Desmo drew a triangle!

And Dexter drew a really cool thing!

(A thing with six legs that doesn't eat food but gets its energy to run from that thing on the right.)

This from a kid who, six months ago, all but refused to pick up any writing instrument of any kind. YAY!

Happy Halloween!

School Pictures!

This year's school pictures are back, and they.are.great!

Not really a loser in the bunch, and pose 46 is positively irresistible! I am dying to know how they managed to get 2 natural smiles for both poses 54 and 48. Or, heck, how they got a natural smile out of Desmond at all, since he's usually very excited to give you his big "Cheese!" smile whenever he sees a camera.

I do wish they would retire that ugly wicker chair, but it's been around a long time, so I'm not holding my breath.

We spent a ridiculous amount of money on prints, but these were too good not to. 

Desmond's Panda Party!

Desmond is TWO!

I admit we phoned it in a little when choosing his party theme, but he was such a big fan of Kung Fu Panda that we just decided to go with it.

Here is his fun day in pictures:


First, the invitation. As usual, I spent entirely too much time on this. In all of his recent pictures, he is dirty or has food on his face or has boogers, so we tried to get him to pose for a suitable invite photo. 76 pictures later, this was the best we could do.

As usual, Anita Schmitt made a gorgeous and delicious cake. (Always my favorite part of the party.)

Kung Fu Panda stuff proved surprisingly difficult to find, and 99% of it was for Kung Fu Panda 2, which came out earlier this year. But since I couldn't find much from the original movie, and because I knew I would be the only one who knew (until now), we got Kung Fu Panda 2 stuff. The banner is one. Plates & napkins were also technically from the wrong movie. Oh well.

Happy Birthday banner, which was hung in Desmond's

bedroom (long) after the party.

Bulk Chinese takeout boxes 

+ Kung Fu Panda (the orignal movie!) stickers 

= great party favor holders.

 

Plenty of people came to celebrate with us.

And of course, the movie played a couple of times during the party.

Patronized a local Chinese restaurant for our party fare. It was good, as usual.

Kung Fu Panda (2) plates. 

And more takeout containers for people to bring home leftovers. Which no one did.

The birthday boy ended up eating alone in the corner, but he was cool with that. 

Note the Thomas the Tank Engine pajama top, which he would NOT take off. Grandma had made him a really cute t-shirt with pandas embroidered on it, which he liked very much and wore several times - just not for his panda party. I guess that's being 2 for ya.

He eventually got some company. 

Presents!!

This guitar ended up being perhaps the best present of all. Who knew?

Panda Pillow (from Grandma & Granddad) immediately became Desmond's actual bed pillow.

Cake!

The aftermath.

Hey, look! It's Dexter! In pajamas! 

Note his absence from all previous pictures. He had a high fever for the whole party. He tried to tough it out for a bit, but instead threw up on the couch in the middle of the party. He spent the rest of the time in his room watching a movie on the laptop. Dad and Mom and Tootsie took turns keeping him company. His fever broke right as the party was ending, and he was good as new.

What a mess.

But the birthday boy sure is happy. :)

He looks sick, doesn't he?

Post-party cake? Don't mind if I do!

Finally, a simple thank-you note:

Desmond is 23 Months Old!

So big!

And happy! Most of the time, anyway. Being almost 2 still has its inherent challenges.

Teeth: Still 16. No sign of those last 4 molars yet.

Height: Tall. Judging from the way he fits into the clothes we've pulled out for winter, he's considerably taller than Dexter was at 23m. He's also the tallest in his class (and the oldest, so maybe that's not so surprising).

Weight: If anything, he's lost a few ounces this month, thanks to what we hope is just a standard toddler-esque finicky appetite. (see below)

Sleep: Much better than last month, maybe because that last canine is mostly through now. He has now realized, though, that he is able to climb out of the crib. Mostly, he only does this in the morning when it really is time to get up. On two occasions (so far), he has gotten out because he didn't want to nap. The most recent time, I put him back in his crib, and he just stayed there, upset, until he fell asleep. Please, if there is a god, let her keep the boy in his crib longer. A lot longer.

Food: Still hit or miss. He eats a good variety of food, just not too much of it, and not on our timetable. He will wander the house while the rest of us eat dinner, and be fine for the rest of the night. The next morning, though, the first thing we hear when he wakes up is"Behfist?" in his cute little squeaky voice. Waffles are still a favorite. He will pull them out of the freezer himself and eat them cold. (We do offer to toast them, but he apparently prefers them cold.) French fries ("Foo Fize") are also a big draw. We try to limit these and/or do baked ones at home so his arteries aren't completely clogged before kindergarten. But if he hasn't eaten much in a few meals, Foo Fize are a good bet to get him to the table.

Words: Desmond is dazzling us with his exploding vocabulary. He throws around 3-word sentences like there's no tomorow, often with very clear subjects, verbs, and objects. ("Alligator... bite... yooooouu" or "Not nice, Dehter!" or "Mow waffuh peese?")  "No!" is still very common, now often accompanied by a sincere stomp of his right foot. Interestingly, he isn't much on saying, "yes," even when the answer is yes. He'll just repeat what you say in a little high-pitched squeak and smile. ("Do you want more milk?" "Mouh meelgh?")

Books: Books are falling out of favor slightly, in that he isn't much interested in reading them during the day, and now he's so tired at night that he jumps at the chance to go to bed even if we've only done one book. Also? He likes to sleep with some books. Doesn't even really look at them, but he just wants them in the crib with him. If there are no books, he might climb out of the bed, get one, put it in the crib, then ask you to put him back in his crib (since he can climb out, but not back in). Fascinating.

TV: Yep. Still loves TV. "Watch... panda?" "Watch... fish?" "Watch... Yo Yo Gabba?" <-- that last one should be "Yo Gabba Gabba." Fun.  We'll just throw his love for iPhone games and videos on the computer in here, too. ("Mommy phoam?" "Daddy... phoam?") And yes, these things usually need to be fought over with his big brother.

Colors: Refuses to learn pink vs. purple and has regressed on white. (Black things are now "white.") Red and green are getting better, though.  We've tried to do some sorting by color, but he won't even sit still long enough for a demonstration. Stubborn.

Bikes: He still LOVES his tricycle! He and Dexter take turns on the big wheel and tricycle. Desmond still refuses to pedal with his feet. Apparently this is developmentally appropriate, but it's still frustrating because I really think he could do it if he would just listen to us for 10 seconds while we show him how. There was a lot of outdoor biking this month, and the basement is perfect for it on bad-weather days. I hope that continues to be a worthwhile activity as we go into winter.

Other Likes & Dislikes: Making messes, mostly. If he sees a neat pile of something, he can't resist scattering it about with whatever force necessary. He likes playing with the wooden trains and train tracks. So much so that he and Dexter sometimes get their own mini-loops, since taking turns is excruciating for both of them. He also loves driving cars around on the furniture and flying airplanes around the room. Very cute. :)

Jumping on Dexter's bed before bath and running around in his hooded towel after bath are both also seriously fun. He has a favorite bath towel - an alligator taking a shower. (Apparently it's actually a crocodile. We aren't going to correct him.) It's pretty sad when it's dirty, because flashing it will get him to cooperatively get out of the tub every time. And when you DO show it to him, his little face lights right up.

Another long-favorite? The penguin bath toy from this set. He's loved it for a loooooong time, but the toys are starting to get icky. It's going to be sad when we have to say goodbye to penguin.

Dislikes? Nothing specific. Hates everything when he chooses to (bath, diaper, dinner, trains, tv, shoes, whatever) and loves them when he chooses to (again, bath, diaper, dinner, trains, tv, shoes.)  Sometimes we actually work up a sweat wrestling a diaper onto the kid because he's trying so hard to get away. Other times, he says, "New diapuh?" in that squeaky little smiley voice and lies perfectly still while we do the change.  It's the same for bath, food, various toys, getting dressed, everything. Part of being (almost. ALMOST!) 2, I guess.

Dexter is 3!

Dexter is THREE!

So far, he hasn't turned into the horrible monster everyone warned me about. Being 3 is still pretty tough sometimes, but with maturity also comes (some) ability to reason. It's like a giant fog occasionally lifts, and he can get a clear view of cause and effect.

He is still a very tall boy (40 inches, 88th %ile), and crazy wiry (36.4 pounds, ??%ile). You can see just about his entire musculature. He has six-pack abs, visible head separation in his calves, pronounced quadriceps (not cut there, though - that's about the only spot he has any fat left on him), clear deltoids and lats, and firm little cheeks from laughing all the time. He can put his forearms on the counter - JUST his forearms - and lift himself up enough to get his knee up there and climb up. (Yes, I discovered this when I walked into the kitchen and found several things from high shelves sitting on the countertop. He was happy to demonstrate his technique for me.)

We get a lot of "Don't kiss me!" often followed with a big snuggle and a kiss not long after. Once it was, "You can only kiss me in the garage." Ha!

His favorite activities are still physical ones. Riding bikes is a lot of fun. The weather has stayed good for a while (even a month beyond the birthday, when I am actually writing this), so he has been able to ride outside often. Naturally, Daredevil Dexter can't just ride them on the large deck we provide mostly for this purpose. No, he has to go backwards down the hill by the basement door. Or, if his mean parents force him to stay on the deck, he is power sliding all over the place.

We've officially entered the "Mom! Watch me! Watch me do this!" phase, which is still pretty cute. Most of the time.

His second favorite activity is probably watching YouTube videos on Mom's phone, Dad's phone, the computer or the TV, roughly in that order. He has (finally) learned to use the mouse and can control his own video selection. We just check back occasionally to make sure he hasn't landed on anything inappropriate. Most common requests are "big boom boats" or "big boom trains." "Crashing trains" is another. We try to throw in slightly more educational things, like volcanoes or sea turtles, but I'd be lying if I said he's asked for that more than a handful of times.

Moving things of all kinds are still incredibly exciting. Diggers of all kinds - especially when they are moving - must be viewed for a few moments if we pass one. Airplanes, trains, boats, buses (school and city), dump trucks, jeeps - you name it. It. Is. So. Exciting!

He and Desmond play together a lot now. They will laugh and laugh and jump and run and laugh some more, until someone accidentally bonks heads or lays on top of the other for too long. Then there's drama and tears for a minute until they start laughing again. They're mostly good about taking turns, though Dexter is pretty sneaky about the way he goes about it - offering Desmond a different toy so he can play with the one Desmond has. Pretty transparent to us, but not yet to Desmond. As long as they are both happy, we are not going to complain. Desmond is starting to hold his ground more, though, so it should be an interesting few months coming up.

Dexter still doesn't sleep well. Really. 20 months and counting of this. Can you imagine how smart he would be if he got enough sleep? He wakes up once or twice a night, probably 6 nights a week now. Comes into our bed and usually falls back asleep quickly, but not always. Potty use at night is not as consistent as we would like. He'll go a week, even 2, with no accidents, then need to change pajamas at 2:00 a.m. three nights in a row. We had one freak daytime accident a couple of weeks ago, but he's been 99.9% with daytime potty use, even during nap.

His brilliance continues to impress. He's a counting madman, not even needing to do "1, 2, 3..." for small quantities. He'll just glance and say "There are three of them." He knows every set of opposites we can think of. He's doing 24-piece puzzles with incredible ease, but doesn't have the patience to sit still long enough to do anything much bigger. So we're trying to find new ways to challenge him there.

We are still working on left and right. And nose-blowing. But hey, some gradeschoolers don't have those down, so I think we're still OK there.

His imagination is really taking off. That's not necessarily a *terribly* new thing, but probably just within the last couple of months. Every night at dinner, some new piece of food is a boat (sailing around his spot at the table) or an airplane or whatever. He'll also tell you *he* is (a lion, a dinosaur, etc). Again, fun.

Aaannnddd....  That's about it. He is still the same Dexter he has been basically since birth - the first and loudest laugher (hiccups are HILARIOUS!), the energetic daredevil. And ridiculously brilliant and handsome, too. :)

Dexter's M Party!

Ever since Dexter started receiving m&m's ("two m's!") as a reward for successful potty usage, they have seen a dramatic increase in popularity around here. While we were visiting Tootsie and Pop in August, Tootsie, Dexter, and Desmond had an "M Party" - siting on the sofa eating m&m's together. It was then that Dexter enthusiastically decided that his birthday party should be an M Party, too.

Easier said than done - would you believe there is almost NO m&m-branded stuff out in the world anymore? Just big things like towels or boxer shorts - not really stuff for a 3-year-old's birthday party. Somehow, though, we managed to pull it off.


The invitations:

The day started off with his "big" present - a big wheel from Tootsie & Pop. We wanted him to have a chance to enjoy it before the party craziness started. Desmond also got his big birthday present - a tricycle - a couple of months early so he could enjoy some time with it outside before the weather got horrible.

While they were riding around and having fun, party setup began in earnest.
There was an m&m bar, featuring eight different varieties of m&m's  - plain, peanut, peanut butter, dark chocolate, pretzel, dark chocolate peanut, coconut, and almond.

Favor bags were set out - just a small m&m plush doll and some fun size packs.

We had a couple of games. Memory with m&m images and "Guess how many m&m's in the jar" - with 3 jars (plain, peanut, and peanut butter).

Paulina tries her hand at m&m memory.

At the end of the day, Mary Klein won 2 out of 3 with an exactly correct guess of 333 m&m's. Emma won the third, but she didn't really want to brag about it.

Given the lack of availability of branded merchandise, decor was quite a challenge. We burned through a LOT of ink on the home printer, making all of these little cards with the m&m characters on them.

But what mostly saved the day, as you can see in many of the photos, was Granddad's lending us his m&m dispenser collection. The one next to the cake (within reach of many little fingers) saw the most use.

Other than the m&m sampler bar, the food was unremarkable. But we had to throw in the theme just a little bit anyway.

There was fruit punch. Dexter rrrrrreeeeeeeaaaaallllllyyyyyy liked it. Can you tell?

People! Lots of people came to the party! We had a lot of fun turning everyone into a walking m&m.

Dexter opened a BUNCH of presents!

CAKE!

And ice cream!!

And m&m characters made out of rice krispy treats! (They were better than Desmond makes it seem. Pretty much every kid gnawed on one for a while.

OK, some kids ended up taking turns gnawing on the same character. Sharing is good, right?

HAVE to include this picture.

He wouldn't let us put the m on the front of his shirt, so we sneaked it onto the back. Desmond also lost his left shoe very early in the day, and it never made its way back onto his foot.

Dexter wound down post-party with some of his new toys.

And we managed to get Thank You notes made, written, and sent within about 2 weeks. Woot!

All told, it was a great party. People had fun, the cake was delicious, and there were a LOT of m&m's left over. But most importantly, Dexter was happy. :)

But really. From now on? Only parties with themed merchandise easily available. Geez.