Two days in a row

Yesterday










today

p-p-p-p-potty!

I haven't had time to scan and post it yet, but Leo's sheet from daycare yesterday showed that he used the potty every. single. time. He didn't have one wet diaper (he still had a #2 diaper). we are not working on this at home. We've got the potty seat out and he knows it's there, but we don't push it. But, at school, it's right there and the other kids are doing it, and he likes to be like the big kids, I guess. Now if we can just get him to face the right direction.

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'Kay

All of sudden yesterday Leo started saying "'kay" instead of yes. We've told him he has to answer a question yes or no, because 'kay can be ambiguous (no, we didn't use the word ambiguous with him).

He was in fine form this morning, screaming "no pants" for a good long time while we tried to get him dressed. He couldn't tell us why he didn't want to wear pants and it's too cold to just wear his pj bottoms. We let him wear his pj top but he didn't seem to care. He got over that once we got to the breakfast table, but once it was time to leave for school he kept screaming for his pacifier. I suppose we should have just given it to him, but any time there is a break in routine and he's gotten to use it other than at bedtime, he wants it all of the time. Since he was under the weather this weekend he got to use it and now doesn't want to go back to not using it. I think we'll have to consider going cold turkey with this child.

Jeff called me while I was still on the bus to work and said I should call to check in on Leo later in the day because he had screamed all the way to school and during dropoff. I hope he hasn't developed another ear infection.

Needless to say, mornings like this can wear you out before you get started. Good think Leo is so cute or we might have to farm him out. :-)

I found it!

For some reason that's what Leo says every time we pull into the Urbana Free Library parking lot--"I found it!" As if it were missing and he were an intrepid explorer. We stopped at the library on our way out of town for the weekend. We left right after lunch on Saturday to go to Jeff's aunt and uncle's in Wilmette, IL. It was about a three hour drive. We had a great lasagna dinner and hung out in the evening.

Sunday morning we were up bright and early and braved the below-zero temps and windchills to make the 45 minute drive into downtown Chicago to go to the Shedd Aquarium. We got there right at 9am when they opened and met up with my friend Heather and her family. Heather and I went to library school together and she now runs a library not too far from Jeff's home town.

The boys seemed to have a really good time seeing all of the different fish and really enjoyed the dolphin show. We saw the whales but aren't sure if we spotted the baby whale or (probably) not. We also got to see the Komodo dragon [diet: anything it wants]. While the boys didn't have much opportunity to directly interact much, I think they liked each other. It was so good to see Heather again and finally meet Otto (and Jon)!

We had lunch together and Leo started to act like he wasn't feeling well--he got the chills and wouldn't eat his lunch. We looked around a little more and left for Jeff's aunt and uncle's in Barrington. He didn't nap much during the hour drive and by the time we got there he had a fever of over 102. We put him down to sleep some more and I went up to check on him after 45 minutes and he was chatting away to himself. He was still really warm, with bright red cheeks, but in a decent mood.

We went downstairs to join everyone and he had fun playing catch with Jeff's cousin David (who's a 7th grader) and watching Stuart Little. Leo even got brave enough to stand next to their big black lab Yogi while it was out of the crate. He said he wanted to pet the dog, but didn't get quite that brave. Maybe next time. After a fabulous dinner (which Leo didn't eat but behaved nicely during) the boys all played with the wooden train set and had a great time. Then we headed back to Wilmette to spend the night and got there just in time to hear the Packers lose the playoff game in overtime. Bummer!

By this morning Leo's fever was gone and he was in a good mood, although his appetite wasn't 100%. We left around 9:30am and were home by noon. There was much less traffic than there had been on the way up, but it was scary going at first because the salt and dusting of snow was making the windshield uncooperative--as soon as the wipers cleared it, it kept refreezing and we couldn't see well. Add in the glare of the sun and the first 30 minutes of the trip were a nail-biter. Leo really liked the big buildings and the highway though and said "whee" a few times as we'd follow a curve on I-94.

Pictures will be forthcoming. When we got to the aquarium our camera wasn't working so we had to buy a disposable one at the gift shop. We'll have to get it developed soon.

Dougan-Gentry social club*

(*that's supposed to be a joke on "Buena Vista Social Club"--which I haven't seen, so I hope I'm not making questionable associations here.)

This week we saw our friends the Gentrys twice--once for an evening playdate during the week, and then yesterday they came over to play and have dinner. Mason and Leo have a blast together. They especially like playing in the tunnel that Leo got for Christmas--they giggle non-stop. They also had a good time dancing. We also discovered two new games this week--"sit on Mason" and "bury Leo in blocks". Here's photographic evidence.

Leo took some time out today to read himself a book.

Next weekend we are planning to go to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and attempt to see the baby Beluga whale. It should be lots of fun.

Leo has learned his last name and very carefully says his whole name--Eo Dougan. We'll wait to introduce his middle name until he can say his whole first name, I think!

He did it!

Leo used the potty for the first time today at school. We have not been pushing potty learning at all--although we have bought a potty chair and let Leo sit on it when he asks (and we have the time). Since everything I have read says that boys learn later than girls and that kids are generally closer to three before they can put it all together, we're not in a real big rush to get him out of diapers. But, since he's currently the youngest in his daycare class and about 5 of the others are using the potty fairly frequently, he often asks to use it at school too.

In other news, Leo occasionally gets attached to the big pillow, (left over from when I was pregnant with him) and wants to drag it all over the house. Here're some cute pictures.


Here Leo has his bag, which is filled with books, cars, and a "baby" (stuffed animal). Apparently he is very tired from carrying it around.











This boy is such a ham. I don't know where he gets it from, since Jeff and I hate having our pictures taken.








Leo did not want to risk losing the pillow, so it had to be involved in story time. He loves pop-up books. In this one two of the pages always scare him at first (they are all dinosaurs), but then he gets over it and hugs them.

whew!

Well, we've mostly recovered from the holidays. I've still got a cold and Leo is almost over his, although we are wondering if another ear infection might be in the works given how poorly he's slept the last two nights. The pediatrician at urgent care said otherwise though.

It's been a quiet week, I only worked Wednesday, was out Thursday for my research day, and then was home sick on Friday. Jeff worked Thursday and Friday and Leo went to school Weds-Fri. He seems to be glad to see his friends again. He was very glad to see Mason again when we visited with them on Thursday night and did not want to go home.

We took down the tree yesterday and today finally finished breaking down the last of the Christmas shipping boxes that were threatening to take over the garage (and I thought the boxes from moving had been numerous!). Now the house looks somewhat empty and probably will until our new loveseat arrives (not for another 3 months or so--it was a special order, sigh). This is mostly disappointing because there aren't enough places to sit. We had to divide our existing furniture among two rooms and have the couch in one and two chairs in the other--which means only room for two to sit--which made the holidays like musical chairs since noone wanted to sit on the hard dining chairs or the floor (it was cold down there!).

We didn't take a whole lot of pictures over the holidays, mostly because they were lowkey, and because with scattered relative visits we actually did three separate present openings. I think the grandparents probably took more pictures than we did. Here are a few:



Leo driving his "Leomobile," built by Grandpop Glenn with a working steering wheel and gearshift lever. Vroom vroom! (Thank goodness he didn't include a working horn.)










Very carefully opening a present.













Happy family.