Just chillin'

Christopher wanted to read this morning...then he didn't...then he did...then he decided he could do it better himself, so he took "Five little monkeys jumping on the bed" and wandered off to sit on the stairs to read it himself. Then he got distracted making his patented pickle face and blowing kisses to mommy.
He's been having a rough few nights, with a cough that's been keeping him (and mommy, and daddy) awake. This morning, we realized that he still has stuff coming out of his infected ear. So my day went from 10 a.m. phone interview, 12:30 going away lunch for a colleague, then frantic phone calls and writing, to all of that plus a 2 p.m. doctor's appointment. This poor kid.

One small boy, one big helmet

Christopher got his first piece of real sporting equipment tonight. We took him to Dick's sporting goods to buy Christopher a ... bike helmet. It was a tiny helmet that looked enormous on our little boy. He wasn't too impressed by it, until we called it a hat. Then he briefly looked interested before shoving it off of his head again.
No pictures yet, but we'll post them as soon as we take some!
Christopher's favorite part of the night, though, was watching mommy try out a punching bag. He laughed and laughed...I think he didn't know I had it in me!

Surprise...snow!

It snowed! There is as much as two inches of snow on the ground! It is going to melt today - it's going up to 57 - but school is still canceled, of course, and Christopher and I went out to play in it, of course!
He mostly liked walking around in the snow and watching it crunch under his boots. He also liked watching Heidi go crazy in the snow. But then I accidentally got snow all over his head - and down his back - when I was cleaning off the car, and that was pretty much it for the snow day.
Right now he's having a post-snow play snack of banana and milk. He has been looking outside, seemingly impressed at how pretty and strange it is. And very relieved not to be in it.

The dogs are finally useful

Christopher was in a good mood this morning, after waking up in a really bad mood at 7 a.m. - and 2 a.m. We were heading down the stairs. I was chatting about reading books, he was carrying his milk. In retrospect, this was a bad decision.
About five steps from the bottom, he threw it down to the floor. Milk spattered everywhere - the floor, rug, wall. I sighed and yelled to Brian for help.
Christopher looked at the mess and shook his head sadly. "Ju-ju," he said, like he wished he could just scoop it up and drink it.
Brian came down and we started cleaning up, while Christopher hovered nearby, saying "ju-ju" really sadly. Brian said something to him about what a mess he made, and he looked at us solemnly and said "Dogs did it."
It didn't seem possible, but we both heard it. Then he shook his head sadly again, looked regretfully at the ju-ju, and toddled off to make another mess.

Go Eagles! Um...next year!

Our little Iggles fan!
Christopher modeled his Eagles warm-up suit - a gift from Cass and Pops. I thought he looked quite fetching, and I hate the sport.
He also got quite a kick out of wandering around the patio on the (unnaturally warm) morning and having his picture taken. He can be quite a ham.
He continues to make a toy out of everything...this morning, he was dragging my headphones around like a pull toy. Then he got out some shoe polish. He couldn't open the jars, but he was fascinated by the sounds they made when they were rubbed against each other and banged on the floor. I was watching him for several minutes before I realized it was 9 a.m. and we really, really needed to get going. He's just so interesting!

Splat

I made egg cupcakes last night. That's not their real name.
I sauteed vegetables, mixed up scrambled eggs and combined them into muffin cups. Baked until they were done. I tried one this morning, and it was great. So I gave it to Christopher.
Two bites, then an "I hate this!" squeal, followed by swoosh, splat. Plate on the floor. Happy, happy Jack. Giggly Christopher.
Sad, bitter mom. Sigh. I hate Mondays.

Big weekend

Christopher had a very big weekend. He spent Saturday getting spiffed up - he got his first haircut - and a "Baby's First Haircut" certificate to prove it - and new shoes. On Sunday we went to the playground in the morning, and Christopher had a playdate in the afternoon with my friend and her 3-year-old son.
It's really interesting to watch Christopher with older kids. He's just fascinated. At the playground, he stared at the little girls on the skateboards. Later that day, he watched Wes intently, as if wondering "Could I do that too? Let me try!"
We had a recitation of animal sounds tonight. Cow? "Moo!" Horse? "Neigh!" and once, oddly, Train? "Choo-choo!" A new animal!

Books, books, books

For a few months, Christopher was more interested in moving than reading. Now that he's got the walking thing down, he's back to loving books (yay!) (The picture is from Wednesday, when he was home sick with a leaky, infected ear. Gross.)
I got home from work tonight and found him sitting on the floor, surrounded by books. Within two minutes, he was on my lap, pointing out the animals he knows and flapping his little hands to tell me to turn the pages more quickly.
So glad he's back to being a scholar instead of an athlete. Close call.