Halloween

Wednesday we had a great time at our church's Trunk-or-Treat.




The only requirement I had for Ked's costume was that it involved a stick. My sister suggested Harry Potter with a wand. The blonde and glasses-less Draco Malfoy was easier. Ked only carried his stick wand for a while, but he loved his broom.


















Peanut Butter and Jelly. Sam came up with the idea; I came up with the costumes. We thought about performing the song together. . .












Ked and his cousins Lindy, Paige, and Kaden















It was great to get to see Summer and her family there too!












This is the only full family photo we've had in a while. . . time for a new one!


Ked wasn't into the whole Trick-or-Treating thing (which is fine, since he wasn't going to eat any of it anyway), but we had fun seeing all the costumes and handing out candy.

Can Stacking

For the last few weeks, Ked (13 months) has been stacking cans. (Of course the only place he wants to stack them is on our living room table! I guess it's a good thing it was already dinged up when we got it.) He carries them from the kitchen, one at a time. I love watching him figure out how to stack them so they "connect." He's more successful some times than others.

Three cans had always been as high as he'd tried until I was watching him this time.

Second try success! And he's back to the kitchen for another. . .
The leaning tower of Ked.

This is a split-second before the mean mommy ended the game and the little boy cried. Notice that's a 29 ounce can in his hands.


Before he started stacking cans, he was just "setting the table" from any kitchen item he could reach. He still does this, and I love watching him walk back and forth with different items while I work in the kitchen. And I especially love that he is now sometimes putting things back too!
For a month or so, I've been meaning to put these things somewhere out of his reach, but now I'm not sure I want to (though the heavy cans definitely concern me). The bananas were NOT supposed to be within his reach, though--he got those off the table. And proceeded to take a few bites off the top and spit them out.

10/5/2010: Ked 13 months

Just when I think I've baby proofed. . .

Please don't think I'm a neglectful parent. It's just that every day he can reach something that he couldn't the day before - by growth, by being a little more stable and able to reach higher, by stepping on tip-toes, or from learning to use other objects as a stool. These things happen when he's just around the corner from me or even in my peripheral vision. . . he's just so contented-sounding that I don't fully realize exactly what he's up to.





Climbing monkeys eat bananas.
Getting his own snack off the kitchen table. He chowed down on about half the banana until I finally peeled it for him and put him in the high chair with it. Of course then all he did was squish it and throw it on the floor.













10/11/2010; 13 months

Oat Meal
Quick oats, to be specific. Very quick. This was after I'd removed the package from him.

9/6/2010; 12 months

The oatmeal incident occurred just in time for Sam's arrival home. Nice way to be greeted after a long day at school/work, huh? I love how this picture makes it look like Ked is actually helping. He wasn't, but he did love the broom and dust pan and watching Daddy clean up.
Seeing as how I'm not the best disciplinarian, I figured at least there would be a natural negative consequence to this little crime. Ked is absolutely terrified of the vacuum. Ironically, this was the only time in months (before or after), that he was almost intrigued by the vacuum, and hardly bothered by it at all.

I'll plead guilty to leaving the chair out this time.

9/16/2010; 12 1/2 months

Tomato Leftovers
Picture taken after I realized he'd been standing on the chair, leaning against the table, and chowing down on the tomatoes he'd retrieved out of the fruit basket. At least he's healthy! (And these tomatoes were free--plentiful in our garden.)








Corn Starch
I didn't think he could open it.
I thought wrong.








Baking Soda
The smell in this apartment has bothered me since we moved in. Maybe he's just trying to deodorize?






What else can I say? I love being this kid's mom!

Attachment

The question is, who is more attached to the pacifiers - him or me?!9/6/10; 12 months
The technical rule is that Ked only gets the pacifier at nap/bed time. But there are also "a few" exceptions. . . like when I'm trying to keep him quiet while in church, or while I'm on the phone, or when we have visitors, or when we're visiting someone else, or when he's not feeling well, or when he's unusually grumpy or clingy. . . so, yea, pretty much any time.

For months, Ked has thrown his pacifiers out of the bed to show that he's ready to get out (willing to give them up). My first indication that Ked is awake is hearing his pacifier hit the ground. He usually keeps an eye on where he threw them out and gets one the first chance he can. It's pretty funny to watch him search for one that I discretely picked up. When he realized that I was picking them up before he could get to them, he started throwing them in different spots. Sometimes it works--he can find them before I can. But then he's also pretty good about dropping them in the bed when I ask him to. ("Drop your pacifier" is one of the first phrases that I could tell he at least kind of understood.)

Our Little Mountain Goat Climber

First the toybox, then the cajon and the, "Help, I'm up and I can't get down" cry. Then it was the kitchen chairs, the table (which I don't pause long enough to take pictures of), and finally the swivel chair, which makes me especially nervous!
8/25/10, almost 12 months; 9/6/10, 12 months; 9/9/10, 12 mo.; 10/7/10, 13 mo.

After somehow managing to get the tire off the jogging stroller, Ked climbed into the seat. 9/14/2010, 12 1/2 months

"When's Daddy coming home?" Standing on the heater, holding onto the window sill.

9/5/2010, 12 months

Just like Daddy!

10/7/2010, 13 months

Ked seriously must keep an eye out all day just waiting for me or Sam to leave a chair out. He is always so fast to see our blunder and so fast to scramble up! He is also quick to climb onto the table if the chair is close enough. Sam and are really trying hard to push our chairs in, but we both have a really hard time remembering!

Sharing the Driver's Seat

I watched as Hannah (friend) scooted in between Ked and the steering wheel. Aww, cute, he's learning to share. . . Until you realize that his hand was in the position to help her continue right on through. . . pushing her off. Don't worry, she wasn't hurt and proceeded to go through the whole process once more until I gave Ked a good talking to about sharing.
Ked and Hannah are actually great playing together. Well, parallel playing at least. A few weeks apart and in similar developmental stages. It's so fun to watch them when they interact. (He's not always mean to her.)

On one of the rare mornings that I was supposed to have a babysitter for Ked, he was sick. (Not bad, but enough he shouldn't be around other kids.) So instead of going out, I played with him all morning. He was laughing so much when I decided we should both ride on his car.

The picture doesn't do it justice--I wish you could hear him laugh in delight!

Answered Prayer--Please Return to Sender!

I've noticed a few times in my life that when I dislike a certain situation I'm in, I suddenly realize (and remember) that this is exactly the situation I'd been praying and praying for, and now that I'd finally received what I'd asked for, I was upset about it! Sounds pretty dumb, right? Here's just one recent example. (Hope it's not too crude.)

When Ked was just a few months old, he had serious bowel issues. For months, he would go a week or often two (not exaggerating) without having a dirty diaper. We were worried about it, talked to doctors and nurses about it, and wondered if the resulting discomfort was what was causing him to be upset at random times, especially those times in the middle of the night when nothing we could do would calm his cries. For months we prayed that he would have regular bowel movements and that we would know what to do to help him.

So for months now, every time I have the exhausting diaper-changing wrestle with Ked and then walk his third soiled diaper of the day out to the dumpster, I'm trying not to be disgusted or annoyed, but to recognize that my prayers were answered and that I was given what I asked for. And to be grateful!

Gotta go, I think I smell something stinky. . . again. . . Hurray!

1 Year!

Ked's birthday started out in the morning when he found the present I'd been hiding in my closet for a week or two. I was going to save it for the evening to surprise him with, but I wasn't about to take it away and make him cry.
I was pleased to see that he totally loved it and played with it all day. It's still one of his favorite toys. Not bad for a used item from the 2nd hand store.


We celebrated with my niece Lindy, since it was her birthday too. (Summer made her the princess cake. You can tell she's pretty happy about it!)

You can tell how much Ked likes to be outside by his farmer's tan.

Happy birthday!

just for fun

8/14/2010 At the horticulture garden on campus.