Month 23 - Recap

I'm so glad that Child Protective Services doesn't have a bug in our house, because if they did, DUDE. I might have some 'splainin' to do. Your current favorite thing to say is "ow". And coupled with your favorite volume of 'TODDLER BOY LOUD', it makes for a delightful recipe for "Hello, ma'am, may we come inside? We'd like to ask you a few questions ..." You say EVERYTHING is 'ow'. Diaper changes are 'ow'. Baths are 'ow' (as they have been for the past 23 months. ENOUGH WITH HATING BATHS, OKAY? I GET IT. LOUD. AND. CLEAR.). Cleaning you up after you eat yogurt is 'ow'. Putting your shoes on is 'ow'. Kisses are 'ow'. Hugs are 'ow'. Me coming TOWARD you for a hug is 'ow'.

Natalie was such a late talker, so I'm probably over-impressed by how much you're talking. You said your first three-word sentence early this month. We were at the beach with our dear friends John and Amanda and you were playing peek-a-boo. You poked your head around the couch and said "I see you!" Granted, it came out more like "I shee-oo", but whatever. Fast forward a few weeks and you say "I see you" as clear as a bell. You say dozens and dozens of words now. I can't even keep track of what you say; you seem to say new words on a daily basis. You're still leaving off the last few letters off most words though. 'Couch' is 'cow'. But 'cow' is also 'cow'. 'Please' is 'pee'. 'Pink' is 'pee'. 'Pee' is 'pee' [not that you're potty-trained; you just have an older sister who loves to share her bathroom adventures with you]. 'Bike' is 'bye'. 'Bye' is 'bye'. 'Yellow' is sometimes 'yellow'; other times it's 'lellow' or 'lay-oh' or even 'pee' [pink] (or who knows, maybe you really do mean 'pee' and potty humor has already started. You are a boy after all.)

Your hand-eye coordination is pretty good. You've gotten really great at stringing big, wooden beads onto shoelaces. [Don't tell your sister, but you're way better at it than she was at this age]. You're your best cheerleader, though sometimes this gets in your way. Just before the shoelace pokes through the other side of the bead you get so excited because you just can just start to see the top of the shoelace. So you immediately drop the bead and give yourself a hearty round of applause. Then you realize in the chaos of your clapping, the shoelace fell out of the bead and you have to start all over again. Such are the trials of being a one-man applause section.

You insist on reading your book of BIBLE stories before bedtime. Yes, I meant to type Bible in all-caps because you yell the word in all-caps when you say it. After your jammies are on, your teeth are brushed, and you've properly dodged all good-night kisses (because they're all 'ow', as I've mentioned above), you lunge into your rocking chair and yell "BIBLE". You like making all the animal sounds on the creation page. You like pointing out that Noah has a boat, and when I ask what kind of boat it is, you say 'bown' [brown]. You like pointing out Joseph's angry brothers (and the really adorable sheep who are also on the page; you say they're 'cyoo' [cute]). You talk about how Baby Moses is sleeping (complete with your impossibly adorable snoring sounds) and you quack (incorrectly) at what you think is a duck (it's a crane, I believe) that's standing by his basket. Your favorite page, however, is David and Goliath. I make a big point of showing how large Goliath is and how small David is, and apparently you find this enormously entertaining. You point out Goliath's 'so' [sword] and his 'soo' [shoes] (why? I have no clue). You also like David's sling. The illustrations in your Bible are precious - they're really fun, totally adorable, and a little bit quirky. Just like you, my boy.

One last thing. YOU TURN TWO NEXT MONTH. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Headlines for October 9, 2013:

• Bend it like ... Samsung? Galaxy Round is first curved-display smartphone
• Government Shutdown’s Fiercest Feud: Boehner vs. Reid
• New $100 bills finally hit the street
• Tom Hanks reveals he has type 2 diabetes on 'Late Show'
• Vote to Name the Twin Panda Cubs at Zoo Atlanta!
• Man Cured of Lifelong Crying-Laughing Seizures

September 2013 - Recap

[First, let me preface this: this will be woefully short. September was awful. I had a headache for 95% of the month. You and Charlie were Certified TV Zombies.]

There are many times when I think "Dang, kid, you're too smart for your own good." But, alas, September wasn't full of those times. This wasn't your most logical month, my sweet girl. Allow me to paint a few pictures.

• You are still noise sensitive; Charlie is still noisy. Instead of covering your ears when he gets on one of his noisy kicks, you cover your face with your book and then wail that he's too loud. Let me say that again. You cover your face with a book. Your face. Not your ears. Your face.
• I cooked several new meals this month [to make up for the Mommy Guilt I felt by you two watching so much TV, I tried to cook some fun new meals - some were hits, some were misses] and while I was cooking dinner, you came into the kitchen to ask what we were having. When I told you, a look of horror fell upon your face and you wailed "But I don't like [insert new meal here]". My response was always "You've never had it. How do you know you don't like it?" And your wackadoo response was always "But if I've never had it, how am I supposed to know if I like it or not?" And I said "Right! That's what I'm saying!" And you'd say "But I can't say I don't like something if I've never had it before! And I don't like [insert new meal here]!" And I'd be all "Wait, whaaaaa?" Pure lunacy, I tell ya.
• You've forgotten how to fix your own blankets on your bed. Particularly at 3am. We had this problem last year and it took a month or so to break you of the habit of coming into our room, waking us up, asking us to fix your blankets (which did not need fixing, by the way), us informing you that we were not, in fact, going to fix your blankets, telling you that you had to go back to your room and fix your own blankets. And now you're even a year older! You now even more capable of fixing your own silly blankets. I totally understand waking us up if you have a bad dream or if you can't find your teddy bear - those are Critical Situations. But that your blanket is pushed down to the foot of your bed? That is most assuredly a Situation Whereby You Sit Up and Reach Over And Grab The Blanket And Pull it Back Over You, You Silly Person, You. Mommy and Daddy are not needed. You can tell us all about the fascinating blanket escapades in the morning.

When you don't get your way [which, admittedly happens a lot, because, you know, you're four and also, much to your dismay, YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS], you've developed the delightful habit of stomping off down the hall to your room and announcing to God and everyone "I AM POUTING". This is only after you dramatically throw yourself down on the couch in a gigantic huff (and if you're not sure we didn't take good enough notice of the aforementioned huff, you huff again. And again, if necessary.) It's ever-so charming. And it ever-so must stop because now when Charlie gets frustrated? He throws HIMself down on the couch in frustration and stomps down the hall and hollers in his half-decipherable-half-indecipherable ramblings. Daddy and I are trying as hard as we can to teach you positive ways to vent your frustrations because, clearly, Charlie watches you like a hawk. We'll certainly take the stomping off as opposed to throwing a toy or biting when you're mad, but still - trying to bring down the mood of the house with your incessant pouting and huffy attitude has GOT to stop. We're trying to teach you to take a deep breath a count to four. For a smart kid, you seem to forget how to count to four a LOT. As such, I've had to repeat Galatians 6:9 to myself a LOT this month.

You've heard live music several times in your short little life, but you've never really cared up until now. Francesca Battestelli happened to be performing in Destin as part of Harvest America (a Christian outreach). When Daddy and I heard about it, we knew we had to take you. She's one of your favorites. You prance around the house with your Disney Princess microphone singing 'Strangely Dim' practically 24/7. That's also your song of choice when you spot a microphone in Target or Books-A-Million. You feel that it's your job to serenede the customers. There was more to Harvest America than just Francesca Battestelli, but you didn't care. You were just focused on hearing her. Daddy and I would have loved to hear more, but we understand the season of life that we're in. Sitting still and listening to a speaker for an hour just isn't on your and Charlie's to-do list. You and Charlie wanted to run around and play hide-and-seek - so that's what you did. But when Francesca Battestelli came on stage, the fun and games stopped. Daddy put you on his shoulders and you were mesmerized. She opened her set with 'Strangely Dim' and you were the happiest girl in the entire world. You were the best backup singer Francesca Battestelli never asked for, and watching you watch her for those three minutes were absolutely worth the four hours (round trip) it took to get you to see her.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Headlines for October 1, 2013:

• No Deal: Government Shuts Down for First Time in 17 Years
• Twitter won't shut up about 'Breaking Bad' finale, why should you?
• 10-year-old gives gift of running to disabled brother
• UC Berkeley campus evacuated after explosion; injuries reported
• Pa. woman, 102, gets honorary high school diploma
• Number of world hungry drops to one in eight: UN
• Muslim man becomes Christian after recovering from brain aneurysm