February 2011

At the beginning of February Grammee and Gramps arrived for their month-long stay. It took a while to get into a routine, and they insisted that they didn't need to see us every day, but eventually we settled on a great one. Mikey and I would give Mike a ride to work or Mike would leave for work and then Mikey and I would go to visit Grammee and Gramps for the morning.

We were also able to share the fun things around town with Grammee and Gramps. We took walks on the river trail and took them to gymnastics. We also went to the museum with Gramps and Mikey made it all the way to the top of the "treehouse" for the first time while he was there...I think he was showing off for Gramps.

The walks on the river trail were oodles of fun. We had warm weather, puddles, and passed dogs to pet. We also ran into Cousin Nick and Mere! Mikey just loved it. He would run and run and run and pause at puddles to play and splash.

Mikey's New Skilz

- Mikey put his hat on himself, opening it like a book and then leaning into it.
- Mikey started to notice different things on other people's clothing. He first noticed Lightning McQueen on someone's shirt. From there, he got excited to see trucks, trains, and animals on clothes. My favorite instance of this new trick was when he started chasing a little boy around pointing at his shoes. The little boy's pants were long and hung over the sides of his shoes but on the toe of each shoe was the number 95 in a little red flame. For those of you who do not know this little symbol, it is Lightning McQueen's number from the movie Cars. Mikey was chasing that symbol around!

- He has learned to make friends when we are out. In fact, at the museum he played "with" some big boys (maybe 4 years old) all over the place. But when we were leaving the Dino Dig to go home the boys gave him hugs and kisses, which he reciprocated, before we left.

- The "play station" with extra large lego-style blocks got some interesting play. He was stacking the pieces and had put a "cat head" on top. When he wanted to make the stack higher he took the "head" off, put a new block on, and put the head on the new higher stack. I was amazed and so proud.

- He is starting to "safely" descend things (stairs, slide) by himself.

- Mikey has learned how to turn the music on on his musical toys. If we have forgotten to put some tunes on the radio, Mikey takes it upon himself to turn some music on and dance. His dance is a head bob from side to side that his body then follows with a face-paced high-step. (I have got to get this on video at some point.)

Us Too

Mike was approved for early promotion. Julie finished a manuscript for a children's book. (With luck, there will be more to come on this topic later.)

Wheels-Obsessed

I have heard that little boys like cars and trucks. Mikey is "all boy" in this sense. In February, his stroller reappeared from the shed and he was elated. He pushed it all over the neighborhood, with me steering. (See picture, above.)

I mentioned Lightning McQueen earlier and I have to take a minute to explain how Mikey knows him. Well, one of his favorite toys from Christmas is a Shake-n-go Lightning McQueen that we call "Speed." Mikey has adored this little toys and pushes it all over timbuktu. One day we ordered the movie Cars and showed it to Mikey. At first he was excited because he recognized Speed on TV. Then he was distressed when Speed was off camera but relieved that he came back if he watched long enough. So day after day Mikey started watching more and more of the movie Cars. He got to know the characters, choose favorites, and learn about racing.

Now Mikey's wheel obsession has evolved. He no longer pushes the toys. SOmetimes he revs the engine and gives them a push and lets them roll. We spent many hours in February racing cars with GRammee and Gramps and back and forth between Mama and Papa.

The Basement Playroom

Last fall I realized that I could repurpose the items in my basement and create a playroom. So I moved some furniture around and had a new space to take Mikey on winter mornings when we needed a change of scenery. Grammee and Gramps found us some new flooring, bought it, and helped us install it and now we have a fabulous playroom in the basement!