kids say the darndest things

We were lying in bed this morning, all four of us, when we heard a looooong loud noise. John David said, "You hear that? I hear a helicopter!"

Me, "That was just Daddy. He tooted."

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Yesterday we were driving back from our Thanksgiving trip to King of Prussia. We stopped off at KFC for lunch. While David was in line ordering, John David was standing in his chair and not listening to my repeated requests to sit down. When I stood up to move and sit next to him, he tried to sit down really fast but missed his seat and fell to the floor. I braced myself, half expecting his head to crack open. The women seated next to us gasped audibly.

He jumped up and complained, "I hurt my penis Mommy!"

That gave everyone a good laugh. Never a dull moment around here! :)

Six Months :)

Rex had his six month check up and shots on November 8. As you can see he weighed 21 lbs 5 oz, which puts him in the 99th percentile for weight. I forgot to ask how tall he was but I remember she said it was in the 95th percentile. He can roll over in both directions, sit up independently, move toys from one hand to the other, has started squealing and babbling, and tries very hard to crawl. He can move several feet by himself on the floor but it's not true "reciprocal" crawling, as an occupational therapist would say. ;0)

Recent Videos

Rex eating a Mum Mum.

Playing catch with Daddy. Usually when I play catch with him he says, "I'm doing bay-ball! I'm doing bay-ball!" [Baseball].

And, for what it's worth, I had several more videos to post but ONCE AGAIN my computer is mysteriously not connecting with my digital camcorder even though it just uploaded these two videos without incident. It has a mind of it's own, it seems.

Circus Circus

Two weeks ago we took the boys to the circus. They had so much fun. John David loved it and even Rex sat in my lap with a huge smile bouncing to the rhythm of the music. Several days afterwards John David ran to the door and said, "C'mon Mommy, let's go to the circus! Go see tigers and elephants. Get cotton candy!"

$#*! my kid says

John David has been saying some hilarious things lately.

He has learned that he cannot open items in our grocery basket until we pay for it first. When he gets a toy or is allowed to hold onto something we are buying, he sometimes has to be reminded, "Don't open it. We have to pay for it first." So at Target last week we were standing in line when he reached inside my purse, pulled out a Mum Mum for Rex that I had stashed there, held it up in front of everyone and said, "Mommy! You have to pay for it first!"

I froze. Oh the horror!

Luckily the cashier knew I hadn't stolen it and said to John David, "Oh you don't want to pay for it twice, that would be silly."

Phew.

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Several weeks ago we were at the library and John David found a toy train named Percy (a friend of Thomas the Train) in the play area. He played with it the entire time we were there and when it was time to leave he didn't want to put it back. Finally, I wrestled it away and set it back down on the train table. Ever since then, he has told Daddy that "Mommy threw Percy."

For the record, I did not throw Percy. I did not toss Percy. I did not do anything that could have even been construed as throwing.

But John David loves to say, "Mommy threw Percy."

Last week when we took Rex to his six month check up, Dr. Kim asked John David how he was doing. He told her, "Mommy threw Percy."

Sigh.

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John David's had a love affair with dog food for a long time. We always feed Dolly after he goes to bed and I try to pick up her dog bowl before he comes downstairs in the morning. But sometimes he gets his hands on it and munches it. I tell him, "That will make your tummy hurt." He doesn't care.

So a few nights ago he was sick and throwing up. I was nursing Rex and he crawled up into my already crowded lap and said, "Mommy it hurts inside my tummy," and two seconds later he threw up all over me, Rex, himself, and the couch. He managed to get vomit all down my bra. Blech! Poor pumpkin ended up vomiting a total of 8 times in the next few hours. He sat limp in my lap at one point, looked up at me and said sheepishly, "Mommy, I eat dog food."

Ahahahaha! He thought all that dog food finally caught up to him. Alas, it was definitely not the dog food. David had the same virus earlier in the week and later in the evening I got sick suddenly as well. Must have been some 24 hour bug because we both felt better the next day.

But the question remains---will he eat dog food again?

don't let Cooper pop it

I've been meaning to write this down since it happened.

Rewind first: A few months ago, John David wanted to take a bouncy ball outside to play and I told him "no" repeatedly because I knew our neighbor's dog Cooper (a lovable yellow lab) could get his teeth around it and pop it. But....you know how kids can be. They can just wear you down and you get tired of sounding like a broken record!

Well, I got tired of this daily battle so when he snuck it outside I didn't bother doing anything except say, "Don't let Cooper pop it." In a matter of minutes, Cooper got ahold of it and popped it. Tears ensued, and I thought, "Mmmm hmmm, told you so." He cried and cried.

Experience is the best teacher, right?

All of a sudden he seemed to understand what "Don't let Cooper pop it," meant. He repeated it over and over to himself.

Cooper got John David another ball a few days later and guess what? He keeps it in the house without any nagging from me. :) He plays happily with his ball in the house and every time he asks me to get it down from the shelf he says, "Don't let Cooper pop it."

So that was a few months ago. Fast forward to a few weeks ago. We went out to breakfast at Pamela's. They have a sparkly rainbow disco ball hanging from their ceiling. John David pointed to it and said, "What's that Mommy?"

Me, "A disco ball."

John David sighed, "Don't let Cooper pop it."

Halloween Fun

The day before Halloween we had a party in the backyard. It was just an excuse to let all the kids have another chance to dress up and have fun. We played Pin the Smile on the Jack-0-lantern, Pass the Pumpkin (like Hot Potato), and The Mummy Game (wrap up partner in toilet paper). John David didn't participate in any games. I guess he's just not old enough yet. I dropped the ball on taking pictures so we don't have very many.

The boys were dressed as a knight and dragon. I was Baby Jaguar (Diego's sidekick) because the original plan was to dress up as Diego characters. We were never able to find one for John David. I thought I'd be able to make it the Diego costume myself but couldn't find what I needed for that either. So we defaulted to the Costco store bought costumes. Dang! I would've been a princess to go with our family "theme" but it was too late. David was a redneck sporting a Billy Ray Cyrus mullet.

On Halloween night we walked up the street and went trick or treating on Forbes. The businesses down there pass out candy to the kids. John David had fun. On the way home, there was a house decked out in paper lanterns, with a man dressed up as a gorilla playing spooky keyboard music on his front porch. He had speakers set up to blast the music down the street. It was pretty cool. David tried to get John David to walk up the stairs to get candy out of the bucket but he kept saying, "I'm scared! That's scary."

Our Frankenstein cake. The best part was the purple cake on the inside. :)

John David and Henry hanging out by the candy. (Of course).

Squealing Dragon on Halloween

Happy Birthday Grandpa

My voice is cracking because we have been sick all week. (As if I could sing otherwise, ha!) John David picked Grandpa a winner for his birthday and will start to sing about halfway into the video. If you call that singing...

ABC's

John David sings his ABC's. I love how he falls apart on the last line. Instead of, "Next time won't you sing with me," he just kind of mumbles "Yuh yuh yuhhhh."

Simmons Farm

We went to Simmons Farm today. John David was excited to hop in the car after being told where we were going. :)

We took a hayride down to the pumpkin patch. John David started singing, "I'll take you for a ride on my big blue tractor!" (Instead of big green tractor, you know that song by Jason Aldean).

Played in the corn box.

Swung on a tire swing.

Climbed on an old fire truck.

Rode a "dune buggy," as John David called it.

Pretended to drive a tractor. He didn't want to get off, trust me.

Crawled through a tunnel.

He walked up and said, "Hey Ducks!" As soon as I snapped this picture they all stood up and marched off, single file. I wish I'd taken the video camera. He wasn't as interested in chasing the animals this year so we didn't spend much time in the petting zoo.

Rex is such a sweet baby. He wakes up with a smile on his face, like he did here.

Rex rode around on Mommy and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We picked a pumpkin to take home but the camera ran out of batteries before we got to the pumpkin patch.

jumparoo

Rex finally figured out how to work this jumparoo yesterday. He can't get very high yet though. Our cutie pie.

new little stories

Yesterday John David started a game of peekaboo in our bed. He hid himself under a pillow and called, "Where John David go?" I said, "I don't see him." He stood up and said, "I found me!"

Most people don't find themselves 'til at least age 20, so our son is way ahead of the curve.

***

For the last month he has been asking to go to Sandcastle, the local water park. I have told him several times that it's closed until next summer. A few days ago he asked me again, but before I could answer he said, "Sandcastle is shut."

Shut. Closed. What's the difference really?

***

Last night at Walmart we were cruising through the Halloween section when David put on a scary clown mask and snuck up to John David, got right in his face, and made a evil snarling sound. Poor John David!! He turned way around, eyes wide with terror, gripping the shopping cart, trying to figure out how to jump ship, but he was buckled in. He was trembling from head to toe. David ripped off the mask and nearly fell on the floor laughing. John David was confused at first so David tried to show him that it was just a mask but he turned his whole body away from it and whined, "Dat scary Daddy."

playing catch

John David and I were playing catch with a pillow and Rex thought it was hilarious.

Tummy Time

Rex Laughing

Streeeeeeetch.

You named him Rex?

One of my neighbor's twin sons (age 5) asked me: "You named him Rex? Why? Like the dinosaur? Tyrannosaurus Rex?"

I told him Rex means "king" in Latin so Tyrannosaurus Rex means "King of the Dinosaurs" because it was the most fierce.

He said, "Oh. I didn't know that."

I thought that was cute.

Jumparoo

Here is Rex in the jumparoo. In one video you can hear John David saying, "Whatsa matter Rex?"

Diego Sit & Spin

John David spinning on his new Diego Sit & Spin, wearing his new Diego pajamas, and watching Diego on TV.

hat model

This hat looks like a bear. I love the pattern but I think it would be a lot cuter in a solid color.

I made this hat for Lulu. Rex is just modeling it for her.

This colorful hat was my neighbor's favorite. I also made one for Lander.

This blue and rust colored one is my personal favorite.

And I wrote the pattern for this one but it's just okay.

Snugglebugs

Today we went to the big Snugglebugs Consignment sale. It's held twice a year and I always look forward to getting some great bargains on kid stuff.

The big item I wanted to get today was a jumperoo for Rex. My friend and neighbor let me borrow hers when John David was a baby. He loved it so David wanted to get one for Rex too. I found a cute blue pony themed jumparoo for only $20. When we got home, I sat Rex in it and he seemed fascinated by the little doo-dads attached to it---just little disc things that move along a bar. He can barely touch the floor with his toes at this point...but it won't be long.

John David scored big with Dora and Diego toys. His favorite Diego toy today was the Sit and Spin. Diego talks as he spins around. He also got a Diego "laptop." He calls it his "Diego compooter." [computer]. It teaches letters, animal sounds, animal facts, etc. He loves it.

He got a pair of Diego pajamas too.

Hmmm, I wonder what he will dress up for on Halloween?

growing like a weed

Rex had his four month well-baby visit this past Monday. He weighed 18 lbs, 11 oz., was 25 1/2 inches long.

While Dr. Kim was checking Rex out, John David whined, "I want a turn! It's my tuuuuurn!" So after the doctor was finished with Rex, the nurse came in and it was John David's turn---for a flu shot.

Ha! He stood on the table, pulled his pants down, braced himself by wrapping his arms around me and said, "Ready!" It was tough not laughing. Surely he would regret being so eager to have his turn. He whimpered for a second but perked up as soon as the nurse put a band-aid on him. Hmmm. He showed me.

Right after that Rex got three shots and cried. John David said, "Oooh Wexy [Rexy]. Whatsa matter? You okay? It's okay baby." Such a sweetheart.

It's starting to feel like fall. Three days ago it was 95 degrees but today it's cooled down considerably. Love it!!

Here is John David riding his tricycle and wearing his new boots from Gigi and Grandpa. His helmet is new too! He has recently started wearing size 3T. Last week he had his 2 1/2 year well-baby checkup. He weighed 32 pounds and was 36" tall.

Rex is hanging out with Cooper. He turned 4 months old a few days ago and has been wearing size 9 months for the last two weeks!

target practice

I just went upstairs to get John David out of quiet time. He had his shorts and underwear off and there was a giant puddle of pee in the middle of the floor. A plastic water bottle lid was practically floating in the middle of this puddle.

I said, "What is this?"

His chest puffed with pride. "I pee peed on da wid." [on the lid].

out of the blue

A couple days ago John David said, "Broke the camel. No hotdog."

Huh? It took me a second to figure out what he meant.

Three weeks ago, I purchased a Groupon to The Franktuary. It's a hotdog joint at the entrance of a catholic cathedral in downtown Pittsburgh. The Groupon was $5 for $10 worth of food. My friend Valentina raved about it, so David wanted to try it.

We spent some time searching high and low for a metered parking spot. We were hungry so David gave up and parked in an overpriced garage. For some crazy reason, we decided to go without the stroller because the place looked small from the outside and we didn't want to take up the entire place with our double stroller. That was mistake #1.

As soon as we walked in John David saw a large wooden statue of a camel (actually I think it was a llama but what does that matter really?). He was fascinated by this camel and kept saying, "Camel. Look at the camel!" So, how my attention lapsed for two seconds (mistake #2) while checking out the menu is beyond me.... Next thing I know, the camel crashed down and was on the floor in two pieces.

David scooped up John David and took him out of the place while I scurried over, HUMILIATED, and stood the camel's headless body back up and propped his neck & head in the corner.

We left starving and paid our $3.50 parking tab. John David kept saying, "Hot dog! I want a hot dog!"

Daddy said, "No hotdog. You broke the camel!"

So it surprised us on Sunday evening when John David randomly said, "Broke the camel. No hotdog."

Well, at least it made a lasting impression.

reciting potty lessons

John David has learned a lot about potty training in the last month and as he sits on the potty he recites all of the tid bits he's picked up on.

"No pee on da seat. Don't poop on da floor. Don't poop in da tub. Don't poop in da urinal. No fingers in ya hiney. Fingers outta butt. Get poop on finger, ew. Don't smear poop on da walls!"

Yes, John David. Please keep reminding yourself of these things. Mommy does not like cleaning brown fingerpaint off the bathroom wall. She has photos of your work but has chosen not to share them on the internet.

yesterday

Yesterday Rex rolled over four times---both ways! Our baby is growing so fast. He leads with his head and arches his back. It's so cute. The first time he did it yesterday, he was on his tummy in the kitchen while I was cooking breakfast. I saw him roll over and he had this shocked expression like, "What the heck??!" He thought about crying for a second but decided to recreate the event instead.

Then, while we were out running errands yesterday traffic suddenly backed up and we heard sirens. We passed by a bad accident right as one ambulance was pulling up. An orange Honda Element had flipped over and the top was crushed in. The four wheels were sticking up in the air, the car was like a turtle on its back. I hope everyone was okay. After passing the accident we saw several more ambulances and two fire trucks heading over that way.

It made a huge impression on little John David. He has talked about it non-stop. "That car fell down. It go crash! Ambulance come. Fire truck come. Wooo wooo wooo! Go to hop-sital [hospital]. Hurt really bad."

Mommy Kisses

Sometimes when I kiss John David, he says, "Ew. Dat yucky! Dat wude [rude]."

A few nights ago he lifted his head as I was putting up the gate at bedtime and said, "I love you Mommy."

Awwwww.

Especially because a week before that we were unloading bags in the Walmart parking lot and he said, "I love you." I wasn't sure I heard him correctly so I said, "What?" He said, very clearly, "I love you!" Then he kissed the new toy we'd bought him--a shake it car.

Hogtied

A few nights ago I woke up at 3am to the sound of John David wailing. I stumbled in, rubbing my eyes, and sat down in the rocker. He continued to stand in place, screaming. I whispered, "Come here baby." He stood right where he was, screaming. Finally my eyes adjusted to the light and I saw that he had the cord of his headphones twisted around him and was tied to the bed. He was thrashing around but couldn't move. It was hilarious. The next morning I told Daddy not to put him to bed with his iPod. :)

Rex cooing and smiling at Idlewild last Monday.

John David riding the motorcycles at Idlewild.

Ball Pit @ Idlewild

I'm gonna get your hiney

Morning Cuddles

hold your computer sideways

This is John David & Rex this morning as we were getting ready to go run errands.

fuckle

Here is a transcript of a recent conversation:

I put Rex into his infant car seat carrier and started to strap him in.

John David: I want to fuckle it.

Me: Buckle. B-b-b-buh. BUCKLE.

John David: Fuckle.

Me: Say baby.

John David: Baby!

Me: Say booger.

John David: BOOGER!! [huge smile]

Me: Now say buckle.

John David: Fuckle.

Hey, I tried!

He's been becoming increasingly independent. He wants to do everything himself, especially buckling his own car seat (and Rex's). He'll say, "I do it!" if I try to jump in and help. He has pinched his fingers in the buckle several times and he will cry because it hurts.......but that doesn't stop him from trying again the next time.

Go Dee Dee Go

Dare I say it? I think John David is potty trained. He has had a couple dirty pull-ups in the mornings, but when we switched him to underwear at night, he started holding it until I wake up. But during the day he is 100% potty trained---even if we're out in public.

You know how he talks to himself. I hear him say, "Tell Mommy. Don't get wet." And then I ask, "Do you have to go pee pee?" And he'll say, "yeah."

A few weeks ago I bought some new underwear for him. I found a 7 pack of Thomas the Train (he's liked Thomas for a long time) and a 3 pack of Diego, whom he'd never heard of. Diego is Dora the Explorer's cousin. Diego's show is called Go Diego Go.

I wanted John David to be excited about his new Diego underwear, so I streamed the first season of Go Diego Go to our Netflix queue.

He loves it!

He calls it, "Go Dee Dee Go." He asks for it first thing in the morning--before breakfast even!

What I like about the show is that they feature not-so-common animals such as chinchillas, marmosets, lemurs, tapirs, etc. Each show is about Diego rescuing animals and he teaches Spanish words too.

Unfortunately for me, he now prefers his 3 pairs of Diego underwear above all the rest. So much for trying to stretch the time between wash loads......

He's a Scavenger

Today we went to Sandcastle (a water park) with my friend Lindsey and her two girls. I had a free "buddy pass" that was about to expire so I invited her to come with us, thinking she'd have to purchase one more ticket. (Her two year old is free). But wow! There are some great people out there. While standing in line to buy that extra ticket two separate people came up and offered us a total of three free tickets! So we ended up getting everyone in for free. Sweet!

Our favorite section (the "tadpool") was closed so we had to head over to "Wet Willie's," which is basically a playground with water spraying everywhere. It's easy to keep my eye on John David at the tadpool so I was a little disappointed that my calm relaxing day at the pool went up in smoke. It only takes about 1 second for me to lose sight of him at Wet Willie's. So of course, several times I found myself trying not to panic when he vanished. After the third time, I realized that looking in the water was a waste of time and to turn around and look for him in the herd of lounge chairs.

Why?

Because he's a scavenger. The first time I lost sight of him, I eventually caught him rifling through someone's bags for snacks!!

The second time, I found him hovering near a family who was eating lunch.

The third time he wandered off I found him sitting in a chair next to a family of four children whose mom was feeding them snacks. The children shared their goldfish, their fruit chews, and fudge shoppe cookies with him.

And it's not like I don't feed him. He had already eaten 3/4 of a PBJ, baby carrots, a cheese stick, and some crackers.

Bedtime...

Bedtimes have recently gotten tougher. A month or so ago, John David figured out how to crash his gate down and escape his room for nap times and bed time. So I put a child-proof door knob cover on the inside of his door so he couldn't get out. That worked for a while.

But not anymore. He has figured out how to bash the door knob cover with a toy until it pops off.

So a few nights ago he wouldn't stay in his room. We made sure both stair gates were secure, closed off the other rooms upstairs, including our bedroom. And of course, he got out of his room. He wasn't screaming or throwing a fit. He just ran up and down the halls and slammed his bedroom door over and over, having a great time. Eventually it got quiet. I asked David, "Should I go check on him?" David said no.

An hour later I got thirsty so I headed down the hall, toward the kitchen stairs. There was John David, lying in front of that gate, face down on the hardwood floors, sound asleep.

"I'm Grandpa"

John David found my blood pressure cuff and stuck the stethoscope ear pieces in his ears and said, "I'm Grandpa."

Hmmm, I wonder if he was referring to Grandpa's hearing aids?

Adventures in Potty Training

Today John David pooped on the floor of the playroom. I went to grab a doggy poop bag but while my back was turned he picked it up himself with a doggy bag and brought it to me. I said, "Thanks," and promptly threw it in the trash.

"Dat mine!"

"Dat my poop!"

[insert total meltdown].

Gotta love two year olds. :)

(By the way, he did poop on the real toilet three times later in the day, so that's progress.....)

Rewind to two days ago: He somehow got into a jar of peanut butter and got it up to his elbows, all over his face, and in his hair. So I put him in the tub. While he was playing, Rex got hungry so I laid down on the bed to let him nurse. Next thing I know, John David walks in and says, "I poop-ed." He had something brown smeared on his upper lip. And it was not peanut butter. Ewwwww! I went in the bathroom and found poop floating in the bath water, smears of it on the tub, and three piles on the floor as well. While I was surveying the crime scene, John David ran into our bedroom and crawled up on the bed to talk to Rex. Then the sheets and quilt needed washing too!

When Daddy got home, I told him the story, and he asked John David, "Did you eat poop?"

John David: "Yeah."

Daddy: "How was it?"

John David: "Oh. Blech."

While we were driving to the grocery store yesterday he was sitting in his car seat, talking to himself, "Don't poop in da tub. Dat gwoss. Don't poop on the floor. Dat naughty. Don't eat poop. Dat nasty. Poop on da potty, get a mar-mellow." [marshmallow].

Favorite Books

Some of John David's current favorites are Go, Dog, Go & What's Wrong Little Pookie?

A few days ago at TJ Maxx he saw a repairman climbing a ladder to fix the light. He yelled, "Ladder! He's climbin' da ladder! To the tree! To the tree!" I'm sure the guy wished he was going to a dog party. A BIG dog party!

What's Wrong Little Pookie is about a little pig who is crying and his mom can't figure out why. By the end of the book, Pookie can't remember why he was upset to begin with. When John David gets fussy, I say, "What's wrong little Pookie? Your bright eyes are wet. Come over and tell me why you are upset. Are you sick? Are you tired? Did you fall and get hurt? Have you lost your old teddy? Did you tear your new shirt?"

And that's all it takes to cheer him up. :)

I've heard him mumbling his version of the poem, "Wuz a matter widdle Pookie? Eyes all wet. Why upset? Sick? Tired? Hurt?"

Not bad for a two year old. :)

Sucker!!

John David has spent the last ten days or so working on potty training. When we are at home he runs around buck naked and has been peeing and pooping on the potty. It seems that once he has a diaper (or underwear) on he lacks awareness.... For the last two days he has not wet or dirtied his diaper even while we were out running errands. So I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe---he's starting to get it.

He gets a Dum Dum sucker for going poo poo.

He gets one M & M for going pee pee.

He is really motivated with the candy. I had bought him some used Bob the Builder toys from eBay but he hasn't been terribly motivated trying to earn them.

He wants CANDY.

I'm thankful that something motivates him.

I have overheard him talking to himself saying, "Go poo poo. Get a sucker. Go pee pee, get a 'nimma nimma nim.' " [M & M].

As soon as he finishes sitting on the potty he shouts, "Sucker! Sucker! I did it!"

The worst part is that every time he gets off the potty he bends over and smells the final product and will comment, "Ew, that nasty." Or, "Yuuuuucky!!" Or, "That gwoss." [gross]. Regardless, he is oh so proud of himself.

This afternoon I gave him the option of wearing underwear or a diaper. He wanted underwear. Later, he tried to potty like Daddy--- standing up at his little urinal. But his aim was way off and he got pee on his shorts, cried a little, then asked, "Diaper Mommy?"

2 Month Check Up

Rex had his 2 month well-baby check up today.

Stats:

15 lbs 8 oz

24.5" long

40.5 cm head circumference

So basically a big body with an average head, ha ha.

They say genetics take over after the first year and that has proven true with John David. He started out quite high on the growth curve but leveled off and is roughly in the 60th percentile for height and weight now.

Rex cooed and smiled big for Dr. Kim. He flirted and charmed his way into her heart. She must have glanced at his chart a bit quickly, as she called him Casper the entire time. I didn't correct her, I quite liked hearing the sound of his middle name. :)

His daddy calls him "Pork Chop," and I've even heard John David call him that.

She said he was the size of an average 4 month old and even had the same level of motor skills (probably just due to his sheer size). He is a strong little guy though. And social too. :)

He got 3 shots at this visit and Mommy was thankful for those chunky monkey thighs. He only cried for a few seconds and then was back to his bright sunny self.

Here's another video of him cooing that I just took tonight before typing this. I just love his cute smiles and baby noises!

still talking about that bee!

brothers playing

John David playing with Rex, picking his nose, and imitating Rex's coos.

i love my penis

I've been meaning to write this story down for a couple of weeks now.

When David's family was here we went to Idlewild together. We were kind of standing around at one point and John David stuck his hand down his pants, pulled it out, and sniffed his fingers. "Pee pee," he said.

David's sister Dawn got a huge laugh out of this, clapped her hands, and said, "I love it!"

John David shrugged his shoulder, flung his hand in the air and said, "I love my penis!"

Bees

Last Saturday John David was stung by a bee for the second time this summer. When he came over to me screaming, he had a fist full of grass and I realized he was GRABBING the bees. I had to pull the stinger out of his right ring finger and he was crying huge tears and screaming. Poor pumpkin. :( Our new neighbor Eric brought out an ice pack immediately and John David sat on my lap for at least twenty minutes for ice and kisses. When he finally got down to go play, he ran right back over to some bees and started trying to catch them!!! So I scooped him back up in my lap and told him, "Don't grab bees. They will sting you." He loves to catch bugs, butterflies, fireflies, worms, slugs, etc., and play with them. Later that day I opened his I Love Animals picture book and turned to the insect page. We talked about which bugs were "nice" and which ones were "mean." After that, he got it! The next day he was out playing in the yard, saw some bees, and said to himself, "Don't grab bees. Don't grab 'dem. 'Dose [those] bees will STEEN you!" He must have been tempted or something because he said it over and over, like he was coaching himself through it.

Then on Sunday his friend Henry stepped on a bee and got stung. :( More tears! Poor kid. John David felt really terrible for him. He has talked about it all week long. Like today, we were at the mall, John David was riding in the stroller and I heard him say, "Stung him in 'da foot." So I asked him, "Are you thinking about how Henry got stung by a bee?"

"Yeah. Bees hurt you really bad."

Potty Training

John David has gone poo poo in the potty THREE days in a row! I bought some Dum Dum's a while back to use as potty rewards but he wasn't interested. Then, when his cousin Eliza was here, she spied the bag sitting on top of David's dresser so I let them have some of the little suckers for "free." But last week we decided that he would, again, have to "work" for Dum Dums. They stayed up high in the kitchen cabinet and he would point to where they were kept and say, "Sucker? Sucker? I want a sucker!" And we reminded him that he would get one as soon as he pooped on the potty. A few times while he was playing by himself I heard him say, "Go poo poo, get a sucker!" (Imitating mommy's enthusiastic voice). So finally he went a few days ago and promptly got a sucker. He actually went twice in the potty that day. Again yesterday. And again today!

He is good about peeing in the potty as long as he's running around naked. As SOON as underwear or diapers are on, he seems to lose the awareness....but it's better than nothing.

Rex Cooing

Hi Gigi. Hi Grandpa.

Two more videos.

One where John David says hi to my parents. And one of Rex getting a bath.

July 4th Weekend

We had a great weekend! On Saturday my college roommate Karen and her friend came to visit us. They drove FIVE hours from Cincinnati. We all walked up to Forbes & Murray, showed them the neighborhood, ate lunch at Sun Penang, had gelati's from Rita's, and had lots of fun talking, laughing, and playing with the boys. Karen gave John David a car that races across the room and can knock down stuff, like toy blocks or the plastic barrel drums that came with it. He LOVED it! Oh and I can't forget all of the cute clothes they gave Rex. Some rockstar onesies---one was the Beatles, one Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon) and one ACDC. John David also got a t-shirt that matched Rex's ACDC onesie---that's their very first matching outfit! I love it. They left that evening and drove the five hours back home to Cincinnati. :( Wish they could have stayed longer but was thrilled they came. :)

After they left, we went to the Pittsburgh Regatta downtown. We parked and walked across the bridge on our way to the free concert when we looked down and saw some motorcycles doing a stunt show. David held up John David so he could see them doing crazy stunts off of a big ramp. After that, we made our way over to the free Craig Morgan concert and we got there just in time to hear "Love Remembers" and that "International Harvester" song. David found some kettle corn and we stood around to watch the concert. After it was over we headed back across the bridge to watch the fireworks at PNC Park. They shoot them off from the river. John David was thrilled to have a giant hill to roll down and he couldn't have cared less about the fireworks. He just kept running to the top of the hill and rolling back down.

That night when we finally got home, John David played with his new car from Karen and brought it upstairs when I said it was time to go night night. He held it against his chest while I read Katy and the Big Snow (his favorite book of the moment). When I rocked him afterwards, he held his car tucked under his little arm. Then when I laid him down in his bed, he held the car up against his face like a stuffed animal! If it hadn't been dark I would've taken a picture.

On Sunday we slept in, ate a late brunch, let John David play outside in his little wading pool that Gigi & Grandpa got him. Then we headed off to Kennywood---an amusement park in Pittsburgh. We had a coupon for $10 off each ticket and the "Night Passes" (after 5pm) are only $20 to start with. Luckily, the boys are still free, so only $20 for all of us! That's about as cheap as it gets! They have a section of the park called Kiddieland that had little rides all John David's size---helicopters, motorcycles, airplanes, cars, etc. He loved it. I think the motorcycles are probably his favorite. Before we knew it, it was dark and Kiddieland closed at 9:30 so we headed home. It was perfect timing---by the time we got all the way out to the car, the 4th of July fireworks show started and we could see it from the parking lot. John David sat on the trunk of the car and watched it while he ate cotton candy. We thought he'd pass out asleep on the car ride home, but no such luck. When we got home, our neighbors busted out the kiddie fireworks they had bought earlier in the day and we got out our sparklers to share. The kids had fun popping those pop things. I can't remember what they are called but you throw them on the ground and they pop. John David LOVED those but for some strange reason was terrified of the sparklers. He said, "That hot. That HOT. That burn you." Well, I'm at least thankful my son knows when some sense of caution is appropriate! Eventually he got brave enough to hold one of the sparklers, which we got on video. Also we have video of the popper thing-a-ma-bobs.

Today we slept late AGAIN but got up in time for a backyard cookout with the neighbors and some friends. Hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, potato salad, root beer floats, cake, pine apple, watermelon, all kinds of YUM. It was hot. Okay, okay, I know---it's a lot hotter in Texas right now but I've been spoiled to much more mild temperatures after living in Colorado and Pennsylvania for the last seven years. But 90 degrees is still hot! The kids ran around the backyard and splashed in the kiddie wading pools and had lots of fun while the adults sat in the shade and had adult conversation----wow! It doesn't take much to excite me. What a great weekend though. We are so blessed.

Family Fun

We had such a nice visit when David's family came to see us in Pittsburgh. I feel a little guilty posting all these pictures of all the fun we had. When my parents were here I was sore, exhausted, and having blood pressure problems so we didn't get to do much outside of the house.

Nana with Rex and John David.

John David pulling Eliza around the yard with his wagon. He weighs 31.5 pounds, she weighs 44. Heave-ho!!

Nana, Auntie Dawn, & Eliza at Hofbrauhaus.

Eliza playing in the ball pit. :)

John David LOVED the balls!

Upset, kicking & crying after he had to get out of the balls and put his shoes back on.

Riding the Hot Air Balloon ride.

Daddy & John David.

Eating kettle corn (Mmmm!) at "Soak Zone"---the water park at Idlewild.

Riding motorcycles.

Nana & Rex.
Waiting for the train at Idlewild.

On the train.

John David loved having his cousin to splash around with in the bathtub!

Auntie Dawn & Rex.

Eliza & Dolly.

Dolly & Eliza walking back home from the park. They stopped at every corner, waiting for the rest of us to catch up.

Dawn chowin' down! One of her friends recommended Primanti's to her. I wasn't super enthusiastic about going because we'd tried one of their "famous" sandwiches a while back at PNC Park (the baseball field). After all the hype, I was underwhelmed. But Dawn really wanted to try it so we went to the Primanti's on Pitt campus. I have to admit, the sandwiches were VERY good. Guess you can't judge food when you eat it at a ball park! We even went back a few days later.

Dawn took this picture of us at Primanti's. The first one was blah. I told David, "Act like you love me." And this was the next shot. Much better, eh?!

Ready, Set, Go!

flashing some grins

I'm sorry my voice is so annoying. I can barely stand listening myself. Rex responds well to high pitches though.

quick update

Here's a super quick update.

Rex has a little umbilical hernia. It's no big deal though. There's a chance it could go away on it's own and if not, well, it's just a cosmetic issue that we may consider taking care of in the future. But in case you are wondering what it looks like, here it is. Dr. Breck said it is common amongst "certain ethnicities." Ha.

Rex has also been flashing us some big grins. He even cooed at Dr. Breck last week during his well baby visit. He weighed 13 lbs 4 oz on Thursday and then turned 6 weeks old on Saturday.

Also, here's a pic of John David modeling a hat I knit for him. It matches one that I made Rex a few weeks ago.