Birthdays are really really fun

Morning (ducking under covers): "Ivan go shopping! Goat shopping! Little goats! Jump, jump!" Later (after eating 1/4 tube kid toothpaste): "Dinosaur coming! Little dinosaur! Eat Ivan!"

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned TWO YEARS OLD. Even though I still say I'm ONE YEAR OLD.

The day started like it usually does. I woke up around 6:45 and said "mommy?"
Then I got out of bed, opened my bedroom door, and ran into the living room where mommy was sleeping on the couch. (Her tummy is too big to sleep in her room).

She gave me a big hug, and then Daddy came and I opened a present! It was a music thing! I can push buttons and make songs come out! It has my favorite song, "Changes" by David Bowie. And kid songs and birthday party songs.

Then I watched Sesame Street.

Then i was hungry, so mommy made special birthday pancakes with bananas and chocolate chips. YUMMY! I made a mess.

Then we cleaned up and did laundry, and Oma came over, and we went to the LION STORE.
The lion store is a toy store near our house that Mommy calls Mr. Mopps.

I got to look at a lot of toys. First I wanted a little soft tiger. Then i wanted a little soft kittykat (teetat). Then I looked at a lot of other things, and then I saw a baseball bat! I really really wanted that, so Mommy and Oma bought it for me.

Then we went home and I played baseball with grandpa and took a nap.

After my nap was my birthday party! Tory came! Lillian came! Marykat came! Jack came! Jack's mommy came! We went into the Special Secret Birthday Party Room, and it was full of pillows and a LOT of balloons! Mommy put on some music, and we ran and jumped and danced and shrieked and giggled and wrestled and bounced. I liked the party hats, too.

More people came later.
Then we had pizza. And then we went to the balloon room again. And then we had cupcakes. And I got presents! Fun toys and blocks and tools! I said thank you sometimes but it was really exciting!

And went to the balloon room again.

And then it was time for the kids to go home.
And I went to sleep. And in my bed, Mommy asked if I liked my birthday, and I said "Yeah. Balloon room. Cupcakes. Cupcake in bed?"

then I went to sleep.

Lions and cookies and carousels, oh my!

At dinner:
"Mommy, lion coming. Coming up stairs. Right here (pointing). Nice lion. Name Nick. Eats pomegranates."

Laying head on couch, sadly:
"Ivan can't read. Can't read!"

First potty-mouth insult:
"Mommy likes dirty diapers! HAHAHA!"

First sweetheart complement (looking deeply into mommy's eyes):
"Mommy, flowers in there! Pretty!"

When told about Santa and asked what toys he would like Santa to bring:
"Santa bring cooooooookies!!!"

Upon seeing Daddy at home after a trip to the carousel:
"Daddy! Want go carousel! Stay EVER, EVER!"

When asked if he's Mommy's Ivan: "No, Daddy's Ivan!"

"Mommy! Breakfast! Let's eat....Mr. Rogers."

"Mommy! Big tree! Biiiiiig tree! Fall on head! Oh, maaaaan!"

"Mommy, hungry. Want...oatmeal. With toothpaste on."

(when about to be dressed) "No! My nipples! MINE!"

Rules

There are a lot of rules.
Don't make a mess. Mommy doesn't like mess, it makes her sad, because she has to clean it up.
No jumping on the stairs.
No throwing toys in the house.
No hitting.
No kicking.

I'm getting pretty good at all of these rules. I say "sorry, mommy" when I break them.

But the other day, Mommy did something strange. We were sitting in the kitchen, and she suddenly said "Hey! Ivan! Your baby brother is kicking mommy! Come feel my tummy!"

So...I thought about that for a minute.

Then I deliberately kicked her in the shins.

Apparently, "don't kick Mommy" is still the rule.

(Now she says my baby brother is "wiggling.")

developmental jump!

I had another burst of new skills, apparently.

Mom keeps noticing how fast I run. I don't wobble side-to-side as much, so I am just putting all my momentum forward. Zoooooom! And I'm in better control of my feet, even imitating little dance moves I've seen on Mr. Rogers.

I'm sleeping most of the way through the night now, with just one predawn wakeup, and I've been staying in bed for that. Usually I've wiggled out of my covers and just want someone to come tuck me back in. Then i sleep until 6:45 or 7.

My talking and stories are much more interesting and detailed now. I love to "cook" things for people on my cardboard box stove, mixing with bowls and spoons and serving up "mommy coffee" or "blueberry soup" or "muffins" or "chocolate cake with strawberries" or "carrots" or "chicken and noodles." Even "salad."

I make up stories that didn't happen. Like "Mommy, biiiiig tree! Really big tree! Fell on head. On my head. Oh, maaaan!" And then i laugh.

I love to run and spin around in circles until I fall down. Even better is if I can get a grownup to do it with me.

I draw eyes, and horses, and babies.

I love to fix things. And to do other things myself, like peel pomegranates (mom quarters them, and I dig out each little kernel).

I am fierce about brushing my own teeth, and getting better at actually doing it. And sometimes, especially if I'm naked already (like waiting while the bath fills up), I use the potty all by myself. That makes mommy and daddy super happy.

Bye bye bottles, hello big boy drum and bed

I have a big boy bed now! Sometimes I still go into my crib, but most of the time I like the bed. It has robots over it.

And I gave away all of my baby bottles. I'm all done with them. Mommy said when I'm all done with them, I get a big boy toy...so now I have a big boy drum! I like it a lot. It's loud, and mommy and daddy have been teaching me how to do drum rolls. I'm pretty good at it, even.

Tatüüü, Tataaaaa!

I'm a firetruck!
Mommy and Daddy made it. It has blinky lights, and wheels. I like it, but it gets too heavy after a few minutes, so mommy had to carry it around when we were trick-or-treating.

I like saying "trickortreat!! Trickortreat!!" .... but I get too shy to say it to the strangers at the door, so I just ran in circles yelling it on the sidewalk.

Mommy let me have one small candy piece, a twix bar. "Ivan likes candy." Mmm, chock-leck.

I like to hug kids, and Mommy's tummy, and daddy and Uncle Hans and Mary Kat and Uncle Chris.

I love to follow Tory around. Trick-or-treating was all about running after Tory. Tory is fast when he's with his big kid friends.

Fears

This is a new thing, this being scared of stuff. I don't liked it.

I'm scared of the Halloween spider that mommy hung up next to the front door. Every time I see it, I say "scared fider." Its eyes blink green, and if you make a loud noise it drops down and its legs wiggle. I really really don't like it. But mommy says it's just a silly toy, so sometimes I tell her (and myself) "Silly toy. Silly toy." That helps a little bit.

I also am scared of fire trucks, at least up close. They're too big, and the noise in the fire house garage is too loud. I really like fire trucks, though -- I want to be one for Halloween, and I love playing with my fire hat and reading about fire trucks and playing with the little toy one I have at home.

At night, sometimes I wake up a little bit and say "No, no, no" and bat at the air like I'm trying to make something go away. Mommy thinks I'm having bad dreams. It makes her sad, and she tries to cuddle me until I feel better.

Today I told Mommy that doggies eat lettuce. And noodles. And milk. And water.

I have a friend at daycare. His name is Jaden. I talk about him a lot. He's nice.

I say "no" a lot more lately.

I'm afraid of the spider that Mommy hung up on the front door for Halloween. It moves when you make a loud noise. I don't like it, it scared me. Every time we leave the house or come home now, I say "Scared fider."

I sometimes talk in full sentences now, like "I want milk."
Maria and Marisa say I am always cheerful and smiling at daycare, they love me and think I'm very special because I'm such a happy boy.

I like pizza, but pepperoni is too ficey.

I like strawberries, and mommy has been making popsicles and foovies out of them.

Today I played "peekaboo" with the bathroom mirror, and then asked if Sesame Street was in there.

Yesterday was Daddy's birthday party. I didn't like the loud part with all the big grownups talking in my kitchen. I cried. But then my friends came! The grownup friends -- Sarahtom, and Justin, and Mike, and Davey, and Allyson and Jesse. And then, the kids! Tory and Lillian, Jack and Abby and Jess, and Baby Ian, and Klara. And we played with my toys, and read books, and jumped on the bed playing dadaaa tadaaa! Jack bumped his head and cried, and then I fell down when I was spinning around and bit my lip...but it was still a really fun party.

And there was cake. I like cake.

But the best part was my friends. I talked about that all morning the next day.

I like parties.

Climmb and run and jump and talk and sing and and and

I am a busy guy.

This morning I busted my lip open and got a bloody nose. Again. It was just one of those things -- I slipped off the curb at the library wheelchair ramp, while I was playing around, and whacked my face on the railing. It felt better after a few minutes, but it was no fun.

But most of the time, running and jumping and playing is great. I can climb, now, too -- Daddy was very impressed when he saw me go up this ladder at Totland. Then he made me come down. Bleh.

Fun words I say now: "Muck" = milk, "tatterpilla" = caterpillar, "graw" = draw (which I love to do, with crayons).

Daddy Sick.

"Daddy is sick."
"Sick?"
"Daddy feels bad."
"Daddy BAD? (concerned look)"
"Nono, daddy FEELS bad. Daddy has an owie."
"Daddy owie."
"Yes, Daddy owie, feels yucky."
"Daddy yucky. Sleepy. Hug?"
"Yes, daddy needs lots of hugs."

(runs into other room)
"HUUUUG. SQUEEEEEEZE!!!"

Napping on the floor

I'm taking a nap on the floor. It's way more fun than sleeping in my bed. And Mommy moved my diaper stuff to the bathroom, and says I'm going to get a big boy bed.

Summertime is great because I get to be naked and play in water a lot.

Twin-kle twin-kle liddel staaar
how I wonner you aaare
up a bove world o hiiigh
li diamond in skyyy
twinkle twinkle wonner
diamond in hiiigh
twinkle twinkle star

Mess

Yesterday, I was smushing carrots with my hand and rubbing them between my hands.

Mommy looked at what I was doing and said, in her Mommy voice,

"Ivan, are you making a mess?"

"No," I said. "a ball."

She didn't think I could see her laughing, but I did.
It was a good ball, just a little smushy.

Babies

My mommy is going to have a new baby.

I like babies.

I have a baby doll.

Tonight, I was teaching my baby doll to use the potty. I opened the potty book, stuck the baby's face onto the page and said "Baby, sit potty." Then I made her sit down.

Then I decided to make my monster voice, and said "EAT BABY, YUM YUM YUM." And put her face in my mouth.

Hahaha!

On the move

(Handing Mommy the garage door opener)

"Mommy. Garage. Door. Open."

(Why do you need to go to the garage, Ivan?)

"Car. Drive."

(Where are we going?)

.....(pause).....

"Duckiefarm!"

3am: "YUM YUM YUM! PANCAKES!!!"

I like pancakes.
I like pancakes a LOT.
I like to get up in the morning with mommy and help her stir the pancake batter.
If we have apples, she lets me stir the apple pieces in. I like apple pancakes.
Once, she made berry and peach pancakes. Those, I didn't like so much.
Today, we made overripe banana pancakes. YUM.

I think I could eat pancakes every day.
Last night, i dreamed about pancakes, and woke everybody up yelling for them.

Poor sick monkey me

Today's feverish conversations with Mom went like this.

"...bottle. Bottle....water. No, no, no. Milk. Milk."
(drink milk)
"No, done. ow. Hot. Ow. "
(what hurts, Ivan?)
"...body. Bunny. Sleepy."
(nap)
"...water. Ty-nol. Mommy, ty-nol."
(No, Ivan, we're not having Tylenol right now. Want to read a book?)
"...book. Book.....builder. Builder."
(You want to watch Bob the Builder?)
"...builder."

(mom note: Yes, we've caved and are letting him watch Bob the Builder during this flu, to keep him calm and entertained. Hopefully it isn't creating a monster...but I think "TV only when you're sick" isn't such a slippery slope. Plus he only is interested in it for like one half-hour episode. I'm rationalizing. Screw that, I'm the mom, and it's my decision so I'm standing by it so there.

Ahem.)

The language stuff, as you can tell, is pretty amazing in how far it's come. Mom gets it now. We can have real conversations, conversations where we're actually communicating with words. There are some funny in-jokes...she used to refer to me as "sleepy bunny" when I acted all tired, so now if hI sees someone yawning I'll say "Bunny?" as in, "are you a sleepy bunny?"

I can count to ten, and know some colors most of the time. I sing a couple of songs, sort of.
Like this one:
"Donna farm. Donna farm. Eee-iii-ooo. Tao, tao. Moo. Eee-iii-ooo. Ship, sip. Baaaa. Teekat, teekat, meeow. Eee-iii-oooo."

I give and receive things saying "Takooo;" if I hurt you and someone tells me to say sorry, I say "Sowee, ei-ei-ei" and will try to pet you.

Mom says I give amazing, heart-achingly sweet and genuine kisses and hugs.

I was in a bit of a mommy phase, but interestingly since this fever started I've wanted daddy more.

I'm learning so much and doing so much and saying so much!
I like to hop like a bunny ("Bunng, hop! Hop!"), and run ("Wunnnn, wunnn, wunnn!"), and kick the ball ("Ba! Ba! Tick!") and push anything with wheels, which becomes a car. ("Ta! Ta! Brummmmm. Ta!"). As one of the videos below shows, I also dance to music ("Din, din! Me!"), although it took mom a while to figure out "me!" is "music."

I am an action toddler, on the move!

Favorite books and toys

Just a few of my favorite toys and books: the car with the open-close door, the alphabet train, ping pong balls, the rocking horsey.

Duck on a Bike, Pish Posh said Hieronymous Bosch, and Everywhere Babies ("Baby! baby! babybaby!!")

That scared the Croup out of all of us.

So this was no fun. Coughing hurts, and I couldn't breathe. So they took me to a place with lots of beeping machines and lights, and people who kept coming in and putting things on my chest and over myself.

But Mommy stayed with me, and I fell asleep, and when I woke up I was in this interesting metal cage and I was SO HUNGRY. They had juice boxes there, and ham. Yummy, yummy ham. And a laundry cart thing that I pushed around like a car, and windows to look down at all the little toy trucks and cars that were driving around underneath us.

And then we went home. And now Mommy and Papa keep giving me hugs and kisses, and toys. Yay toys.

All these things that I've done

I can walk really well now! I almost never crawl.
My arms were up in the air for a while, straight over my head, and I would roar whenever i staggered from room to room....now the stagger has become sort of a swagger, and I can have my hands out in front of me or holding onto multiple things at once.  My favorite thing is to thry to eat, carry things, talk, and walk at the same time.  That inevitably results in me falling down, but I still end up feeling sort of proud.

Fun things to say:

Di-DOWN, di-DOWN ("sit down")

Duh-sooo.  Duh-sooo.  ("Tür zu" -- German for "door closed")

MoOOOOmmy, daaAAAAddy.  Pah, pah, pah...moaamama.  (parental summoning spell)

In!!!  (When throwing something in the toy box, trash, bathtub, or toilet.)

I really enjoy the puddle stomping.  In fact, rain would be the best weather, if they would just let me be outside in it all the time.  I really like boots, and puddles, and my sand box.

I'm totally unafraid to hurl myself down every slide at the playground.  Sometimes headfirst, but usually feet first on my belly.

I'm great at slithering down stairs on my belly, with my legs sort of spider-scrabbling out to the sides to slide me along.

I can climb onto the coffee table and couch unassisted.

I can almost open doors, but haven't quite figured out how to turn the knob.

And I'm not sleeping very well at night.  Possibly because the molars are marching in.

Talky talky

So I'm 12 months old, and grown ups seem surprised that I'm starting to talk to them. Like last night: I crawled into the room where my aunt was, and said "Howyadoing?" She said "Hi, Ivan. I'm doing fine! How are you?" and I said "Good."

And then she got all excited.

I like that "Howyadoing" sound -- mama and papa always make it when they can't see me, or when they're worried. So now I say it to them sometimes, too.

Other words I say that mean something:

Num num (hungry)
Book
Ball
Door
Papa
Daddy
Mama
Baby
Shoe
Sock
Hot
Oma
Grandpa
Hug
Down
Done

Words I say or sing a lot just because they feel good in my mouth:
Bongbong
DAAAdee daydee
beeeebeeebeeebeee