Uncle Ryan’s Revenge

Family, by lauren, October 1, 2008, 5 Replies
I guess this picture says it all

But for those of you who can’t quite make out the t-shirt Milo is wearing, it reads “My Uncle Ryan is the Best.” What a nice birthday present, when paired with Andrew’s own birthday present from Uncle Ryan, a t-shirt that reads simply, “Ryan’s Brother.”And the icing on the figurative birthday cake is the tin man…


… no heart? No heart!? This comment made by Uncle Ryan was a response to his oh-so-delicate son Casey being compared to our rather robust young bum a few months ago. I believe the conversation went something like this:

Andrew: “Casey’s going to get pounded by Milo.”
Ryan: “Milo might be bigger, but Casey’s got heart. He’ll always beat Milo.”
Andrew: “Milo has heart!”
Ryan: “I think Milo’s new nickname will be ‘Tin Man:’ no heart.”

Hm… I guess that age-old sibling rivalry has taken a nasty turn into cousin rivalry at the expense of our little guys! Poor Bum. But I refuse to trash-talk a baby, unlike some…

Anyway, thanks for the birthday presents, everyone! Milo especially loves the singing card sent by Gram and Bub and his stacking blocks, sent from Shawn, Annie, and Oren.

Checking out the picture of Oren on the birthday card 

Stupid Tin Man…
Milo is onto you, Ryan.
After he “booped” Tin Man, he tried to flush him down the toilet.

He Walks!

Family, by lauren, September 27, 2008, 1 Reply

I have a confession. I was starting to wonder if Milo had given up on the concept of walking. He would take a few steps, then drop down to his preferred mode of transportation, and crawl faster than I thought was humanly possible to his destination. He never insisted on Andrew or me holding his hands to walk through the house, and seemed content to crawl wherever he needed to go. Then, a few days ago, he became more interested… and since this morning, I don’t think I have seen him crawl more than a few inches. It’s like he woke up this morning and said, “Yep. Today’s the day that I’m going to start walking from here on out. Go ahead. Try to stop me.”


I guess this is also when I tell you about the newfound freedom that walking brings. Everything seems new again, seen from a different angle, to be explored from above. Milo has also renewed his obsession with climbing, belly buttons, and books. He can now bring me the books he desires to read, and does so often.

Another interesting tidbit… sleeping seems to have taken a backseat again, but not for the expected reasons. It seems that Milo has found a sense of urgency to “tell” me something, and he will cry and scream until he can do just that. For instance, he will cry and cry, and if I go into his room and pick him up, he will take his little hand, turn my face to the side, and point to my ear until I tell him what it is. The same goes for my nose, mouth, eyes, or belly button. Or he will point to the fan and sign “fan” over and over again, then be ready to go back to sleep. Or he will point to his favorite book, Llama Llama Red Pajama, urgently. This is no surprise. He has his favorites. Milo insists that we read the llama book at every naptime, before bedtime (sometimes twice) and now when he wakes up. Today Milo climbed the stairs, walked into his room, ignoring all the toys on the floor, and went over to his llama book, poking it three times hard, and looked at me with such frustration I almost laughed. He really, really wanted to read that darn book! It is a good book, at least. But the main fun of all of this is that Milo is starting to express his preferences and opinions. He is a real person, with real ideas and plans!

And I love the little person he is becoming.

Meeting the Neighbors

Family, by lauren, September 25, 2008, 3 Replies

We are making friends in the neighborhood thanks to a block party last Saturday. There, I met many of the families in the neighborhood. I learned that just a block away, there is a very sweet stay-at-home mom with a two-year-old and a new baby boy. She invited us to her little girl’s 2nd birthday party on Sunday, where Milo and I met even more families! I am relieved to meet some people before winter, when I’m sure a lot of people hole up for the cold weather. We will hopefully start a play group with a couple of other toddlers to keep them occupied when the park is not an option.

But for now, the weather has been great, including Emma’s birthday celebration.

Playing in Emma’s Backyard
“Booping” a poor unsuspecting dolly’s nose 

… right before kidnapping her 

And before Milo’s uncles start making jokes, let me assure you that Milo’s nurturing skills still need some fine-tuning. Soon after this pictures was taken, he proceeded to flip the stroller over, baby and all, and start spinning the wheels with a look of concern on his face.

I guess it wasn’t performing to his high vehicular standards.

Best Playground Ever

Family, by lauren, September 21, 2008, 3 Replies

Okay, I’m sure that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But we did find an awesome playground about a mile from our house thanks to our neighbor whose twin boys who once frequented the place. Milo has a blast whenever I take him there, which has been daily lately, due to beautiful weather and a strong need to get out of the house to burn off some of that little boy energy.

The best part about this place (other than the hoards of kids Milo meets)? It is a literal dumping ground for people’s old toys. Yep, you name it, it’s been dumped. The result? Shopping carts for all! Plastic wheelbarrows for three! Really, there is no problem with sharing a toy here because there are at least two of everything. Need a ride-on toy? Have your pick from six! Need a plastic garden rake? Have ten! Want to dump sand onto the seat of a car? Go ahead, it’s not ours… or anyone’s for that matter! It’s amazingly cathartic to be able to let your kid play with someone else’s toys and not have to worry about breaking them or offending someone.
And with the short attention span of a toddler, it’s great to have so much for Milo to explore.
Like the kitchen of a house with real dishes to be put away! What a good helper. Now if I could only get him to do that at home…

And of course, the slide, a new favorite of Milo’s. And this picture is deceiving. There is no going down the slide feet first, sitting up.

No, this is more Milo’s style:(This is when I had to put down the camera and grab my little boy before he careened headfirst to his death). Actually, it’s not that bad. I let him do it (with both of my hands guiding him down, of course), despite some of the horrified looks of those a bit more overprotective than I.

The drawback of the park, or maybe just of this area, is that there are very few stay-at-home moms around, and many, many more nannies. This makes for annoying “how long have you been his nanny” questions and makes for even more awkward “who does this child belong to because no one seems to be watching him/her and he/she is pushing/grabbing/hitting/taking/kicking (insert-inappropriate-behavior-here)-ing my little boy” questions. I guess because Milo is so blond and blue-eyed and I am so not, people assume he is not mine. The very strange thing is, today we went to the park for the first time on a weekend day, and I recognized some of the kids, but none of the parents. But it definitely makes me feel so lucky that I can stay at home with Milo. I realize that some people want to work, and others have to work. So thank you, Andrew, for not only supporting us financially, but also supporting my decision to stay at home and have so much fun with our little Bum!
…. I mean, it’s really hard work, but somebody’s got to do it.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Family, by lauren, September 19, 2008, 3 Replies

As I get caught up, please bear with me. A lot has changed in the past month. In the way of understanding, Milo has made progress by leaps and bounds.

Daddy’s hat

A few weeks ago, I had no idea what Milo could understand. Then, I started asking him questions. “Where is your belly button?” started it all off. I had absolutely no expectations when I asked this question, but was shocked and amazed when he reached down, lifted his shirt up, looked down at his round tummy, and took his little pointer finger, placed it directly onto his navel, and poked it three times. He then looked up, grinning, as if to say, “See, Mom, that’s an easy one!”

I, of course, decided it was time to find out just what my little guy “knows.”
The following questions have been answered, directions followed:
“Pull the plug”
“STOP!”
“Put it back”
“Give it to Mommy (Daddy, Proudie)”
“Get your shoes”
“Where is Mommy’s nose?”
“Where is the light?”
“Where is the fan?”
“Bring Mommy the book”
“Where is her/his mouth/nose/ears/toes/belly button/feet/eyes?”
“Clean it up”
“Lie down”
“Clean up your toys” (this one only works sometimes, but he definitely starts the process when told)
“Give Mommy a kiss”
“Where is the ball/hat/baby?”
“Ring the bell”
“Close the drawer/door/book”

I’m sure I am even forgetting some! It has been crazy! Milo also signs a couple of things, mainly fan, no (as you saw in his birthday video when he “no-no’d” the candle), up, and down. So far, he doesn’t say much, but a few actual words have come out of his mouth, such as “Wow” and “Uh-oh.”

Milo has been enjoying exploring at our new house. We actually have a small front yard, and the sidewalk ends at our house, so all the kids on the street tend to push down to our house on their scooters and turn around there. Milo loves watching the big kids! But more than that, he loves that bike! Can you tell we have a winner here?

We are also enjoying the museums, although Milo is still a little young to fully appreciate them. He did love looking at the animals and playing in the Discovery Room at the Museum of Natural History!

The elephant was his favorite, receiving many “wows”
Big teeth? Big deal. I’ll touch ’em.
Exploring a starfish…
…or two 

A bonus to this lovely age? The “monkey see, monkey do” title lends itself to Milo’s newfound willingness to clean, wipe his mouth with a napkin, stir, sweep, vacuum, and wipe up a spill on the floor with a rag after watching me do these things. The downfall? The desire to open, close, cook, use electrical appliances, flush, throw away, and pour out after watching me do these things! Oh, I discovered today that he can also take off both his pants and his diaper and pee in his crib while I’m not looking. I know, it could have been worse.