Doing Some Comparison

So, I was just looking back at what AJ was doing at this age...

I thought AJ didn't crawl until 9.5 months, but it was 8.5 months, so he and Dex are just about the same.

AJ had tried some more foods by now, but I've been more cautious with Dexter and can't really introduce dairy. But I'd really like to go out and buy some guava. Evidently, I thought it was really good with pears for AJ. I bet Dexter would love it.

AJ was really liking his touchy-feely books right now and would dive at those parts of the books. Oopsies, Dexter. I'd better get those out for you!!!

I was trying to teach AJ how to turn off and on his light. Ummmm. Hmmmm. I'd better get on that, I guess!

Daring Dexy

He crawls! He stands! He jumps!
What can't he do?

Okay, okay, so he doesn't crawl all over the place, but yes, he will crawl a couple steps to get something in proper-crawl-mode.

Okay, okay, so he doesn't pull up to stand everywhere, but yes, in his crib, he does, and we have to move his crib down to the low setting now.

Okay, okay, so he doesn't jump all over the place, but when he stands in the crib, he holds the side and bounces up and down. It's pretty cute.

Gram, Papa, Auntie Kim, and Uncle Paul were here today to help move around and move in some furniture. AJ and Dexter had fun getting to see them and play with them! Thanks for the help fam!

Oh ya, and...
Dexter purposefully tips his sippy cup up on his own to drink from it. He's been practicing with the cup in the bathtub and now he's a pro!

AJ's been really great. He's been playing with lots of friends, he's been laughing off more falls instead of crying, he's saying sorry when he knows he's done something wrong (even by accident), he's having fun playing with Dexter and being able to get a little more rough, and he's climbing and jumping like never before. I really need to watch what he's doing at the park because he's doing some 'stunt work' and sending my heart racing.

AJ's really been cuddly lately too. I'm loving all the extra hugs and 'Mommy hold me'.

Just about called 911 today...
Dexter tried to grab the Magna Doodle from AJ and AJ yelled, "No! That's mine!" Well, it scared the pants off of Dexter and he was pretty much hyperventilating. It was like nothing I've ever seen him do before. I was pretty worried and my tears were starting to fall. Had I not introduced him to egg yolk today at lunch, I don't think I would've been as worried, but I was worried it was his throat closing up or something.
I brought him to the cupboard to stand and look at something interesting, and he calmed down and smiled. All was well.

Phew!

Old Mac-AJ Had a Farm Why O Why O Why

Don't forget peeps 'on my list'!
If you'd like to see this update the way it's supposed to look with pictures and everything, go to www.adayinthelifeofaj.blogspot.com


Here's an extra update!




Well, it's happened.

I've been awaiting this day.

I knew all along that I would regret it happening, because what will follow will be horrible.

But yes.

It's happened.

He understands when I ask ........

...
...




...



..


Why?

He even says.....


Because!

Why did I put you in the naughty spot?
Because I did bad listening.

Do you want me to leave your door open a little bit?
Yes, because I'm afraid of monsters.

Why did I give you a lollipop today?
Because I was a good boy at preschool.

Now, I know, I know. You're thinking, "Why did you want this to happen, Sonja? Don't you know that he's going to ask why why why why why all the time now?"

Yes. But anything's better than the ...

What are you drinking, Mommy?

What are you driving, Mommy?

What are you drying, Mommy?

What are you putting away, Mommy?

That was him asking the annoying obvious.

Now, we're into the good stuff.

Why?

Right?

This will be better, right?

Most of all, I love the word 'because'. It just makes my world complete. I feel like this is just a huge huge huge huge huge accomplishment.

For example, let's use the naughty spot.
It used to be me saying, "Why did I put you in the naughty spot?"
AJ would respond with a sad faced, "Yaaaahhhhhh."
I would change the question to be, "What did you do?" or "What are you in the naughty spot for?"
Then he would answer.

This is just better.

To celebrate this occasion, here's a beautiful pic of my son, Alton James Clark, in the naughty spot for bad listening.

Get your tissues ready, Grandmas and Sharon.

Daddy Doesn't Have Bad Ju-Ju

Well, Dexter's freaky nights are over. Seems it was a growth spurt approaching and is now over. Three nights of taking a 7 oz dreamfeed (10:00pm) and then done! He did have a cold though too, and is teething, and tomorrow I'm going to see if he has an ear infection. So, it could be a combo of all of that.














Fairies and Pirates!
AJ had a great time at our friend Emily's 5th birtthday. It was a fairies and pirates themed party. There were games, swords, bubbles, a pinata, cake, treats, burgers, hot dogs, lights, and lots of fun things to do.
AJ really enjoyed the building thingies that are like straws combined with tinkertoys, the truck and horse trailer, and the Polly Pockets car. Dexter was wonderful despite not fitting in his longer nap. AJ behaved very well, as usual, and didn't put up a fuss when it was time to go.

Playing Pirates
Now I'm being asked if I can play pirates. We dress up in fireman hats and use pool noodles as swords. We're quite a pair sailing the open seas in the laundry basket.

Our New Neighborhood
It is so great to have Sharon's family move so close to us. We've gone for a walk in the late afternoon almost every day to go play, ride bikes, or today, ride a scooter. Emily and Claire have a scooter that's AJ's size, and he rides like a pro even though he had never ridden one before. They have a trampoline too, and AJ loves that.

Park Pride
It is amazing how much AJ has changed since the beginning of the summer at the park. At one of our local parks, there is a giant rock that the 'big kids' climb. It looks really hard to do, and it must be at least 9 or 10 feet up. AJ can scale it no problem. At another park, there's a rope to hold while you use your feet to climb up the shapes. AJ used to need me there for support, but not anymore. Today, after Dexter's shots, we headed there again, and AJ's doing all these things he couldn't do before or never tried before. I should've taken pics for examples. It's too hard to explain. He does this spiral thingy, and this big yellow half tube type climbing thing. Yah, this doesn't make any sense. It probably doesn't even make sense to people who know these playgrounds! I'll stop attempting to explain and just say that AJ's really growing up!!! He loves to climb.
A recent 'wear em out' night trip to the park.


Dexter's Shots
I'm running behind on vaccinations, and today, at 8 months old, was Dexter's 6 month appointment. As I mentioned, he had lost some weight. According to their scales, he's just about 29 inches, and he's 21 lbs, 11 oz. He's in the 75th percentile. They actually told us! They've never done that for AJ. Dexter was a trooper. He didn't cry very much. But, following the shots, he didn't have a very happy day.

Stroller #7? #8? I've Lost Count

Do I actually have 7 or 8 strollers? No, but have I owned this many strollers? Yes. But that counts umbrella strollers, which don't really count, right?
We've decided to sell our two main strollers (all terrain single and regular double) and we've purchased the stroller we should've bought to begin with... the Phil and Ted's with the toddler seat attachment. Does AJ 'need' a seat. No, he can walk. But I need him to have a seat for when I need to get somewhere fast, or when he's acting like a buttmunch. It's already a dream. It's everything I need in a stroller. AJ loves his 'special spot', it's easy to handle, and it's just, just, just great!

Preschool Push
Preschool, after all the debate about which day to do and not being able to get the Wednesday I wanted, has been moved to Wednesday because Dexter's music class got moved to Wednesday, and I didn't want to drive that far twice a week. So, she let AJ do Wednesdays now. YAY!












And I keep forgetting to post these pics of the boys at around 7.5 months. The silly thing is that Dex always poses smiling and AJ hardly ever does, but they're the opposite here.

Bad Karma - Richard

So, Richard got back from his business trip last night. I kept AJ up late to see Daddy come home. Daddy came home with BIG treats!
1.) A cap bomb. Thanks Daddy. Helping to raise our EMO into a great civilian. What I can't believe is the stuff Richard saw at the dollar store in Alberta. There were fake guns with bullets...lol. All the cap guns and bombs. I'm actually the one who picked AJ up some caps a while back from the dollar store. I remember how much fun it was to smash them with rocks as a kid. I couldn't see any cap guns there, nor would I have bought one if I had.
2.) Extra straight Hot Wheels Track. We've been looking everywhere for this! He found it at a Walmart in Alberta which leads me to believe we may have them here now that they're putting out all the new stuff for Christmas. We just need to find some curved track now.

But onto the bad Karma.
Dexter has slept beautifully since Richard left. Better and better until the last 4 nights where he slept without a peep from 7:00-6:30. Can't ask for a better night than that. On top of this, AJ hasn't woken with any nightmares while Richard's been gone. I've had uninterrupted sleep for 6 or 7 nights.
Richard came home last night and so it began. Dexter started waking screaming. I think it was a total of about 10-12 times all through the night and early morning. AJ woke about 5 or 6 times claiming there was a bumblebee on his pillow.
What the heck?
I think AJ was waking from hearing Dexter cry.
Dexter was extra stuffed up last night. The boys are ending their cold and are at the coughing stage. Last night, he was really congested and I think having trouble breathing with the paci in.
But now, I'm thinking back to the day and wondering if it had something to do with the food. Dexter tried raspberries yesterday AND beans (gassy), AND there was a little cream in his jarred veggie stew last night.
I think maybe the cream sent his tummy into a bad place (he's allergic to milk).
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Or, Richard just had bad ju-ju.

(There's nothing wrong with that term, is there?)

A Nice Day

Today we went to Captain Kids with Auntie Erica (and Jack and Rya), Dione (and Owen and Adam), and Karen (and Trevor and Matthew).



It was such a big day of fun. AJ FINALLY realized that tubes and climbing structures are fun, not scary. After watching everyone play (classic AJ) for about 20 minutes, he was watching Auntie Erica and Jack go down the slide and he decided he wanted to go too, so he climbed. This is big, like the old PNE slide. Way to go, AJ! He played and played. We arrived around 10:30, and left around 2:00pm. It was sweaty, hard playtime for AJ. So great. Thanks for the invite Auntie Erica.

We visited my friend Sharon today who moved up the street from me and I realised what a great path and park we have behind us. Met neighbor kids and everything. What fun!

Weight update.
Hmmm, maybe all this crawling around and shuffling and standing is burning calories. Weighed Dexy today... only 20 lbs. AJ, 24.




I forgot to mention the ...

Starbucks Suicide Mission

All I have to say is, "Why?"
Why do we continue to try to go to Starbucks with 2 or 3 toddlers and 3 or 4 babies? Is it fun? No.
Do we get to actually talk? No.

And then, what did we (Jen and I) decide would be an even better idea? Heck, let's walk over to Homesense too! Yah, that will be fun.

No.

No more Starbucks with toddlers and babies. Drive thru and head to a park. That's the way to go.

Sonja C

It's Been Another Week!

Well, it's only been a week, but I feel so behind on the blog. I wanted to write about so many things, but I've forgotten so much.

Last time I wrote, it was the day after AJ's meet and greet at Preschool.

AJ's First Day of Preschool
On Monday, AJ had his first day of preschool. It was only for an hour, but he had big fun. Surprisingly, my shy little boy had no problem being 'dropped off' at preschool. He headed right in, past me, and over to the wooden driver's seat complete with gas pedal and everything. He was too cute in his 'indoor shoes' and his back pack. Starting next week, I'm even supposed to pack him a lunch! How super adorable is that?


Anyhow, when I came to pick him up, he was sitting on one of the teacher's laps with 'cry face'. I thought maybe he was missing me, but no; He didn't want to stop playing for storytime. Interesting. I hope he doesn't make a habit of that!
He's really excited for school. He's been asking to go to 'big kid school' when he sees the kids at the playground. Awwwww.



Brother Picture Session
So, I thought that every summer, I would make it a tradition to photograph the boys together in a 'brother picture'. They're both a half year older come the summer, so it seemed a good opportunity, since I otherwise will only take their pictures once a year after 'infanthood'.
I was in a pretty bad mood that day and nothing could make me happy. So, it was inevitable that the boys would both have snotty noses, Dexter was drooling, and they just weren't doing what I wanted them to do.
Luckily Richard (yes, he really is ALWAYS amazing) was snapping pictures at lightning speed. When we came home and looked at all the pics, I realized it was a wonderful picture session. The pictures turned out great. We've printed off our three faves for the grandparents and great grandparents to hopefully get around to mailing off, and will print off about 10 of my favourites for framing at home. Look for them soon on our picture site!


Dexy Cries
For about 4 nights or so, Dexter was doing this horrible blood curdling scream off and on between 7pm and 11pm in his crib. He was literally inconsolable. Teeth? Separation Anxiety? Learning to crawl? Learning to pull himself to standing? Who knows. I give up trying to figure it out. More importantly, he's stopped doing it, and not only that, but he's also sleeping right clean until 6:30am without the usual paci-plug at 5:00am. AND, he just starts playing when he wakes up, instead of me coming in at 6:30am or 7:00am, plugging him, and turning on his kick and play piano while I rest for a few more minutes. That's been really nice. Except for last night, when Auntie Kim and I didn't go to sleep until around 1:00am because we were pricing things for my very first Kid Swap Meet next weekend. I've got stuff to sell, and we're all done having kids (cross fingers), so it's time to clear things out!!
Update since I started writing this entry. Dexter's stopped doing the screaming entirely and I'm not hearing a peep out of him from 7-7. Nice.

Guitars and Drums
AJ really is into guitars and drums even more than before. He wants to play them, buy them, take them! He's very 'fine arts' right now. I wonder if he always will be or if this is just who he is for the time being? Anyone thinking about Christmas... I don't know whether to recommend drum set or not. Hmmmm, nurture his mind or keep mine? Tough call. Speaking of Christmas; With AJ's new found 'we need to buy this tomorrow' mentality, I've found myself saying to him, "Well, maybe you should ask for that for Christmas." Does he even remember what Christmas is?

Scooters and Bikes
Clearly a tricycle is not good enough for this kid. While he does love his tricycle, I have to do everything in my power to stop him from stealing other kids' bikes and scooters. He's seen a lot of 3 year olds riding 2 and 3 wheeled scooters and one kid let him use his the other day at the park. Whoa! He was in seventh heaven. My goodness. And bikes!? Can't get through Walmart without AJ begging to ride the bikes with the training wheels and taking off down the aisle.

Really Coming Out of His Shell
Whether he's rolling down his power window to yell, "Can I please have a sticker" to the Starbucks Barista, or he's asking a kid if he can borrow his bike "Just for a little bit", AJ's really coming out of his shell. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be excited that my son is talking to strangers.
Also, the climbing and jumping. My goodness, the climbing and jumping. He's all about the climbing and jumping now. He's mastered the swirly climbing thing at the park that he never quite understood before, AND he can climb the big, like 8 or 9 ft high rock at the local park!!! When did this happen? I actually had to ask him to come down because there was no way I'd be able to get him! YIKES!

AJ's First Day of 3 Hour Preschoo
AJ had his first day of real preschool on Monday. AJ's the youngest one, and shy, as you all know. Also, the other kids all go 2 or 3 times a week (and some 5) and AJ only goes once a week. So, on top of his shyness, he's only his second day when the rest of the kids have gone 3,4,5,and 6 times.
How did it go?
Well, good, but he's "that kid" so far. You know, the one who cries every time there's a transition...
Okay, time to clean up - wahhhhhhh
Okay, time to eat - wahhhhhhh
Okay, time to play - wahhhhh
Super. Hopefully this passes as he gets more comfortable with everyone, and/or hopefully we can afford to bump him up to twice a week in a little while. We'll see.
Otherwise, he loved preschool. He had lots of fun playing. He thinks the teachers are nice. And he was happy on the ride home talking all about his day. I packed him a little lunch, but of course, as usual, he didn't eat it.
I'm waiting for his first 'scholastic order' to arrive. How cute is that?

What Does Dexter Do While AJ's in School?
Normally Dexter will have a music class at 9:00am down the hall from AJ's preschool class, then Dexy and I will head for some non-perishable grocery shopping to ease the burden off of Richard's shopping trip on the weekend. Maybe I'll take Dexter for a walk too. Not sure.
This week, since Dexter's music classes hadn't started yet, we headed to the grocery store, bought groceries and more, of course, then headed to Starbucks for Dexter's morning snack and early lunch (he was hungry that day!) and my coffee. We sat and talked about the crazy couple next to us who were obviously on the blind date and girl was nutso. Dexter laughed, I laughed; it was big fun. Then we went to Canadian Tire and looked for cuttable freezer packs and gosh darned.... we found them!!! Afterward, we drove to pick up AJ and Dexter took his nap in the carrier again.

Some Cute Phrases
AJ hates the sunshine (EMO, dark worshipping, artsy mod in training). He likes to wear his sunglasses in the car, and he likes to roll up his window when the sun in glaring in his eyes.
The sun was flashing through the trees and instead of saying his usual, "Hey Mommy, the sun is blinking at me!", he said, "Hey Mommy! The sun is playing with me!" Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.
The next one needs some pre-story:
When I flick a bug away or shoo a bug or let a bug free, he used to ask, "Where is the bug going?" I would say, "He's going to go find his family." Now he always says, "Is he going to find his family now?"
We were at Starbucks with Jen, Makenna, Emerson, and Jaxon (more on this suicide mission later), and he accidentally knocked down his hot cocoa with his elbow. As the hot cocoa puddle started to form a river and dribble away down the sidewalk (we were outside on the patio), he said, "Is the hot cocoa going to go find his family?"

Dexter Milestones and Boy Are There Lots
Rocking on all fours, oh yeah. But still wasn't crawling earlier this week. He makes his way all over the place, but it's usually back wards or just kind of moving. Then a few days ago, he was going from sitting position to crawling position (still not crawling) and the next day, was going from laying to sitting. Today, he crawled. It's kind of a lame-puppy style. One leg is folded and the other is a propped up peg leg pirate kind of deal, but he's using it to move forward, so I'm counting it as crawling.
He's really getting efficient with his pincer grip. My favourite is when he picks up something with his left hand, and then uses his right pincer grip (thumb and forefinger) to take it out of the left hand. It's super cute.

We Went to the Zoo Again
Oh my goodness! Has it been that long since I posted?
Had fun. As usual. I'm not going to get into details. We've been so many times. What was cute though was that it was time to head home and AJ specifically requested to see the "Radical Raptors Show" (the bird show). He really loves that. No train ride that day, as per his request.



Shots Have Been Postponed
Dexter had a cold, so I postponed the shots.

Food Intros
No, I can't do this anymore. I can't keep writing every food he tried and when. Why did I do this with AJ. There's so many things I wrote and kept for AJ and I'm looking back thinking, "That was silly." I'm sure Dexter's not going to look back and say, "Oh wow, will you look at that! I tried corn on September 16th."

Happy 8 Months, Dexter!!!
This is self explanatory.

Auntie Kimmy Stayed Over
Auntie Kimmy stayed over and helped me price things for my very first kidswapmeet this coming weekend. As usual, the boys were excited to see her, and she didn't leave empty handed. She went home with their cold.

Cousin Shauna, Auntie Brenda, and Uncle Al
They came for a visit. Cousin Shauna's having a baby soon, and she needed to stock up on the good stuff before I got rid of it all at the swap meet. I took a brave step forward and sold her my swing and bouncy seat. My heart is racing just thinking about it! We're excited that Dexter will have a relative so close to his age!!!

Bento Lunch
So, as usual, to entice AJ to eat his lunch, I pack it 'bento style' nice and pretty. I have this strip of paper grass that acts as a divider between let's say the grapes and the cheese. When we got home and it was time for him to eat, he picks up the grass and says, "This is for edordation, right?"
Decoration. Cute.

Well, I think I'm missing some stuff, but let's post this. Wanted to post pics, but I just can't figure it out. I may try again tomorrow.

It's Time to Catch Up Again

Well, you know what I always forget to say in these blogs?
Man, I love these boys of mine. All three of them! (6 if you count those darned cats).

First Let's Talk About AJ
CDs
So a little while ago, when I ordered some "Cars" listen and read books from Avon (curse you, Auntie Erica), I put the CD player from AJ's room down where he can access it and showed him how to play it. He loves listening to these. I love to walk in and see him in his little rocking arm chair reading along to his little books. Awwwwww.
About a week ago, I gave him all the dollar store Nursery Rhyme CDs from my CD case, and put them into his own CD case that he can use. He loves that too. I come down to his room and there he is rockin' out to "Old MacDonald" or "Jack and Jill". Why didn't I think of this sooner?
I Need to Buy These
So, I can't imagine where he's learned this from ('dum dee dum dum' she says, avoiding eye contact, twiddling her thumbs, and whistling). AJ will now come to me with a book or flyer and point out some things he'd like such as Lightning McQueen, Thomas trains, Spiderman, etc., and say, "Mommy we are going to need to go buy these tomorrow. And this one, and this one, and this one." Oops. What have I created?
Chicken Strips and Starbucks Please
Okay, okay, so it's nothing new that my son can spot a Starbucks from 600metres away from a highway exit, but....
We (AJ, Dexter, and I) went to the McDonalds Playplace on a suicide mission with Auntie Erica (and Jack and baby-Rya), Auntie Jen (and Makenna and baby-Jaxon and baby-Emerson) at lunch time. Let's not forget this was AFTER some fun at the park. I bought AJ a Chicken McNugget Happy Meal and it came with a Star Wars Clone Wars toy. It was some bobble head guy flying some space craft of some sort. Anyhow, back to my story. He must be starting to confuse Starbucks and McDonalds.
Uncle Tarrie came by with his two sons Adam and Matt, to return a tool, and when AJ came downstairs to see them and saw that Matt had a 'toy' in his hand, he said, "Oh wow! Did you get that from Starbucks?" Or rather, 'thtarbucks'. I was cracking up. I said, "Starbucks only gives stickers, not toys. You're thinking of McDonalds." (and no, McDonalds doesn't give away Nintendo DSs). Long story, not so short. As they're leaving he yells, "Are you going to go have dinner at Starbucks now?"
Two other items in this category.
1.) AJ finally went through the tubes at the playplace. Way to be brave, AJ! It's about freakin' time!!!
2.) At the park with Daddy today, AJ said, on our way back to the car, "Mommy we need to go buy chicken strips and Starbucks." That's my boy! Daddy just shook his head.
Dry Nights and Dry Naps
We're still having lots, but it's not every time. I praise it when it happens, but haven't really been pushing it.
Now, I've stepped it up. I bought another one of his favourite Melissa & Doug puzzle sets (the construction truck set). I've shown it to him. I hung it up in our 'prize' section. I've told him it's for when he's had a hole bunch of dry naps and nights. I'm thinking 5 in a row of something. Anything.
Mumby and Dandy
Not sure where this came from, but these are out new names. I don't think Daddy cares for his very much, as he has a pretty sassy reply back.
Hot Wheels Track Triumph
A week or so ago, AJ starting assembling his hot wheels track and loop the loop on his own. Ahhhhhh, freedom I declare!
YAY AJ!
Slurpee Poop
I've probably avoided posting about AJ telling me what his poops look like. "Look Mommy. A dinosaur poop." "Oooooh, a car poop!" "Wow, Mommy, it's a giraffe!"
Well, Daddy bought AJ a slurpee last weekend, and the next day he had some righteous turquoise poop. I'm talking, bright turquoise. He said, "Whoa! Slurpee poop, Mommy! Wow, that's turquoise poop!"
Cold
AJ has a cold. Hope he doesn't give it to me and Dex. Or Daddy for that matter.
Preschool
We went for his preschool meet and greet with the teacher. I received a Scholastic book order for him. Awwwww! That made me misty-eyed. He's been talking about wanting to go to 'big kid school'. It's very cute. He goes for 1 hour on Monday, and then he'll start the regular 3 hours on the following weeks. I really hope to be able to bump him up to twice a week later on. I think he's really going to enjoy this. We'll see.

Let's Talk About Dexter
Weight
22 lbs now. Whoa. My right arm is getting really buff.
Foods
He's tried some potatoes, bananas, cauliflower, chickpeas (which he didn't like), some beef (just a little, and he didn't like it), and broccoli since my last post, if I hadn't already mentioned these. Lentils too, if I hadn't said that already. I'm about to do some asparagus, spinach, honeydew, and cantaloupe purees. AJ never liked the melons. I hope Dexy does.
He's Still a Rockin'
He's up on all fours. He's rockin. But he's only sliding backwards. I really think he would've been crawling quite some time ago if we spent more time at home. I feel a bit badly, but at the same time, Dexter really does love getting dragged around with AJ and I.
Jolly Jumper Underducks
Dexter loves it when AJ tried to give him underducks in the jolly jumper. Don't worry, it's not on the doorframe attachment. It's on a permanent doorway loop thingy that's screwed in. Also, it's supervised. Dangerous, but supervised. You should hear the screams of laughter. Do realise, the underducks are about 9 inches off the ground. That's as high as AJ can push Dex as he literally crawls under him.
Waving at Daddy
Have I mentioned this? I swear Dexter waves at Richard. When Richard says 'hi' to Dex, Dex almost always lifts one hand up in the air and fans his fingers. Crazy.
Have I ever mentioned 'baby high five'. For as long as I can remember, probably like 3 or more months, I swear, if I say 'baby high five', Dexter reaches up for my hand and I cheer when our hands touch. He loves this. He's so cheerful.
Still Very Vocal
Since the beginning, Dexter's been very vocal. Way more than AJ was at this age. We'll see what this means for me later.
He just babbles and babbles and talks to himself non-stop. Lots of raspberries and mum-mum-mum, ga-ba-da, and stuff like that. He's VERY loud.
He's started a new ear piercing, blood curdling scream occassionally. I think it's the top teeth, but I can't see any coming through.
He's been sleeping really great at night still and much more consistently, but he really seems to want to start his day at 6:30am instead of 7:00am. Whatever. I like the way his naps work out better that way anyhow.

Went to a New Park
We wanted to go to a park we hadn't been to yet, and Auntie Erica likes to go to parks that have 'Geocaches', so we tried out a park up the road from me. The boys had lots of fun climbing and throwing rocks around (not at each other) but at a metal grate thing. This Geocach thing's been on my mind. I think we need to start up this family fun activity. Richard says that if we want to start, we'd better start now because the 'idiot threshold' will be reached soon as GPS is available on more and more people's phones. This, in turn, increases the amount of idiots participating in your sport and therefore, wrecks the fun, as more people don't follow the rules and instead, just 'steal' the Geocache. Hmmmm. This is classic Richard, pessimistic thinking at it's best. To really get the true feeling evoked from this, you must hear it explained by Richard.
Don't know what Geocaching is? Look it up! But don't be the idiot that ruins it for everybody else!


The Zoo, Again? Again!
I've really got to learn how to load pictures from our camera onto the blog, so I can have the pictures up that correspond to our activities I've described.
We went to the zoo. We haven't been a quite a few weeks. It was fun, as always. AJ did some great 'rock climbing' up the elephant slide. We did an afternoon trip this time instead of the morning. It worked out great. AJ wanted to stay for the afternoon 4:00pm Radical Raptors show. He really loves the owls and the falcons swooping down over us. Unfortunately, Dexter stole the show. He was shouting out to everyone, dancing, clapping my hands, smiling and laughing. People were just ooohing and ahhhing about my darling little boy. He's such a cheerful guy! I already said this, but it's so true! YAY little Dexy!





***don't forget! If you like to see updated pics of the boys, go to richard and sonja dot com (with no spaces)