Wednesday, April 8, 2009

16 Months-Old

You turned 16 months-old today. You just keep getting bigger and more amazing everyday. Your growth has finally slowed down a bit so you have been wearing the same sizes for a couple of months. You have begun to say some new words, car being your favorite. I must hear that word at least fifty times a day.

Your most amazing achievement is that on April 5th you began reading about 16 words. That's right you can now read words that you can't even say yet. I know you're wondering if you're not talking how do I know that your reading. Well, about four months ago I made some flash cards for you and we started watching a video that shows common words and their corresponding pictures. You love your videos and often point for me to get your flashcards when we are sitting at the table. I try to update the cards with words or things you are currently interested in. About a week or so ago I added car to those words because of your fascination with saying it. I think that one word made everything click for you.

On April 5th you pointed for your cards while Daddy was feeding you a snack. He pulled out the card that said car and asked you what it said and lo and behold you said car! Initially, we thought it was a fluke until he held up the next card. The card said nose. When Daddy pointed to the card and asked, " Do you know where this is?" you pointed to your nose. Amazing! Some of the cards you didn't know but you got a whopping 16 of them. Even more crazy was that when you recognized the word you immediately pointed to the body part or did the sign (we use some sign language) or acted out the card without any prompting. When the card said "arms up" you immediately put your arms up in the air. When the card said "Elmo" you pointed to Elmo. When the card said "goodbye" you waved. Actually that was funny because you didn't get the word wave. I was also surprised that you didn't get the word clap because it is one of your favorites but, to my astonishment, you did the sign for all done when we showed you that card. Your not reading books or anything crazy like that but you have learned 16 sight words. An awe inspiring feat at 16 months old. Another milestone you achieved this month is sleeping without your binky. You are still getting used to the idea. We have had a couple of rough nights but everyday is a little better.

You have also started to eat with a fork with help and you enjoy many finger foods. We rarely feed you anymore unless we are having soup or cereal.

Unfortunately I didn't post for your birthday last month. We were settling into our new place and you got a nasty cold right before the big day. I have posted some pictures from the last two months to catch us up.



Yup, you're still a ham.This monkey is one of your new best friends. While visiting with Ava you wore one of her backpacks the whole time you guys were playing together. I just knew we had to get you one of your own.
You are still a daredevil. In this picture you are standing on top of your old bassinet. It was filled with toys and stuffed animals so it must have taken some muscle for you to turn it over.

You love playing in our new yard. It has lots of space for you to run and drive your cars.

Again daredevil. Especially because you are messing with Mommy's coffee. Is nothing sacred in this house? ;)
I had to move all your window gels up after this fiasco. One thing I have learned is that a quiet house is a scary one. If you are content and quiet I better run to see what you are up to. The only exception to this is when you are looking at your books. You will sit quietly and flip through them for awhile. In general you are either running or sleeping. There is no middle ground.

Here is a perfect example of you chillin' with some books. This pile is from the library. I think we've taken out just about every board book they have.
Happy birthday little boy. And never forget, We love you through and through.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day.

We had a very special Valentine's.
We got you two balloons and a book, I Love You Through and Through. Daddy got Mommy a popcorn Maker. (we will get a lot of use out of it). You and I got Daddy a Lego Star Wars game for the wii.

You had your first ever piece of chocolate. You weren't terribly impressed.

We had blueberry waffles and eggs for breakfast.



We had Asparagus soup and jalapeno and corn muffins for lunch. You weren't as excited about the asparagus soup as you were the last time you had it so we also gave you some leftover pizza.

We also went clothes shopping for you. All of your pants were too short. Some of the outfits you got for Christmas and your birthday are already too small. We bought you clothes in size 2T. I can't believe the pants fit you. You pretty much skipped right over the 18 months clothes. They only fit you for about 2 months. Slow down boy, you have plenty of time to grow!

To end the night we went out for Mexican.
You loved it!
And you were very well-behaved.
Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Dreaming of Spring Cont...

Since it hasn't been nice enough to go out again I will post the rest of the pics from our "nice day". After playing the morning away you were ready for a nap.You are usually very happy when you wake up from your naps.
And very cute.



You were wondering why I was laying on the floor snapping pictures of you. I do all kinds of crazy things to get the best angles.
You helped me get a snack ready for us.
Then we went on the porch to enjoy our snack in the sunshine.
Your favorite. Popcorn!

Then you tried to help cleanup all the popcorn we dropped on the floor.
We had fun!
I can't wait for our next nice day.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Dreaming of Spring

It is 55 and sunny here to day. I wish it would stay this way. I know it won't so we got out and enjoyed the weather today. No coats necessary, yay!The hyacinth on the kitchen windowsill brings a bit of color to the gray scene outside.
We hit the park and got reacquainted with the swings. Teige was a little leery at first but as soon as we started swinging he quickly remembered how much fun it is.


Ugh, walking in the snow is hard work. He even tried to crawl in it a couple of times. We really weren't dressed for that.
Already giving me panic attacks about the possible injuries stemming from his increased mobility and independence.
Oh boy, maybe spring can wait a little longer. I don't think I'm ready for this. Let's go back to the swings!
Ahhh, that's better :)

Monday, February 9, 2009

Our New Place

We moved to a new apartment last weekend. It is just around the corner from our old place.This is the place. We live on the first floor. I am loving the big screened porch.Another chair will join this one soon. And some plants after the last frost. (Not soon enough!)You enter from our front hall into the living room. The living room opens into the Dining room. See the beautiful light we have. We have wonderful exposure all day. Lots of great big windows in this place. The house is old but the windows are new.More amazing windows in our dining room/ playroom/ office. It all fits beautifully. This is the biggest room in the house.
Office/ craft/ sewing area. The hallway to the bedrooms and bathroom is on the right in this picture.More amazing windows in the Kitchen. One curtain completed and hung before the move in. I need to sew it's mate.Plenty of room for all the cooks in this place!Teige's room is at the end of the hall. The other door in his room (on the right) leads into the kitchen. We have opted to leave it permanently closed so he doesn't run around the house in circles all day and so we can keep better tabs on his whereabouts. As if he leaves my side for more than a minute ;)

Plenty of floor space, for an active boy, in here. Thankfully those mats work wonderfully at cushioning his tumbles.

More beautiful windows and wonderful light. Lucky boy. We gave him the best room in the house.

View of the backyard out his window. We plan to hang a swing, from the big tree, when the weather gets nicer.

A closet with a door, yay! A huge closet at that. (Bigger than ours!)Yeah, I couldn't resist bringing in the slide. We need to practice for the upcoming playground season. Well, this concludes our tour. I forgot to get a picture of the huge clawfoot tub (I can stretch my legs all the way in it) and the big window in the bathroom. Oh, and our room. Truly it isn't exciting enough to get photographed.
p.s. I have to apologize I tried to uplaod a video for the last two hours and now I am giving up. Oh, blogger why must you mock me?
p.p.s. this is why I don't upload videos that often