Tuesday, August 30, 2011

keeping momma on her toes

keeping me on my toes is exactly what he's been up to! he has officially decided he wants to climb. on everything!
 climbing on the coffee table...
 and the couch (yes notice the 2 mismatched shoes...and sandal with sock...he insisted. and no, we did not leave the house like this)...
onto his the back of his chair-maybe it's part of an obstacle course?
and into the chairs at the kitchen table-all by himself!
 he'll climb into boxes...
 and onto the fireplace...
 and then into his chair ON TOP OF the coffee table 
(yes the last 2 were the same morning within 5 minutes of each other)...
 when i'm not looking and can't find him...oh wait, it's because he's climbed onto the ledge of this table and took a seat (clearly it was made just for him to sit on)...
he's mastered climbing ONTO train tables at the haircut place...
i'm not sure there's anything this boy can't climb! 
no wonder he's so skinny...he never.sits.still!
Photobucket

week of fun

yes, i've been a blog slacker. maybe it's because i've been in mourning that aunt tay tay had to go back to school. we celebrated with lots of fun the week before she had to go back with painting in the tub, a trip to the acquarium and to pump it up junior!
thanks to pinterest (yup, i'm addicted!) i found an easy "recipe" for bathtub paint. tanner had lots of fun, although next time i'll double or triple the recipe-each color would get its own batch.
 and yes, he decided to paint with his toothbrush. yummy, i know!
 the morning we went to the acquarium tman slept til 8:45-um WOW! that is some kind of major record for him-of course not to be repeated anytime soon unfortunately. he had just learned what an alligator "says"-SNAP (with hand motions). he doesn't really say anything, but he's got the big hand clapping down! so the albino alligators at the acquarium were definitely a favorite.
 he reached in to pet a sting ray once (with my help/urging)...and then he decided he'd just rather watch.
 this was a BIG turtle. apparently it had an impression on him because he can now say turtle. well, i know he's saying turtle. to anyone besides me and lance it just sounds like he's making silly noises with his tongue. so cute!
 his face was priceless in these two pictures. apparently he didn't like the turtle looking directly at him through the glass and swimming in his direction. i laughed out loud when i saw the look on his face!
we cooled off that afternoon by trying out the splash pad grammy got us. it took a while to get it out, thinking we had to blow it up (lance even tried). and then i finally realized that um, no air is needed. you just hook up the water hose and it works. oops!
 pump it up junior was the next day. love that they have toddler jumping days-only 3 and under so there's no "mean" big kids to trample my little guy! as you'll see in the pictures, he was much more into aunt tay tay than mommy. he kept asking for her and asking for her. he didn't want to slide with me-only aunt tay tay!
 bouncing with aunt tay tay and then down the slide!
 
the big slide! this is the one he refused to do with me-he'd only go with taylor!
 the kid-sized door. he discovered this and instantly lost interest in the inflatables. he LOVED this door. we went in and out several times...and then finally decided it was time to go home since i couldn't pull him away from it!
 this face pretty much sums up what tanner thinks about aunt tay tay! he LOVES it when she comes over (just today we went to visit her at school and as soon as he saw her, his face lit up, he squeels and runs to her). so maybe that's why he's not sleeping at night recently-he's missing his daily play dates with her!
we love you aunt tay tay and can't wait til next summer!!!
Photobucket

Sunday, August 14, 2011

19 months!

tman turned 19 months the day after we came home from colorado. he is really going from baby to little boy. he is definitely all boy-dirt, rocks, sticks. and he's tough-falls down, scrapes a knee and is back up and running. he has quite an opinion these days, and with that comes a few fits.

we had our first public melt down this month. we were at a toy store and he rode around in the cart with me. i told him he could play with the train tables at the front before we left. so he played for a few minutes, and i took a few pics and sent them to grammy and lance. i told him we needed to go, and he shook his head and said no...and kept playing. i let it slide and let him play-i was checking email on my phone and we really weren't in a hurry. we only had one more quick errand to run before heading home.
well, let's just say i tried to peacefully leave the toy store a couple more times...and each time i suggested we leave, he quickly informed me he wasn't ready. i finally told him we had to go (i mean how long do they really want you camped out at the store playing?!), nicely took the chuggington train from his hand, and picked him up to carry him to the car. by the time i pried the train from his hand, the tears had started. he was SO UPSET! crying like the world was coming to an end. it was kind of sad, but kind of funny. he was in major melt down mode...crying and then he'd get mad and scream. i had to call grammy just so she could hear the drama.
needless to say we didn't run any more errands. he could not get it together-all the way home he was upset. there was no way i was taking him to wally world in melt down mode. and i think we have officially added a train table to the birthday/christmas wish list on behalf of the kiddo-i'm sure if he could talk, it'd be at the top of his list! i'm sure we'll have MANY more public melt downs, but i had to record our first...and that i survived!

other things to remember at this age:
really talking-telling me things like all done without prompting and with words instead of sign language first. trying to repeat things and words. he's got lots of noises/words down (his own language)-milk, bubbles, sit, bad dog, binky, bear. he also can snap like an alligator (and clap his hands) and roar like a bear. and if he sees the bubbles (yes, he knows exactly what they are), he'll walk around saying bubu all day long until you give in! so yes, one night it was bubble dinner-tanner ate and i blew bubbles.
loves cows, horses, ducks and trains and balls.

 he loves to help. he has started climbing up on the dishwasher to help with the dishes (he loves to take them from the top tray and throw them into the sink while i'm running the water). he also usually helps feed the dogs breakfast or dinner. he loves doing it and thinks he's so big! he'll also help with laundry-throwing it into the washer or dryer and even carrying some things back to the bedroom to be put up.
and he also loves to try putting things together
he can reach things on top of cabinets and in drawers...just another "level" of baby proofing. one day i walked into the kitchen to discover him helping himself to some fig newtons (he pulled them down all by himself).
hates when lance and i hug without him...he runs up and pushes lance away-hilarious!

can climb up on the couch...and i find him up there reading books or playing with toys...or watching his movies. he loves the corner and has mastered lounging! he'll lean back against the pillows and just relax-it's hilarious!

 he loves to do anything that me and lance do. he thought it was so funny watching me try to swat a fly with the dish towel...but he was a pro at spotting it when i missed! he decided he'd take a try at it.
where's the fly?! oh there it is...swoosh goes the towel!
he's also started climbing up on my lap on the couch or on the floor-love it! and he loves for you to google search duck images (yes, thanks to aunt tay tay).

he is still our picky eater and some days eats like a champ and other days he just nibbles. he's finally starting to outgrow a few of his 12 month clothes-they still fit but are getting a little small. he's definitely getting more flexible on his sleep which is nice. still bedtime around 7ish and sleeping until 7ish. his one nap is usually about 1.5 hours-2 hours on a really good day. and in the teeth department all 4 molars have broken through and 3 of the 4 eye teeth have broken the surface (just the tips)...and #4 is not far behind!

we had a great month despite the heat and it's really hard to believe he's getting so big and turning into a little guy! it's so much fun and i enjoy spending the days with my little buddy!
Photobucket

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Escaping the heat in Colorado-Part 3


sunday we headed out to hike. it was a typical o'neal adventure. weren't sure where we were headed, asked a local, and off we went. but it ended up being a GREAT hike and so beautiful...4 miles around monarch lake.
 
tanner did great in the backpack. he started off on lance's back and then uncle grant took a turn.
ready to hike!
along the way tanner had lots of discoveries! he picked up sticks and got to touch lots of different trees...
he got to walk over bridges and see some rapids...as soon as they walked onto the bridge over these rapids grant said tanner kept saying "WOW"...
of course we took a few picture breaks...
 and then continued over the river and through the woods...
 after the hike the guys had a little recovery time in the hot tub back at the house...the hot tub is always a favorite on vacation in colorado.
  
monday we headed into town...mom and i wanted to check out some of the shops along the boardwalk and the guys decided to play some putt putt. tanner LOVED playing putt putt and thought he was just one of the big boys! it also rained this afternoon...so nice for it to be chilly out! and tanner was a pro at finding every puddle-putt putt and puddles...what more can a boy ask for?!
 
 after shopping and putt putt we headed to the lake...tanner was determined to find some duck, ducks. "where are the duck, ducks?"
 having a wild ride on uncle grant's shoulders...anything to distract from the lack of ducks at the lake.
and of course tanner decided he'd be lots of help packing to go home. apparently he wanted to go home as luggage with uncle grant!
such a great trip (and depressing to come home to 100+ temps)! we can't wait til next year!
Photobucket