Elmo kind of birthday

If you know David very well, Elmo from Sesame Street is his favorite character. He loves the furry red monster! So we had an Elmo themed birthday party and as you can see, many of his gifts had Elmo in them too. The above photo is David relaxing on his new bed comforter with some of his Elmos. You probably wonder how many Elmos can one little boy have? I lost count at 8, and they're all different! He also got a new fleece Elmo blanket and a custom Elmo vest, sewed personally by Aunt Debbie. On Wednesday, he wore a new Elmo shirt and very stylish new Elmo tennis shoes to daycare. He was pretty excited and I think it was a very good day.

Our tree

David was excited to put the ornament he made at day care on the tree. I could tell which one was his right away -- the color orange gave it away!

I'm not sure yet if we'll try Santa this year. Maybe if Santa was Elmo, then I'd be more confident about his reaction. :-)

O' Christmas Tree

This picture is from the day after Thanksgiving -- we teamed up with the Jennings and headed out to find the perfect Christmas tree. Let's just say that as the wind grew stronger and colder, the picking got much easier! The tree has been up since then and David had one day that he wanted to rearrange, but after that, he's left it alone. Good boy!

Halloween Party

Monday was the Halloween Party at day care. There was a costume parade in the morning, followed by games, activities, and face painting.  He picked out his costume himself several weeks ago and we've been practicing making sounds like a monkey. As you can see, David had a good time!

Two waffles!

David ate TWO waffles tonight for supper! I found the store-brand no buttermilk variety of pancake waffle mix has no dairy so we've been having waffles once a month, but tonight must have been exceptional! We've been trying to go on the potty but haven't caught the right moment yet. The word for the week is NO! In the past few weeks, every answer that David had was "yeah," which could be pretty funny, but now that he can express himself in the opposite, he's not afraid to express what he really thinks.

David loves to play with the Cookie Monster stethoscope too. At daycare, there's a veterinarian kit that he likes playing with too. We're still reading every night before he goes to bed and he has added a book of bible stories and Find the Puppy to his list of favorites. Puzzles continue to be a fun toy -- the workers at daycare say that he does puzzles faster than the three-year-olds in his class.

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!