TWO!

I can hardly believe we have a two-year-old tomorrow. We were just marveling at how much he's learned in the past few months. Then, despite the fact that there were 100 other things I could be doing Thursday night to get ready for an onslaught of family company...I couldn't resist going ahead and making a video.

June 2011

June 2012

Big thank yous to all of our "village," our friends and family who cheer us on, cheer us up, and are helping us raise this precious child.




Thanks to the Dixie Chicks for both of those beautiful songs. I recorded "Godspeed" while I was pregnant with Shepard. I had aspirations of recording for him an entire album of lullabies...oh well. It never happened! The second song is the Dixie Chicks' "Lullaby."

Happy almost Birthday, Sweet Shepard.

Shepard's Ocean ~by Shepard

Last week was so much fun. Mommy and Daddy put everything we owned in the car and we drove a long way. Somewhere, we picked up Grandma. There were lots of people at lunch when we stopped to pick up Grandma. I had trouble concentrating on eating because I was so excited to see my cousins and my Grandma. I'm not sure how they expect me to sit still when there are things to explore and I wasn't hungry anyway. And I didn't want to get back in the car because I was afraid something might fall on me. Mommy assured me I was safe. But that beach towel was making faces at me.

Gigi showed me the card game.

(Mommy says if you click on the pictures you can see them better.)

We got to a new house (with STAIRS!!!) and Gigi and Pops were there too! There were lots of fun things at the house to play with. Something called vertical blinds, a tree inside, stairs! and a special hiding place behind Pops' bed. Sometimes I like to go there and make a shoo-wee.
 

Daddy rubbed "ocean lotion" all over me and on my face and my ears and I wore my special water clothes and Dora diaper and went to the ocean. I love the white waves except when they hit me in the face and the water tasted bad. Mommy and Daddy and Grandma and Gigi all took turns helping me jump the waves. I didn't like going in the part where my feet couldn't touch.

Gig's lap was a good place to rest.

We ate food on the beach. I was unsure about my yogurt.

 Being at the ocean makes you sleepy. A few times I took my nap out there so I could get more energy to run around more. It takes a lot of energy when you wake up before 6 am. I couldn't understand why no one felt like playing with me so early. There was so much to do!

Apparently, I fell asleep and someone took a picture. I blame Mommy.

We went to a place called Savannah. I walked forever holding Grandma and Gigi's hands. But then I was really tired of walking and just wanted to run free. I pretty much feel that way all the time, but it seems to upset the tall people. They don't like for me to run free. They say things about moving cars and falling in the river. We didn't stay very long in Savannah. That's good because I needed another nap. I did get to see a trolley and have ice cream. I like Savannah. Ding ding!! That's what the trolley says.

Minnie Mouse lives in Savannah.

 I got a lot of practice going up and down the stairs and even learned how to go down stairs on my bottom. I also tried the swimming pool, but I might like the ocean better. The best part about the pool was throwing in Mommy's "boats" and watching them float. (Mommy's note: "boats" were my black flip flops. I wear a size 8.5. I wouldn't classify that size as a boat and chose not to take his comment personally.)

Mommy is very pale. She says it's ok because she won't look like a baked potato when she's 50.

Gigi and Pops made sure their patch of sand didn't go anywhere.

Daddy. My favorite.

Grandma showed me how to play with my cool sand toys.

We ate at the Boathouse and there was a giant forklift that moved entire boats. It was fun to watch. The french fries were also good.

We walked down the pier near the Boathouse and saw big birds and a giant alligator in the water.

We went on walks at our new house and saw bunny rabbits, alligators and lots of birds. The bunny rabbit almost let me pet him.  I also saw a turtle.


 

Daddy is looking for alligators.

BUNNY!

Alligator.

It was the best week ever.

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.

Lap Chat 2

This was from a few weeks ago on sick day. I just "found" it on my iPad. We had done several chit-chats, and I didn't realize this one was so much fun.  :) Shepard ROCKS.

Please excuse my morning crazy hair... :)

Family photos!

Our great friend Mike is also a great photographer. So, we decided to *attempt some photos to document this stage of life and toddlerhood. And by this stage of toddlerhood, I mean the independent-can't-sit-still-will-run-the-other-direction-at-all-costs stage. Obviously, we needed a patient photographer who would still have to love us when it was all over.  :)

 

Shepard had a blast. Running free on the lawns of Winthrop...and I thought he was going to lay a duck when he saw the very cool water wall/fountain things. We had to drag him away several times, literally kicking and screaming "POND!!!!" We were able to sneak in a few good shots in the rare moments when he was still for 3 seconds. Here's a sneak peek at a few of my favorites.

My 'cycle

Shepard is growing up every day. He shocks me at least once a day with something he knows that I didn't know he knew. This week he picked up an "I" and a "0" in the bathtub (foam toys), put them together and announced, "TEN!" Whoa there, partner.
He has also been talking non-stop about a bicycle, which he still mostly calls a 'cycle. He spots them everywhere. So, in the decision about what to get him for his birthday...that was pretty much it. We're hoping he'll get LOTS of wear out of this. We went with a balance bike. It doesn't have pedals or a chain, but teaches the kid to balance and steer, and they power it with their feet and coast. Here's a video of another kid (different bike, but same concept) on his balance bike.

You should have seen how excited Shepard got when we were just trying on the helmet. It's like he knew what it was for! Here's some footage of our first ride. Apparently, for the first week or so, they just walk. Then they get more confident and sit on the seat and walk, then start to run a bit, and then start coasting. We'll see how he progresses. He must have said "My 'cycle" about 28 times this afternoon...

Happy Birthday (early), sweet little man.

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.