go boom

About 20 minutes into what was supposed to be Leo's nap, we were all surprised by a very loud "thud" which was immediately followed by loud little boy wailings. He turns out to have (finally) succeeded at climbing out of his crib, which was followed by a crash to the floor.

We let him stay up for a few minutes afterward, since he said he wasn't ready to go to sleep. His little high-pitched voice was heard several times to say "go boom."

He's sleeping now, though we may consider waking him up at around the 2-2.5 hour mark just to be sure there's no concussion.

Seems like it's time to look at toddler guard rails, whether by ordering the ones that go with the crib or by taking down the front rail and getting a tuck-in set. (I need to look at the crib when he wakes up to see if the latter option causes any problem with the mattress support.)

cookin'

Leo loves to play in the kitchen cabinets. This can be fun or downright annoying, depending on whether you are in the middle of trying to cook something yourself. In the spirit of Thanksgiving cooking, I give you

TupperHead!




(I don''t know about you, but I think it's funny that between us, Jeff and I have five degrees from four universities, I have worked at two additional universities in addition to one of the above, Jeff has worked at one community college and attended two others plus credit courses without a formal degree from another university, and none of the educational institutions heretofore mentioned is Michigan State. The sweatshirt was a lovely gift from a relative who was honoring the fact that Jeff is from Lansing. It's almost the only university apparel Leo has [my undergraduate alma mater sent him a shirt that he's just about to grow into] and I think it'll probably stay that way until he's ready for college. For bonus points--can anyone name the colleges and universities in question? :-) )

Happy upcoming Turkey Day!

[ed. by Jeff on 11/22: in view of a shirt in Leo's closet, the trivia quiz has been updated. Mom, you got most of them, but you need to make it a comment. :) ]

pacifier update

PA180004
Originally uploaded by kmdougan

Two posts in one hour! Wow. Will wonders never cease?

In other news, we have managed to limit Leo's pacifier use to bedtime only. We forgot to take it to school one day for naptime and Ms Marjorie said he didn't mind, so we stopped sending it. When he asks for it at home we ask him if it's bedtime yet. He'll say no and then we say that because he's a big boy he doesn't need it until then. It seems to work.

Now if we could just get him to eat vegetables so easily.

jumping jack

This week Leo has learned to jump. He thinks it is great fun and he is getting pretty good at it. He has also discovered the fun of hanging off of things, e.g., the edge of the counter, the Leo-height coat hooks under the shelves at school, etc. He'll grab on with both hands and then swing away.

This week Jarling's closes for the season, so we went Weds with Mason and his folks, and the boys had a fabulous time running around and eating frozen custard. Never mind that it was 40 degrees out.

We've got to get ready for Tgiving and plan, shop, and clean this weekend. We also have to buy a new dishwasher, since ours was recalled due to fire risk. Maytag offered to come fix it, but it was going to take forever and Sears is having a sale, so... we decided we didn't want to go through hosting Tgiving without a dishwasher (or without one that could burst into flames if we used it).

Gobble gobble.

"my office"

... is what Leo has been calling his bedroom lately. it's really darn cute, along with the spontaneous "happy"s that have already been mentioned. The other two current favorite words seem to be "crying" and "broken" (the latter especially in reference to puzzles).

It's been insanely busy for me lately (see here for more details). But, Kirstin and I carved out the time last night to go out to dinner and then to an a cappella show hosted by the Xtension Chords. Between dinner, tickets, and the babysitter (the teacher from Leo's old room at day care), we dropped a fair bundle -- but it was worth every penny.

Picture Day

pb010049
Originally uploaded by kmdougan

Last Thursday was picture day at daycare. Leo eventually let me dress him up--lately he hates to wear buttondown shirts. Here he's eating breakfast at the kitchen counter--he likes to sit on the stool and doesn't even need a booster seat. (Kinda looks like the bag handle in the background is giving him a halo.)

It was my day to drop him off, so we went right in and he was the next kid to get his pictures done. He didn't smile much, but I think it's because the photographer was a dork.

time change

We don't like the time shift. You'd think--but oh, you get an extra hour of sleep, who wouldn't like that? Well, in our case, having a toddler who wakes up at 4something am on Sunday because he thinks it's 5something (which is still too early for him to be up) and then doesn't nap at.all. because by the time we got back from errands and lunch and tried to put him down for a nap, he thought it was time to be up. Sigh. Yesterday was a long day. Very long. (Don't even try to parse the grammar/sentence structure there--I'm too tired to be coherent.

After Leo's non-nap it was time for Jeff to go into school for a fencing practice from 3-6pm (the production of Romeo and Juliet is coming up in two weeks!), so Leo and I went to the library for a while and then came home and went on a walk. Leo insisted on pulling the wagon, and only rode the last 1/2 of the trip. He did a great job.

Hope you all got more sleep this weekend than we did!

Catching up (24 month post)

Many of you have commented that it has been several months since we have posted an "x month update" post reporting Leo's milestones for the month. The truth is that the summer and fall have been particularly busy and stressful with new jobs and a big move, and we just haven't had the time or energy. But, things are starting to settle down somewhat (although we're still just as busy!) so in honor of Leo's 2nd birthday we are doing a catchup update post.

Today Leo started to say "I love you" very clearly. He has been increasingly articulate all month, although he maintains many cute toddlerish pronunciations and inflections (which, unfortunately are hard to recreate phonetically in writing). He's been saying "Happy" a lot to let us know when he is happy and often asks for "music." Leo has also started identifying letters and can usually get R, U, O, but often he'll just call everything C (just like everything is colored green until you tell him the right answer, then he gets it).

This week Leo has permanently graduated to the next room up at daycare and all of his old teachers are sad to see him go (although they still see him all the time). His new teachers enjoy him very much and comment on what a lovely disposition he has (they don't get to see the lovely tantrums he throws at home!). He likes his friends at daycare, but Mason from across the street is still his best bud. He talks about him all the time and asks for him whenever he sees their house.

Last night Leo and Mason and the parents all went trick or treating together. It was so much fun and we had a blast. Leo went as a dragon and Mason (and his folks) went as bicyclists, complete with helmets and reflector lights. The boys rode in the wagon between houses and went up and back to each house together, egging each other on to hurry up if one was slow. They charmed everyone and behaved very well, occasionally saying thank you and goodbye (although not trick or treat) and politely only took one (or two) piece(s) of candy.

After we got home we watched the Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin special on DVD and let Leo have a little candy. We didn't carve a pumpkin at home, but he got to play with pumpkin guts at daycare.

Tuesday Leo had his two-year well baby check-up and he passed with flying colors. He's 27 lbs and 34" which puts him at 40% for height and weight, and his head is in the 60% range. The doctor said he was a good looking boy and that the only shots he needed were his flu shot. We were all caught up on vaccinations, although I swore there were some at the 24 mo. mark.

We celebrated Leo's birthday by inviting Mason and his folks over Friday night for cake (homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, which Mason and everyone else liked by Leo didn't really get into). Grandpop and Grandma Dunn were here visiting and on Saturday morning we all went with Mason and his folks to Curtis Orchard. Unfortunately it had rained a lot on Friday, so everything was cold and muddy, so we didn't spend as long as we might have. But, we got to see the baby goats, try the fresh apple donuts, and play with the tractor before it was time to go home. Leo got a big wagon for his birthday and loves going for walks in it. We especially like to do the 2 mile loop at Meadowbrook Park. We always see lots of other walkers, joggers, bikers, and dogwalkers. Leo got lots of other presents that he likes a lot, but perhaps the hit of the birthday was the card from my sister, which played the "hamster dance" song when you opened it.


Leo is still enjoying the Signing Time show very much and has started using more of the less common signs. We got him 3 more of the DVDs for his birthday. He will sit still for an entire 30 minute episode.