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.