Spooning

Yup, a different kind of spooning.

My little man is learning how to use a spoon slowly but surely. With his new Munchkin suction cup bowl and his new Gerber spoon, he scooped away at his current favorite ... APPLESAUCE!

Yeah, his version was more of a dip-and-lick situation, so Grandpa E tried to help him out with his form.

All in all, he's doing pretty well with it, though he's really got the hang of the fork down. But food stays on a fork much better than it does a spoon, so that's not too too surprising.

Baby steps, you know?

A-D-V-E-N-T-U-R-E!!

It's amazing how much Baylor learns everyday. I can't even believe how much he picks up and holds onto with that beautiful brain of his. Lately, his interests have been primarily that of the alphabet variety. Yes, he is learning the alphabet. He couldn't sing the song if you asked him to, but point to a letter (especially an upper case one) and he'll tell you what it is.

Remember the "Always looking for adventure" wall decal we put up in his new room? Yeah, point to the letters in "adventure" and he'll say each and every one of them. Yes, this is a bit of a prideful moment on my part, but isn't that what being a mom is all about?

Anyhow, I can't take all the credit for it. He's just taken an interest in a lot of his toys and books that are focused around the alphabet, and my sister got him started with the ABC stacking blocks at my parents' house. Go, Aunt Christine!

He also likes his Leap Frog Alphabet Pal caterpillar.


And his Parents Rubber Blocks! (I'll talk about them more later in the post ... apparently Blogger has decided to mess with my picture order and orientation. Grrrr.)

And possibly most of all, he loves his Dr. Seuss ABC book! His Sandra Boynton A to Z book is a hit, too.

So, his Parents rubber blocks. He got them from my sister for Christmas and just adores them! Each of the 26 blocks has a letter of the alphabet on it as well as a corresponding animal (though I take umbrage with putting a unicorn on the block for "U" since it's not a real animal). Plus, they are rubber so they would have to be thrown pretty hard to hurt much of anything ... Little B even likes to nestle into a bucket of them every so often. You can find these at Target; they make a great gift for any little guy or gal!

So yeah, the little man is learning about letters. That's what's new. What's new with you?

Who Makes the Coolest Cookies?

My mom and sister do!

For all of you Office fans out there ...


Isn't that awesome? They made them using a cookie cutter kit from Williams Sonoma and a little of their natural creativity.

They also made sweet, Valentine-y ones, too.

And then they decorated them by piping some of the smoothest, best-tasting buttercream frosting I've ever had onto them. (My sister is a buttercream genius, I tell you!) And then decorating them with sprinkles.

So very yummy and festive! Kudos, ladies!

On the Lookout for Shamrock Shakes!

Alright, dear readers, I need your help.

Last year, if you recall, I was only able to have one Shamrock Shake from McDonald's because it turned out that the dairy bothered Baylor.

So this year I am going all out and having a bunch! I told my husband I'm going to drink my weight in Shamrock Shakes which isn't true, but I probably would if it was humanly possible.

Yes, I love them that much.

So, if you see that McD's has gotten in their Shamrock Shakes for the season, could you please let me know?! I would really appreciate it!

Operation Tick Tock: Fire Extinguisher

Over the weekend we went to Costco and knocked one of the things off my Tick Tock list: buy a new fire extinguisher! The new extinguisher is quite a bit bigger than the one we previously had in our house, but it's Costco ... come on. (I was just surprised we didn't have to buy a palate of them.)

Next step, taking down the old one (that hadn't been serviced or paid-attention-to in years) and put up the new one. My trusty helper is a whiz with the stud finder.


Of course, I'm pretty sure he's a leftie and our cheap-o stud finder is tough for lefties to use, so he mostly just found the "studs" in his hands. What a cutie!

I was even able to find our ever-elusive level and was happy to find that the original marks I made were already level! After drilling the pilot holes, I got the screws in without a problem and the whole thing went up like a breeze. Bada bing, bada boom!

So if you're ever at our house and there is a fire, the extinguisher is in the front hallway closet. Please use it!

We also played a bit today. Little B was quite industrious with his blocks. Just look at that tower!

Then he found the remote control and was able to turn on the television, much to his delight.

He then tried to turn it off, with much less success. "Off."

And then for some reason he decided to stretch while working on turning the t.v. off.

We played "ride the horsey" ... yes, he enjoyed it a lot.

And then he fell asleep during lunch. Yup, lunch.

Apparently it was all too much excitement for the little man. I was able to clean him up, turn on the dishwasher, get him upstairs, change his diaper, and get him into bed without waking him up, so that worked out pretty nicely. I have no idea what made him so tired, but it was truly amazing how quickly he dozed off.

My Gentle Giant

My little man got to have a play date the other day with his cousin Wyatt. They are only about four weeks apart, but Wyatt is an average-sized kiddo and Baylor is pushing the upper limits of the growth chart. Lots of people mistake him for a two year old when he is just now turning 17 months old.

I think the boys had a lot of fun, though it's hard to tell at this age since they just sort of play near each other not necessarily with each other. Hopefully they'll start to interact a little more as they get older.

Close to Home

My mom went in for surgery today; just outpatient - it took less than an hour - but the cause of the surgery definitely hit close to home.

My mom has skin cancer; two spots of basal cell carcinoma, to be exact. She found out in late autumn of last year and has been trying to get into surgery ever since. Today was the day, and I think she was relieved to have it over with. One spot only had to be scraped, but the other had to be more surgically removed and sewn up with stitches.

Hopefully this one surgery will have taken care of those two spots for good, and she'll be on the road to recovery. That said, this first incidence of skin cancer means she has to be super-vigilant about skin checks in the future.

We are all thankful that her skin cancer is not melanoma, but it is a reminder that you have to be so careful out in the sun. For more information about basal cell carcinoma, check out the Skin Cancer Foundation's website. Page 4 tells a lot about what you can do to protect yourself against skin cancer.

All the best to you and yours. Take care of yourself for both you and the ones you love.

The Raptor is Learning ...

You guys remember that from Jurassic Park? Where they think they're safe, then the raptors start learning things like how to open doors? Yeah, that's my kid.

He's learning new things left and right; some of it is just awesome, and some of it changes the game for us. Like tonight when he learned how to undo the buckle on his high chair. *sigh*

Anyhow, we got down his peg puzzle yesterday and he has been all over it. I was checking my e-mail today, and as I looked over I saw this ...

Yup, he lined up his puzzle pieces, making little groups of colors or shapes. I think he got frustrated when he couldn't make groups of like colors AND shapes, but he kept on rearranging things to get it right.

Then he got to putting his puzzle together ... and I have to say, he did a pretty good job. He's definitely come a long way from when he first got the puzzle and would stack them any which way.

For the longest time, he's been hiding pieces of his toys in his winter boots and I finally caught him in the act today.

After we went to the grocery store, we dropped some bananas off at my parents' house and in the seven minutes it took to get home - well, I found this when I opened the sliding door.

I unbundled my sleepy little man, took him upstairs, and set him in his crib. He slept for about 45 minutes then woke up sobbing. End of nap.

After lunch, he was back to his happy little self, running around the house. I could hear him coming around the island and I snapped this picture as he popped around the corner.

The day was not complete without a little exploration.

My little raptor is systematically trying to figure out how to open the cabinets; so far the locks are besting him, but I know it won't be long before he gets them.

Ah, and we must reset the dishwasher!

Somehow, he got his superhero/villain ball stuck in his Ikea stool. And for some reason, he wanted to carry the whole kit and caboodle around the house. Funny little guy!

He wanted to play with his stacking cups, but the big yellow bin of rubber blocks was in the way. At first he only had one foot in the bucket. While I went to get my camera, though, he got all the way in.

Then apparently his legs got a little tired.

Things I didn't get pictures of:

Little B sat down near me with his My Little Michigan ABC book and started naming letters. Every so often he'd look up at me and smile.

He took out his kitchen stacking cups and, after going through them, put one up on the counter and said, "Eight." It was the eight.

He's starting to understand the concept of light and dark.

He can pretty much open the fridge by himself and likes to take out salad dressings we keep on the bottom door shelf.

And cute things about him right now:

He'll eat just about anything if you let him have applesauce every other bite.

He hugs everything. Hard plastic toys. Puzzle pieces. His Elmo truck. Owl, of course. You name it, he's probably hugged it.

He's all about reading on the couch now. He used to want to sit on the floor on my lap, but now he's excited to say, "Up!" and get up on the couch to sit next to me. (Which is good since my lap is slowly but surely disappearing.)

We think he's a leftie. He does things with both hands but is so much better with his left.

He loves babies. He gets this big goofy grin whenever he sees a picture of a baby. I hope that is a sign of good things to come.

He likes to look at pictures we have on our digital photo frame and frequently asks me to turn it on.

That's it. Hope you enjoyed a little slice of our day!

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop ...

My sister is sick, really, really sick. Some sort of stomach bug has taken over her body and is wreaking havoc on her gastrointestinal system. She is currently restricted to the BRAT diet and is kinda down for the count.

And we hung out with her last night ... a lot.

So now, every last burp, abdominal pain, and awkward feeling (even if it's just the baby kicking) is being over-analyzed by my idiotic brain. I don't want to get sick, and I most definitely don't want Baylor to get sick.

But right now it feels like we're just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Judge-y a Bit, Are We?

I sobbed as we left the house the other day. I sobbed so hard I think I scared my husband. Had we not needed gas, I would have cried for a lot longer. But we needed gas, I needed some water, and I had to use the bathroom so we stopped only a few minutes away at a gas station and I went into the store, red eyes and all.

After using their bathroom, I picked up some water, an A&W root beer, then made my way to the check out counter to pick up some small treats for the ride. The clerk smiled at me and asked if she could help me find anything.

"No, just looking for a little treat," I said.

"If you're interested in a healthier option, we have some trail mix on sale over here," she hinted back.

Um, judgey much? I smiled as politely as I could, held back all the snarky remarks that flooded my brain, and responded that I had plenty of healthy options in the car and that I just needed a little chocolate. (And I'm talking a little chocolate ... I got a couple over-sized Andes mints for my husband and me, and they are only 1.25" by 2.5".)

Hearing I had healthy options in the car, she actually seemed relieved and said, "Good!"

I have to say, I was pretty miffed that this clerk was openly judging me for my food and drink choices. (Just ask my husband.) It's not like I was getting alcohol, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, or even a king-sized candy bar. I ended up purchasing a bottle of water, the root beer, two of the little Andes mints, and a tiny box of Tropical Lemonheads and Friends. That's it. In the car, I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a Fiber One bar, a couple Kashi TLC bars, an apple, and a bag of carrots, pretty healthy fare if I do say so myself.

What do you think? Am I totally overreacting? Or was this person sticking her nose in my business?