Ralph: Celebrating 22 months

Since it is January, Ralph would like to wish everyone a "Happy No No"

Ralph is a busy little boy. If he is not turning a knob, trying to open a door, close a door, open the dishwasher, hide his face under my shirt, ask a question or point out something, grab your finger to lead you somewhere, or coloring/playing he is probably sleeping.

Ralph's favorite gift from Christmas is the Mr. Potato Head he received. He likes to "dump it" out of the sack we keep it in every chance he gets. He knows what all the parts are, right down to the mustache. He also likes the doodleboard he received and likes to "erase it."

Ralph has already learned how to blame his brother. If we know Ralph a dirty diaper and we ask him if he is dirty he'll reply "Henry."

He notices details and questions things when they are not the same as they were before. One of his books has an Evergreen tree in it - he points to the tree and then to the spot we had the Christmas tree as if to say "where is our tree?" He will take note if you do not have your glasses on, or you do. He'll also let you know if you need a coat, hat, shoes, or boots on. Not much gets by Ralph.

I remember one question at the doctor's office during his 12-month appointment "Does your child follow direction?" I have come to the conclusion Ralph has selective hearing. Depending on what he is doing you can ask him to do something at least 10 times and still not get an appropriate response. I'm sure typical of anyone his age but we always think back to that question. "Does" and "Can" are two totally different answers.

Ralph tries to jump . . . or bend his knees, feet never leaving the floor. He tries to balance on one foot and likes to dance. He has started to shrug his shoulders and tilt his head when he is being goofy.

The funniest phrase Ralph has learned this month is "I Will Grow." We made it up at supper one night in an attempt to figure out what he was saying. For the couple of days it was the funniest thing he ever heard. He still thinks its funny, just not as funny as it was.

What goes on at daycare, stays at daycare. We have recently discovered Ralph is familiar with the actions for the "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" and "If You are Happy and You Know It." I need to find out what other songs he knows actions to so we can practice at home. He saw playdough in the closet the other day and knew it was something he could play with. He also has never painted at home but will turn his sippy cup over while sitting at the kitchen table, hit the cup against the table until milk comes out and say "paint." I keep wondering what else he knows.

Potty trainig has taken a backseat. No new teeth to report.

A Visit to the Lincoln Children's Museum

We ventured to the Lincoln Children's Museum this morning. Ralph had not been since last May. He was more interested in the exhibits this time and less timid but still stopped to take it all in and watch the other kids once in awhile. We only visited the main and lower level before we had to leave for lunch/nap. Ralph had fun visiting the tractor, football/volleyball area, the little and big firetruck, and prairie dog area. I couldn't resist crawling in the base of the tree and in prairie dog town with Ralph.

Big Bro, Little Bro

Santa brought Ralph and Henry a few matching outfits. Couldn't resist sharing this one.

Henry: Celebrating 1 Month!

Henry seems to be doing what every one-month should be doing . .eating, sleeping, and you know the other. He seems to cluster feed in the late evening - last night I think he had 6 ounces in two hours. He spends most of his days sleeping though he does like to go to bed later than we would like - everytime we try to "trick" him into starting the nighttime cluster feeding earlier it just backfires. Twice this week he has only woke up once during the night for a snack, though we don't make it to bed until 10:30 - midnight. He does sleep until 8-8:30 in the mornings right now.

He had a gassy/fussy period but we are hoping it might be behind us. We knew Henry had a stuffed nose and nothing we tried seemed to clear it, as a result he was sucking in more air when eating - and after nearly every feeding he sounded like he was snoring. Last night he had a period of 5-6 sneezes that seemed to have cleared out about everything that was stuffed in him! He sounds much better when he eats now and is more at ease after eating. We have also tried "Gripe Water" the last few days which seemed to help a little.

He has started holding up an arm, just looking at it. He is starting to readjust his eyes - looking cross eyed sometimes. He continues to hold up his head when we don't expect it. He is okay with tummy time for a bit, depending on his mood. He tried out the swing for the first time yesterday and enjoyed it.

Ralph stayed home to celebrate the 1 month milestone (read: daycare was closed). Ralph kept trying to give Henry "high-fives" and "bumps" and helped rock him in the rocker chair.

Belated Christmas Wishes

A few photos from Christmas activities . . . Ralph after his Christmas program at daycare (our little boy looks like a big boy!, our first family photo, and Henry and Ralph on Christmas morning . .

As you can imagine, Henry slept through most of Christmas. Ralph had a good time but grew tired of gifts after opening just a few. He started pulling out old toys to play with. I think he just liked the attention everyone was giving him.