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.

Summer Days

David's all decked out for a hot day in Muncie! The hat really makes it -- I found that the best way for him to keep it on is to flip up the bill. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

It's hard to believe that almost one year ago, the adoption agency called and said we think we have a baby for you and it's a boy!

Happy Independance Day!!

23 lbs. 10 oz.

On Monday, David weighed 23 lbs., 10 oz and is 29.5" tall. He's growing up way too fast! Some of David's latest favorites are:

- waffles
- the books B is for Bear, The Story of Jesus, and Curly's Friends. We read every night before bedtime and sometimes add a few more books, but these are consistent requests.
- M&Ms
- Janelle at daycare and all the other helpers. He gets good reports every day.
- saltine crackers
- the sand box at home
- splashing big in the pool or bathtub

He has new shoes -- his feet grew an entire size since February! Last week, his chunky thigh got caught in the crib rails -- not once, but twice! Do you think it was a ploy to avoid going to bed? Hmmm!

Tonight I took him back to work with me and we were walking through one of the residence halls. I said, "David, when you get older I want you to pay attention in school and get good grades so you can go to college and stay in this residence hall (the honors hall). Can you do that?" He smiled and replied, "Yes!"  Go David!

Sandbox Upgrade

This weekend, Uncle Daniel and the Jennings family built a new sandbox for David. As you can see, it's big and pretty fancy with built in seating.

It was hard work for everyone.

But the end result is great! David likes to put his toes in the sand and last night decided to taste test the sand -- what can I say, he's a boy! We play in the sand most evenings now and it's a sad time when we have to come indoors. Now that we have a new place to play, anyone need a slightly used turtle sandbox?