The Chair

In the summer we went to an after-yard-sale give-away. There was a little toddler chair that we picked up for free. Davy's recently discovered it and started spending a lot of time climbing in and out. Unfortunately he has gotten so good at getting out that it is no longer as thrilling and scary, so therefor not as fun as it used to be when it was a free fall out every time. I'm glad he's getting better, although now he's starting to stand up on the chair and look for the next thing to climb on. Uh-oh. Whole new world.



Davy's face is beginning to look like a toddler's--that is, injured. In the past two weeks Davy has fallen down the stairs at the library (luckily no injuries from that one, except an emotional scar on mom), fallen forehead first into the table leg, a random purple bruise on his cheek with unknown provenance, a scar on his nose from running into mom's fingernail, and the most glorious and gorious triangular cut in the corner of his eye from falling onto the sharp corner of an open drawer. The last required a call to my mom to calm my nerves and reassure me that babies learning to walk and climb do get hurt and it's not always my fault. Whew!

Fun with Davy

While Collin is at work, Davy has long phone conversations with him. He has his very own phone (Rachel's cast off) and he is quite proficient at opening it and holding it up to his head. He will say "hidada, hiidadada" (translated as "hi, daddy") over and over while carrying the phone around the house. I guess every kid goes through a phone phase or two (I have a picture of me when I was about two with the phone "talking" with daddy). It's so stinking cute!

And Davy's adept at remote control handling as well. He knows just where to point it and the correct technique for pressing the buttons. His dad taught him well!

This week on trash day we fortuitously drove past a house that apparently has a little boy who is growing out of his toys. We got some awesome things for free! A practically brand new Radio Flyer wagon that we will have a great time with this summer, a little bike with training wheels in great condition that Davy will fit in a couple years, and a sit-on truck that is just Davy's size now.

Davy is no longer content to just smile for the camera. He wants to hold it, carry it around, push its buttons. This is his expression when he says, "gimme" and Mom says, "no."

We're really entering the stage of attachment to things and real preference. Davy has a favorite book that he seeks out and repeatedly throws in my lap to have read. I know it by heart and yesterday we were all in the living room when Davy brought the book over to me while I was sitting on the chair. Too lazy to pick Davy up, I read the book like a librarian does. Except I didn't have to peek at the words. Collin started looking at us in amazement and laughing. I started cracking up, too, and Davy kept trying to figure out what was so funny.

We got a hand-me-down monkey from someone and it was the favorite toy of the week. I often hang the monkey on a certain door knob in our apartment and Davy knows where to go when I start singing a monkey song (jumping on the bed, swinging in the trees, etc.) or he sees a monkey in a book we're reading. He reminds me of the mouse in "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" where one thing leads to another around and around all day long.

Last Sunday Collin and I gave talks in church. I think we both had fun preparing our comments, and Collin at least did a great job presenting. I became pretty attached to my subject and think I will be able to add insights in the next few years. I've posted some of my talk on another blog, if anyone is interested. The address is http://sleepthoughtings.blogspot.com/

Hard Day

Yesterday was a hard day for our little guy. Don't know what was the matter. Let's blame it on teething! Whatever was the matter, nothing was quite going right. I love the big fat alligator tear caught on his cheek. And below is a video of his angry stomping, He actually does the song for fun when he's happy--he loves stomping. But here it was for real. Poor kid. We finally had something go right just before bed in the second video (sorry it's so dark). So we ended on a good note!

Too Cute for Words

Who can resist this baby's sweet eyes and pouty mouth? We sure can't! Has it really been a year since we first met this precious soul? Enjoy these glimpses of our wonderful Davy.

Around the House

This week we went in for Davy's 1 year checkup and final shots for the year. He stretched to 31 inches long (almost a whole foot in one year! Remember, he was 21 inches long at birth) and weighed in at 23 lbs 9 oz., which wasn't actually as heavy as I thought he might be. Those cloth diapers we use really add the extra pounds! He was not happy about the shots and I can tell bribery is going to be in order very
soon . . .

He's added several words to his vocab. The very favorite, of course, being "no". He also likes "wow" and "library" (which is more like "brireee") and "banana" (pronounced "nana"). Still, "no" reigns supreme. Our favorite is when Davy heads directly toward something he knows he is not supposed to touch--such as the computer cords or the toilet flusher or the stove dial thingies--and while he is walking toward them he tells himself "no, no, no" but then touches them anyway! It is so hard not to laugh! Well, it's easy enough to reinforce the "don't touch" with a serious face when he's touching to stove things when I'm actually cooking. But some of the other off limits things aren't so immediately dangerous, and so it's funny to watch him struggle with obedience. We're trying to teach him "yes" or "yeah" to compensate, also so he starts to learn the difference. You'll see in the video. It is so fun to have a little monkey around the house, imitating everything we do.

Davy is starting to like this whole walking thing. He's had a few mishaps, including a couple of dives -- one into the the corner of a table leg and sliding all the way down to the ground. But overall, despite the bruises, he's gained some confidence and will now venture off on his own without any person waiting to catch him. Here's a few shots of him walking around the living room, playing with his favorite credit card (a free Netflix card that came in the mail and Davy claimed).