Knees and Toes

Even though my child never sleeps (I seriously think he's channeling Samara from The Ring) he sometimes does something so cute I completely forget that I'd rather be sleeping. Last night, after being awake for 16 straight hours (waking up yesterday at 4:50 a.m. and skipping his nap again--ugh!!!), he still had the energy to knock my socks off with his adorable-ness. Yesterday I bought him a group of Elmo toys off Craigslist. He was so excited when I came home that he kept repeating, "Present, present!" He played with the "new" toys for a couple hours. One of the toys is an Elmo radio that plays songs and has a microphone for your child to sing into. I didn't even have to show Topher how to use it--he grabbed that microphone with a purpose (we think he must have learned that from Glee) and quickly singled out his favorite Elmo song: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. And then, without any prompting, he started singing along. I've never seen him sing along to anything before. Sometimes he'll coo "oooo" while a song is playing but this time he was singing the real words. So over and over again he sang "knees and toes, knees and toes, knees and toes" directly into the microphone. And it had me laughing all the way down to my knees. And my toes.

--KC

Adventures in Nanny Land

Today wraps up our second week of entering Nanny Land, and things are starting to fall into a groove. Topher talks about Alex a lot, and Alex apparently talks a lot about Topher when he's at home. Alex always takes a nap at 12:30pm, and Topher usually goes down about a half hour later. Alex will then wake up about 2pm, and Topher 30-45 minutes later than that. (If you've done your calculations, you can see that this leaves me one full quiet hour which I wisely spend recharging and blogging so that you, dear reader, can remain informed. You're welcome.) A typical day will involve some bed-wrestling. Topher likes to climb into the twin bed that Alex uses and "pretend" like he's sleeping, but of course being a little boy he can't hold still for more than 5 seconds so he'll start kicking and squirming and that leads to a toddler wrestling match. Step 1: Pretend to be sweet and act like I'm going to sleep nicely. Step 2: Fake-out! Pop up and commence poking at Alex's foot. Step 3: Total domination.

Step 4: Come on, Alex, come play with me! Step 5: Revert back to Step 1.

Of course, sometimes enough contact is enough, and the boys just want to do their own things.

Strike that. They are boys. Revert to Step 3.

What a peaceful day watching the neighbor's stationary truck together and discussing trucks in toddler-language (this is a foreign tongue that only mommies can interpret.)

Nanny Land isn't a bad spot to have landed in. Alex is a good kid and is pretty quick to listen and obey. It's fun to watch the boys find a play-mate in each other, even if it means I'm more referee than nanny most of the time. Doesn't really matter; turns out I'm not half bad at either one.

I call the following Nanny-cam video Be Gentle You Rough Boys:

Plus being a nanny makes me realize that my days alone with Topher are Easy Street all the way. What have I been complaining about all this time, anyway? :)

(Side note to grandparents: this post is not meant to imply in any way that we may be ready for more kids. Sorry for any confusion.)

--KC

An Omaha Sort of Birthday

My amazing husband totally surprised me for my birthday with a weekend in Omaha. On Friday we spent many hours at the zoo, ate Italian food, and went shopping. The weather was cool and drizzly but it didn't matter much because we had only ourselves to worry about and nearly everything we did was indoors. Several times I would find myself thinking, Topher would love this exhibit! But just as often I would think, This trip would have been totally impossible with a toddler! Luckily, Topher was having his own fun on the farm with TJ's parents so we could relax and enjoy a little bit of adult-only time.

Saturday morning we had the chance to go to the Winters Quarters temple and do some genealogy work for TJ's family line. (That was by far my most favorite part of the weekend, it was so special and peaceful and beautiful.) After that, it was on to the Cheesecake Factory where we stuffed ourselves with goodness. It was the perfect weekend. And I had no idea that any of it was coming. As much as I kept hounding TJ for clues about what was happening on my birthday weekend, he wouldn't even give me a clue. (Not even when I reminded him that I'm not good with surprises and that too much shock could most certainly send me into heart failure. He's harsh that way.)

As always, spending the night on the farm wore Topher out. All those tractors and dogs and wagon rides and fresh air really exhaust my little man.

Sunday my sister Aimee had me over for some brownies. She said she didn't have much of a plan when she started decorating, and apologized for my dessert that proclaimed I was turning 208 years old.

I have to say, 28 feels a lot like 27. It was a great year, though, and my birthday marked our one-year anniversary of moving to Ankeny and being free of flood worries. We've found that we love this city a lot and may be here longer than we originally planned. I feel extremely lucky to be happy and healthy and to have an amazing family. Especially a husband who would go to all that trouble to make my birthday so special. Thanks for everything baby, you and Tophie mean the world to me!

--KC

Momma Fix the Poopoos

We've entered the world of sentences, and this morning when Topher told me he had a "poopoos" I said I would fix it and he responded, "Momma fix the poopoos." Even though we were talking about poop, I don't think I could have been any more proud of my baby for putting all those words together. And when he was all cleaned up I said "All done" and he responded, "Thank you!" before going back to his toy cars. This Momma almost cried, I tell you. I had a conversation with my baby boy. Yesterday was our first day of nannying Alex, too. The boys did as well as I could have expected for such a big transition and for such a long day. There was a little jealousy over toys and one unfortunate head-on collision, but overall it wasn't bad! The highlight of the day is when I got them both to take their naps at the same time. I felt like some sort of mad genius and I kept waiting for a shower of confetti to rain down upon me. Topher even got upset when Alex had to go home and kept saying, "Baby back." (Which, in hindsight could have either meant that he wanted Alex to come back or that he was hankering for some Chili's. You never know.) The windows are open this morning and the crisp air reminds me of football game days. Topher has already taken an interest in football (well, any sport with a ball) and LOVES to tackle his daddy. You have to be careful, though, because if you don't brace yourself he can knock you right over! He's always a little gentler with mommy, though. I'm the one who fixes the poopoos, after all. --KC

How much can you eat??

Now that Topher is using food rather than milk to fill his belly, we are realizing just how much he can eat. He asks for us to set up his high chair for breakfast, first lunch, second lunch, first dinner, second dinner, and dessert. And at each sitting, he will easily sit and munch for 30+ minutes at a time! Here's a picture of him last night enjoying dinner #2.

Note that his tray has chicken, apples, fries, and hot dogs as well as juice and water. This doesn't even show that he usually goes through 2-3 pudding cups a day, or that he can eat string cheese, crackers, bacon, and sandwich meat like a champion. He is definitely a running back in training and we fully expect him to be a fighting tiger in the year 2026! (I'm totally kidding, he can play wherever he wants, but football season HAS officially started--congrats on the win Mizzou!)

--KC

Happy September

This is my favorite month of the entire year. Yes, it's my birthday month but it's also the first month that starts feeling like fall, the month when students get situated in their classes and step into the routine of school again, the month when sneakers and jeans and jackets come out of hiding, the month when the fever of summer finally breaks. Next month our son will be TWO years old, so I am trying to capture as many moments with him as possible because he is talking more than ever and developing a fireball of a personality. Here is a video from yesterday afternoon, when Topher reminded me that occasionally the word "no" can hit your funny bone. In this case he wanted to see my keys but I was afraid that he would push that enticing red button on the keychain that sets off the car alarm. We have to pick our battles around here, but sometimes the battles surprise us and fight back with laughter.

Happy September to everyone.

--KC