Thanks Easter Bunny!

Today Joe had his first visit with the Easter Bunny. (After three traumatizing trips to Santa over the past couple of years, we decided to hold off on giant “stuffed” animals…)

The outlook was good this time. While we were standing in line, Joe seemed pretty interested. He watched other kids sit on EB’s lap, waved several times to “the” bunny, and even shook his hand. But, when it came time to sit on the big, white, fuzzy lap, it was a no-go. So, he sat with Daddy, next to EB. Joe was pretty skeptical, but at least he wasn’t screaming. This was as close as we could get to a smile from him. (Those photographers at Flatiron Crossings earned their keep, making several attempts to win Joe over. But he wasn’t having any of it, though he did try to steal the “clapper” noisemaker they were using and several styrofoam Easter eggs.)

Joe at 21 months, 2 weeks, 6 days

Sorry we’ve been silent on the blog lately. Dan and I are both up against the wall with work deadlines (it continues through June). And Dan has been working his behind off to finally get our temporary kitchen in a little less temporary state (we have trim AND it’s painted — woo hoo!), which means that Joe and I have been spending probably a little too much time together. OK, and, admittedly, we’ve also been spending way too much of our very limited free time catching up with old friends on Facebook.  Anyhow, here’s the super quick low-down on the little man:

Joe weighed in at the doctor’s office recently at 26.3 pounds (he’s fine…has a mild case of broncialitis, but otherwise healthy). They didn’t measure his height, but he is definitely getting taller…33 inches maybe? Lately, he’s been sleeping pretty well (and long…), and eating up a storm, so we’re guessing another growth spurt and/or developmental leap is on the horizon. He’s still in size 18-24 months and some 2Ts and his boats are at 7-1/2W and growing. Joe’s fro is another matter and his big noggin nearly fits in 3T hats!

The biggest news: Joe is starting to potty train himself. It’s hit or miss and his interest wavers, but he’s already had several successful efforts. Woo hoo!

Milestones: Thanks to Nanny Nicole and a very helpful Maggie (along with the Signing Time DVDs), Joe is signing frequntly now. He’s also been talking up a storm, though we’re still working on understanding him. On the physical front, we’re constantly amazed at Joe’s speed and agility. A few days ago, we–and the adults around us–we’re all amazed to watch Joe run at full speed through the park, across the grass and sidewalk, off the curb, and into the sand without missing a beat. He also nearly made it to the top of the curved “ladder” climber on the jungle gym. He’s definitely a handful!

Favorite Word: “Da-dee.” We’ve finally moved from Dada to Daddy, but Mama, Mom, and Mommy are slow in coming. The last couple of days, Joe has asked for Daddy about every 5 minutes. He’s still a daddy’s boy!

Favorite Food: “appos” (apples). Not sure what the fascination is, but Washington sure is making their money off this little guy. He’ll eat them whole or sliced, but the sauce is a no-go at home. We’re still having trouble getting him interested in veggies, so we’re sneaking them in as purees in other foods (but we always serve veggies on the side). He will eat some as snacks and still likes English peas (shelled), sugar snap peas, and edamame!

Favorite TV show: Imagination Movers. He’s even developed his own sign for it. He likes to play his guitar when the music bits are on, but he’ll even watch the show and Mommy can finally get some laundry done.

Favorite Music: Imagination Movers. (Duh) I know practically all the words, since he asks for it all the time: in the car and at home. He’s also partial to the punk and metal selections on Rock Band II, but we’re backing off that kind of exposure.

Favorite Toy: Depends on what he’s doing. If there’s music playing, Joe usually is dragging around an instrument, mostly his guitar. He’ll also sit on Dan’s lap and play the tin whistle with him! Otherwise, it’s all about tools or cars. Joe has two toolbenches that keep him pretty occupied. (Thanks Hurleys for the super cool one and all the “power” tools…Joe’s in heaven!) The only problem is that Joe wants to “fix” everything and recently has been obsessed with the fireplace. He broke a toy hacksaw trying to “cut” through the bricks. Yikes!

Favorite “Outing”: sitting in the car pretending to drive. We also take a lot of walks with Joe on the trike or in his super-cool wagon. I’m getting ready to sell most of the strollers, which have been collecting dust for months.

Favorite “Gross” boy things: It must be instinct or genetic or the Y chromosome. Joe is getting really good at trying to pass gas and laughs like crazy when he does. His friend also taught him how to pick his nose. Gross.

Favorite Routine: Bath time! Though sometimes we wonder who’s really taking the bath since whoever is on the outside of the tub seems to get equally wet.

Favorite Chore: Cleaning anything. Give the kid a rag and he’ll wipe up the table. Give the kid a broom and he’ll sweep the floors. Both nanny Nicole and I have figured out that we can give Joe the vacuum with the edger attachment and he’ll keep himself entertained for a good long haul…and he doesn’t do bad with the floors either!

Biggest Scare(s): At the zoo…A couple of weeks ago, in a split-second, Joe climbed under the fence to the elephant pen. I ditched the camera, reached over the thankfully low fence, and caught him by the back of the overalls as he was getting ready to run towards the ditch. Last week, he made a mad dash out of the park–towards a main street. At a full sprint, including a 90-degree turn at full speed, I didn’t catch up with him until he was halfway down the sidewalk. Thank God he didn’t go into the street. Let’s just say that we’re working on “stop” and “go” commands and reinstituting the harness.

OK, that’s it for tonight. Come find us on Facebook if you want updates in between blog posts!

Snapshot: Joe at 20 months, 3 days, and other updates

As Joe eeks (literally) closer to the terrible twos, he’s keeping us on our toes to the extent that very little else in our lives/house gets done, blog postings included. So, I’m going to do the quickest possible update I can. In a really, really big nutshell, here’s the latest.

Joe *seems* to be getting bigger, but it’s so hard to tell. I’d guess that he’s about 27 lbs and somewhere between 31″ and 32″. He still fits perfectly snug in size 18-24 months. He’s a pretty trim little guy, probably since he’s so active. But he can definitely reach much higher than he could even a few weeks ago. (This morning, he took his full breakfast plate off the middle of the dining room table while I turned my back and creeped into his playroom to eat. Unfortunately, I had chosen to give him blackberries, which I discovered all over my living room floor. Ugh.) One thing that’s certain is that those little feet continue to grow. He’s fullly in a size 7W shoe and expanding quickly.

Before I go into Joe’s latest faves, here’s a quickie update on recent holidays and events…

Thanksgiving: flew to Grandfolks Nuttalls’ house for the week. Joe was a turkey on the flight there and an angel on the way home. Everyone thought he was a cutie. He played well with his older (second?) cousin, Daniel, as well as cousins Kaden (a week older than Joe) and Austin. We swore off traveling with Joe until he was older.

Christmas: DE-lightful. No travel for the first time in my adult life. It all started about a week before the holiday. We went to a yummy buffet dinner at Noni P’s place. Joe had a ball. It was really nice to get out and about with him. Then, Noni P and Nana came over on Christmas eve. We opened presents and let Joe run amuk. Dan and I stayed up late to open our gifts after everyone went home and Joe went down. It was really nice to enjoy the evening with just the two of us. Christmas morning was a blast. Joe was eager, interested, and patient. He opened gifts one-by-one and played with each. He even patiently waited while Daddy cut the myriad wires/strings/clips that are so prevalent in kids’ toy packaging. Joe loved absolutely everything.  His favorite things that morning were a “cell phone” from his great grandfolks Molocznik and a kid-sized Starbucks cup from grandfolks Nuttall. Since then, he seems to know and play with all of his new toys, including: a super-cool firetruck from Kristin and Bobby, a schoolbus from Big Daddy Nuttall, a little truck from Billy and Lindsey, “Chuckie the Duckie” from Bobbi and Bill, Harry from Nonie Nuttall, blocks from Grandpa Greg and Grandfolks Lawrence, and books from Grandpa Greg, and Great Uncle Jeff & Great Aunt Christa. He is so stinkin’ spoiled. Thankfully he doesn’t know it yet. He also LOVED a Little Tikes toy shopping cart, which is still a mystery gift. (It arrived in its original box with only a shipping label that indicated Joe as both the purchaser and recipient. If you know who might have sent it, please let us know. We’d *really* like to thank them.)

New Year’s: Dan and I actually forgot about it until about 8pm when Joe went to bed. We watched the ball on TV in bed, I think. Not terribly eventful.

Zoo Lights: Despite the fantastic weather around the holidays, we waited until the last minute to go to Zoo Lights at the Denver zoo, a now-annual tradition here in the Lawrence household. We planned to take Noni P and Nana as part of their Christmas gift, but they were under the weather, so a nice unknown couple in line took their place.  We all had a lot of fun, even if we went on the coldest day of the event! Note to self: go to Zoo Lights before the last day of the event so that you get the full effect, rather than a lot of broken displays. Still worth it, though.

Musical nannies: We grudgingly let our dear Kristin go a few months ago so that I could get more hours in at work with a new nannyshare situation. That quickly dissolved when our nannyshare partner lost her job. I took on two of her nannies for three days a week, only to realize that I was going broke fast. Almost as soon as I let the one-day-a-week nanny go, as fate would have it, our awesome remaining nanny had the opportunity of a lifetime and flew off in early January to go overseas. Joe is now hangin’ with his buddy, Maggie, two to three days a week. It’s amazing how things always work out for the best. Maggie’s mom rocks and takes awesome care of Joe and he gets to play with Maggie, who’s practically like a sister to him. (And my-oh-my do they act like siblings…)

And on to Joe’s latest faves and craves…

Favorite Foods: garbanzo beans, turkey chili, and anything resembling bread. Mama is about to resort to “deceptively” delcicious type recipes (aka, spinach in brownies) to get him to eat greens. (His nanny already feeds him deceptive veggies for lunch.)

Favorite Toy: This changes every day. One new thing is that he does engage in creative play. He “cooks” and “eats” from his play table with the set of toy pots and dishes he has. He especially likes one of us to “taste” his cooking. So sweet.

Favorite outdoor activity: Joe likes to ride his tricycle that Nana got him last Christmas (his feet still don’t touch the pedals, but it does have a handle for us to push/steer). But he also likes to hop in the wagon from grandma Marianne because he knows that a ride always ends at the park, where he loves going down the (big) slide and running across the “bridge” on the jungle gym. In fact, one of Joe’s newest milestones is that he can go on the “big boy” swing all by himself. Well, he needs help getting on and close supervision (because he doesn’t hesitate to hop off when he’s done, regardless of whether the swing is going or not), but he can hold on and be pushed. That’s pretty cool. 

Favorite cold weather activity: That’s a toss-up between shoveling snow and eating it. He also likes his sled, but probably prefers to pull Maggie in it that ride in it himself. One thing is clear: Joe loves to go outside. He often brings his jacket to one of us, one arm half in, as an indicator that he wants to go outside. 

Favorite indoor activity: Joe constantly asks to go downstairs to the den where we have the Wii set up with Rock Band 2 (our awesome gift form my dad and Deb!). Joe likes to “rock out” on his little Leap frog guitar while Dan or I play guitar to the game. It’s hilarious. We say “wanna rock out, Joe?” and he starts spinning in circles, jumping up with his guitar, and headbanging to the music  (I swear I don’t know where he learned it). And no pop songs either. He wants to rock out hard. He even threw his guitar on the ground the other day.  We have to be careful with the songs we choose, though. I wish they had the Imagination Movers songs for the game. He’d love it!

Favorite TV show: that’s a tough one. He really likes anything with music. But he’ll stop what he’s doing and run to the TV if he hears the Imagination Movers (one of Disney’s newest shows and awesome parent-friendly music). He also likes Little Einsteins (Nana got him a Quincy doll for Christmas, which he loves), Handy Manny, and recently showed interest in ChooChoo Soul and the Backyardigans. He also digs the music in Phineas and Ferb, but the show is too old for him. Since we only watch TV in the mornings while we get ready, these are the only shows he knows. Thankfully, he doesn’t ask to watch TV at other times of the day (yet). Fingers crossed!

Biggest milestone: In the past few weeks, Joe has advanced by leaps and bounds in the verbal department. The nanny (Maggie’s mom) has the kids watching signing videos and doing themed activities every day. He also doesn’t use the binky during the day and willingly removes it upon request when he talks. 

Latest words: Help, Cow, Moo, Dog, Doggie, Woof, Up, Down, Diaper, Train, Bike, Bye, Snack (”nak”), Maggie (”Aggie”), Car, Balloon (”boon”), Shoes, Done, Move, Please, Thank You, Yeah, No, Ball, Duck.

Latest “tricks”: rolling out of his carseat and climbing all over the car, just out of Mama’s reach. He thinks this is hilarious. He’s also doing quite well learning how to use a (non-sippy) cup.

Emerging Personality: Joe is showing very particular preferences for clothing and shoes. Lately, he only wants to wear his orange plaid hoodie, snow boots or his blue Crocs rainboots (or Mama’s red rain boots from when she was little), and a Packers bib (he’s never worn bibs outside of meals, but he wants to wear this one all day long). Not necessarily all together though!

Biggest “oops”: A couple of months ago, Joe knocked over and broke Dada’s acoustic guitar  (the head broke right off, splintering terribly).

Hints of the “Terrible Twos”: Grabbing his full breakfast plate from (the middle of) the table (and dumping it on the floor); throwing food from his plate on the floor (or scrubbing it into his hair); screaming for no reason (for fun); whining like crazy when he can’t communicate what he wants; yelling when mad and stomping (until he works himself up into a full tantrum); kicking (hard) when picked up if he doesn’t want to be; grabbing, pinching, hitting, and biting

Yes, Wii are total dorks

Me and My Shadow

Mr. Fixit tightens the leg on a chair

It has been pretty firmly established:  Dad is where it’s at.  Everywhere I go, everything I do, Joe is following right along and wanting to get involved in some way.  If I have a drill out for something, I have to give him his own drill (he has several plastic tools) and allow him to help get the job done.  He helps with gardening, laundry, cleaning, checking email,  and any attempted home repairs. He wants to do everything just like “Dada!”

This really is an amazing time.  He’s beginning to recognize and explore his autonomy (and yes, exerting his will).  We’ve known for some time that he’s exceptionally strong and fast!  But now his fine motor skills are developing to the point where he can manipulate objects and come close to using things as they’re intended.  And to my delight, his imagination is emerging so that he can use things as they’re not intended just as well!  As home-fixer-uppers, we’re ecstatic to see Joe reaching a point where we can give him some instruction and modeling and he can occupy himself imitating us while we tackle some of the things we need to accomplish on the house (for at least a couple of minutes at a time). He’s even starting to take these chores and turning them into his games.  

Joseph Daniel Snow Removal, Inc.

Our first foray into sledding this past weekend is a perfect example.  We got several inches of  snow followed by some crazy low temperatures.  The snow on the roads was tightly packed and nice and slick.  It was perfect for a trip out with the new pull-behind sled that we bought to take Joe snowshoeing after Christmas.  He had a blast.  Shortly afterwards, he had almost as much fun as we learned to shovel snow.  ”Push, push, push, push, stop.  Dump!”  (This last part set him to giggling every time.)  All of this activity set him up for a day with Mommy today.

Shannon has been doing an occasional childcare swap with the mother of a little girl.  Maggie’s and Joe’s birthdays are a day apart.  They are so alike in many ways that it can be surprising.

Joe and Maggie sledding

Perhaps it’s her more advanced vocabulary. Perhaps it’s Joe’s helpful nature. Whichever the case, she can boss him around to the point where he’ll fetch toys on command!  Today, Mommy and the “twins” went out onto the neighbors’ driveway to play with the sled, and Joe (always ready to move, lift, drag, hoist, or carry anything) got the chance to play draught pony to Maggie’s delight.

Sweet little Maggie has our little Joe whipped.  It seems that Joe has an Alpha Woman in his life…just like “Dada!”

Click on the picture for a video snippet

 

 

 

 

Snapshot: Joe at 18 months, 1 week, 3 days

Our little weed may be a broadleaf, who knows! Joe is still a peanut in height at about 31 inches* and weighing in right around 25 pounds (but he’s pushing nearly past a size 18-24, and his Flinstone feet have swelled him into a size 7). Our recent visit to see Joe’s cousin Kaden in California, who is about a week older and probably 5 inches taller, proved Joe’s peanut status! (This time we took videos, so as soon as I can figure out how to edit, we’ll upload some of those.) Here’s a quickie update on the latest milestones and moments:

Favorite Halloween costume: Jimi Hendrix. Joe dressed up as an adorable jester on Halloween, but the Jimi Hendrix costume he wore to Boo at the Zoo was the real winner, especially since he wore mommy’s vintage suede fringed vest from when she was little!

Favorite Parent: still “Dada”

Favorite Food: dried soybeans (hey, this is the kid who loves salad)

Favorite Song: anything by the Imagination Movers. He also likes the songs from the super-cool Blue Moo album.

Favorite Quiet Time Activity: drawing with crayons or pens

Favorite motion: galloping like a horse or hopping like a bunny

Favorite Toy: It’s a tie between the toy cleaning cart with vacuum (just like mommy’s), broom, mop, etc. and the Playskool Air-tivity Busy Ball Popper

Recent “firsts:” signing please, saying please (”peas”) and thank you (”tank yu”), sitting on the potty on his own without first putting it on his head (we’re just introducing the potty concept), enjoying having his teeth brushed (he likes to use his own toothbrush, then he lets mommy or daddy use a baby finger brush), getting baths in the “big boy” bathtub (the clawfoot) and, of course, all the ones that we’re not thrilled about, including climbing/falling out of his crib (once), tantrums, pulling hair, picking his nose (and eating it), and getting hysterical at the doctor’s office. Hello, Terrible Twos.

Newest achievement: he’s off bottle entirely!

“Highest” achievement: using the chair to climb onto the table, then climbing onto the window sill and hanging on by the window molding while hitting the window. (Except for that time last month when Joe climbed onto the radiator and pounded against the front window, I’ve never seen Dan react so quickly!) Joe also pushes his potty to wall, then stands on it, to reach the light switch.

Latest words: Please, thank you (both signed too), Joe, water (wa wa), down, wow, uh-oh. Joe’s still not articulating much these days, and the doctor wants us to lose the binkies. I have to admit that he makes more sense and talks more when he doesn’t have anything in his mouth.

Favorite TV: The Monkey Boys. OK, it’s not a show, but the puppet “hosts” of Disney’s morning kids programming. Joe stops and looks at the TV everytime he hears Did the monkey mail come? Did the monkey mail come? The monkey mail came. Well, who’s it from? He also likes the Imagination Movers, Wiggles, and Johnny and the Sprites. He isn’t as interested in cartoons, though. Joe has, however, started pointing to the TV in our room when he wants us to turn it on. He doesn’t sit and watch. Instead, he ignores the TV and plays until a song comes on, then he’ll start dancing! Oh, and if mommy’s watching TV, he generally ignores it…unless Rachel Ray comes on. I swear, the kid gawks at pretty girls!

Latest “test” for mama: the quivering-lip open-mouthed I-want-something-I-can’t-have cry, which still is not nearly as effective as the puppy-dog whine he’s mastered. 

Worst travel moment: screaming and crying for 20 minutes on the plane to California for Thanksgiving. Definitely the worst kid on that flight (yes, we were “that” family), but he did sleep the rest of the time. And he was an angel on the return flight.

Next steps: potty training. Ugh.

*There is some dispute about his height. He’s now terrified of the doctor’s office (thanks, Kaiser Permanente and your terrible bedside manner), so it was virtually impossible to measure him accurately. Based on how far his little head (’fro not included) pokes up over the table, we estimate he is approximately 31 inches high.

Meeting Santa: take two

A couple of weeks ago, we took Joe to visit Santa Claus. Last year, Joe was fairly skeptical of the jolly old fellow, but this year he was downright terrified the second that Dan set him down on Santa’s lap. We decided to capture the moment (for posterity, of course) and still giggle every time we see it, so thought we’d share.

And don’t worry. Joe wasn’t traumatized. He stopped crying as soon as daddy “rescued” him from the scary fat man’s lap.  He got a toy out of the deal and lots of hugs from daddy. (It’s at times like these that mommy just won’t do if daddy’s around…) 

Lately, Joe has been exhibiting a lot of stranger anxiety. He is still a bit shy around Dan’s mom, even though he’s seen her several times. In fact, when we visited my family at Thanksgiving, he didn’t want to go to his aunties and wouldn’t even look at Big Daddy (Granddaddy Bill), all of whom he’s spent time with as recently as August. I’m sure it’s just a phase that he’ll outgrow. I guess it’s better than having him befriend strangers!

Off the merry-go-round

I was stunned yesterday when I picked up the phone and heard our now-familiar SSA office case handler’s voice

I just wanted to let you know that we received Joseph’s birth certificate verification, so we’ll clear his application for approval. The card will be mailed to your home address. You can come by and pick up a print out of his number if you need it sooner.

Dan picked up Joe’s official number today. I have it in my hot little hands as I type (okay, well, it’s sitting on the desk next to me, but you get the idea). They even gave us the official certified copy of his birth certificate that they ordered (expedited, at their expense) because, once they verified it, they didn’t need it for their files. It’s a paltry bonus given the headache, but it’s really nice to have an extra and probably something they didn’t have to do, so definitely a thoughtful and appreciated gesture. I feel a thank you note coming on…which is saying something, given that I recently found a stack of half-written, half-addressed notes from last Christmas that never made it out the door (yet another major goof I get to beat myself up about).

I almost don’t believe it. After 4 months on this merry-go-round, we can finally stop and catch our breath. And amend our taxes. And open an education fund. And and and… An enormous burden has been lifted from my shoulders.

If I didn’t have so much to do now that I have this information, I’d stop and take a nice, long break and celebrate. But, I’m sick, and so are Dan and Joe (the little guy just finished up his course of antibiotics for an ear infection, which I suspect is not cured to boot). And I’m past a deadline at work, so I need to get the whip cracking. Plus, I have Halloween preparations on my plate: treats for Dan’s work, last-minute costume needs, and an entire meal for Halloween night when Nana and Noni P join us for Joe’s second Halloween. Photos coming soon…

Update: Joe’s social security card arrived before Thanksgiving. I don’t remember when, but it’s filed, safe and sound.

…and a Joe to Go!

…and a Joe to Go!