A heart-burster

WOW! You did something I've only dreamed about!

Two days ago, I said "Mama loves baby! Does baby love mama?" And for the first time ever, you nodded your head! In case it was a coincidence, I asked again. You nodded your head again! I asked if you love dada, and you nodded again.

I felt my heart go from 0 to 60 in a half second. What cuteness!

It's finally really spring here and you are in full appreciation. You want to go outside all the time and play in the dirt. You express yourself clearly by whining and saying "Dut! Dut! Dut!" while smashing yourself against the screen or glass door. How adorable. ;)

Seriously, you are adorable. People tell me all the time. But I already knew. And the only girlfriend you can have is me - until you're at least 25. Trust me, you'll thank me later.

Love you, darling.

In your own words

Doodle, your vocabulary has really grown! Here's what you say now:

9 o'clock: any time of day
Ba: Bus
Ba-ba-bo: Red
Back: Back
Bah: Box
Ball-Ball: Ball
Bee: Bee
Bee: Jeep
Be-eh: Big
Beh: Bed
Bieee: Bike
Bieh: Bite
Bo: Boat
Boo: Boots
Boo: Blue
Bo-uh: Book
Bow: Bowl
Boobies: Boobies
Cach: Clock
Ceese: Cheese
Choo-Choo: Train
Co: Coat
Cold: Cold
Dada: Daddy
Dats: Touch
Dig-Dig: Tractor or construction vehicle
Duh: Dirt
Eee: Eat
Eye: Eye
Fass: Fas
Fi: Fly
Go-Ga-Go: Go
Gocks: Socks
Ha: Hat
Hi: Hi
Ho: Hole
Home: Home
Iieee: Light
Knee: Knee
Mama: Grandma
Mama: Mama
Mao-Mao: Cat
Mieff: Mice
Mine: Mine
Mo-Mo: Elmo
Mo-Mo: More
Moo: Move
Mouff: Mouse
Nadeladeladelana: Banana
Neh: Kleenex
Nees: Sneeze
No: No
No: Snow
Nu-Nu: Nursing
On: On
On: Off
Pa: Paw
Pee: Pee
Pee: Peeper
Pete: Pete
Poo: Poo
Rah: Rock
Ta: Stuck
Ti: Stick
Tit: Sit
Toe: Toe
Too: Shoes
Turt: Shirt
Turts: Church
Two: Two
Uh-Oh: Uh-Oh
Up: Up
Wa: Walk
Wa-Wa: Water
Way: This way/That way
Wiee: White
Wow: Wow

You string together a few phrases, like "more cheese" and "big stick." When we see a Jeep Wrangler (your favorite vehicle by far), you say "Bee! Tats!" You want to touch the Jeeps, and we do whenever we can... Like when they're parked and I think no one is looking. There used to be a great red Jeep at Costco, but they recently replaced it with a different display vehicle. My heart was broken for you; we petted that Jeep every time we went to Costco. You'd start hollering about it when you realized we were turning into the Costco driveway. Poor baby.

Lastly, you and I are sick yet again this year. It's about your fifth cold and my third so far. Here's hoping that the winter is finally ending, and with spring, our health will improve.

Love you, tiny Toodle.

Let's Talk About: Safety

My love.

Today we heard bad news about a lovely young man who died in a motorcycle accident.

That makes three young men who attend church with us who have died within the last year. All were much too young. All died in reckless activities.

As a result, there are children who will never be born. Young ladies who will never call them "husband". And mothers who will never feel whole again.

So I ask you my darling - Please be safe. Have proper respect for things that can hurt you, like cars, guns, and motorcycles. Don't live in fear, but be smart.

What do I mean? Abide by the speed limit. Don't ever drink and drive. Don't text and drive. Don't drive tired. Don't keep guns loaded - if you even have a gun. It is my preference that you never own one. Don't be tempted by speed. If you really want to ride a motorcycle, take a safety course and always wear a helmet. Don't ride at night when cars can't see you. And don't go too fast. That is never safe, and never a good idea.

If you have friends who want to break these rules, find new friends. Good friends should not be dangerous people.

There are no guarantees in life, sweetheart. We are never promised a single day of a year. We can't be sure that we can try again tomorrow. So do it right the first time, darling. Be careful. Be happy, but respect that life is a fragile, beautiful thing.

If you do, it's more likely that you'll have precious children in your future. You'll have a wife who loves you beyond words! And your mother will be so thankful for each day she has with you.

She already is.

Be careful, baby. Do it so you can BE.

Mommy Rave: Naptime

I LOVE naptime!

No, it's not what you think.

Naptime is the sweetest part of our day. That's when I get to hold the busiest little guy on earth. You settle down in my arms, sitting sideways on my lap with your cheek resting on my chest. I have you bundled in a blanket. I make the recliner rock. You know what this means and you don't fight it at all. Within a couple minutes, you're asleep.

I keep holding and rocking you for about 10 minutes - until you start to sweat. Sounds weird, but you sweat when you're really asleep.

Then comes the hard part. I have to put you in your crib. I don't want to. I love holding you, little boy. Love, love, love. But if I don't rest you in your crib soon, I hold you too long and it makes you wake up when I try to put you in your crib. Ten minutes after you zonk out is the perfect time. Even though I haven't had my fill, I have to do it. Then I creep out and do those boring mommy things: laundry, dishes, baking. I listen for you to wake. You're always on my mind!

Thanks for making naptime such a treat my love.

XOXOXOX

Two is not so terrible

Tiny squirming boy,

You turned two on Thursday! You did it! What a happy day for you. You took the early approach - you got up at 6 a.m. and began your day with a nap next to Daddy on the couch. I can't remember when you got your first gift, but you were very entitled all day.

We went out for lunch and you feasted on Mac and cheese. Then you took a monstrous nap (3.5 hours!) while your southern grandma and I went shopping. We bought you even more presents! After you woke up, we went out for dinner at Fritz's Railroad Restaurant. The food is awful, terribly awful, but it is delivered by a small train. Trains circle the interior of the restaurant at all times. And since this was a very train birthday for you, it was perfect. You absolutely loved it! It was the first time we'd ever taken you out to a restaurant and then had to do very little to keep you happy. We will go back to Fritz's any time for you... But we might pack our own dinner. ;)

You opened more gifts at home - a cloth John Deere tractor book sewed together by Uncle Ken, a Thomas the Train set from Grandma and Grandpa Tractor, a load of train toys from your mom and dad, some Hot Wheels, and a school bus shaped Magna Doodle. We have more gifts for you but we're spacing them out so you can appreciate them better.

You rewarded us by sleeping through the night last night. I know, we thought we had conquered that! But then you and I took a trip to visit Uncle Ken and Auntie Kari, and sleep habits went out the window. We had to share a bed there, and you kind of liked that. You liked waking up at night and finding mommy there. I became your pillow. I stopped sleeping when you stopped sleeping. How very convenient for you.

How I love you, my darling. You are the cutest little boy in the world. You're very clever and you're sweet. We will do all we can to make sure you don't have a "terrible two" year.

By the way - your new words include bowl - "bow", shirt - "turt", and church - "turtch". You also jibber jabber about things, and usually the last syllable is a real word. "Bellabalala duredurga ba?" is something about a ball. I get it. :) It amazes me when other people hear you talk - they don't understand a thing. I feel like your interpreter sometimes. And I like that. I think we should always be together, ok?

XOXOX

Bedtime Routine

Darling, Darling... You have become the most charming little guy at bedtime. You love it! Based on your bedtime history, you'd think I'm joking. But no! Listen up.

At bedtime, we head upstairs and get on our jammies. Daddy turns on your night light and fills your humidifier. You cuddle with me, and I sing songs to you. You like that. After a song is over, you lift your eyes up and say "Ahhn?" And I sing you another one... and another... and another. Then I ask you for cuddles and kisses, for which you are less agreeable. You get excited about getting in bed. No time for kisses.

So I lift you into "baby's bed" and have you sit up for a minute so I can fluff your pillow. You watch over your shoulder. When you think it's fluffed enough you flop back on it with a smile. You giggle as I put your big blanket over you. Then you ask for Mao-Mao - the Lynx you got from Aunt Jaci in Vail. I also hand you a little owl, a big owl, and a giant dog. Your arms are absolutely loaded with animals, and you look so pleased. I cover the animals with their own blanket, pet you on your forehead and tell you I love you. Before I can pet you three times, you push my hand away and say "No." This makes me laugh. Then I leave, and you fall asleep on your own.

How cute, my love. I'm so proud of you for putting yourself to sleep at night. And the fact that you're so happy about it is sweeter than I can say. Thank you, Doodle!

You sleep through the night most of the time now, unless you're sick or suffering from an ear infection. You've been getting those lately. You had one in September 2012, another in January 2013, and another in February 2013. The first two times you were prescribed antibiotics. I consented. This last time I asked around and did research and gave you ear drops and baby Advil. You got better in the same amount of time. It turns out antibiotics are not beneficial for ear infections most of the time. I'm glad I know now, though I hope you never have another one.

Our next big step will be potty training. You're not interested, though. You like to pee whenever, wherever. You poop while standing behind a chair or tucked next to the TV stand. And you do not like to sit on the potty without any pants on. We try to get you used to the idea by bringing it up, and by showing you the potty. Don't worry about it. In good time, you'll be interested. And Mommy has been sneaking in some paper diapers (I love Huggies Pure and Natural) so there are fewer cloth diapers to wash, wash, wash, wash and wash. I am really tired of washing stinky cloth diapers, though they have served us very well.

You've learned more words: "no" is snow. You say "go" very well. You put two words together sometimes and ask for "mo teese" - more cheese. "Gocks" are socks. "Toos" are shoes. Last week I picked you up out of the shopping cart after getting some groceries. You began hollering "too! too! too! too!" Halfway to the car, I realized you weren't pointing out "two" of something - a favorite number of yours. You were telling me you'd lost your shoe while getting out of the cart! We went back and picked it up. I was so impressed and so thankful you told me about it. I would have gone nuts wondering where your shoe was - and I would have assumed you'd kicked it off intentionally. You do that, you know. 

Next week, we are flying to visit Uncle Ken and Aunt Kari. I'm already strategizing how to survive the plane rides. But we're going to have a great time - so long as the big dogs don't nip at your bum. Don't worry. Mama is always watching.

I love you!

Does that scare you, my love?

You have never been a wild child, my love. You are much the opposite - you're a cautious little thing. When other little boys are zipping down the slide in glee, you refuse to go down. You will climb up the jungle gym and walk across it, and walk back down, thank you. You do not swing on swings, though you don't mind sitting on them for a brief moment. You do not climb down from furniture without assistance, even if your toes are a mere inch from the floor.

The good news is that you've never been reckless enough to fall down the stairs, or off a swing... though every now and then you topple over while standing or sitting. It gives me great comfort to know that you will probably never be interested in zooming down the highways on a motorcycle, or jumping out of a plane.

That's great, sweetheart, because I want to have you around for a very long time.

You continue to learn so much very quickly. You put two words together yesterday for the first time: "More cheese." You still use duplicates for almost every word -- you actually said "mo-mo cheese." You are very funny, and if I tell you so, you laugh. When Daddy coughs, you cough. You prefer to keep your clothes on and get panicked if I leave you standing there without a shirt or pants on. And you don't mind sitting on the potty, as long as you have your pants on. Perhaps we will potty train when you are five.

You now weigh more than 25 pounds (but not 26) and you wear size 7 shoes. You love to "go" and "walk" and "out". But watch out - we can't put shoes or a coat on you unless we're heading out the door within the next five seconds after. Because you, little stinker, kick off your shoes and snake out of your coat within a minute if we're still inside.

By the way, you say "nay-nay" for snake.

Your vocabulary is adorable, just like you.

Today I leaned toward you and puckered my lips for a kiss, so you leaned in and kissed me. I love that I didn't have to say any words. You are learning that gestures can be their own language.

And lastly, my love, you like to sing along! When we sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", you sing along like this: "Ah ah oh oh ah"... and you only accompany us during the line "How I wonder what you are." Of course your mother thinks it's precious. We'll have to get it on tape so you can listen to yourself later.

Love you! It's time to get up now... Here I come to wake you. XOXO