Rainy Day Demands

Who is this small person that lives with us? I know we had a baby two years ago but the little person who lives with us now isn't a baby. He came to me today and told me "Mommy, I want a double stack hamburger and chicken". This is a clue that we've been patronizing the dollar menu at Wendy's a bit too frequently. The other clue to the same effect: whenever we pass Wendy's, he points and yells out "double stack and oranges!", which is his usual order.

In other food weirdness news, David cleared his throat significantly at lunch time and when I looked up, he angled his head in Dennis' direction and mouthed "watch". I was rewarded for my patient watching when Dennis ripped apart his sandwich half (PB&J, of course) and began picking globules of jelly off the bread and eating them. He ate the entire sandwich, but he did it jelly first, then the bread from the jelly side, then the peanut butter side. David also noticed a fake pumpkin on the floor of our kitchen and wondered how it got there. I explained that Dennis had found it with the Halloween decor in our bedroom and said "I want to hold pumpkin", at which point I gave it to him only to watch him promptly run to the kitchen. When I arrived in the kitchen, I saw the pumpkin on the floor in front of the refrigerator and Dennis was walking around it, pretending not to notice it. He saw me walk in and suddenly (and rather dramatically) yelled "OH NO, pumpkin fell! Honey! Honey!!", which was his way of requesting the dog to come and clean up the spill. I tried to explain that Honey couldn't (or shouldn't) eat the plastic pumpkin and resolved to start cleaning up spills in front of him or he'll never learn to do it and will always rely on a dog!

Right now he is yelling "Mommy, I want to go see Daddy!" and just as I began to type that, changed it to "Mommy, I want to go see Santa Claus". He is so wired, getting in my face and saying "Mommy I want to sit down!", to which I replied "then sit down!". He needs a nap, and we've attempted it a few times, but I keep hearing noises over the baby monitor that indicate that he is not actually in bed. I will try again in a bit. It is tempting to put him in the crib that's still in there, but that isn't very conducive to toddler bed training. And he has climbed out once.

Tomorrow there's a zoo trip planned. I can't wait to see his reaction!

Sesame for me

Today we enjoyed a special Sesame Street episode that I had recorded at the lake house. It was all about sharing and it started when all the characters were refusing to share with each other. It was quite funny to watch them all snatching things to their chests and yelling "MINE!". They were diagnosed with 'mine-itis'. Dennis laughed and laughed at them and wanted to watch it again and again.

He's gotten so much taller that I can hardly believe it when I look at him. He's almost growing right before my eyes. We enjoyed saying the alphabet out loud last night on the way home several times with him repeating the letters after us. He pronounces them so clearly! And we're now learning the numbers up to twenty (because he LOVES saying the 'teen' numbers out loud). I am starting to look forward to Easter because I know he's going to love hunting the eggs this year. He doesn't know it yet, but I'm hoping to take him to the zoo this week. I think the weather will be nice and he's been wanting to see elephants and zebras lately, even asking for them. He found a photo album of a trip to the zoo when he was two months old and wants to return. His cousin Caedmon was also on this trip (and Mirella as well, only she was still in the womb!), and Dennis delighted in pointing to his picture and saying his name. All day yesterday he kept saying "Want to go see Caedmon". That involves plane tickets, though, and a major trip that we just can't do right now. We are happy that they will be coming here in a couple of months!

furniture moving

It was a busy day for us! Gran and Pop were having a clear-it-out moment and we scored an excellent antique rolltop desk and a treadmill and a couple of big rugs. It's heavy stuff, though, and we were busy all day moving it from their house to our house and unloading it. The rolltop desk now houses all my scrapbooking supplies and all those tiny drawers and cubby holes are just PERFECT for housing the various implements that I have, and it's all so neat and organized that it makes me want to get back to my hobby! The treadmill is right beside my side of the bed where I can see it and be inspired by it, where I intend to keep on running and getting fit.

Dennis enjoyed playing with Gran while we moved the furniture out of their place and playing in his room while we moved the furniture into our house. And then we were off to the lake for a feast of grilled t-bone, black-eyed peas, corn, collards, and beer bread along with Gran and Pop and Grandma and Bob. Dennis entertained us all during the meal with his comments and spent his time after his meal playing fish with Pop and then Bob. They would cast him out and reel him in with his little fishing rod (he was holding onto the 'tire' tied to the end of the line). He enjoyed this so much that it was difficult to get him to go home!

chloe's new playroom

Dennis and I spent the day with the Gallmans. Chloe and Dennis have been asking for each other lately and screeched with delight when they saw each other. We arrived at lunchtime and Chloe and Dennis ate and played and pretty soon faced naptime. Naptime wasn't too smooth--they danced and partied in their respective beds for a while until we made them lie down. Then they talked and giggled and screamed for a while before finally dropping off to sleep.

While they napped, the adults reorganized Chloe's playroom, using bins and the new shelving units to find homes for all the toys. Chloe didn't know what to think when she woke up! It's a great space with lots of bare floor room to play. Dennis seemed to like it when he got up some time after she did. He immediately headed for her tractor and bus. I came in and saw him playing with the bus and saying "MINE MINE!". I explained to him that it wasn't his bus and that we don't talk that way about our toys--we share them. I said "goodness! where did you hear that word?" and he said "CHLOE!". We all heard it. Too funny. She's definitely the boss in her playroom, but Dennis just went along with it and chose other toys or chairs or the other Elmo or whatever he needed to do to avoid her wrath. He was very easygoing today. I think he was just happy to be with his friend. He did ask for pizza all day (we've had a few pizza meals at their house) but was happy to have grilled burger and french fries instead. David came and joined us for supper and we enjoyed a lazy evening together. It was so late when we headed home that Dennis had already been asleep for three hours. We got him in the car and I was pondering my sleepiness level and wondering if I could drive when suddenly Dennis piped up from the backseat "I want a Coke!". This was a pretty good idea (though he had fallen asleep again when we stopped and David bought one for me). He went to sleep in his bed immediately and dreamed of his fun day!

fun shopping day

We had a fun day in Alabaster today. We shopped at several places and Dennis seemed very happy and content in his stroller. He picked out a few things to carry around, namely a large box of hot chocolate packets that he referred to as "hot chockey". He enjoyed a meal at the Mexican place and was fascinated by the giant star pinatas hanging all over the ceiling. He pointed to one and said "sun?" and I told him it was a star. He immediately replied "twinkle twinkle star".

After the meal that he ate WITH HIS FORK (hooray!!), we shopped at Target and looked at all kinds of toys. He chose a Lights and Sounds Percy train (even though we already have one Percy) and Knapford Station (which talks and identifies the engines and tells them that Sir Topham Hatt needs this or that delivered here or there)--purchases he used his birthday money for. He played with Percy all the way home. And then he played with his Daddy.

I had a little trouble getting him to sleep in the bed last night--he cried and pointed to his crib and said "baby bed" and "want baby bed" over and over. I brought him a couple of matchbox cars to play with in bed, and once he discovered that they fit perfectly along the headboard of his bed, he slept there happily.

rainy day spring cleaning

David was off work today and I was happy to have him here. He played with Dennis a good bit while I worked on cleaning my bedroom. Dennis would periodically visit me in there to check my progress.

He slept well in his bed again last night and actually napped in it today. I was very pleased! He insisted on sleeping with Pooh and Eeyore tonight and also demanded "Monkey Sock" (his sock monkey). I can barely see him in there for the toys!

what a big boy

He slept all night in his toddler bed and woke up at 6:30 and began playing. It's a little early, yes, but he did great! And he took his morning nap in the toddler bed as well. He didn't do so well in it for the afternoon nap because I had rearranged his room by then and he could see a bunch of toys that he wanted to play with. We eventually had to resort to the crib, which he was not a bit happy about ("want my big boy bed!"). I'm hopeful that the crib will be out of there soon.

Today he was able to tell me where he hurt. He bumped his head and said "my head hurts" and later smashed his fingers and said "hand hurt". This is a new step for him, one that will make diagnosing his ills easier in the coming years. Also, he jumped up for the first time today. He came into my room where I was cleaning and said "watch Dennis jump". Then he jumped, landed, fell onto his bottom, said "great job, Dennis" and then ran back to his toys in the living room. He's been big on the "great job" phrase lately--don't know where he learned it but it's so cute to watch him praise himself!

can't contain me

Dennis climbed out of his crib this morning. I was surprised when he came to find me after his nap. I had heard him calling me and saying he was ready to get out, and I was on my way into his room when he met me in the hallway. It looks like he'll be learning to sleep in his toddler bed pretty much immediately! I hope he trains easily.

We went to the track again today and he patiently rode in the stroller while I walked and jogged. When we were done, he said "want to go see Daddy", so we did! We needed to buy baby wipes and they didn't have any at the grocery where David works, so we had to head to Wal-Mart. Dennis was surprisingly good at Wal-Mart today. Lately I've been mildly suicidal after our trips there from all the whining and complaining, but he enjoyed himself today. And therefore, so did I. Dennis was delighted to discovered that we were having pizza for supper!

We put him to sleep in his toddler bed tonight. I had intended to read a story to him to help prepare a new bedtime routine, one where we tuck him in and read to him, but he immediately climbed in and said "night night sweet dreams bye bye". We left him as he requested, and we heard a crash and he came to the door a minute later (we put those doorknob covers on today so now he can't get out). We escorted him back to his bed and he cried and said "no" but then dropped right off to sleep. It's hours later and he's still in his bed and hasn't fallen out or cried or anything. I am optimistic!

baby on the go

I was looking at the collection of wheeled baby transport items all parked on our front patio today and thinking that Dennis certainly has a goodly number of wheels for a two year old. The Power Wheels Jeep is there, which he is afraid of driving and instead points to it and says "Chloe drive jeep"--he would rather push it or be pushed around in it. I expect he'll get over it soon enough because he certainly asks to drive our cars regularly. The bike trailer is there as well, me having just reassembled it and hooked it up. I took him for a long ride yesterday, the kind that had my thighs and calves screaming while I wished for a bicycle with more than one speed. I love my cruiser and it is just what I wanted, but it is not the bike for pulling Dennis in a trailer up several hills. The wagon is there, the Radio Flyer with the all-terrain wheels and the wooden sides, a gift from his Mommy and Daddy for his first birthday that he enjoys the occasional ride in. He learned to take off the front panel and climb out while it's in motion on Friday afternoon. Scary. He has a Little Tikes car (still indoors and not on the patio to keep the tires from scratching my wood floors to death) that he drives EVERY day, still mostly in reverse though I have seen him finally power it forward with his little feet. And there's the jogging stroller, possibly my favorite of all, which I like to take on our walks. We took it to the park today, as a matter of fact, and I'd like to report the following miracle that occurred while we were there: I RAN FOR AN ENTIRE MILE consecutively, without stopping, without dying. I actually ran. And I feel great! I also walked two additional miles, stopping between them to give Dennis a snack and some water. He happily pointed out birds and squirrels and people-watched during our 9 laps around Goosepond Park. As a reward for his happiness and contentedness (and for only throwing Froggy out of the stroller once), I took him to the playground and let him get his own exercise. It is a BEAUTIFUL sunny spring day, perfect temperature, perfect slight breeze, azaleas and lilies and camellias all in bloom. What a great day to get out and play!

such sweetness

Gran and Pop were getting ready to leave on their trip and Dennis had been asking for them all day, so I took him by to say goodbye. He hugged and hugged them and then said "be careful" as he said "bye bye". As we were passing their driveway on our way home, he yelled out "bye, I'll miss you!". He's such a sweetie. He's been telling David to be careful, too, when he leaves for work in the morning. He just picks up everything we say now. Like a little tape recorder... Or digital voice recorder... (I was really showing my age just then!)

no nap? no problem...

It was Mommy's Night Out. Gran kept Dennis while I went shopping and David finished up a side job. I'd been unable to convince Dennis to nap at all and when I checked on him in his pack and play at the lake, he was sitting with his legs UNDER the mattress that he'd peeled up (he likes the sound the velcro makes when it rips). I happily turned him over to his Gran around 5:15 and headed out to the shops so that I could look at things to not buy without a bored toddler demanding to get down and up and push the cart and grab breakable things and run out doors and such. Gran took him to the playground, where she says he charmed all the people there with his cuteness. He was ready to leave after 45 minutes and she tells me that he said "double stack hamburger" and so she bought him one (note: she was with me when I bought him one of these for lunch today as well) for his supper. David picked him up and when he got him home, Dennis walked in the door and walked over and laid his head on our ottoman. David went back out to the car and returned with baby paraphernalia and saw that Dennis had fallen asleep while standing up with his head leaned over on the ottoman. When he went to get the camera, he returned to find that Dennis had crawled up onto the love seat and fallen asleep. He just played until he couldn't anymore!

regurgitation for recreation

We were on our way home and he tossed his pacifier into the void and couldn't find it. Since I'm so ready for him to give up the thing, I didn't immediately pull the car over to search for it. He began chewing on his fingers and rediscovered his love of gagging himself. He would stick his fingers all the way down his throat and gag and I would beg him to stop in horrified shock. He just laughed and laughed and continued. He was rewarded for his efforts with a stream of slimy oreo cookie fragments that came up as he intentionally gagged himself again and again. I had quite a mess to clean up since he felt the need to fling his slime-covered fingers about and spread the wealth to random parts of my car upholstery. Truly lovely.

celebrating spring

It may be a day or so early, but it was perfect spring weather today! Dennis and I met a good friend at Peach Park and shared some peach ice cream. Then we walked in the sun and played on the playground. Dennis is wearing shorts and we both have on sandals, and it's so good to be free of socks! I don't know if the cold weather is officially gone, but we're enjoying the warmth and mild breezes and all the sun while we can. Sounds like Friday might be a perfect day to hike, and I'm hoping I can make it work out.

Two mornings in a row I've woken to find the most perfect light outside, soft and warm light that beautifully illuminates the hundreds of trees I see from our windows. Leaves are beginning to appear everywhere, and Alabama is really greening up. I have the urge to plant flowers (much as Dennis has the urge to pick and destroy them).

I put the first band-aid on the first skinned knee of the season today, and Dennis was fascinated by the sticker on his leg. He peeled it off rather immediately, of course. And in other little boy milestone news: he pushed a chair over, climbed up, and fetched the cookie jar off a high shelf and pilfered it all by himself. I also caught him lifting the cover off the cake plate while chanting "Daddy cake, Daddy cake", and I rescued the cake before Dennis got it everywhere. He's fast, and he's into mischief, and so far that only makes life funnier than it was before.

fourteen years

Today is our wedding anniversary, and we are celebrating 14 years of marriage. He worked today and came home and cooked supper for me. I made beer bread for him (it is St. Patrick's Day, after all). We didn't go out for a romantic evening--we almost never do--but it was nice to be at home together. Dennis was in a great mood and entertained us with his antics until he went to bed. David and I did spend the evening together, but he was playing his new game and I was watching The Biggest Loser (a show that inspires me very much in my weight loss quest). At least we can say we were in the same room, and we talked some before we went to sleep. What a difference today was from some other anniversaries we've celebrated. The most memorable one was the one we spent two years ago at Brookwood Hospital with a brand new Dennis.

I suppose this ends our string of celebrated March holidays, and I'm a little sad to see the end of it. Some very good friends are celebrating their last anniversary before the kids arrive tomorrow, and we have the first day of spring coming up... And there's Easter next month... Sounds like I can keep the party going!

Thanks to all for the sweet anniversary wishes! And Happy St. Patrick's Day!

happy birthday david

David turns 34 today, and we celebrated rather understatedly at home. I cooked a monster breakfast of biscuits from scratch, sausage, gravy (also from scratch) and scrambled eggs with cheese. I cooked a spaghetti supper and his requested German chocolate cake (thank goodness--I hate coconut and therefore won't be eating any of it!!). We left the balloons and streamers in place from Dennis' party. He worked a few hours and then played his brand new computer game that he used a little of his birthday money to purchase. Thank you everyone for the fond birthday wishes and for the cash that he used to buy himself a little happiness in the form of Sim City 4. Dennis sang Happy Birthday to him tonight. I think he had a wonderful day. I certainly hope he did, at any rate.

the day after the birthday

Today was spent in our pajamas mostly. Dennis woke up saying "Chloe?" and then "Fire truck?". He didn't find Chloe, who went home last night after he went to bed, but he did find his fire truck and new Little People construction set and happily played with both. He's also been watching his Mighty Machines videos, excitedly pointing out trucks and tractors to me and watching as they did their work. The Legos have been played with and so have the new trains. I've read his new books to him and watched him play with his puzzle and the army truck from Uncle Denny. He has tried on his new Thomas swim trunks and shirt and is still wearing the new Thomas pajamas ("Tommy jammies") that he slept in last night. What a happy boy, and how fortunate he was to get so many presents that he loves so much.

He slept with the dump truck that came with his construction set, and this morning before he started talking and asking for things, we heard the dump truck making its noises accompanied by giggles from Dennis. He has napped a good bit today (as have I, but poor David had to work and didn't get that luxury) and has spent the rest of the time playing happily and rather quietly. He hasn't said birthday at all, but he has asked for cake. We ate all the cake yesterday, but David's birthday is coming up tomorrow and I expect he'll be getting some cake then!

Dennis Turns Two

What a wonderful, special day it was. He is officially two now and he enjoyed much celebrating with loved ones to commemorate his big day. Jennifer was the first guest to arrive (the traffic problems from yesterday continued into today) and soon we were joined by Grandma and Bob and then Gran and Uncle Denny. It wasn't too much longer before Pop and Grandmother and Granddaddy arrived and Dennis enjoyed talking to everyone and playing in his giant box train. We decided to go ahead and let him open presents and he loved everything he got. He loved the clothes a little less than he loved the toys, but he did love all his gifts. When he opened the gift bags that had clothes in them, he tossed the clothes out with just the same vigor that he tossed out the tissue paper. It was pretty funny.

Dave and Ellen and Chloe arrived just in time to sing to him and watch him blow out his candle (which he didn't actually do). We had practiced a few times with blowing out a candle, but he only had eyes for the cake today. When I got it close enough to him to blow out the candle, he grabbed a handful of cake and icing and ate it! I had to douse the tiny flame myself! He had a couple of more presents to open and then just played and played! He and Chloe had fun riding around in the jeep. He's intimidated by the motor but enjoyed sitting in it with Chloe and bouncing up and down, or pushing it while she drove. I have no doubt that he will learn to drive it soon!

I can't believe what a fun time we all had, and I loved seeing Dennis smiling continuously all day long. He was saying "Happy Birthday Dennis" to himself at supper. He went to bed with his new dump truck. It was a very successful party!

birthday shopping

We met his Daddy for lunch today and then Dennis and I headed to Birmingham to do some shopping for party decor and gifts. He was entranced by the toy store! I expected to be buying him the Little People house that he loves to play with at Chloe's house, but when I went to put it in our shopping cart, he said "NO!" and pushed it away. He picked out a fire truck instead and played with it for our entire visit to the store. The Thomas trains were on sale and we picked up a Gordon and a Toby (his current two favorite trains), but he barely paid attention to them in the cart because he was so busy with his fire truck!

Our friend Allison (Dennis calls her "Algae") came and met us at the store and she bought the fire truck for him. We had a little difficulty when she took it to her car instead of putting it in with him! We went to eat supper and then went to the party supply store to pick up decorations. Allison found a Thomas table centerpiece that I bought and Dennis held on to the package for our entire ride home from Birmingham. He loves it!

When we finally got home (bad Friday afternoon traffic plus construction on the interstate plus rain plus the addition of spring break travelers headed south to the beach), I found that David had gotten pretty far in the construction of the giant cardboard box train. I had to run out for more paint to finish up, and it turned into a really late night for both of us, but the train looks great and I'll bet the kids have a great time playing in it!

Pictured: The Big Jeep Project from yesterday.

jeep renewal

We repainted the Power Wheels jeep today. Dennis was napping during a large portion of this and watched a movie while we were finishing up. David took the entire vehicle apart and we cleaned it up and painted it with Krylon Fusion for plastic (which seems to have worked fairly well). I managed to save most of the decals--we removed a couple that I reapplied and I covered the rest so that they wouldn't get painted. We reassembled the jeep and brought it in to dry and keep it out of the rain. We put in a new seatbelt and applied a tiny Alabama license plate with Dennis' name on it. He's all set (or will be when the batteries are charged).

We had to deal with a very sad Dennis who felt neglected while we were fixing up his jeep. He was cranky and hungry and kept asking me for a "double stack burger". Since Wendy's was on our way to the lake, where we were headed to visit with Uncle Denny, we stopped and got him one. He was all smiles after this! Dennis enjoyed seeing his Uncle Denny and walking around with his cane. It was a short visit because it was soon bedtime for both Dennis AND Uncle Denny!

Today is Honey's birthday--she turned 8. I can't believe she's a senior dog now! She got a couple of pieces of pizza to celebrate her special day, and she enjoyed spending time at the lake in the beautiful weather. She's such a good big sister to Dennis, so patient and understanding with him, and we're so proud of what a beautiful and sweet dog she is. I can hardly believe she's been with us for that many years! Dennis sang "happy birthday" to her and blew out a candle for her tonight.

countdown to the birthday

We came home today after spending several days and nights at the lake. Dennis was glad to be home and ran around to be reunited with his toys. We missed seeing Uncle Denny get in, unfortunately, but knew we had to get home to begin getting ready to throw a big party here on Saturday.

While at the lake, Dennis enjoyed playing with Gran and watching his favorite Thomas episodes and he also discovered a new favorite. He managed to turn on the television and watch an episode of Dragon Tales while I was doing some cleaning. He loves this show now and asked me repeatedly if he could "watch dragon" the rest of the day. It isn't as educational as, say, Sesame Street, but it is a cute cartoon.

We all enjoyed the break at the lake (like a little vacation) but it is always good to be home. David got in from work and puttered around in his kitchen some (he loves being home, too). We have some big things to do to get ready for the party, and I'm pretty sure that Dennis knows that something is up. He's been saying "birthday" and "birthday cake" all week!

Where is Uncle Denny?

We stayed at the lake today planning to meet Uncle Denny when he officially arrived for his stay with us (he'll be staying at the lake for a few months and we're very excited about having him close by). All day Dennis has been asking "where Uncle Denny?" and I kept assuring him of the arrival tonight. But as it turns out, he's delayed until tomorrow and I don't know if we'll see him or not (because I have to get my self home to work on party stuff!). Maybe he won't arrive too late! And he'll certainly be at the party.

Today Dennis and I exercised together while watching a program on the FIT channel (this is one benefit of satellite TV but not enough to make us get it at home). He was so cute doing the workout along with me and he applauded himself appropriately and said "yay, Dennis!". We should make this a regular thing.

watch Thomas please

We're still at the lake, enjoying spending time here in the sunny weather. Gran worked on building the kids' playhouse down on the dock--she put in a window and designed very cute decorative shutters with fish on them. There's a space under the staircase down to the dock that is pretty much unusable and now is going to be a fun play space for Dennis and his cousins and friends. We plan to build a bench in there and put a very cool door on one side. We're boarding up the entire inside to hopefully keep it snake proof.

Dennis wanted to watch Thomas the Train episodes all day. He'd play with Mr. Potato Head for a while and then want to watch Thomas (specifically the episode called Thomas' Frosty Friend about a snowman balloon that accidentally gets attached to Thomas). I convinced him to play on the screened porch for a while just to get some fresh air and we enjoyed a walk. But every time we came near the television, it was "watch Thomas snowman please"!

a wonderful surprise

As most everyone knows, we are rather spectacularly broke these days. David has taken a butcher job at a grocery store just to guarantee us some steady income until something better comes along (which we pray happens very soon). It's sad to be out of money when your child's birthday is coming up soon (though David's first check comes the day before!). We are doing a simple party--he's turning 2 and most likely won't remember it anyway--that won't cost a bunch, only providing cake and ice cream to a few guests. But today a wonderful present was given to us and we can only credit God for providing it. The neighbors at the lake house asked me if I wanted the daughters' used Power Wheels Jeep for free. Of course we did! Dennis loved climbing in and out of it over and over and we pushed him along (since the batteries were not charged). I even have spray paint for plastic at home already in the color red that was original to the jeep. I plan to paint it up and have the batteries all charged for his party. What a blessing. And what a great present to give a 2 year old! We had wanted to buy him one for this birthday all along but knew it was not going to be possible. Thank you, God. Wow!

drive boat please

He was delighted that he got to go for a boat ride today. Allison came down to spend the day with us at the lake, first treating Dennis and me to a lovely meal at the Mexican restaurant. Dennis enjoyed his chicken soft taco along with most of my rice and beans. Amazingly enough, during the meal someone passed by our table holding balloons and Dennis pointed to the balloons and said "birthday" several times. Neither of us had said the word and we were amazed that he came up with it. We've watched no videos or read no books about balloons being connected with birthdays lately. We were very impressed! And we agreed that it was a birthday party and he said "birthday cake?". I assured him that he would be getting some of that in a week!

At the lake he chanted "drive boat" and "want drive boat" until we put his life jacket on him and took him down to the boat. It took a while to get it cranked and Dennis despaired of waiting and cried when it wouldn't start again and again. Bob came to our rescue and he and Gran got us started up and underway. Dennis walked around the boat for most of the ride (when he wasn't helping Gran drive) and had a wonderful time. I can't believe there was snow on the ground less than a week ago!!

a moment of hilarity

Dennis very much enjoyed his time with his Uncle Denny today. He even learned to say Uncle Denny, except a few times it came out as "Uncle Knee". It was clear who he was talking about, though, and we were all pleased that he finally learned the name of his very special uncle who is also his Godfather.

There were bouts of spontaneous affection today. Suddenly he announced to everyone after dinner that he loved them ("love Gran, love Uncle Denny, love Mommy") and he ran around the table to hug each of us in turn (and Gran twice). This was so sweet! And later he grabbed me by the face, with one hand on either side, and said "I love you Mommy" then "want kiss" and proceeded to smother my face with open-mouthed slobbery kisses. I loved it, of course.

Tonight we had the most interesting conversation on the way home. We passed the fire station and a little voice piped up from the backseat "fire truck". I agreed that there were indeed fire trucks. Then he said "fire hot", and impressed by this logic, I agreed that fire was indeed very hot. Then he said "cool" and I asked him what was cool. He said "ice cream" and "water" and "apple juice". Do I dare to think that he's grasped the idea of hot versus cold and what objects are hot and cold? Wow. That's quite a little brain in there.

The funniest moment came when he'd been running around the lake house like a wild man for quite a while. He'd already said goodbye to everybody "bye bye Gran, bye bye Uncle Denny, bye bye Dennis" (we don't know why he said goodbye to himself) and passed out hugs a few times (going over to Uncle Denny and demanding "hug" which sounds rather like "howg" when he says it). I suddenly remembered to ask David to hook up the boat battery to the charger in anticipation of the lovely weather predicted for tomorrow. So Dennis had some more time to kill, and when David came back in, we asked Dennis if he was ready to go home. He immediately replied "of course" and we all cracked up. He was so pleased with our response that he tried it out a few more times, saying "of course" and then bursting into peals of baby laughter while watching to see if we were all going to laugh again. What a sense of humor he's getting!

cheerful one

What a happy guy he was today. Gran and I had some work to do this afternoon and knew that Dennis might get bored, so we decided to take him to the playground and let him run off some energy before we headed to the lake. He played on the usual play structures and all of a sudden ran out of the fence. He had spotted a tractor with a front-end loader and was beyond excited about it. The worker there asked him if he wanted to see the tractor go and he got to watch as the tractor moved several loads of dirt. He shouted out directions in his loud happy voice. And he was ready to leave the park this time without tears or frustration. We put him in his car seat while he was still chattering on about tractors and as we drove away from the park, he waved and said "bye bye slide". He rewarded us for taking him to the park with a three hour afternoon nap in which time we were able to completely finish everything we needed to do. Perfect.

I don't know if I remembered to write about this. Several weeks ago, he was naming the little wooden people that came with one of his train sets. He named one Terry and another one Sunny. I picked up the one dressed like a construction worker (overalls, hardhat, handkerchief sweat band around his neck) and asked Dennis what his name was and he said, without hesitation, "Bubba". I have no idea where he even heard the name Bubba, and we couldn't help but chuckle at his appropriate-for-our-location choice.

The picture shows him driving with Gran, something he insisted on doing (and right after I snapped this with my phone he shut the car door in my face). He loves to 'drive'. It's hard to explain to him about needing to be fourteen years older to do so legally.

at the drive-in

When I went into his room to pack up his diaper bag for the day, I found that he'd set up this little drive-in theater. Apparently he thought his cars were in the mood to watch Bee Movie so he set it up for them and turned it on. This is his portable DVD player. He knows how to operate it almost better than we do. Not that he's completely techno-savvy, however. I found a calculator hanging out of the VCR this morning and the remote control to our stereo was resting nicely on the DVD drawer that was sticking out of the player. The remote control for the DVD player has been missing for weeks. I'm hopeful it didn't get flushed. I'd like to think it's too big for that. So far he hasn't put any foreign objects in the toilet (then again, he knows how to use the plunger, so I suppose I can't be absolutely certain of that).

We spent the day helping Gran with some projects and shopping for household necessities for the lake place. Dennis was delighted that he got to eat a hamburger for supper and said "burger" and "hamburger" for a while. He said "drop cracker" and "apple juice floor uh-oh" to let us know which objects were no longer in his car seat with him. He behaved pretty well for a little fellow who was strapped into his car seat or a shopping cart for a good portion of the day, but he was so happy to get home tonight. He was a bit drowsy when I was unbuckling his seatbelt and he looked up at me and asked "home?". I replied "yes, we're home" and his smile was big and just lit his face as he sighed "ahhhhhhhhh" happily. He did some major Fisher Price playset playing before he picked out his own pajamas (dinosaurs tonight--he's starting to like dinosaurs) and zipped them up all by himself (and applauded himself for his effort). He tried to negotiate for a showing of Bee Movie when we put him in his crib, but we insisted on night night instead. He still goes to sleep instantly and easily, but he's beginning to ask for objects or movies at bedtime. It's all part of growing up, I guess.

a quieter day

Dennis was quiet and calm for a large part of the day. Except for the time I was on the phone, he played happily by himself. When I was on the phone, however, he wreaked major havoc on the house, crashing down chairs, unloading fragile candlesticks from the buffet, and grabbing the dry erase markers and play-doh and heading for parts unknown. It's a cell phone--I should have been able to follow and normally would have, but the battery was nearly dead and I was plugged in to the wall outlet. Who would have thought I'd need Bluetooth technology to be a stay-at-home mother? It sure would be convenient to have both hands free, though, so perhaps one day I'll buy one of those other-worldly Star Trek looking earpieces.

Last night after we finished eating, Dennis announced "I'm full". We immediately let him get down from his high chair. This is such an improvement over him whining and throwing down his plate, fork, and cup after every meal. And I've realized that nearly everything he says these days is an actual word. Sometimes it takes me a few minutes to decipher the word and his meaning, but he speaks with purpose now. His ideas amaze me!

The Indian Goddess Potato Head

This is what our darling son engineered this morning. I'm just impressed that he managed to get left arms on the left side and right arms on the right side!

the weather baby was right

Maybe he sensed it in the clouds last night. He kept donning his jacket and asking to go out and play in snow. When we woke up this morning, we had snow! Lots of it coated all the trees and the ground and more was falling. David said he put on his jacket a few times this morning as well, attempting to go out and play in the snow. I had decreed that all of us would stay inside so that we can get over the plague that's keeping us all coughing and snotty. I changed my mind, of course. After all, it's rare to see snow like this in central Alabama, and though he's seen more than his share of the white stuff this winter, I presumed this to be his last opportunity for several months (maybe years). So he and I bundled up. He danced through the entire process, saying "pants!" and "shirt!" and "Dennis' snow boots!" and "hat!" as I got him ready. He couldn't wait. He put on his mittens and when David had to remove them in order to get his hands through his coat sleeves, he panicked. I was hurrying to get myself ready while David re-mittened him and put on his scarf. By this time, Honey was prancing in circles in her eagerness to join us in the snow.

Just as we opened the door to step outside, blizzard conditions ensued. I'm exaggerating a bit, but it was snowing as hard as I've ever seen it snow (and this includes driving through a snowstorm in Vermont and snowshoeing through one in Washington). We pressed onward (or outward) and walked around on the driveway and he pointed out the things to me that were covered in snow ("chair", "swing", and "cars"). Honey ran ahead in a state of dog bliss, churning up snow and bounding into the woods as fast as she could go. We walked out onto the snow-covered grass some, looking at the trees bent under the great weight of the beautiful snow coating their branches. We were getting pelted pretty hard on our faces from the snow and we came back inside pretty soon (Dennis' cheeks were so pink!). He didn't want to come in and cried until I fixed him his very first cup of hot chocolate (well, warm chocolate). He loved it and drank every bit except for the chocolate beard left on his chin after he drained the cup. He also walked around chanting "hot chocolate, hot chocolate" for quite a while.

It was a true snow day. Here in Alabama, no less. I very much enjoyed our cold romp but also enjoyed curling up on the couch and watching the snow fall through our front windows (we have a whole wall of windows). Sure, and spring will be here in 19 days. And in 13 days, I'll be the parent of a 2 year old. Seasons change, time marches on, and I'm doing my best to enjoy every minute.