Gotcha Day #2

Today marks the first year of life as a family with David and calls for a celebration! So we bundled up and headed to the Fort Wayne Zoo (or Franke Park as we called it when I was little). David had his first pony ride, which he wasn't too sure of, but make it the full two rounds on "Trish." Many of the animals were moved indoors because of the cool temperatures, but we had a fun time. The sea lions were a big hit with David today. They would swim in their aquarium right next to him and he thought that was pretty neat.

"I want that"

Much has changed with David in the time that's passed since the last post. His sentence for the last couple of weeks is "I want that." David now weighs 26.6 pounds, which is a ten pound+ weight gain for the last year. As you can tell by the picture, David still likes to eat and feeds himself without help -- sometimes he needs a change of clothes when he's finished! He also knows the word mine and likes to assert what he thinks is his or not. The Magnadoodle is his new favorite toy, along with the Fisher Price barn (many days we put the animals to bed and wake them up) and Fisher Price desk. (Both FP toys are "originals" from my generation.) He actually "spelled" a word last week by himself (the word was tie) but matching the letters to the cut out card. David also asserts himself more (some days we've disagreed about that) but that's just what happens when you're getting close to two. (Although I am personally amazed that we all survive the toddler years!)

For Mommy, chasing a toddler takes a lot more energy than I expected, but I'm keeping up! I've even lost six pounds in the last year, which isn't a bad thing. Another kidney stone in August slowed me down with surgery. In the last month I've finished John Rosemond's Parenting by the Book and Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Both are quick reads and probably available at the library, if you're curious. As the parent of a strong willed child, I'm finding more success in the Rosemond approach and an earlier bedtime for the child. My mother sort of jinxed me when I was four years old and told me that someday I may have a child who acts just like me. But she also taught me some of the best ways to deal with strong willed, so I'm sure David and I will both make it!

Olympic training

 

The month of August was dedicated to "Olympic" training for David, or first swim lessons as most people call them. David really likes the water and isn't afraid to jump off the side of the pool and likes getting his face wet. Maybe he'll be an Olympic diver some day! I think he was getting bored by the end -- it was two nights a week for the month, so we're taking a break and will try again in a couple of months.

David is growing -- he's now 25 pounds, 4 ounces and 31 inches tall. He's outgrowing the 18 month clothes too fast! But in just 3 months he'll have another birthday. He's talking more and really likes the 2-3s building at daycare. Lately he's been screaming like little girls do -- Mommy is working really hard stop that!

He can add grapes and cantaloupe to the "likes"list. David also like ants on logs, but I think it's more about the raisins and peanut butter because two bites of celery and he's asking for more. This week he pointed to the "m" in the word Elmo and said "m," so he's catching on to all the information that's around him. Puzzles are his new toy to play with -- we have lots of hand me down puzzles, so he's working at mastering them. The one he likes now is one that you lift the lid and then have to match to picture on the cover to the shape that goes inside. He can be pretty determined when he wants to be!

Elmo Jackpot

 

On Friday we hit the Elmo jackpot! One Elmo came in the mail, and two more plus a pair of Elmo house slippers came home with us after supper. David is in Elmo heaven! Chicken Dance Elmo still makes David take a few steps back after pushing the button while Elmo sings and dances, but it's all good. David also likes wearing the slippers -- hopefully we won't have to cut a deal when it's time to leave the house in the future.

David still likes corn on the cob -- I made freezer corn tonight (this won't happen again until David goes to school) and I think he thought he hit another kind of jackpot, but settled on just one ear made in the microwave to eat. Aunt Debbie discovered that David likes orange juice.

 

He loves swimming lessons. His favorite part is jumping off the side of the pool into the water while I catch him. Monday he would get really low and then jump, while Wednesday's technique was more of a step off approach. We've been practicing laying on our bellies on the floor and pretend kicking and moving our arms in the water over the weekend, so hopefully he'll be ready for lessons Monday night. There are three other children in the class -- one little boy maybe 6 months old, a little girl that's probably a year and as big as David, and another little girl that's 2 and clearly does NOT want to be there...at all!

I sewed the outfit that David is wearing -- I had it done in about six weeks, which isn't too bad, considering I had to buy fabric out of town and then refit a pattern from a six month to a 24 month size. Why can't they make regular cute kids clothes? Oh well, there aren't many times you can sew for a boy, and it was fun!

He's still transitioning to the next level in daycare. David will be full-time at the 2-3 years old house in a week. His papers comment on how well he gets along with others. He still favors the color orange, but the jury is still out for left hand or right hand. We're on the hunt for a toy called Connecting Cousins. They're little plastic colored flat shaped people that you can link together and make a chain. He plays with them all the time at the baby house now and Connecting Cousins aren't at the next house. So if you see Connecting Cousins for sale, let us know!

Roastin' Ears

David loves roastin' ears (aka corn on the cob to city folk). This picture is of the "trial size" and yesterday he ate almost two regular size ears! No need for butter or salt - good sweet corn will be just fine.

Tonight was the first swim lesson and David was great! I think diving may be his strength. He jumps off the side of the pool with a pretty good leap. He puts his face in the water and is learning how to kick with his feet. We'll see how Wednesday goes.

This weekend we were on a quest to find an Elmo. David has a small beanie baby size Elmo, but he's so small Elmo keeps slipping through the cracks of his crib. So I thought this shouldn't be a big deal to find a regular size Elmo and off we went to the big blue chain store. They had Elmo, but he was playing the drums -- not so good for sleeping with. So the next morning, we stopped at the local chain toy store and they had lots of Elmos, but some were hard plastic or Baby Elmo that wasn't very furry. The clerk said that plain Elmo that doesn't do anything only comes out once a year at Christmas and he was sure they would have some then. (I'm thinking, obviously, you're not a parent and what happened to toys that you used your imagination to give them a voice?) I ordered one online at my favorite store that sells everything. Elmo should be here at the end of the week. :-)

Shake, shake, shake

David's Mimi Jane went on a trip and brought back maracas! As you can see, David really likes playing with them. He wanted to take them to bed with him tonight, but management didn't agree. :-)

He's still a busy boy and can't sit still for very long. David is doing really well - growing every day. Last week he started saying "Nannette," the name of one of our neighbors. We're getting ready for swim lessons at the Y. He really likes the water and thinks its fun to put his face in the water. On Saturday when he visited his cousin's house (they have a pool) he didn't get to swim, so when we got home, he had to put all of his swim gear on and wear it around the house.

We visited Holiday World last weekend for our adoption agency reunion. The crowd was so big, we only saw one person we knew and that was a family that we met at the doctor's office in Indy. But Holiday World was a lot of fun and David really liked the water park.

Catching up

For the people who've been following us, sorry for the long delay. Since the last post, David has had the flu (with vomiting), a sinus infection, and I passed a kidney stone a week ago!
Today was David's 18 month check up with the doctor. Now he weighs 24 lbs. 8 oz. and is 30 3/4 inches long. He's making his way up the growth chart! Hard to imagine that nine months ago David wasn't big enough to make it into the American growth charts.

David is really changing a lot -- he's been talking more and is up to more than 15 words. He's figured out how to snap himself into the belts on the swing and grocery carts. Thank goodness he hasn't learned how to unsnap the buckle! Tonight he discovered how to dunk his Nutter Butters in soy milk too. Yum! We still avoid dairy products whenever possible.

Here are some of his new favorites:

-Salsa and Chips - he'll dunk his fingers in the bowl and lick them off
-Potato Chips
-The crust on bread (David would have been my favorite friend if we were same age)
-Making the cow "moo" sound - everything goes moo right now

David's daycare director is planning to move him to the next stage with the two year olds. He's accomplished everything he needs to at this stage and is ready for the next class. (I almost cried when she said it was time to move up -- the baby isn't much of a baby anymore and this happened way too fast!) I'm working on sewing him a toddler nap mat -- yes, I know you can buy those already done, but how often with a boy do you get to sew for him? We picked out Elmo fabric and a minky fabric to make it, so it will be something special for him while he's at daycare.