More from Ian

Sitting in their Bumbo chairs.



On the way downstairs for breakfast:
Ian: "Have candy-cane a breakfast. Won't dat be fun?"
Me: "Nope. We're having oatmeal today." (as if we ever have candy canes for breakfast)
Ian: "Ummm... how about da pickle instead? Won't dat be fun?"


* * *
When Scott gets home from work Ian says "I need da keys. I need da badge. I need da belt. I need da watch." Once he has taken all of Scott's 'work equipment' Ian heads for the garage door and says "Bye bye! Goin' ta work!"

* * *

At bedtime all week Ian has declared "Going ta Target! I need da keys."

When I ask him what he is going to buy at Target he answers "Some playgroup."

* * *

Ian loved baby food. Sometimes he still requests squash, which = pureed baby food of all types. When he asked for baby food a few weeks ago I opened the cupboard and stood on my tiptoes to see if there was any more left on the high shelf where I kept it. I still couldn't actually see the shelf but I figured it would still satisfy Ian. But Ian didn't buy it and insturcted me to "stand up a chair" in order to really check it out.

* * *

I've yet to get a picture of it, but frequently I get Ian up in the morning to find him sitting happily in his crib with his zip-front footy PJ's unzipped, and da bunny against his tummy 'nursing'.

* * *
BunnyBiiiiiinkie is short for "I want my bunny and my binkie. Now."

* * *
When not in use, we keep Ian's bunny and several binkies on a shelf in Ian's room. When putting him to bed last night he refused the binkie I handed him and pointed to another one and said "I want da dark blue binkie instead." Funny how he can be so specific sometimes, and yet call blue pink the rest of the time. I guess we don't mess around when da binkie is concerned.

* * *
Throughout the day Ian will declare that Daddy is at one of the places that Daddy frequently goes: work/scouts/football/church. Ian also likes me to ask him where Daddy went and where he works. He enthusiastically responds "Daddy at work. Daddy at ExxonMobil. (He always bounces while he says ExxonMobil.)

* * *
He's got most of the ABC song down, with just a few (less important) letters missing. He always adds something weird after X though. Until recently we thought he was saying "W, X, Bumbo, Z" which sort of made sense because he likes to stand in Joseph's Bumbo chair when he recites the song. But yesterday I finally figured it out. He is saying "W, ExxonMobil, Z".

* * *

Ian fell off the couch and hurt his hand.
Me: "Did you hurt your finger Ian?"
Ian: "No, I do not hurt da finger. I hurt da fumb."
Me: "Poor Ian. Is your thumb going to be okay?"
Ian: "No. It's not okay. It ouchie."

* * *

When I ask Ian what Daddy does at work he always responds:

"Da chainsaw. Da weef blower. Eat da cookies."

* * *
While in the bath tub Ian held his hand up to his ear pretending to talk on the phone. "Hello? Who dis? How's it going over dere? Dis is Scott. Dis is Scott. Going to play football on Sunday. Make da kissy noise. Bye."

Make da kissing noise? Is he reading a script? He repeated this 'conversation' several times.

* * *

Ian used to be so reliable when I asked him if his diaper was messy. But since he hasn't been as truthful latley, a nasty diaper rash has errupted. Today I smelled something stinky and told Ian to come sit on the changing pad. He responded by throwing the truck he was playing with at the changing pad, saying "No! Da blue truck stinky! Change a diaper a blue truck instead!"

* * *

Ian is interested in Joseph's rice cereal so I though giving him some may end his curiosity. I gave him a heaping spoonful and said "See? It tastes kinda yucky, huh?"

Ian: "No, it tastes good. I laaahhhhve it. I eat it all gone!"

Now he wants some every time I feed Joseph.

* * *
And my personal favorite:

Ian climbed up on the couch next to me, put his arm around my shoulder and said:

"How's your day going, Mommy?"

Valentine 2009

I'd say that Scott and I have had some pretty good Valentines Day's in our 5 years together, but I think this one has been my favorite so far.

We both got to do something very fun Saturday morning: Scott played basketball at 6:45 am and flag football after that. What more could a guy ask for?

Then I put a brave face on and went to get my hair cut! Anyone who has heard me lament every haircut I have ever received will be surprised to hear that I really really love this haircut. Zero mourning and complaining over here. It made the holiday seem even more festive because I had time away from my boys spent getting dolled up.

Front Before

Front After (stay tuned for a better picture of the new side-sweep bangs and layers... a Texas-sized rainstorm got to my newly coiffed hair before the camera could.)


Back Before
Back After

In my absence, Mr. Larson had done laundry, dishes, floors and lots of diapers (He says one can accomplish anything with the help of the baby carrier.) And I came home to find my guys busy making Valentine sugar cookies.

Ian decided he could really get into this holiday tradition.

Though decorating is nothing compared to devouring. "One for the cookie, two for me...."After the boys went to bed we stayed in for a delightful dinner for two. Followed by a luxurious pedicure by Scott. Men don't come any better than this one.

And don't forget the Triple Chocolate Fudge Fantasy Cake. And it was. How (and where!) Scott hid this gigantic cake is a mystery.

Solids! (kind of)

Yesterday Joseph had rice cereal for the first time. And I think he liked it. What stayed in his mouth, anyway.

Supervising the mixing...

The first spoonful...Hmmm... how do you keep it from dripping back out?

A happy tummy

Today I offered it to him again and he seemed to enjoy it even more. He actually started fussing when I stopped half way through the bowl... so I gladly gave him the rest.

4 Months Old!

Our little Joseph is getting so big. He laughs, smiles, grabs things near his hands, kicks his legs when he sees Scott, Ian or me, and cries when I put him down and leave his line of sight. He plucks out his own binkie and can also pop it back in if it is placed in his fingers (still working on releasing it though). He still loves to be swaddled and last night I perfected a two-blanket technique that he couldn't escape from during a 12 hour stretch! His eyes are still clear blue, his new hair growth is blonde, and he seems to be pretty tall.

He had a double ear infection a few weeks ago, and during that visit to the doctor he weighed in at 14 lbs 5 oz. His reflux has (thankfully) subsided in recent weeks and now Joseph eats much, much better. It looks like he is putting some more weight on those cheeks of his, too. Now that he is more comfortable in his little body he is an easy-going, serene, cheerful baby. And forgiving. No matter how many times Ian knocks him on the head or steals his binkie, Joseph still adores his big brother and saves most of his attention and many of his biggest smiles for Ian.

Here is a look back at Joseph's first bath back in October. This was taken this week.
Even the cutest little guy...


...is more adorable with a star on his behind.
Tummy Time is still a favorite activity, and now when he grows tired of it he just rolls over and sucks his fingers.
Doing Tummy Time with his buddy Andrew
Joseph still doesn't get my jokes, but at least Ian thinks I'm funny.
While Ian usually scoots away with a disgusted look when Joseph accidently touches him, Ian thinks that having Joseph lay on his stomach is the coolest thing. This activity routinely lasts for 10 minutes.

Ian patiently awaiting the garbage trucks.

Ian watches for the trucks daily and I frequently remind him that the trucks come only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. A few days ago I was explaining this to him again and the conversation went like this:

Me: The garbage trucks won't be coming again until Wednesday.
Ian: And Saturday. A special day. The day we get ready for... church.

Ian brings me his shoes several times a day and asks to go outside. If I tell him we will go outside later on, he brings me another pair of shoes to persuade me to go outside sooner. He loves having snacks outside, especially in his car.