Dancin' Man

Dance from Melanie Lafeen on Vimeo.

Some of your favorite things

I know I just posted, but I've been meaning to post some of these stories. Unfortunately, I have no new pictures to add, which will upset the grandparents. I'll see what I can do in the next few days.

This is how this week's babycenter email started out... "At this point you're still your toddler's favorite playmate."

This is so true. It's safe to say that your mom is one of your favorite things. Your dad is ALSO your favorite... and a close 3rd is Jodo. (Or, as most of us refer to her, Jodi). You also love your grandma's and grandpa's, even though you can only say 'Papa'. You like playing with your cousin Laila and can say her name -but only when she's not around.

You like dogs -especially when they bark.

You like swimming. And, I found out that you give extended hugs to me when we're swimming together, so I think we'll go swimming with Jodi more often. I mean, Jodo.

You love, love, LOVE music. You 'lead' music when you hear it (most people think you're waving) and dance. Which is really funny. It's baby dancing, so you kind of just bounce up and down. You also love to play the piano.

You like talking on the phone, or even pretending to talk on the phone.

You like riding on dad's shoulders and bonking heads. In fact, you like bonking heads so much you often do it at unexpected times and with unsuspecting people. (It kind of hurts).

I feel like this one doesn't need to be said, but you still love your elephant. I gave him (plural) a name today, buddy. It's something you can say, and I think it'll stick.

You look for Papa whenever we go outside, and you love escaping through the gate and racing up the stairs when we turn our backs.

You still love balls (you leave Christmas tree's alone unless they have balls on them) and baths. You ask for a bath at least once a day and run into the bathrooms and go straight to the bathtub.

You love snacks, bread, and water. You're always on the move and almost always happy. You still love your naps, but we're down to two a day, instead of three. You like your new car seat and enjoy being able to see more things while we're in the car.

You're definitely one of my favorite things, Little Man!

Merry Christmas!

Last year you were barely a month old and you still didn't like me much (you wouldn't eat or sleep despite all of my best efforts), this was your first fun Christmas.

We spent Christmas Eve with Mimi and Papa. We had dinner at Cindy and Lon's and you got to spend some time with Sammy, Matt and Melissa's little boy. You were both pretty happy all night long and enjoyed dinner.

We came home that night and opened a Christmas Eve gift from Grandma Hardcastle -it was pajama's.

You woke up early on Christmas morning, but had to wait for mom and dad to get ready before we went downstairs.

You were excited to see the few things Santa had brought. He must have known you were going to get plenty of fun toys from your Grandparents, because he just brought you a few things. A couple of onsies, a fun book, and a Playskool Walk and Ride. You really liked the Walk & Ride and loved it when dad pushed you around on it.

After breakfast we went out to Grandma and Grandpa Lafeen's so we could talk to your uncle Bryan. You got way too many gifts there -including a bus you can ride and a fishing tackle box, that you may have to wait a few years to properly use!

You were exhausted when we left there, and you slept for a few minutes on the way to Mimi and Papa's for brunch. You were the only little kid there so you had plenty of attention, even though you napped for a while. Mimi and Papa gave you your very own baby -a glow worm doll.

From there we went to Grandma and Grandpa Hardcastle's. You had fun with all of the kids there, but went to bed early. We had decided that we were sleeping over since we knew we would be there so late. You got a few more toys and clothes from Grandma and Grandpa and had fun playing with everyone on Saturday too.

You're one lucky kid!

13 months (almost)

I can't believe it's been almost a month since we celebrated your first birthday.

I don't think you've done anything new this month, but you're getting better at everything you've already figured out.

You LOVE balls. And, things that even look like balls -like lights, snowman ornaments, things hanging from Target's ceiling. From the time you wake up it's "Baaa, baaa, BAAA..." You actually have done really well at leaving Christmas tree's alone -unless they have balls on them. Then we have issues. We actually picked out an ornament for you this year, which was -a ball! I'm sure you love it. Or, you would if we let you pay it.

This is how you 'play'. I pull the center cushion off the couch and you climb up and have a blast. Until you fall over the edge onto your head. It's only happened once though.

You've also figured out Grandpa (papa) and bottle (bata) which sounds different from baby (baba). You can also say your cousin Laila's name -sounds like waywah, but it's close enough. You also copy a lot of things that you hear, but those ones, along with mama and dad, you definitely know and say. A lot.

Matching ties. This was your dad's birthday present.

You haven't figured out going downstairs yet, but you will usually stop, turn around, and sit down. The problem is you sit down about 3 feet from the first stair. Speaking of backwards, you like everything backwards and upside down. In the last few days you seem to like to walk backwards. So much that you often run into things and over things when you're walking backwards. You also love looking at things upside down -sticking your head on the ground and looking through your legs until you fall over.

You've had more than a few haircuts this month. Really, it was one haircut that happened over three different days. I finally fixed it today -the back was super long, but now the front is a little short.

That's all we can think of at the moment. You've had a cold for the past week or so, and you've been a little ornery and a bit more clingy than usual. However, Monday you were happy all day long. It was great!