Moving Sale

If the devil were to explode and evil were gone forever, what kind of party would you have?

We woke up to the most wonderful site that we've ever seen since we moved to Pennsylvania. Our neighbor Skip had his car in the front yard along with other assorted junk and a big Moving Sale on his mailbox.

Oh

Dutch's favorite word right now is "oh" and he says it all the time. A lot of times it's more like a song "ohhhhhhhhhhhhh" and his fat little lips make a kissy face while he sings it. Very cute.

He also imitates what I do. If I shake my head, he'll shake his head. If I clap, he'll clap. If I pat my thighs to call Bo, he'll do the same. The only imitations he will NOT do are walking and saying "Mama." I'm not sure what his aversion to that word is, but it hurts my feelings.

That's just a little mini-update for today. Hopefully soon we'll have pictures and/or video to share.

A List for Tuesday

Five Things I'm Looking Forward To (in order of occurrence):

1. Labor Day weekend in Rhode Island with my Mama and Dad
2. Clarissa's wedding in October
3. Zak's homecoming in October
4. Christmas in Utah
5. Graduating from Seton Hill University

Happy Birthday Sam!

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Sam. He was the first boy to ever love me. I was 18-ish and he was 1. Since then I found another boy who loved me more and Sam has grown up to quite the handsome guy. Happy birthday Sam!

And I would have posted some really cute pictures, but I'm on Chris's laptop and not mine, so I'll try to do that sometime (when my laptop is working).

Baby Hungry

Today at church a couple sat behind us with their two week old baby. Dutch was intrigued. He stared at that little boy until the mom took him out to change him. Then when the baby came back Dutch was practically doing handsprings to get a peek at him.

I told Chris it's because Dutch wants to have a baby in our family. Chris said it's because Dutch wanted to eat the baby.

Bizarre Fact of Motherhood

When I try to play with Dutch he is perfectly content to play by himself, and let's me know it. The minute I start doing something productive (like loading the dishwasher) he immediately needs my attention all to himself.

He and Bo will sit at the gate staring into the kitchen and whining. It's a miracle anything gets done.

Elliot the Elephant

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Few New Tricks

Dutch can now go up and down the one step from the living room into the (carpeted) office. The way he gets down is he puts his hands in front of him and falls forward until he face-plants it. The first time he did this I panicked a little, but after the third or fourth time I realized he was doing it on purpose. He gets up the step the usual way, one leg at a time.

Clapping is a new favorite past-time. If I tell him to call Bo he'll clap his hands a couple of times. If I clap for Bo, he claps too. If I put on some music and dance then he'll clap as he dances.

As far as talking is concerned, he isn't doing much of it. When he says "a-nana" (banana) he means food in general. When he says "Da-da" I'm not sure what he means, because sometimes he's talking about himself and sometimes he's talking about Chris and sometimes he's talking about something else entirely. He does make noise all the time, just nothing coherent.

Speaking of him making noise, he's begun "reading" to himself. He'll pull a book off his shelf and go sit somewhere and coo and babble while he turns the pages. It's cute and very funny. It makes me so proud.

King Kong

Before Dutch got a hold of it

After

Grandma Honey sent Dutch some gifts in the mail. He loved this stuffed monkey a little too much. Loved it to death. Nothing that some duct tape and 15 pound fishing line can't fix.

A One Nap Baby

It's official. Dutch is now only taking one nap a day (or less). The past couple of days he hasn't been napping at all, but before that he was perfectly content with taking one nap between 12pm and 1pm. He's also been refusing to sleep at night. We put him to bed between 7pm and 8pm and it never fails that if he cries loud and long enough Daddy will go and rescue him. I keep trying to convince Chris that Dutch is manipulating him, but he's just a big softie.

So, in conclusion, I will be getting even less done now than I was before.

Dutch, the Extra Naughty Version

Someone has taken my Good Baby and replaced him the an Extra Naughty one. Extra Naughty (or EN for short) is not at all like my Good Baby (GB). They look the same, of course, and have the same smile and laugh, but that's where the resemblance ends. EN screams 99% of the time. He has several different ones. One that sounds like a hawk, one that sounds like a pterodactyl, one that sounds like a car engine. When EN is feeling extra extra naughty he does all three in succession. For hours on end. In places where we should be quiet. Like the library.

EN gets into things that GB knows not to get into. Like Daddy's desk, Mama's purse, and the grown-up bookshelf. Baby proofing has no effect on EN at all. I think his extra naughtiness also gave him extra brain-power, because he's smart!

So I'm doing my best to love and tolerate Extra Naughty, but I pray every day (every hour, sometimes) that whoever took my Good Baby will return him to me soon.

Because I really miss him.

A List for Tuesday

Five Sounds That Dutch Makes That Annoy the Crap Out of Me

1. This high-pitched, incredible loud squeal/scream. Think of a hawk screaming just before it dives.
2. A guttural noise that sounds like a demon is living in his throat.
3. His crying whine.
4. His whimpering whine.
5. His tired whine.

Feeding the Dog

While I was getting ready for church this morning Dutch was in his high-chair eating breakfast. Wait, I'm sorry, that's wrong. Let me try again.

While I was getting ready for church this morning Dutch was in his high-chair flinging his food onto the floor so he could watch Bo eat it. Bo, in response to this miraculous event, has taken to laying under the high-chair. You know, just in case.

Some Pictures of Dutch

My 15 Books

My sister wanted to know the first 15 books I can think of that have changed me. Here they are:

1. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
2. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
3. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
4. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale/Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
5. The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
6. The Wood Wife by Terri Windling
7. The Magic Circle by Donna Jo Napoli
8. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
9. Stonewords: A Ghost Story by Pam Conrad
10. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
11. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
12. The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern, a.k.a. William Goldman
13. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
14. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
15. The Portable Dorothy Parker

Dutch's Crib and Mama Attempts to Be Crafty

These are pictures of Dutch's new crib. Chris and I were worried about him chewing on the top bars, so we were going to get a crib bite guard, but they only protected the top part of the bar. Anyway, long story short, I saw something similar to this fleece crib rail protector and thought that I might be able to do it on my own. Dutch really likes it. He thinks it's some sort of game. I guess I'll see how long they last.

Dutch the Giant

We were at Target yesterday to pick up Dutch's 1 year pictures (they turned out great). We were walking down the aisle and this tiny baby came walking toward us. I teased Dutch that the little guy was showing him up. The mom and I talked a little bit and her baby was the SAME AGE as Dutch. He was about half Dutch's size, seriously.

My baby is huge.

A List for Tuesday

Five Reasons Why I Went to IKEA Alone With My One-Year-Old to Buy Him a New Bed

1. He's been sleeping in a playpen.
2. He has figured out how to rock his playpen against the wall; in the morning I wake up to what sounds like a jack-hammer.
3. He can rock his playpen so that it moves across the room, thus allowing him to get into things that little hands should not be getting into (like diaper rash cream).
4. The one at IKEA was too cute and too inexpensive NOT to buy it.
5. It matches his bookshelf, and converts into a toddler bed, so he can use it for years to come.

Fool Me Once, Shame On You; Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me; Fool Me Three Times, Blame the Husband

Chris was sweet enough not to wake me up when Dutch was crying. He changed Dutch's diaper and put him back to sleep. The one thing he forgot was my incessant reminders to always put Dutch in a onesie or pants. NEVER leave the diaper exposed.

I woke up and went into Dutch's room. He was standing up in his crib, diaper-less, smiling at me, as he PEED ON THE FLOOR.

At least he had the good sense not to pee where he sleeps.

P.S. When I told Chris about this he laughed hysterically and was so proud that Dutch stood while he was peeing. Typical Chris response.

Happy Birthday Uncle Frank!

Today is my Uncle Frank's birthday and I wanted to wish him a happy birthday. Here are some things that I remember about him.

• When Chris first met Uncle Frank he was a little intimidated by his size and has called him "Uncle Frank the Tank" ever since.
  
• It was so nice to have Uncle Frank, Aunt Marianne and the girls around while I was planning my wedding. They were all so excited about it and made it really fun.
  
• When I was little I would spend a lot of time at their house during the summer and I remember that every day when Uncle Frank got home from work the girls would line up on the stairs and he would catch them.
• At dinner he would open up all of the mail with a butter knife.
• He read the newspaper over breakfast.
• He explained to the girls and me that Omi didn't approve of using the jam spoon to spread it around on your bread. You had to put it on your bread and then use your knife to spread it around.
• Aunt Marianne and Uncle Frank taught me a lot about love that I didn't know.
• The two of them have "become one" over time so it's hard to have a memory of one without the other.

It's not 57 things, but I wanted to share some of my favorite memories. I love you Uncle Frank and I'm so glad to have you in my life!