Santa's Helper

18 Months & Growing

Last Friday Big Poppy, Little Guy and I spent the morning together - at the doctor's office. It was Little Guy's 18-month appointment. It use to be going to the doctor was uneventful but not, Little Guy is showing he is 18 months and is not a fan of strangers. Even when a cute nurse looks at him Little Guy was about ready to burst into tears and needed a great big hug from Mommy or Daddy (which I was more than willing to take...hmmm, maybe we should go to the doctor's office more often).

At each check-up visit we are sent home with sheets of paper that help Big Poppy and I evaluate if Little Guy is on track. There are some items that seem fairly standard such as:

• Walks fast
• Throws a ball
• Stacks blocks

Check, check, check.

Then we notice some gray areas or maybe I should say, some areas that make me wonder.

• Guard against falls - Does this mean I should put rubber foam on all of our floors?
• Supervise all play near street - Does that mean if it is in the backyard I don't need to supervise?
• Don't share cups - Are water bottles ok? Do they not realize how much Little Guy wants to drink from whatever Big Poppy and I are drinking from, especially our refillable water bottles?

I guess, it could just be me. While it might seem like common sense to me not to let Little Guy play in or near the street, it might seem perfectly logic to the next person which is why we have the oddest warnings are items.

All in all, Little Guy is a healthy, normal little boy. At one time he had four to ten words but these days he pretty much says three words.

1. Ball - at all times he wants a ball
2. Jtr - he still loves his puppy however the "e's" in Jeter don't quite make it out of Little Guy's mouth
3. Peese - this word is spoken after several (think double digit) reminders when he wants more of something ("What do you say?" times 15) and is of course followed with a cute little smile letting you know he knew what to say but really did not want to

Little Guy is still growing which is a good thing. I do not think he would like to have stopped growing so young.

Vitals at Eighteen Months
Height: 33 3/4" (90 percentile)
Weight: 26 lbs 9.5 oz (50-75 percentile)
Head: 47.5 cm (50 percentile)
Click here for the vitals at fifteen months.

Insert picture here - well, for some reason I cannot upload pictures right now. I'll be back soon.

Ice Cream

Ice Cream

You S'cream

Little Guy S'creams.

He is a big fan of ice cream.

Little Big Poppy

Little Guy really loves his daddy and must be next to him (ok, on some occasions Little Guy does want his mommy). This past weekend we had the first snow fall of the year. Big Poppy went out to shovel. Of course that means Little Guy needed to go out and shovel.

We were not ready for such a helper in the snow and did not have a shovel Little Guy size. In case you were wondering, a broom ball stick works just fine. It is a slow process but the snow will move.

However, when the cheeks and nose are red and snot is running into his mouth, Little Guy still is not ready to come inside.

My Little Big Poppy wants to be out with Big Poppy.

Once he determines the tears are not going to let him back outside, Little Big Poppy will wait right by the door. I guess he is hoping Big Poppy will sneak him out to help again.

Mr. Clean

Earlier this year Big Poppy told you how Little Guy is in charge of vacuuming.

I am surprised and happy to say Little Guy still loves the vacuum.

When the vacuum comes out, Little Guy jumps out of his chair (how many guys do you know like that?).

Notice the new carpet?

Little Guy is ready to clean in no time. The vacuum attachments are brought to the furniture for a quick clean.

Little Guy is ready to move for more cleaning.

Once he is satisfied with the state of the furniture, Little Guy heads over the main show.

Do you notice the toys "hidden" under the side table?

Once the work is done, Big Poppy wraps up the cord to take the vacuum back to the closet. However, Little Guy always wants to clean more.

Those are not tears of joy the vacuum is going bye-bye.

I mean, he is M-A-D when the vacuum gets put away. During this weekends cleaning, when Big Poppy took the vacuum to the closet you could hear stomping. Foot stomping in frustration/anger the vacuuming was done. What guy do you know who really wants to clean this badly!

Still unhappy about the vacuum put away 10 minutes later.

I hope the drama around putting cleaning supplies away lessons over time but I am sure looking forward to having the only 15-year-old boy who likes to help the family clean.

It will last that long, right? :)

Bat of a Good Time

Did you survive the ghosts and goblins on Sunday?

We barely survived with all the scare tactics of the neighborhood children.

Halloween was a little different than last years party. For the most part it had to with having a Little Bat. He sures like to climb up on everything and spread his wings to fly.

GrandB and GrandC came over again this year. We had some blood punch and zombie pizza's and dogs, but the spread was not laid quite as nicely as the previous year. However, we did have some Halloween cupcakes with bone toppings - an addition from last year (and Little Bat tried his best to eat only the frosting).

Having the trick-or-treaters come to us again this year was quite fun for Little Bat. He would get very excited when they came to the door. To each and everyone he gave them a polite "bye-bye".

Little Bat with GrandB and GrandC.

In between treaters, baseball was played (I know, we are still very disappointed about the Yankees and Twins).

Little Bat waiting for the perfect pitch from Big Poppy.

All in all in was a Bat of a Good Time.

Little Bat was not patient for the camera this time around but I was having a good time.

In case you were curious, Little Bat stayed in character all night. He decided to be a nocturnal creature Sunday night!