Grandma Sue Squared...

Milo got some pretty special lovin' all in one week at the end

of January. Yeah, I'm a little behind in this little online journal, don't you judge me ;) We started out with a quick trip to Columbus to visit Em (Furler) Cotter and sweet Drew. Hee hee, he really is sweet, but I laugh because he just loves to grab Milo's hair in his little mitts. I don't think it actually hurts Milo that much, but I think he's generally surprised when this happens; maybe because hair is such a new development for him ;)

Em's mom, and my 2nd mom growing up, Sue, was also there for a visit for Drew's dedication. Though we've pretty much continually been in touch, I haven't seen Sue in years, for sure since before Milo was born. One of the things I cherish most about our unique relationship with the Furler clan is that it never matters the last time we saw them, it's always the same: comfortable, fun, relaxing, and joyous. Sue is my mom's best friend, Al is my dad's best friend, Em, Sarah, and Laura are some of the best friends we McGrail girls will ever know, and though

we have added to our numbers with husbands and kids, these relationships are still the same, maybe a little different as we fill different roles in our lives, but still as powerful and

meaningful. And Em will be Aunt Em to Milo, and Sue will be Grandma Sue. It's just how it's supposed to be, it's right.

A couple days later, we gathered Grammie Kris and hit the road to Iowa to attend Cousin Sarah's baby shower, got to spend some QT with Nana Steph and Auntie Karen while we were in Ames, and then spent a good couple of days with my

Grandma Sue, Milo's great-grandma. Grandma Sue is another tremendous woman. Her house, though new to our family in the past couple of years, is always like coming home. She has a way of welcoming people into her space

that makes you feel like you've always been there and should always continue to be there. I make myself at home, help myself to coffee and cake for breakfast, and then we giggle that I did so. Though she's my mom's mom, there isn't enough years between all of us to really make that feel relevant; she's funny and kind and sweet and sassy, and she loves my kid. Even when he's a brat at her house, she loves my kid.

To my Grandma Sues: thanks for continuing to be instrumental in my life and my kid's life. Love you so much!

Cute Milo-isms...

Some funny things that Milo has been saying recently:

"Opeley" (open it)

"Da-un-too" (that one too)

"Read it daddy... pleez! More prayer pleez! More prayer! Pleez! Prayers!" (asking Mike to read "The Lord's Prayer Book" over and over and over and over and over...)

"maggets" (magnets)

"Bump head!" (whenever anything falls or bumps anything, aka Milo stubs toe, trucks fall off the table, etc)

"legs legs legs!" (when he wants to walk up mommy's legs and body and stand on her shoulders)

"hiding" (his answer to whenever anything is not readily noticeable, aka the moon is behind the clouds, kitties are in the other room, etc.)

"loud" (any noise that is not talking or music)

"tunes!" (when he wants us to turn on his mp3 player; no we did not buy him that, but Auntie Mandy knows how to give the best gifts!)

"winnow!" (he wants to look out the window)

"crabby happy" (if he's still cranky in the morning, we asked if he's crabby or happy; if he's still crabby, he stays in bed; this is generally his answer, both equally, but sometimes he just walks around saying this to himself)

"applesauce" (for both the actual substance applesauce, and for a book of opposites)

"Llama drama" (either when he's picking out books to read and wants to read "Llama llama" or when he's having a little bit of a fit. Because he'd never be a drama queen. Oh wait, that's another one, "drama queen")

He's also counting to 10, sometimes 12, sometimes counting nothing in particular. And we've been working on spelling his name. Right after I told Mike that he could follow my prompting of "how do you spell your name? M..." he'd follow with "I...L...O!!" he decided to spell his whole name, just to prove mommy wrong. I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch, but I'm sure we'll add more later...

*Post-Note*

I just figured out another one that's been plaguing Mike for days. Had no idea what he meant when he was running around saying "baygofaygo"? Yeah, didn't you catch it? That means motorcycle. Duh.

Kinda crabby...

We're having a crabby night, but Milo's enthralled with the camera on the computer, so we started playing around a little...

A good night...

Friday nights are a little weird in the Schroeder household, now that Mike's been working nights, but still kinda great. Not your typical Friday night by most people's standards, but I kinda dig 'em. Tonight, we're waiting for "Header" to get here (Auntie Heather), Mike had a little rest, so he'll be good until at least 7pm ;) And Milo and I have just been having a nice easy day hanging together. If Milo had his way, you would sit and read every book on his shelves to you, then we would build a tunnel out of legos or lincoln logs, then we'd read all the books again. Maybe we'd watch an episode of Mickey Mouse if mom was feeling lazy. He's been in a great mood recently, making it easier for me to be home with him, even when my maternal instincts and unconditional love are not particular potent. Right now, after a great meal where the alien kid asked for a second helping of asparagus, Mike's cracking him up stuffing his stuffed green monkey in his sock-monkey lunch box. It's a good night.

I met someone...

Yeah, not what you're thinking, but still pretty exciting. It's still awkward moving as an adult and trying to build a new network. Really having to put yourself out there, almost like you are dating, but dating to find friends. Which is both easier and worse all at the same time. With dating, at least if the person is a total dud, you can say something like, yeah this was fun, but it's just not working out, and probably never see them again. With friends, it's this weird, I'm needy but not too needy, I'm interesting but not self-involved, you need to sell yourself and check the other person out, and without being too selective as to close doors, but not ending up with a bunch of people who suck you dry of any social energy. And unlike dating, or at least dating when you're without child, you do want to try to find people of similar interests and commitments, ie parents, but that in and of itself is a challenge because you either meet them and get to know their life story in the 8.2 minutes your kid is willing to put up with you after library time, or you have to very deliberately put yourself in situations where these conversations might happen wherever you as adults choose to be, ie work, church, etc.

I haven't had great luck up to this point, but Milo was in fine form after Mother Goose Time at the library today, so we stayed and hung out for a couple of minutes. I struck up a conversation with another mom who also just moved to the area from out-of-state, who is also a stay-at-home mom, and who also does not seem crazy or annoying. We're heading to the zoo this weekend, so I mentioned where we were going, we exchanged emails and phone #s, and I think she might really be a friend. She even introduced me to another one of the moms at story time, and thus the networking begins.

It's so funny the thoughts that chase through my head in all of this: am I cool enough, am I a good enough friend that someone will be as excited about meeting me as I am about them, will we have enough in common to keep us going but be different enough so as not to be boring? Will our kids get along? Does that matter, or will we make them get along so we can hang out? How soon do I email her so as not to seem too desperate, but interested enough so that the newness of our meeting doesn't rub off? Did me not taking a shower this morning cause her to doubt my overall hygiene and thus ruin our chances to be kindred spirits? I think I'm a little paranoid. And in all reality, and maybe this is a sad statement of who I have become, but I really am so happy and feel so blessed with all the kindred spirits I've met in my many moves and travels, that I almost feel like I don't need any more. That I have a great many great friends, they just don't happen to be in Toledo. But as I'm here longer and Milo gets older, I think it's important to both of us to make connections and be social. And if not just for us, but for what we can offer, how we can help and serve. If nothing else, listening to the President last night reminds me to be involved, to be a part of a community that binds together, not isolates.

Gotta laugh sometimes...

So 24 hours after talking about how great he is, Milo proceeded to drench me with one of his squirting bath toys tonight. He got himself too, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't on purpose, but on the other hand...

Then in the free-spirit inspiration of the Rohl boys, I let Milo run nakie from his bath to the living room, giggling like a little imp, and he proceeded to pee on the rug. Guess potty training is quite a ways off. Maybe this just fortifies what I said last night, I'm not sure yet ;)

He's the best he's ever been...

I'm sure every parent says this more than once, but I think I like Milo now more than ever. I will always love him, but recently, he's been whining and crabby and sassy, and I wonder why I'm at home with him and why Mike doesn't understand when I need "mommy time." But these past couple of days, he's been a gem.

He's funny, he laughs, he's creative, he's doing more of what he wants to do and not just what I suggest or make him do. And he initiates and associates. For instance, he'll look down the hall and ask, "daddy sleeping?" Mike's working his 1:30am shifts and goes to bed early in the afternoon or evening; Milo sees our door closed and wants to know where his daddy is. I open the laptop, and he asks "Tom Tom? Grammie go? Header [Heather]? Tom Tom?" because we've been skyping with them as they are missing each other. The other day, we were playing in the living room, and he must have heard something outside our door because he looked up and said "Booka Booka... Nana!" (Larry and Steph were here over Christmas and he was still expecting them to walk thru the door again)

He also wants to smell all flowers. The lego flowers, the flowers in his books, the flowers on the inside of my jacket. I'm not sure when this started, but Mike and I were wondering at this abstract sense. I mean really how do you teach smell? He's grasped the concept of hiding: the

moon hides behind the clouds at night, when he can't find his car, it's hiding. He likes to dance to music, make towers, kiss every one of his stuffed animals, and pets Sally and Charlie (the

cats). He makes friends with everyone, playing peek or saying hi or bye, blowing kisses, yeah, he's a ladies' man... (here he is schmoozin' with Miss Polly)

And I love that I can still make him laugh, whether he wants to or not. I know just where to tickle him and he can't help but crack up. I know how to make Mickey Mouse play peek with him that will always crack a smile. We actually communicate now; he talks to me and I respond or vice versa. He can verbalize what he wants or needs and I can respond, not always the response he desires, but he understands. And he loves to walk, and I really do think he was just so frustrated there for a while when he was still a little uncertain on his newly found feet. Amazing what a few words and some confidence can do.

Maybe I like this time because it's finally just a little easier: he's taking epic naps, goes down nicely at night, is healthy and eating a little better, we're all on a better schedule. Whatever it is, I really like him. I get a big ol' smile on my face when I get to go get him out of his crib. I might just have to go oogle him now...

Christmas traditions...

Mike's parents are coming to us for Christmas, and we're soooooooooooo excited!! Especially because for the first time in a long time, I'm falling back to one of my original loves: special event coordinating. And what better special event than Christmas with Nana and Booka? I've started my lists, things to do divided into 2 sub-lists ofASAP and "by the time they get here," things to bake, things to make, grocery list, and Mike and I worked on the schedule of events, including menus for each day. I know, I know, I'm a little crazy. But I'm excited, and I don't want to forget anything! Plus, I do really think it cuts down on any potential stress or worry when I know what I've got to do, when I've got to have it done, and my favorite, crossing completed tasks off my list.

In and amongst all this, we've started thinking about our own traditions. Which of the Schroeder's do we want to continue on, which of the McGrail's? What will we do differently? So

far, most of our traditions seem

to be centered on food: Steph's

sausage and egg hotdish (this recipe originated in MN, so it will remain "hotdish" though we are now in the land of "casseroles") is on the docket for Christmas morning. French toast fondue maybe Christmas Eve morning from Shirley Bird via the McGrails. And Mike and I love turkey dinners so much, we're looking to establish round 2.

I'm also a sucker for decorations though I'm a little limited in a 900 square-foot condo, so those traditions might wait. I do love my family's tradition of new PJs to open Christmas Eve, and I don't know where this came from, but we always buried a nut in whatever dessert we ate on Christmas Eve, and whoever got the nut in their serving got to "play Santa" and give out all the presents under the tree on Christmas morning. I don't know why that was so exciting, but I distinctly remember Heather always getting the nut and being really disappointed. Christmas Eve service is also on the schedule. I love the evening service with every great carol, the manger scene, and hopefully

candle lighting. I have a warm spot around my heart right now thinking of all those Christmas Eve's...

What are your favorite traditions? What do you remember loving from your childhood? What makes Christmas Christmas for you? Though I must warn you, if you post something I like, I feel I should reserve the right to steal it for our own... :)

One of my new favorite holiday things...

These guys are super talented and make me giggle... They're called Straight No Chaser; have you heard of them?

Generations...

When we were back for about 24 hours in the Cities during Thanksgiving, we were able to see Grandma Julie and Grandpa Milo briefly. From Great Uncle Hooks and Great Auntie Boggy came a set of blocks from the 1920's that we think Grandpa Milo played with when he was a kid. I love that our Milo can have this amazing relationship, even long distance with his namesakes. Sometimes I feel a little guilty that somehow Milo might get special treatment,

but then I see these pictures and see Milo and Julie with cousin Collin, and I know it's all in my head.

Yes, I think Grandpa Milo and Grandpa Larry enjoy and hopefully feel the honor and respect that we intended when we named the munchkin, but I don't think that is any more special that what they feel for Collin, or than what Mike feels for Collin (Collin's middle nameis Michael). All this to say, I am so grateful for the few stolen moments with grandparents and great-grandparents with my kid. I think I feel this significantly more as a parent than I ever felt before. This Thanksgiving there was lots to be thankful for too: we were able to see Great-grandma Weezie, Great-grandma Sue, and Great-grandma Julie and Great-grandpa Milo all in one trip. Sadly missing one dear grandpa and one sweet grandma...

Pock-ee

A little giggle for you this Tuesday morning. Milo has a couple of pairs of overalls with a little pocket on the front, and we like to stick things in this pocket for him, his cars, crayons, etc. And he looks down, says "pock-ee," and reaches to grab the item. Now this little game has taken and interesting turn. Now he thinks that he always has a pock-ee on his chest and has started shoving things down his shirt. Cars, crayons, blocks, whatever seems like it should fit. Even a small semi truck when we were at Auntie Barb's over Thanksgiving. The other day, which please don't judge me as a mother, we also have two cats that find anything that might be fun to fling around our wood floors, whether they be on the counter, in a dish on the table, well out of reach of our small child, but anyways, longest run-on sentence ever. The other day I found a button in the front of Milo's diaper. Inside his diaper inside his onesie. Oiy. Pock-ee strikes again.

Chatting...

This is a little older, but I was just going thru some pics from when we were in Atlanta for Sam's baptism, and found this cute video...

Swinging the pendulum to another extreme...

I've now been a full-time stay-at-home mom for a full month now, sans part-time job. And I'm finding my list of projects that I've been putting off for years a little daunting, so I take baby steps. Or at least they started as baby steps, and now they're at about a gallop. Oh yeah, Milo's starting to walk. I put this in as a side note because I am convinced that he could have been walking a good couple of months ago; he just chose not too. Not that I really mind, the longer he doesn't walk, the longer he doesn't run, and the slower my life remains. I would post a video, but I've lost my camera attachment so the videos remain encased in my camera. Anyways, projects completed: two chairs and a couch covered, pillows recovered, several Christmas gifts made, lots of cooking and baking, some care packages in the works, new pants made for Milo, a flannel board expanded and added to for the munchkin's amusement, Milo's bumper (now dust-ruffle finally complete, almost 2 years later)... The list goes on.

I feel like I've been creatively constipated and now all rushes forth. I actually have a list of all the things I would like to make. I have sticky notes on my computer desktop tracking my Christmas lists, my to-do list, and recipes to try. Please don't read this the wrong way, I'm not really that talented, but I've decided to get back to my roots, if you will, pre-Gap, back to a time when I had no money and no pressure to be dressed "current." Back to "if I can make it, I should" or "I'm not going to buy something that I could make." This is both a blessing and a curse: I have been mildly successful on a few attempts, saving money and gaining personal worth when lacking the affirmation from a paycheck or a boss. But the list never ends, and just because I could make it, doesn't necessarily mean I should make it. Plus I'm now inundated with all of the things that I'm going to make. Some day. I think I'm driving Mike a little crazy. Or a lot.

I'm drowning in my own lists. How is it that I have the most time now than I've ever had before in my life, but there's still never enough time? I think I am my own worst enemy, to use another cliche. No one expects any of these things from me, in fact, I'm pretty sure Mike's not the only one who thinks I'm crazy. I think I've swung too far to the other side. It used to be that I really didn't have any time so I never could do any of these things, bake bread, sew, make a gift, but now that I have more time, I'm allowing it to swallow me.

I think I will make an early resolution: one project at a time. I want to get back into reading more again, I want to try a yoga class, I want to go to bed early and not feel like I have to finish whatever it is I might be working on or thinking about. I've read so many times about taking time for yourself, but I still have a hard time resonating with that. It sounds so selfish, so not helpful, so lazy. But I think I'm realizing that really it might be better for everyone if I just chill out a little. Stop and kick some leaves. I'm pretty sure Mike will appreciate it. I am not the energizer bunny, and I don't really want to be. Ah, now to just convince my brain of all of this.

We've created a monster...

Though I have no photographic evidence of the following, I am afraid it is true. In a moment of weakness, and in the midst of a nasty head cold, Mike and I put the movie "Cars" on for Milo a couple ofnights ago to assuage a particularly bratty moment before bed. We already knew he liked it because he stared transfixed and made car noises while watching it at Jake's house. And it worked: he settled down, even snuggled in, and sat peacefully next to our lethargic selves for a blessed few minutes before bed that night.

But now the beast has been unleashed. I realized after a few frustrating "conversations" with Milo, that "'ning" means "Lightning" aka the main character in "Cars," and he now demands that it plays most of the time, pleading "'Ning, 'Ning!" while pointing at the TV. In the beginning, not going to lie, I pretended like I didn't know what he was talking about, and truth be told, I didn't, but then even when I figured it out, I still plead ignorance. But my inadequacies in deciphering his vernacular did not bode well with my 1-year-old.

We try to keep him away from the TV, he has plenty of mind stretching toys and books, and

most of the time, he wouldn't care one way or the other if the TV was on or not. But now Pandora's box is open. What is the best balance between nerdy book but potentially socially inept kid, and over stimulated but culturally relevant kid? Eh...

In the meantime, here are some cute, pics, nothing from the past week; unfortunately I have

misplaced my camera case, and with it our attachment which allows us to download pictures from the camera, so deal with these in the meantime...

What do you do when your 1-year-old is manipulating you at 4am? Laugh...

Ah the stories of parenthood. While spending the night at Grammie and TomTom's recently, Milo and I spent a painful night. I'm fighting an annoying head cold, and he's going thru a waking up in the middle of the night thing that we're all having a tough time kicking. I think we've started a couple of bad habits with good intentions, but as my college roommate Heidi's dear Grandma Norma always used to say, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

He had woken up a couple times earlier, but had gone back to sleep on his own, but at about 4am, he started asking for his "bot-too" or bottle. I got up and pointed out that he had his bottle (bottle of water) in his bed, and tried to hand it too him. "No no no," he says, waving it away, "Bot-too!!" I again try and explain to him that he has his bottle. "Pleez mum pleez! Bot-too! Bot-too!" Now he's kinda crying and being overdramatic and I'm getting a little irritated. I mostly like it that he now has enough words to communicate a bit more effectively, but sometimes it also drives me a little crazy. He starts pointing to the dresser where I had left out a bottle with some formula in the bottom and a bottle of water to mix if needed. The kid recognizes that this bottle offers something far better than the bottle of water in his bed, points, and emphasizes "pleez mum pleez mum! Bot-too, BOT-TOO!!" I couldn't help it, I laughed. He's so much smarter than we give him credit for, and though this was falling right back into the habit we were trying to break, I mixed the formula, and chuckling, gave it to him. He grinned, like "finally, she got it!" and said happily, "bot-too!"

I quit...

So I started a new gmail account when we moved here, mostly because James was making fun of me for not having one so he could message with me during our at-home-parenting moments, and without really thinking about it I chose "meg on the edge." I just felt like this, maybe more than any other time in my life, was going to be a great season of change. I'm on the edge of all kinds of new things, new geography and thus new people, new role in life, new schedule, new perception of our future as a family.

And as I went into this season, almost fully knowing but not really recognizing, I've tried to hold on to things that are easy and comfortable for me, some things, like my friends in MN, my hobbies, etc, all good things. But I found I also tried to hold on part-time to my old job, but not even really my old job, a fraction of my old job in a different store, with completely different people. I put all the right labels on it, I was doing this for my social benefit, to keep me getting out of the house, for adult conversation. But I think when it came right down to it, I was scared to let go of so much of what I was familiar with, so much of what defined me for so long, even though I fought the actual job label, the people I worked with were the people I spent all my time with, the people who took care of my kid, and again, not that any of that was bad, in fact, I consider myself to have been extremely lucky to have landed where I did when I did. That job supplied me and Milo with fantastic health insurance when it was way too expensive to be on Mike's. Again, I met some dear, dear kindred spirits who I will always carry with me as my friends and extended family. And a steady paycheck and benefits while we were paying out for Mike to be in school.

And now I don't need those things. Or at least, I don't need them to be supplied by my employer. I've been working, fighting to work, at one of the stores here, not connecting with any of the leadership on staff, and feeling really under-appreciated, even unwanted, most of the time I was there. I realized that I didn't have to and don't want to be there anymore. And I quit. I have never not worked, since I was 15 years old, I have had some sort of job or other, and I find myself a little lost, but feeling so totally free all at the same time. My last day is Saturday, and I'm already looking forward for that day to be over. That's got to be a good sign. I'm reaching out to a few connections I've made here for my social life, so I'm not desolate there, in fact I feel really good about the handful of people who I think will grow into friends. I'm doing some training next week for some volunteer opportunities, and Milo and I are finding all kinds of things to keep us out of trouble. Mike and I have joined a gym with a daycare so I can get out of the house and even drop Milo off if I need to for some alone time. I think we're covering all my bases.

I still feel like I'm on the edge, facing this slightly scary precipice, not knowing what I will find below, but I feel like I'm finally making the right decisions. I think it was important for me to work here so that now I can feel like I don't have to work here; this has all been part of the journey, but now I let go of almost everything familiar, and Mike, Milo, and I really make a go of this "real" life.

Little ones air show...

So I signed up for this online mommy's group (thanks James!),and they've had some fun stuff posted for families to do. This past weekend, Milo, Mike and I ventured into Michigan to this air show of all remote control planesand helicopters. If we haven't told you thisrecently, Milo's kinda big into planes, so this was pretty awesome. And it was an eventpurely for little kids, so yeah, the big boys were there flying theplanes, but doing all kinds of fun tricks, and they had all the planes lined up most of the time for people to look at. One guy, as I was trying to get some pictures that Milo might dig on his wall, even pulled his plane back out of his truck for us to oogle and take pictures of.

It was pretty windy and chilly, and it rained a little bit, but it was well worth it! Milo spent most of the time saying, "plane, plane, plane...?" And I'm not sure if he would admit it, but I happen to know that Mike kind of loved it

too. He was kinda bummed that we didn't s

tay long enough to see the double engine plane go up :)

This week the mommy site has a pumpkin patch/corn maze outing. And I think we'll have to check it out!

The Toledo Zoo...

So Mike's boss got us a family pass to the zoo as a welcome gift, and Milo and I have already been 3 times. I love having the pass because I don't feel bad about going just the two of us, I don't feel bad about only going for a little bit, and I'm loving watching how Milo is actually seeing and recognizing some of the animals :) Plus, it's great for me. The Toledo Zooapparently is quite impressive for the size town. Couple of the animals we saw on this trip...

The polar bears in the water are a little tricky to see, but it's a mama and her cub, born earlier this year. Siku, the cub, is a huge draw to the zoo these days, and we haven't gotten to see her yet because it's always been so busy around her, and she always seems to be back in her little cave area. This time though, we went after everyone

was back in school, and it was a beautiful afternoon, so they were diving and playing and wrestling! And there was hardly anyone there. Perfect, times this those when Iso love being at home so that we can take advantage of that kind of thing.

Same deal with the tiger too, I've never seen them up and around, but this

one was all over his lengthy enclosure,and because there was no one else there,Milo and I just watched him from feet away for quite a while. And yes, Milo knows that tigers "roaar!"

We also took a ride on the carousel, which again, we were all alone! The nice older gentleman

let us pick an animal (gorilla, 'cus Milo has a thing for monkeys and it's a little tricky at this point to try and explain the difference between a monkey and an ape) and then took us for our own private

ride. Milo loved it and said "weeee!" I guess that's a good thing because our host said that many kids his age are scared.

I know this seems like such a silly thing, this whole zoo adventure, but as Milo gets older, I'm

realizing how cool this opportunity to be at home with him really is. We can take our own field trips and outings whenever we want to wherever we want. Makes me want to find some other kids who have to be in daycare, and take them with us. Maybe we will...

Things Milo would like you to know...

In the attempt to not only keep all you informed, but try to make this a reasonable journal for Milo to look back on in his later days, here's a list of some of the things he deems important to discuss, aka his first words, in no particular order, and probably forgetting a few...

bow-wow (after some discussion with the Gilbertsons, I'm thinking this was his first intentional word)

cat

bot-too (bottle)

la la lo lo (bed/rest time)

cars

truck

choo-choo

down (usually meaning both up and down, sometimes confusing)

plane (often "plane-ay," not sure why, but ask the book club ladies, it's hliarious)

blocks (very carefully articulated, "ba-lah-ks," like if he could articulate the c and the k, he would)

bonk

mo (more)

plees (please)

monk (monkey, green monkey or black mommy and baby gorilla)

tars (stars, recent favorite, and he's surprisingly good at identifying them)

lights (loves, loves, loves lights, any and all, lights that are stars are the best!)

cup

hi

he-llo

mine (grrrr.... where did he even learn this?)

no

hey

book

ball

bath

duck

bo (boat)

bye

dad (sometimes even "bye-bye dad," he even did this with shockingly good timing as I was saying goodbye to Mike on the phone while in MN)

ma-ma-ma-ma (usually associated with whining, again, grrrr...)

ball

shoes (after Nana bought him his first pair of shoes, sometimes it's "two shoes," though not really sure if that's on purpose...)

nose

ears

eyes (loves to pull your eyelids after saying this, you've been warned)

mou (mouth)

cheeeeese (Mike said he said "cheeese, plees" the other day)

joos (juice)

poops (when asked, do you have poops?)

And he also does a myriad of animal sounds when asked including but not limited to mahw (more closely to a Siamese's guttural meow that a typically sweet meow), moo, bah, nay, twee twee (birds), meh (goat), qua qua qua (duck), raaaar (lion), and maybe others that I'm not thinking of. Then, of course, car and truck noises, beep-beep, bbbrrrrrr (trilling lips together), ah boom (associated with crashing or bumping into something), choo choo, more in a tooting way, not a statement as in identification. He even tried chugga chugga chugga the other day when playing with his trains. Didn't exactly sound like that, but don't worry Grandpa Al, we'll get it right.

**Mike Edit**

Other words:

Whee!

Yay! (usually with clapping hands)

Ba-loo (balloon)

Walk

Rocky-Rocky (when sitting in chair that rocks)

Bath

it-ties (kitties...sometimes he gets the k in there)

dink (drink)

Pow (all done)

Milo, Milo, Milo! (he likes to chant his name)

I've been also trying to teach him that his bathtime walrus says "galomph, galomph." :)

First blood...

Well, blood has been drawn in this battle to walk. We've had too many bruises for me to admit, mostly because they've most often occurred on his head and I always worry that someone will think the obvious; what can I say, the kid's got a ginourmous head, and he leads with it. The other day, Milo, walking alongside the coffee table, tottered a little off-balance, sat a little too quickly, clipped his chin, and bit his lip. You all would be so proud though, I didn't freak out, I remained calm, we chatted about what happened, he cried, we drank some water, tried some ice, I tried to look at his mouth, which was not happening, so we pulled ourselves together and moved on. Not bad, right?

Off subject, but here's Milo with my MN Book Club gals. They moved the schedule around so that I could be there when I was back for Karen's wedding. So blonde is Lynda, brunette is Kara, red-head is Polly. Then the picture with all our kids, two boys are Conner and Gavin, Polly's guys, and the girl is Alex, Kara's daughter. So cool to get all our kids together!