Sometimes ...

...milk just tastes better when you're laying on the floor.

It was a ...

Cousin-copying


Table-for-two-eating


Duck-feeding


Swan-gazing


Bird-chasing


Tricycle-riding


Tricycle-acquiring


Lap-walking


Bridge-crossing


Trike-pushing


Daddy-adoring


PJ-matching


Cousin-admiring


Early Bird-rising


Tandem-bathing


Water-squirting


Book-reading


Tooth-brushing


GiGi-loving


"DadDoug"-hugging

Mother's Day-celebrating Weekend!

Whew.

What is Britton Like These Days?

Britton is 16 months old now, and here I am (as I am wont to do lately), pondering the question ... who took my baby boy away and gave us back this big kid??? Our boy has turned into a walking-talking-tricycle-riding-want-to-be-outside-all-the-time-ball-throwing-cackling-teeth brushing-book reading-climbing-busy body-little-big munchkin. And we are loving every minute of it!

Walking

His biggest accomplishment lately is walking. He started taking independent steps at 14 months, and was getting more and more brave with it. One day at Mother's Day Out, he just started walking all over the place, and he hasn't slowed down since. That was just three weeks ago, and I am amazed at how he gets better and more confident as the days go on. Within a few days, he was turning around in the middle of his stride, making corners, and even, all on his own, practiced sitting down in his chair and then standing to walk (over & over), hence this video. I am impressed. I can see why everyone says these kiddos go from walking to running in no time. Britton is well on his way. We have had fun playing "chase" ... him toddling around, looking back at me, and cackling, as I follow him around. I have to admit, now that the walking stage is here, it really is lots of fun.

Talking
Britton has also been learning words lately. He started saying his first word -- "Dada" -- at around 12 months. He would point to Danny and say "Dada" (still does). He used to call lots of other things "Dada" as well, but now pretty much just uses it to refer to his Daddy. Recently, he has started doing the funniest thing ... when Danny pulls up in his car. Britton runs to the window and screams "AAAAAAHHHHHHH, Dada!" "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH, Dada!" I have to get a video ... it is the funniest thing. Britton says "Mama," but uses it sparingly. Like, only when he is crying or hungry, and even then occasionally. He'll pull on my pants legs and say "Ma-ma." He has started calling Piper "dog" or "daga" (doggie). He loves his "daga." I will tell him to go love the doggie, and he will walk across the room and give Piper a hug. He always says "aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh" in a soft little voice when he loves Piper. So sweet. His other latest word is "please" but it sounds more like "zzzzzzzzzzzzzz." When he says it, he clasps his hands in the more/please sign, and cocks his head downward. Precious.

In other cognitive skills, he really has surprised me by what he is understanding. A few months ago, I would have said he didn't understand much more than his name and the word "no". But now, he is really understanding a lot. A few examples ...
* When we say "hello" he puts his hands to his ear, as if answering the phone.
* When we ask where his bellybutton is, he'll point to it or pull his shirt up.
* When I ask where Piper is, he'll look up to Piper's spot (on the back of the arm chair) or if I ask where Daddy is, and he'll look out the window. If I tell him Daddy is home, he heads to the window to see for himself.
* When I ask if he wants more food, he does the sign language sign for more or says "please".
* When I ask him to give Mommy a love, he'll come over and put his arms around my neck or come at me with a big open-mouth kiss. Melt my heart.
* When reading books, like our favorite Goodnight Moon, I can ask him to find the red balloon, and he'll point it out on all the pages.
* He'll pick up his shoe or socks and try to put them on. Or even pick up my show and try to put it on my foot. (For some reason this surprises me as it was learned just through observation.) He'll also pick up a brush and run it through his hair.

Playing
He loves playing with his toys, and is always going ninety-to-nothing around our living room with his toys or reading books, or looking under the couch for all the toys that somehow end up under there. His latest thing is loving the outdoors. When Danny comes home in the evening, Britton is waiting at the door for him, he gives him a hug and immediately points outdoors, ready for a tricycle ride. Since the weather has warmed up (although this rain is putting a damper on it), we often take a stroll around the block, pushing Britton on his trike. Or we head down to the lake near our house, where Britton likes looking at the swans, geese and turtles. Such a big boy.

Other Things
Britton is also into climbing these days ...


And is a great milk drinker...


And once Spring hit, he developed "boy knees." You know, scabs, mosquito bites, callouses .... I figured I might as well get used to it.

He also enjoys a Baby Einstein or PraiseBaby DVD every now & then ...


And is beginning to feed himself with a spoon. We usually have oatmeal in the morning, and I will spoon it up, put it on his tray, and he will pick up the spoon, pretend to dip it in the bowl, and then put it in his mouth. He's got the whole motion down, and could probably do a decent job with yogurt or something easy to spoon, we just haven't tried it yet.

He is also a fabulous sleeper. I hesitate to write that, should he find out and change his ways! But he has been a solid sleeper since he was 3 months old, so I don't think anything is changing. He sleeps a good 12 hours at night, and is still taking two naps a day that equal a good 3 or 4 hours. He is also pretty flexible and can handle it when we are out and have to skip a nap. I am thankful for that. His sweet go-to-sleep routine goes like this: I put him in his crib, he immediately flops over onto his stuffed puppy dog, I rub his back for a minute, and then he is out. My favorite time of day though is late at night when we slip into his room to check on him. We'll watch him sleep, rub his little back and cover him with his blanket. It is a sweet time watching our little big boy fast asleep.


Britton continues to be a very sweet and good-natured little guy. He smiles easily, is a big flirt and loves making connections with people. He works the crowd as his Giffen grandparents say, and totally knows when he is the center of attention.

He is a sweet little big boy, and we are infinitely blessed to have him as our son. So thankful for all the miracles in his young little life that have allowed him to be the precious and thriving child he is today.

Chinese Takeout

We recently discovered that the boy loves Chinese food ...

... too bad he woke up with swollen eyes the next morning! More sodium in one meal than he's probably had in his entire life.

A Doe. A Deer. A Female Deer.

I was feeding Britton his morning oatmeal on Sunday, and I glanced up at our den windows, and, lo and behold, I see this beautiful thing ...

A deer chomping on the weeds in our backyard just casually peering through our windows. I grabbed my camera -- thinking Danny will never believe me -- and prayed Piper didn't start barking.

After a few minutes of eating and peering, the deer turned and disappeared into the "woods." We don't really live in the woods, though we have 100+ trees on our lot. Sounds very woodsy, but our neighborhood is completely surrounded by urban sprawl ... highways and interstates. No doubt this deer was very lost ... but glad she came by for a visit.

All in a Day's Work

Last week, I happened to have the camera out when I noticed Britton going to his chair, sitting in it, then trying to stand and start walking. He did it over and over and over, as if he was practicing the motion. And ... let me tell you ... he needed practice because the balance and forward momentum thing does not come naturally. My video clips ended up being a pretty funny sequence of videos. Well, funny, if you are related to Britton. The rest of you might not want to watch all four of these clips. Though, they are very short.

Take 1: Going from sitting to walking is not as easy at it looks!


Take 2: A few steps forward. A few steps back.


Take 3: Forward. Forward. Then Reverse.


Take 4: Success and a sweet kiss!

"Dog"

I got a video of Britton waiting by the door for his Daddy to get home the other day. At the end, you'll see him point at Piper and say "dog."

Sorry the video is so dark. We have a "real" video camera but usually only use our little point&shoot camera for videoing. Not the best quality, but easy to upload.