Easter Sunday

David's second Easter was a joy for all of us.  His first one was last year, but his interaction was pretty limited.  So, as you can imagine, I was pretty excited to present him with a basket filled with goodies to help him enjoy the day.

First, the basket itself.  You might think a monkey would be pretty non-traditional for a holiday represented by chicks and bunnies, but it suited David just fine.  So fine, in fact, that he couldn't resist giving a little love (aka kisses with tongue) to the monkey's face.  Monkey loves monkey.

And the contents of the eggs?  Well, since most typical Easter treats are choking hazards, I had to rack my brain for alternative things that would still fit in the little plastic shells.  I asked myself, what does David like the best?  Why, wadded up paper, clothing tags, and Kix cereal, of course!  And, don't forget that delightful Easter grass.  So interesting!

Just in case you're feeling sorry for him since he got no candy, I did quarter a jelly bean and he quite literally turned up his nose at it and refused to eat it.  Bet that doesn't happen again next year.

An Easter basket wouldn't be complete without a gift, of course.  Seeing that David loves technology, I decided on a toy cell phone, complete with ringing function and functional buttons.  He loved this, clearly.

Boy meets phone.

Boy clearly enjoys phone.

And, boy will continue to enjoy phone until he realizes it's a decoy.  Kind of like the remote control sans batteries.  It has not taken him long to realize it is not quite the same.

Hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Everyone, meet "Bob".

Despite all of the attention that David has been lavishing on his father of late, Cory still tends to despair over the fact that David fails to call him by name. Although he never really directly addresses me as such, David does say "Mom" and "Mamma" quite a bit, and seems to be referring to me with the terms.  When asked "where's Mama?", he will sheepishly look at me and smile. (Love it.)  No such luck for Cory with "Dad" or "Daddy".  Alas, a guy can't get all the love, right?

It dawned on me the other day that David does in fact have a term for his father when Cory said good-bye to him on the way to work. Since this apparently conflicted with David's plan for the day, he threw a bit of a dramatic fit to protest Cory's departure.  It went a bit like this.... "Bob!  Bob!  Bob!  Bob!", as he was crawling toward the door attempting to chase him.  Light bulb moment if there ever was one.

Yep, apparently Daddy is AKA "Bob".  I have heard him say this one thousand times before thinking it was just babbling. But once I made the connection, it was if I suddenly could speak David's dialect of baby-ese.

My suspicion was confirmed that evening when David looked at me after hearing the garage door go up, clearly announcing, "Bob!".  Truth be told, it's really more of a cross between "Bub" and "Bob", but still unmistakable.  And, totally adorable.

Our Wednesday in Pictures

I love Wednesdays because the day belongs to just David and me. Now that the weather has improved, we can get out of the house and do a little exploring together. And we did just that today.

Driving is so much more interesting for both of us now that we've turned David's car seat around.  It's fun to watch him look about and take in the sights.  Don't worry... although I do check him out in the rear-view mirror quite a bit because he's just so darn cute, I do pay attention to the road!  And don't call CPS either, we were at a stoplight when I snapped this picture. Also notice his attire... this is about 5 minutes into a trip that he started wearing two socks, two shoes, and a hat!  A boy's got to do something to pass the time.

We ran a few errands, perused Barnes and Noble, and picked up some scrapbook supplies.  We also ducked into the pet store, where we checked out the birds and fish.  David enjoyed watching the birds, especially.  He also LOVED looking at the shelter cats, but protested loudly when I wouldn't let him touch them.  So, clearly causing a disruption to the other shoppers (and the poor cats!), we had to leave in shame.  Below is a pre-walk-of-shame picture:

Speaking of leaving a store in shame..... Had to do it as well at Target, where David committed his first crime.  Yep, shoplifting.  I had picked up a few things, checked out, proceeded to the car, and, to my horror, David was still grasping a package of eye-shadow applicators, ironically the one item that prompted the whole trip in the first place.  Having a pathological conscience about such things, I went back into the store and quietly paid the $1.99 plus tax.  Trying to entertain him with items from the cart cost me several extra minutes to settle the debt, and could've cost me bail money.  Next time I will take in some of his toys, instead.  There's an idea.  Here is a photo of Mr. Sticky Fingers and his loot:

Can't wait to see what next Wednesday brings...

Pretty Honored.

About a week ago, I received an email that pretty much made my scrapbooking life.  A layout that I posted in my Studio Calico gallery was selected as Layout of the Week on the SC blog.  Although I did notice that it received a lot of commentary from other members, I had no idea it was so incredibly popular.  You can see the post here, and this is the layout itself:

The journaling reads:

First came the sitting.  Then, rocking all fours.  Within days, there was the laborious, torso-dragging army crawl.  And the next thing we knew, there was full-on, hands slapping the tiles, wearing out the knees of his pants, flying all over the house and getting into everything... CRAWLING!  Life as we knew it was over.  Goodbye, immobility.

What strikes me as funny is that this particular layout was conceived and contructed during a few hours one Monday morning while I was waiting around to go to work.  This from a person who can spend days trying to get a layout "just right".  I wasn't worried about how it might appeal to others as I made it. I simply did it for me, with colors and a picture that I love, to tell a story that I cherish.  The fact that so many other people found my work interesting and appealing is simply icing on the cake.

I have tried off and on for years to get my work in print, all to no avail.  This little nod inspires me to keep exploring that possibility.  Still, even if I never manage to get published, I will continue to adore this wonderful hobby and the creative release it gives me as I document our lives. I treasure my scrapbooks, and hopefully someday David will too.  And that's the most important thing.

He's a Daddy's Boy

Some of you are aware that I have recently developed somewhat of a complex regarding David's closeness to his father.  A lot of it I attribute to my own neuroticism, but some of it roots in truth.  Don't get me wrong, I love that those two are nearly inseparable and that Cory takes such a keen interest in helping care for and play with our little guy (I am so lucky!). Still, a gal can feel a bit neglected at times when the Pied Piper of children (Cory, that is) seems always to win the little one's attention. 

I didn't truly appreciate the humor in this, however, until I reviewed the pics I took this weekend.  Here is a little sampling.


David with his Daddy.

David reacting to something I did (or, rather, didn't let him do).

David with his Daddy.

David expressing his displeasure with something else I did (or, once again, didn't let him do).

David with his Daddy.

David giving me the stink-eye....... well, you get the point.

He can be a fickle fellow, so he might be more of a Mama's boy in the days and weeks to come.  Until then, I will try to enjoy the fact that my son has many other people in this world that he enjoys, most of all his father.  How's that for positive affirmation? :)

Another goodbye...

It has been a tough week for us, as we had to say goodbye to a another faithful old friend this past Wednesday night.  I still can't quite believe that he is gone.

Sammy's passing was rather unexpected, and therefore that much more difficult to accept than Casper's.  Still, I take comfort in the fact that we were able to give him a secure, happy home for the entirety of his life.  We often remarked how lucky he was to have found us (imagine the life of a Doberman puppy raised in a less than nurturing environment), but we were really the lucky ones.  Without a doubt, he was the most loving, gentle, kind, vulnerable dog I had ever met.  All of this in the body of a giant, even for his breed.

Sammy was really Cory's dog.  In fact, I voted against keeping him after Cory found him, abandoned and scared in the Goodwill parking lot in Indianapolis.  I consented to letting him stay with us "for awhile", secretly plotting to find him another home once Cory realized that he would be a little too much to handle in a tiny apartment.  A few months later we moved to a duplex that had a yard and allowed large dogs.  So in some respects I was right, he did find another home.  Another one with us.  :)

Sammy was easy to please.  As long as he had plenty of nap time, a meal twice a day, his very own chair-and-a-half, and a tennis ball to play with outside, he was a happy dog.  He was Cory's right-hand man, chasing the ball for hours while he worked outside or grilled on the patio.  He would run for that ball until he literally dropped, and would chew it until it was shreds unless the neighbor dog managed to steal it in the meantime.

I was never scared here by myself with Sammy around.  Not that he would have actually attacked an intruder (in fact, he probably would have run the other way, LOL), but his stature and brawn would have been enough to give anyone with ill intent second thoughts.  The house seems empty now without his constant presence.  I know it will be like this for some time.

The only thing that makes the heartbreak of losing a dog worth it is the joy that they give you while they are alive.  I can't imagine the past nine-and-a-half years without Sammy around.  Goodbye, dear friend.  We will all miss you.