bit of a panic. I thought he could just run around diaper free for 10 minutes or so, and all would be fine.
This was not the case. I put him outside on the porch for a second while I went to gather some toys for us to play with out there, and when I walked out 10 seconds later, he had peed on the outside of the door and on the porch, a fairly large puddle that I promptly attacked with the hose. I thought we were safe to come inside then since the puddle was so large, and surely David would be back very soon. So we came in and I blocked off the vents on the floor (just in case) and watched him play. Moments later I noticed 2 droplets on the lower rung of his rocking chair and moved it to discover wet carpet underneath. I soaked it up with paper towels and cleaned the carpet and took Dennis into the bathroom to sit on the toilet and talk about pee pee. Nothing happened, and so we came back out and played more, and after a minute, I worried about it so wrapped his lower half in a towel and held him on my lap. After 2 minutes, I felt the towel growing warm and wet and so rotated it around to cover him (and protect myself) with a dry part of the towel. Just then, David had arrived with the diapers and I begged him to quickly diaper Mr. Hose, which he did. While he was lifting him from my lap and covering him with a diaper, I looked down and noticed what I'd missed before. The box that his Elmo sprinkler came in had a large puddle on top of it and there was another puddle on the blocks in his box, all of which we quickly cleaned and disinfected. We were horrified at the volume and speed with which he marked all this territory. He peed at least 4 times in a 20 minute time period. I suppose I should be glad he's so well hydrated. I had thought we'd take the time and work on potty training, but he's way too prolific for that to occur yet!
He was ready to nap when he got the new diaper on, and he was headed for another 2 hour nap easily. When we were cooking supper, I decided to wake him up so that he'd be awake when the food was ready and so he'd have time to play before bed. After the meal we played for a while on the screened porch and he picked up the end of the hose and stuck it in the watering can like he'd seen me do yesterday. And then he took the two can citronella candles and stacked them in various configurations before grabbing the lighter off the table and bringing it to me. Scary that his reach has gotten long enough that he can get dangerous things off the table now, but fortunately he wanted to share his find with me! We came inside to get ready to go to bed while David was doing a bit of laundry, and as soon as the dryer was empty (it had not been on, so wasn't warm at all), Dennis climbed into it and closed the door! We watched in shock and then quickly grabbed the camera. David got him out of the dryer and he turned right around and got back in. He is not able to open it when it's closed yet, so I am not overly worried about losing him in the dryer. He IS able to open it from the inside when it's closed, though, as he aptly demonstrated once he closed it and we asked "Where's Dennis?" so that he'd play peek-a-boo with us.
He wasn't awake for long periods of time today, but I think he well utilized his alert hours. I hope we don't EVER run out of on-hand diapers again. And we're going to have to padlock our dryer, I suppose.