Rand and Daddy

Rand has been sick with a cold all week, so there hasn't been much blog activity. It's kind of hard to post when your baby doesn't want to be put down even for a moment. So I'm making up for it today with four posts. Rand is getting very good at imitating words. He tried to climb his bookcase yesterday for the first time. He's also started to pretend to eat this week -- he'll take a plastic spoon and bowl, pretend to take a bite, and say, "Yummy!"

Rand sure loves his daddy!

Living Room pictures

This doesn't have anything to do with Rand, but this's what's been keeping us busy the last week:

Before:

After:

We painted, put in a new fan, moved the shelves, got a new console table and a new end table, hung up pictures, new curtains, and got new lights for the living room. Yay for Ikea! I am liberally using "we," as Werner did most of the work. We think it looks really nice now -- onto the kitchen!

Good Dog!

Because, really, why bother going around when you can go over?

Valentine's Day Candy, Part II

Delicious!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Four Stages of Candy Eating:

First, frustration:

Second, comprehension:

Third, greed (note the chipmunk cheeks):

Fourth, ecstasy:


Happy Rand!

Thanks, Grandpa, for the Valentine's candy! Rand sure enjoyed it!

No-no

One of Rand's new things is to point to something he shouldn't be touching (like the TV buttons, or the stove) and say, "No-no." On Wednesday morning, I stepped into the kitchen for about thirty seconds. Rand was in my bedroom. I heard him start saying, "No-no, no-no, no-no." I went back into the bedroom to find this:

And this:

Water is Amazing.

So it's not quite the Bellagio, but Rand still loved it.

He finally got brave enough to touch the water (only if mom was holding him, though!). Then he got his pants all wet and he wasn't too happy about that. He walked very stiff-legged until they dried out.

Rand and Bella, up in a tree....

About once a week, Rand and I have a coffee/playdate with Melissa and her daughter Bella. Bella is exactly one month younger than Rand. It's been nice and sunny this week, so we went and got ice cream. Yum! Rand figured out the most efficient way to eat it.


These were taken at a brand-new Spectrum-like mall that's being built about 10 minutes away from us. They have a neat little water fountain that Rand loves. I'll post pictures of that adventure tomorrow.







Bella loves phones and purses!

Daddy makes a comfy pillow.

And boy, oh boy, goldfish are exciting!

This is why he doesn't watch TV.

I got Rand his first video from the library last week. The plan had been for Werner and I to go out for a real live grown-up dinner and Rand would stay with some of our childless friends. In order for them to babysit him more than once in his life, I got a "Teletubbies" video from the library for him to watch. The plans fell through, but I let him watch the video for the first time yesterday. He LOVED it.

He'd stare, mesmerized, then look over at me as if to go, "Oh. My. Goodness. Mom, did you have any idea that such an awesome thing existed?!?!?!" Then he'd stare back at the TV screen again. He lasted about 20 minutes before he got bored and wandered off to pull all of the books off of the bookcase.

The photos were taken over a five minute time period. Please note that the expression on his faced never changed. This is why TV viewing is limited in our household.

Vocabulary

Rand can say:

Mama
Daddy
Doggie (everything is a doggie)
Otto
Nuggett
Wow
Ball
Ni-Ni (our word for nursing....he invented it)
Flower
Baby
Shoes
Belly button
Nose
Milk
Uh-oh


Rand can sign:

Please
More
Food
Thank you

What a brilliant kid.

Just call him "Cinderella"

My little slave. Hahahahah!!

The Worst Shopping Trip E.V.E.R.

Rand used to love going grocery shopping. I'd put him in his Baby Bjorn, and I wouldn't hear a peep out of him the whole time we were in the store. He loved looking at all the people and things. But ever since he has learned to walk, grocery shopping has become a royal pain. Rand doesn't want to ride in the cart, he wants to walk. Normally this isn't a problem -- I don't mind going slowly because really, what else do I have scheduled? At the grocery store, though, there are lots of things at Rand's eyelevel. Things that, in Rand's mind, are just begging to be pulled off the shelves and out of baskets and thrown on the floor. The only place that Rand can safely walk is in the freezer aisle. Let me repeat: grocery shopping with Rand is exhausting.

Last night we went out to do some shopping for Werner's party tonight. Rand's already having a hard time. I'm pushing the cart and carrying him under my arm and he's kicking and crying and having a fit. People are staring at me, but I'm figuring it's because my kid is throwing a temper tantrum. Then I hear a couple with a little baby saying, "Wow, what did that kid eat?" "No, honey, I think that's blood." I look to see who they're talking about, and of course -- they're looking at me. I look down, and Rand is covered in blood. Face, hands, hair, everywhere. I couldn't find where it was coming from, so I'm guessing he bit his tongue or cheek or lip or something. Of course, I had left the diaper bag in the car (because why would I need it in the grocery store?) but that couple was sweet enough to give me some of their wipes so I could clean him up. Rand wasn't acting hurt at all -- there is a big difference between his "hurt" cry and his "mad" cry and he was just plain mad. As soon as I put him on the floor so I could clean him up, he was all smiles and blowing kisses and waving at the nice couple. They thought it was pretty funny.

So people, if you ever see a tired mama with her bloody baby in the store, please don't think the worst and assume that she smacked her kid. She may just be oblivious.

Cookies

Making cookies is fun.

Eating them is even better.