Conversations

Little man is getting so conversational these days. Not that he particularly will just sit and chat (unless there's an iPad so he can see himself), but he can finally answer questions. He has definitely learned that NO is a power word and tries to use it to assert his independence at every turn. But sometimes he just can't help telling the truth:

On Friday during the summer, his preschool does snowcones. When I picked him up Friday, here's what we talked about.

Mommy: Hey sweetie. Did you have a fun day today?

Shepard: No.

Mommy: Oh, that's too bad. Did you have a snowcone today?

Shepard: No.

(Mommy, thinking, "well I paid for snowcones...")

Mommy: Hmmm. I was sure they were going to have a snowcone today. Was it yummy?

Shepard: No...yes. (in the same breath)

Mommy: Oh good. Was it cold?

Shepard: No...yes. 

Mommy: Do you want another one?

Shepard: No...yes.

Mommy tickles Shepard and enjoys laughter. Silly Shepard. You are allowed to say YES every now and again without starting it with a NO.

Sometimes Sunday afternoons are just grumpy. Seriously.

The other favorite thing he says right now is "unstuck it." As in...when he wants to get out of the car seat or unlock the door to go outside. He wants you to unstuck it.

Finally, a usual conversation in the car goes something like this...(three minutes into any car ride).

Shepard: ALL DONE!

Mommy: Not yet, honey. We are going to ride in the car for a few minutes.

Shepard: ALL DONE!

Mommy: We're going to ...(wherever it is) I'll tell you when we're almost there. But we're not all done yet.

Shepard: ALMOST?

Mommy: Yes, I'll tell you when we're close. Just a few more minutes.

Shepard: Almost...

(moments later)...TRUCK! BUS! CAR! HOUSE! TREE! (he really likes to identify everything)

Shepard: ALMOST? ALL DONE.

Mommy: Yes, Shepard, we're almost there.

Shepard: Almost.........Almost all done.

Mommy stops car.

Shepard: Unstuck it.

He is currently fascinated with straws and cups...though the drink-to-table ratio is beating the drink-to-mouth ratio in that format. We only do this at restaurants, in a pinch. And a bicycle update: he talks about his "cycle" a lot, but I think he got frustrated with just walking on it. He will NOT let us help him or show him to sit on the seat. We are going to recruit a small child to show him how it works. He also tells me "helmet HOT!" emphatically. Probably because the weekend we got it was about 95 degrees in the shade. Poor little thing was roasting. Oh well. We'll keep at it.

Random Chat

We're having a sick day today. Last evening was a rough icky-sicky time. Mommy might have gotten barfed all over. Bless his little heart. He has bounced back after a good night's sleep. Here we are hanging out on the sofa this morning. I think he's on the up and up.

Shepard now seems to know almost all his basic colors and numbers by sight. What a fun age.

March marched and other news

This morning, I had my work calendar open today to March and started to feel deflated. See, I color code my events by location, and March looked like a RAINBOW. For a moment, I thought I was looking at April and wanted to crawl under the desk and: A. nap; B. cry; C: whimper, D; all of the above. If you guessed D, you are correct!

So, many apologies for the lack of posts.Between work, a mini staycation, sinus funk, and an upcoming Starving Artist production, I am happy to find time to grocery shop, sleep and eat.

I have some photos I shared with family of Shepard's month-long fascination with teeth-brushing. He will run to the bathroom, saying "TEETH!" He has on occasion, tried to use the toothbrush as a hairbrush, at which point I try to explain the difference. He loves to stand on his little green stool and ask about everything in the bathroom--faucet, toothpaste, Mommy's toothbrush, sink, water, wash hands...etc.
We get new words every day. Saturday's word was "chickpeas!" as I was buying some at Target. I generally can't get him to greet folks with a Hi or Hello, but chickpeas we've got down. We are starting to get some sentences, though only intelligible by him. He will start them and end them with words we can understand..."Daddy schmee gah la go?" Things like that. And over the weekend, he seemed to be experimenting with some Forrest-Gump-sounding words like Mah-maaay instead of Mommy. Who knows?

We're looking forward to the next few weeks with Easter, a trip to GA, and Mommaaay and Daddaaay's date night at Les Mis in Greenville. Whew!
I will get some playtime at the park footage up soon. Soon, I say!

Aw, maaaaan!

Dora the Explorer has become a new fave for Shepard. He had been watching it on Saturday mornings, when my hubby was so sweet to let me sleep a bit and had some morning snuggles with the little guy. In the show, there's a sneaky fox named Swiper. Whenever the main characters foil Swiper's efforts, Swiper says, "Aw, maaaaan!" You can hear Swiper on this video and then Shepard. He spontaneously started saying this every time the fox came on the screen. It took us a few times to figure out what he was doing...it's our favorite new trick.

This week in the life of Shepard-19 months

Happy 19 months, sweet boy! You are such a joy. You ask what EVERYTHING is, and especially like to point to animals and objects in books and hear the words over and over. You can identify lots of animals now when Mommy and Daddy ask you something like, "Where's the cow?" Occasionally, you will roar like a lion and smile at us with a glimmer in your eye, as though you know how cute you're being.

Man, my feet are growing so fast!

Hopefully, I'll grow into these feet soon.

Let's go play outside!

On Saturday at the park, you played on the bridge part of the playground for the first time. Which was all very exciting until you decided to run into the other section and slide down the really-steep slide on your stomach. It was so steep we hadn't let you down it at all before! You laughed and then ran around and did it again...this time with me and on your bum. I have to wear my running shoes to keep up with you. (yes, the same running shoes pictured on HIS feet up there)

Who me? Just sittin' at the table. That's all.

You still love to climb on things. I came around the corner this morning after you had been quiet in the kitchen for a few minutes to find you sitting on the stool at the table and smiling at me...again, as if you knew how cute you are. You seemed so proud of yourself. I was really proud that you weren't standing on the stool. (see pics)

Cheese!

You take particular joy in closing doors these days, especially is someone is on the other side. Then we play a game where we open the door and you giggle and close it again. I think you'll be opening the doors pretty soon.

You have outgrown most of your 18 month clothes and are fitting into mostly 2T stuff now. Good thing we had lots of hand-me-downs ready!  At mealtimes, you are getting much better about not yelling, but asking and gesturing so we know what you want. You are pretty particular. You still love pizza, pasta, chicken, and your veggies, and have recently decided that grapes and strawberries are pretty awesome too.

I love scrambled eggs!

Last week, you interacted with the TV by saying "CHOO CHOO!" whenever the TV asked you to. And when you heard the word "sky," you jumped up and pointed straight up as if to say, "I know where that is!!!"
You change every day. I really think you grow measurably every day in height. Your eyes sparkle with everything you're thinking, and I know you can't wait to tell us all about it. We can't wait to hear.

Yuck Yucks...

We've been having lots of fun lately. Learning some animal noises...you never know which animal you're going to get. He's still working on it. Also, we're learning that some items you shouldn't put in your mouth. Instead of saying NO, I have been saying "Yuck yuck." I don't know why. It just happened. My yuck yuck noises were cracking Shepard up the other day as he kept trying to eat the purple crayon. Here's a little glimpse into our Sunday afternoon.

Little observations

Shepard's hands smell of graham crackers, whether he's eaten them or not. Now I smell graham crackers and think of him. He's literally sweet.

He likes to hum along and make sounds. He's definitely got the "bzzzzzzzzz" of the bee. This morning he was trying to match the tone of the coffee grinder. I made a chord with him by singing the third. It kind of made my day.

He really likes it when I do the frog's "ribbit" and do my froggie tongue. He tries to mimic me.

He can put more stinky poop in a diaper than I ever imagined. Contrary to what I thought before he came, it doesn't make me hurl. That would be not-so-sweet, but only ok.

He will kind of sit still for a book now. He really likes the books with the "peek-a-boo" windows to open.

He sleeps 11-12 hours a night without hardly making a peep. I think this is because he hardly stops moving all day long except for a shortish nap.

He already has a mischevious grin and sidelong glance. It already makes me nervous.

He is laughing at my best "Mama means it" strict-face. This makes me nervous too.

And did I mention his little deep-throated maniacal laugh? (you can hear that here) Sometimes he will use it in context of doing something slightly naughty. I am going to surely be a woman of prayer.

Climbing and Baptizing

Our sweet niece, Madeleine, was baptized this weekend, so we all headed to Columbia for the big event. What a big girl she is now; and we're blessed to have her not only in our family, but in the family of God. She taught Shepard how to climb steps--!! I arrived to find him about four up--and stood behind him the rest of the way. He climbed about 15 steps completely on his own. I didn't know he could do that. I'm pretty sure he didn't know either as we haven't really encountered steps yet. So...when we visit Nana and Pops later this month, we'll definitely be taking that baby gate!
In other news of climbing, just this morning he was in the bathroom with me while I tried to do something with my not-quite-short and not-quite-long hair to beat the summer heat. He was banging the plastic hair-rinsing pitcher against the side of the empty tub. No problem. I looked away for about 10 seconds to secure a bobby pin and saw his little tush in the air followed by feet. He sat up inside the tub looking quite pleased with himself. So...he can get into an empty bathtub too. We usually keep that closed off in any case, but I think I've got a climber on my hands.

Snuggles with Uncle Justin



Madeleine called out from the kitchen, "Aunt Shelley, I think you need to come in here and take a picture of this!"
She knows a good photo op when she sees one!

 Aunt Jessica (who clearly rules--see onesie for clarification) took some great pics of Shepard with his Uncle Justin and cousin Madeleine. Shepard had a blast walking all around their house and trying to make friends with Max the dog (Max was not really interested in having a new friend, by the by). Other than an unfortunate incident with a marker, it was super-fun to be with the whole family and celebrate.

I'm ONE! --by Shepard

I'm ONE YEAR OLD TODAY! Mommy and Daddy have been making a fuss all week. And I think my Grandma and Nana and Pops and some of my friends are coming over on Saturday.
I like being one except sometimes when they don't know that I want something I have to scream until they figure it out. But I am working on words. I do "bye-bye" really good. And I know the sign for "all done" and usually say "DA!" emphatically when they keep putting cheerios on my tray. My favorite foods are broccoli, blueberries, pizza and graham crackers. Oh and yogurt. I want to eat four yogurts every day. I only get one. I am getting pretty good at walking. I think once I get this no one will be able to keep up with me 'cause I'm fast as lightning. I love to speed down the hall and try to get in all the doors. I can reach them, but there are these weird covers on the knobs that only grown-ups can work. But I'm watching and I will be able to open them soon.
I watch everything. I want to know how everything works....what's inside...what it tastes like...or what noises it will make. I am an explorer. When I grow up I will be able to go outside and run really fast and that makes me happy. I got a car already and can steer it. Mommy made a video about it. There is so much that I have learned all this year and so many great people I have met. It's been a great year. Thank you all for watching me grow and cheering us on.
Mommy made us a video so we can see how little I was and then all the things I have learned. I hope you like it. Here it is.





As soon as we get back from the doctor today I will tell you how tall I am and how much I weigh. Mommy says "heavy."

*UPDATE at 11 am*
OK. I am 32" tall, so I have grown 2.5" in three months! I am in the 96th percentile for height and am 21.5 lbs. so I'm in the 30th percentile for weight. Long and lean. My head is 45 cm. The doctor said I am very healthy and then they stuck my legs and it really hurt for a few minutes. Mommy said it was quick little bee stings and tried to buzz like a bee. I think it was the nurse. She looks nice, but I didn't like that tray she had at all. My blood is very healthy from all the broccoli I eat. Gotta go and do my nap!

(post #100!) Beach Vacation

We just returned from a week at Hilton Head, SC. It was great! Hot. But, there was lots of napping, reading, hanging out, and eating really good food. It was a challenge to work around our little napper...as his naps are still unpredictable. Some days one long one and other days two shorter ones. I wish we could have gotten down the actual beach another time or two...but it was also pretty hot. Lathering up a little wiggle worm with sunscreen is also a 20-minute job. He was not a fan of the sunscreen. He is, however, the only one of us who got zero sunburn. Yay! He also went in the swimming pool for the first time and seemed to really enjoy that. We have no pictures to show for it...but hopefully we'll get back out to a pool before too long. As for the beach...well, he probably would have gone out into the surf alone. Every time we let him loose in the water, he would crawl straight for the waves and occasionally sit and clap for them as they came in.
This week, he also really got into walking as his go-to mode of transportation, resorting to crawling when the balance gave out. He's been waving hello, bye-bye (and saying that sometimes), making the bzzzz sound when you ask him what sound a bee makes and mimicking lots of word sounds. He's also still rockin' his maniacal giggle. Grandma came along and was the source of many silly laughs and good times too.

Without further ado...our week in a few minutes:


Somebody turns ONE THIS WEEK!!!!!!

Shoot! I mean, I didn't.

I promised a video of walking. You are tuning in saying, "Where's the walking? She promised walking." Folks. I tried. Jerod tried. Shepard walks on his own terms, namely, when the camera is NOT rolling. It's hit or miss now. I think I got him standing up on his own but don't have time to check the footage. Because I have about 15 short clips of him taking three steps and deciding to crawl toward the red thing that mommy holds up and has pictures on it.
Now I'm a little obsessed with getting it. But I'll have to wait until he's ready I guess. I'm really looking forward to his grasping a little of the sign language we're working on. It has been a weekend full of short shrieks to let us know what he does or does not want. Usually at mealtime. Unfortunately, I lost my secret decoder ring to shrieking. I can't differentiate between "MILK!!!!!" and "MORE CHEERIOS!!!!"
One more week 'til vacation. Hallelujah. Surely I can get him walking with a whole week's worth of trying!?
Looking forward to hanging out with Grandma and Great-Uncle Jim and Great-Aunt Linda tomorrow. I mean, I'll be mostly at work, but Daddy and baby get to hang out.  :)

Curiosity

I may as well make "curiosity" its own category. I have a feeling that we'll have more than a few posts about it in the years to come. On his third day in his new class, Shepard tried to make a break for it. I think they're very nice to him in there, but his room opens up into the gym. And there were lots of cute older kids in that gym playing with balls and cars and wagons...so the little yellow wall that they put up as a barricade was more of a dare for him. He made it over. I guess they caught him before he got too far. But now the problem is he knows he can make it over. The center had to make several modifications to his last classroom because he got into things that other kids had not been interested in before (he stayed in there longer than average, so they weren't used to curious 10-month-olds). I'm guessing there might have to be a new, taller yellow wall soon. Have I mentioned that he can already reach the doorknobs? I'm pretty sure I saw him with his hand ON the doorknob yesterday. After hearing a story about a new friend's 2.5 year old getting out of the house with truck keys, starting the truck and driving it into a tree, I'm a little nervous. In his defense, he told her he was going to "go drive" and proceeded to the garage...but he has his own toy car in there. Why would she think he meant the TRUCK!? I see chain locks in our near future.

On baby tricks news, Shepard started standing on his own this morning. Just right in the middle of the floor, then standing right up without pulling up on anything. He's still just taking a few steps at a time, and I will document that on video this weekend. Lord willin' and the creek don't rise...

Here's some cutie pics from last week.

Big Week! Steps and Big-People Food

Shepard has had quite the big week. He started it off having his bottom front teeth erupt sometime around Sunday-Monday. I just looked in there on Tuesday morning while he was yelling for faster breakfast service...and there they were! I hope the top front ones start coming in soon so he doesn't look like a baby redneck. (You were thinking it; you just didn't say it. I know.) From all indications, there are some teeth IN there.

Today's video is kind of a big deal. His day school "teachers" have been telling me all week that he is taking single steps at school. In my world, however, it hasn't actually HAPPENED until Mommy or Daddy are there to witness it. Shepard is usually pretty worn out when he gets home from day care, so he's usually not interested in performing tricks for us before dinner.

I was able to pick him up a little early today and was just trying to capture him playing, cruising on the furniture, etc. I actually recorded his first two steps!!!! On accident! Additionally, a little while later, he ate broccoli and some pasta like a big boy too. Not that I am encouraging this "big boy" mess, mind you. It just happens, apparently.

So, pop your popcorn, sit back and put your feet up. Here is a piece of some seriously riveting cinema.

Without further ado, I present to you...

"Steppin' Out with my Baby"

Lately

We officially have two teeth. The lateral incisors, I think they call them. No front teeth, just two little fangs on the sides. :) Here we are trying to get a chuckle and see them...



Grandma Jones came for a visit so Mommy and Daddy could have a date night. She gets pretty good chuckles from Baby too.

Finally, we may have our first word aside from the mostly-correctly-assigned "Mama" and "Dada." The jury's still out, but there have been several occasions of "DA" at the end of bottles or meals. We think MAYBE he means "done." It's very staccato and definitive. Not the strung together dadadadadada. We'll keep you posted.

Standing Up!

Still have some from a few weeks ago to piece together...but I wouldn't want to deprive anyone from all this cuteness. (Him, not me...I shamelessly make piggy noises on this one)

So woefully behind. Speaking of behind...

...that's about all we see of the little some days. He crawls and moves so fast, he's leaving old mama and dada in the dust!
I'm a little behind in getting videos up. This one is from the end of March. Working on getting those up to date this weekend...
Here he is exploring everything!

February videos

Mommy is having some fun with iMovie...

Superbowl Sunday:



New trick!

Six Months...already!?!

So...here we are at MONTH SIX. Amazing.
Shepard is rolling both ways, trying to nibble on his feet, and laughing a lot. He reaches for everything in sight, and usually gets it if it's in reach. He sits up with some help, but usually topples a bit when he reaches for stuff. He loves bathtime, but not really the getting-dressed part. Overall, he's smiley and happy. He's eating everything we feed him...rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, prunes, apples, pears, corn, peas, green beans, etc. He is fascinated by his reflection in the mirror and smiles at the baby he sees (who wouldn't? that's a cute baby!). He reaches for the fish in the aquarium. He is friendly towards pretty much everybody. He sleeps most nights through with maybe one wake-up. He is really enjoying toys with textures and the "crinkly" noise parts. No teeth yet, but the drool lets us know that we should be meeting his pearly whites shortly.

The doctor calls him "spirited," as he is full of kicks and wiggles while being examined...and smiles.

Baby by the numbers:
He is 28.5" long and in the 96th percentile
He weighs 17 lbs. 5.4 oz. and is in the 49th percentile
His head is about 43 cm and in the 27th percentile

Thank you, Lord, for our sweet and healthy little guy.

Motorboats and Squeals of Delight

Just this week, Shepard has started making this funny "raspberry" motorboat sound. Here ya go...

Christmas, Tricks, and Little Lambs

Before you watch this darling video of my darling (hee hee), an update on the Shepard. He is currently eating his feet and laughing a lot. He's also started truly rolling from back to tummy and then tummy to back again. We'll see when he puts it together that if he doesn't stop in the middle he might get somewhere! Yikes. We have some sincere baby-proofing to begin around these parts. His little hands are learning that they can grab most anything that's in reach, including mommy's jewelry. (dang it) Now if Mommy could just find those easy-release silver hoops she just bought...(double dang it).
Tonight Shepard was fussy, perhaps working out some of the day's air intake (cough cough) via his intestines. Poor little guy. I finally calmed him back down and thought I'd put his little lamb blanket/stuffed animal in so he had something to hold on to. Worked like a charm. And yes, I know. His name is Shepard. He's snuggling with a lamb. In my defense, it was a lovely gift from his Aunt Suzi and Uncle Harry before we even knew he was a he and before we had even considered the name. I can see on the monitor that he is snoozing away with it now.
Here's our Christmas video. I'm pretty sure I mixed and matched the verses on that song, but Shepard doesn't know the difference. Stay tuned to the website for a great video of "motorboat mouth."