Columbus Half

Tomorrow my sister and I are running the Columbus Half Marathon. Our weeks of training have been really good and we both feel confident and excited going into it. The only concern is that we both started feeling symptoms of a cold coming on last night. I got a lot of sleep though and am feeling better today. So hopefully we're healthy and ready to run tomorrow morning! I'll report back.

Family Pictures

We went to a park one afternoon last week and ended up taking some impromptu family pictures. Here are a couple fun ones...

Apple Picking

Last weekend we went apple picking with Aunt K and Uncle N. Despite the 80 degree weather and the low apple supply due to the recent windstorm, it was a fun afternoon. Mr. Mister did great riding in the backpack and enjoyed chomping on an apple the entire time (notice in the second picture that he and Daddy are both enjoying their fruit.) At the end he played on the slide with the big kids. I love this last picture...it almost looks like a senior picture pose!

Exciting Saturday Night

The life of a mom...on my Saturday night, I spent a half hour cleaning pieces of a shredded board book out of my washing machine. I did a load of Mr. Mister's wash and when I went to transfer it to the dryer, I noticed that everything was covered in pieces of wet cardboard. I was confused until I pulled a picture of a duck out of one of his shirts and then realized that his little board book must have found its way into the hamper, which then made it into the washing machine. It was a mess to clean up, but duty calls. I'm sure it won't be the last non-clothing object that goes through the wash.

Nigh Nigh and Other Cute Things

In the past, if I were to lay on the floor, close my eyes and tell Mr. Mister that I was going night night, he'd come over and bang on my head or bite/kiss my nose to wake me up. Recently, though, he started doing the cutest thing. When I lay down, close my eyes, and say "night night," he comes over and lays down, curling right up against me, says, "nigh nigh" in the softest, cutest voice, and then puts his thumb in his mouth. I enjoy the cuddling for about 10 seconds before he's up and moving around again. It really is adorable.

Other fun developments...

Lots of new words. Recently when I put carrots (which are always hot because I have to soften them first) on his tray, he said something along the lines of "hot" and then blew on them. It's amazing how much he picks up without me teaching him.

He finally does the sign for all done. I've been doing it every time I get him out of his highchair for several months. I never thought he'd actually do it because he picked up the other ones (more, water, eat) so quickly. Then all of a sudden, he did it the other day and now he thinks it's so funny.

He's a front facer in the car now! A couple weeks ago we finally got his big boy car seat so he can face the front. He is much happier in the car, which means less screaming and more enjoyable rides. Although now I can't eat or drink anything as I drive without him wanting some.

He's walking like a champ. He is learning to bend down and pick things up and then stand back up. He throws his ball, walks to it, picks it up, and then throws it again. I think he likes the practice. Now we have to get him to learn how to walk in shoes. He loves going outside, but hates wearing shoes. As soon as we get outside, he sits down and tries to take them off.

He loves books (yay!). While he often loses interest after a couple pages, he actually sits through entire books sometimes. That's a big accomplishment! The other day I was reading the book Elmer to him. There's a page that says "Boo!" in big words across it. I forgot about that and the whole time I was reading it, he kept saying "boo, boo, boo" and laughing. I couldn't figure out why. Then I got to that page and realized that he knew it was coming!

Okay, sorry this is so long. I need to be better about posting short, individual stories more frequently instead of letting them build up. Also, be excited for more pictures...I'm uploading some of apple picking, his angry face, and his new jersey.

Photo Contest

We entered a photo contest last week through Parenting magazine. The pictures are supposed to capture a snapshot of childhood and are judged on technicality, originality, and overall cuteness. We were allowed up to 5 pictures, so here are the ones we chose. Enjoy!

The Slide

This past weekend we went to Pittsburgh for a visit with Daddy's family there. Grandpa T set up a plastic slide to go down the hillside in front of their house. Mr. Mister loved going down it (although it took some wax paper on his butt to make him go fast enough). Here are some really cute pictures of his progression down the slide.