It's not a growth spurt

I thought it was a fluke. Just a little binging on something he enjoyed. I gave him the fifth piece thinking he wasn't going to actually eat it, so I would nibble on it after he was running around playing cards.

But it wasn't a fluke. Fuller ate five pieces of pizza.

He's decided to become a part of the clean plate club, asking for seconds with whole PBJ sandwiches for snacks. Yesterday it was four hot dogs for lunch.

He'll eat his weight in applesauce, devour clementines, gobble up broccoli and cauliflower (because who could resist eating a tree?), and never says no to a cheese. When he eats, he tells me "Go in mouth. Down throat. Into tummy. stops!" I'm not sure where he got that logic, but I sometimes wonder when the tummy will be full.

In the past, Fuller would eat only certain staple foods- chicken nuggets, PBJ, cheese, and eggs. Dinnertime he would eat what we ate, but after begging and or time outs. Sometimes tears were involved. Every so often he would eat in large quantities and then rarely eat due to other pressing activities like playing cars or building legos. It looked like he was on a binge and starve diet.

I realize we have a growing boy on our hands, but this sudden interest in eating has sent this Momma through a myriad of thoughts and emotions. I first dealt with it by giggling. Real mature, I know. I laughed as if I was watching one of those jackass shows and the kids were stuffing themselves until they were ill. Oh the hilarity!

Then I was hesitant, holding each plate in my hand wondering if Fuller would actually eat. And knowing, if he didn't it wasn't a big deal because really, he must still be using the fuel from yesterday's four PBJ sandwiches.

And now, I am scaling back by and reinforcing meal times with a specific snack time. And I'm trying to take advantage of his "will eat anything" attitude by offering him even more veggies. Last night he ate salad!

I know we are fortunate not to have a child with food issues. I just hope we can keep the fridge stocked so we can keep up with him and his never ending tummy.

sticker advantage

As most parents are aware, stickers are a pretty neat invention. Kids are drawn to their colorful nature and stickiness. Fuller is no exception. I'll give him stickers as small incentives to finish his food or do a task. Never a consistent pattern.

Today, I'm using stickers to my advantage.

Fuller might be potty trained, but he is really lazy when it comes to independent tasks like undressing and dressing. He can do most of it, but usually stops with the complaint, "I can't!" or "Hayl-up Mommy!"

This morning I baited the hook when Fuller told me it was time to get dressed. He got a sticker for undressing and dressing himself. Later when he needed to potty, he got another sticker for undressing and dressing himself. I still have to help with small things like zippers and snaps, but I think I might be making way for a more independent kid. And stickers will help me get there.

Order

Rest and order has been restored to our Sunday.

This week our church went back to two services and having Little Lambs. We went to the 8:30 service and stayed through Sunday School. And Fuller was excellent on all accounts. We came home by 11, lunch by noon, Fuller played happily for a few hours, took a nap, ate dinner, and went to bed at a normal time.

Big sigh of happiness all around.

We really aren't the type of family who thrives on a schedule, but recognize routine and limits help keep the little guy happy. And at his age and attention span, keeping him in the 11 o'clock worship service with no little lambs was no picnic. It wasn't just the pew pains, but it extended to the afternoon and evening, just throwing it all out of whack.

And today, we got back to normal.

What a great way to start the week.

Off the charts

Fuller had his three year well child visit this afternoon. His official stats are off the charts for both height and weight, but since they are proportional it isn't something to worry about. He is 42 1/4 inches tall and 41.7 pounds heavy. Almost square!

All day Fuller was asking to go to the doctor, like it was a treat or something. But when we got there we had lots of tears for various reasons- not being able to hang out in the sick kid area, being measured, falling of his chair onto the floor, getting his ears checked. But tears turned to laughter when the doctor started pushing on Fuller's tummy. Our kid is very ticklish.

Fuller also had to go to the lab and have his finger pricked, which lead to some serious tears. However a Diego sticker fixed it right up, so I might stock up on those to help keep the peace around here. Stickers are magic (unless you are my coffee table).

I was looking forward to taking Fuller in for his well child because it usually ends up with good news and praise for how awesome Fuller is turning out. Today was no different. I'm pretty sure they like him because we rarely take him in, he is growing like a weed (I think we need new pants again!) and he's just so gosh darn cute.

I'm pretty sure we have a keeper.

Running with it

When Fuller seems to grasp a concept we tend to offer it up to him as a good thing and then repeatedly ask him about it. He likes to point out letters, so we encourage spelling. And right now Fuller is really interested in left and right. So tonight I was driving home from Esther's giving a running commentary on the direction of our car.

Yesterday we were playing Zingo and asking him to spell the words on the tiles. Since the words were written in all lowercase he would get tripped up. I would tell him the sound of the letter and he would get it almost immediately. Our lesson plans for the week include a review of lowercase letters and phonics.

Fuller has also decided we should start exploring emotions more since he likes to announce, "I sad. I crying." And yesterday one of the Zingo tiles showed a ghost. To our recollection Fuller has never seen an illustrated (or real) ghost but Fuller announced the picture was "scared."

Watching Fuller learn has been one of the best things about being a parent. It makes me happy, another emotion Fuller likes to announce.

Bribes in church

When Fuller woke up this morning he immediately asked to go to church. It is one of his staple requests ("Go church?" "Go zee-um?" "See Charlie?" "See Luke?") and always makes me smile.

This morning he was so eager he offered to put on his shoes before changing or eating breakfast.

It warms my heart that Fuller likes to go to church, but I have to admit I wasn't all that thrilled. Since we have only one service right now (next week we go back to two) and there is no Little Lambs, Fuller would have to sit through the entire service. And Fuller's behavior in church for the last few weeks has been less than stellar... so much so it drove me to tears one Sunday.

Today we tried a different tactic- bribery. If Fuller would sit still, stay quiet, participate in singing, then he would get a small piece of candy. We doled out an entire roll of smarties throughout the service, in exchange for making it to certain milestones. And amazingly, it worked.

He was a bit rambunctious during singing (wanting to be held, so trying to climb Damon) and he refused to entertain himself during the sermon, making it difficult for either of us to pay attention*. But besides these small infractions (he did get one spanking), for a three year old who is constantly on the move and noisy, he was a really good kid. Instead of tears this week, I was proud and beaming.

Next week we get to go back to our old routine- 8:30 service and Little Lambs after the offering. I look forward to a new year of watching Fuller grow even more in the church.

*I do however remember the three points: our identity is in Christ, our identity is in the church, and our identity is our service. Just don't ask me to expound on them. I guess I could wait until the sermon comes out online.

Bracing

Today Fuller was as sweet as pie. He obeyed (for the most part) took his nap, and went to bed with a cheery disposition.

I'm bracing myself for a war zone tomorrow.

Fuller was really getting uppity and difficult while we were still in Ohio. I knew getting him back to his own turf would help, but I also know from past experience within two or three days of returning from any trip Fuller has a very rough day. It's almost like our vacation isn't truly over until Fuller is excruciatingly awful.

At least Damon will be around for the next two days, so when it happens, we can tag team the time outs and scoldings. (And the hugs and "I love yous.")

Snow fun video

Fuller, a Bilibo, and Snow from mrscrumley on Vimeo.

We had fun this morning! Thanks to Cool Aunt Stina for taking the video.

The chair/ sled Fuller is sitting in is a Bilibo chair. We got it for him when we visited the Dayton Art Institute. There was an exhibition on chairs in the kid's area and the Bilibo was part of the "hands on." Fuller loved it, rocking and spinning on the floor. He even showed another little girl what it was (her Daddy asked me, "What is that?"). Greg from Daddytypes once called it a static hair sweeper (which is partially true), but the fun extends beyond the floor. Running around in leaf-covered snow is a great use for it too.

Vacation is over

We have moved from vacation mode to survival mode with Fuller in Ohio. I have to admit I poured myself a bit of wine (ok, a lot of wine) after I put Fuller to bed. There was a bit of relief that the day was over and an overwhelming sense of survival as I shut the door.

~Yesterday Fuller told my mom to "Shut up!" and a collective gasp went through the household. Well, I guess it did. I was in the bathroom. My mom came and told me about the behavior later, explaining the time out and tears from Fuller. Later I gave him a spanking and small lecture (rude boys are bad boys).

But the entire episode left us all wondering, "Where did he hear that?" We don't tell each other to shut up. And I started wondering about the evil TV... when my little sister figured it out. We tell the dogs to shut up all. the. time. Oops. I guess it isn't just words we use toward other people we have to be careful about- it is all words. Duh.

~Church with Fuller was a nightmare today. He just wouldn't sit still and kept demanding to be held when we were standing. Prayer time was his cue to start reading the bulletin and repeating, "Holy, holy, holy" over and over. I took him out of the sanctuary to spank him once, but felt truly defeated. I was never so thankful for Children's Church.

~Tonight he was asking to go to Ohio and I told him we were in Ohio. Finally he said, "I wanna go HOME."

I was able to follow up with a geography lesson on Ohio versus Tennessee. He looked at me confused. Then I told him we would go home on Thursday. He was placated and went to bed.

Maybe tomorrow he will be running a little bit slower than 90 miles per hour.

Wake up call

My parents made sure there was a CD player in Fuller's room so when he slept, he could listen to music to help relax. We used to do this for Fuller when he was younger but stopped when his CD player quit working. I guess Fuller doesn't remember falling asleep to the sounds of Mozart, Enya, or Israel Kamakawiwo'ole because he was really interested in the machine as Damon set up the CD to play. The indiglo display acted like a night light and the numbers excited Fuller who called out, "Look Mommy! A number one! One!"

On our third night here we transferred Fuller to our room due to heat distribution in the house. Fuller's room didn't get enough of it and we had a space heater in ours. (My parents live in an older home. Gorgeous but drafty.)

When we brought Fuller into the room, we also brought the CD player. Fuller has figured out how to press the correct button to start the music, so we made it part of the nightly bed time routine.

In a fun parenting twist, the CD player has also served as an interesting wake up call for us. In the mornings, when Fuller has decided he is no longer sleeping, he reaches over and turns on the music. This lets us know Fuller is up and ready for the day.

Back in Chattanooga, Fuller just stays in bed and hollers for us to come open his door. I think I might be replacing his CD player to see if maybe, music can replace the morning demands. And if the music helps Fuller relax at night, I might be able to relax more in the morning.

Never look a gift horse...

Fuller is Alli's parents' first grandchild. Because of this, they've yet to build an extensive toy collection for visiting grandchildren to play with. To help out, their neighbor, Debbi, kindly lent them some of her children's old toys. The question is, "were Debbi's children boys or girls?"

Hmm... I wonder.

The case of the mystery towel

The other day Fuller took a bath. Damon got him out of the tub and gave him a brand new Spider-Man towel to use. I noticed it later and ask Damon, "When did you get the Spider-Man towel?" He replied he didn't get it, he thought I did. He found it in the linen closet with the tag still on it.

So now we are wondering, who gave Fuller a Spider-Man towel? Was it a grandparent? An auntie? A well meaning friend? Please let me know so I can sleep at night.

The Big Gift

Gift giving is a constant in the Christmas tradition. Each family approaches it differently, but the result is the same. You give and get presents.

In years past we haven't really thought about what to give Fuller for Christmas. Yeah, we give him a gift or two, but since there are so many other people around who love giving him gifts, we let them and we spend the money on things like food, electricity, and clothing.

But something changed this year and suddenly we found we wanted Fuller to have a specific something. Damon first brought up the idea of the Smart Cycle in September and I immediately said, "No. We have no room for it!" Damon talked about the other aspects- the video game merged with exercise- and ignored the bigness of it.

Then one day I saw it online, in action. And I wondered if we could store it under the craft cabinet (incentive for D to finish the craft cabinet too). Then I saw it in action at a Wal-Mart and thought, "We could store it behind the chair bed."

And I was sold.

We talked about it some more, decided the price had dropped enough to eat into our pizza budget, and I said I would get it.

Yesterday, after some searching, I had the Smart Cycle in the trunk of my car. I had purchased it in front of Fuller, so he knew there was a "bike game" in the car. (There's a small milestone- I can no longer purchase Fuller's gifts in front of him.)

As soon as Damon came home, Fuller asked about the "bike game" and I let Damon decide if Fuller would have to wait. We had already decided the Smart Cycle wouldn't make the trip to Ohio and back, so the gift had to be given sometime soon. And since Damon wanted to play with it too, he went ahead and set it up.

Fuller sat patiently on the couch for about 30 minutes while Damon screwed the pieces together. We took the opportunity to explain Christmas and gifts and the True Gift, but it is possible Fuller only had visions of ABCs in his head. When the Fisher Price logo came on the TV, Fuller giggled and trembled with excitement. And he was in seventh heaven when he finally got to sit on the seat and start peddling.

I prefer to not think of it as dumbed down exercise equipment, but I know it really does get the kid moving. The Smart Cycle requires peddling for the games to work. If he doesn't keep moving, the game just sits there. Fuller quickly understood the objects of the different games, from running over the alphabet letters in a certain order or getting a frog to grab letters to spell certain words. There is one racing game, just for timing purposes, and he really like that so far. In twenty four hours he has really grasped the different purposes of the "bike game."

I see many lessons in moderation and patience (plus some leverage for discipline) in our future, but for now, I love seeing how excited he is to play his "bike game." I can't imagine giving it to him on Christmas morning would have been any more exciting.

Growing pains

Fuller had to put up with a lot today. He went in and out of stores several times and since he is getting so big, he doesn't always get to ride in a cart. So not only did he have to go shopping, he had to stay with Mommy. I tried to involve him by letting him put things in the cart, picking out the ice cream, and grabbing a bunch of bananas from the produce section.

It is a bit overwhelming adjusting my errands to suit the growing boy. As we were leaving the house for the second time today I wondered if I should start planning my weeks to getting all errands done on one day, forcing Fuller to only have to do the "yucky" stuff once a week, or maybe twice a week.

It was a bit stressful for me too, since I can no longer count on keeping Fuller contained, but must keep an eye on the boy and the grocery list. I might forget the eggs, but I can't lose Fuller! (Of course there are stories about Damon ditching his mom in stores, so I think I need to look into the third eye thing some moms have installed on the back of their heads.)

I promised Fuller some fun tomorrow, so maybe we can balance the bad with the good. But it just means my baby is growing up, and out of the grocery cart.

Fuller inherits fun

A few weeks ago we spent some time at UTC watching the end of a First Lego League competition. Some friends of ours had kids participating (I think it was grades 3 to 6), so we went to see what it was all about.

If you know Damon at all, you know Lego was is a big part of his life. When I met him he had a rather large collection. And there were a few after-church trips to Toys-R-Us to check out the Lego selection for some project D was working on.

Damon has been waiting for the day he could share his Lego passion with Fuller since before he was born. And while Fuller has been playing with his Lego Quattros for a while, Damon decided we should introduce Fuller to the true Lego.

Lego is very special, especially since they are small parts and so many. We make Fuller clean up everything else first. And he has to play with them supervised. And before he can move on to another toy, we make him clean up the Lego bricks.

And that is where Fuller got his inheritance.

Damon has this officially licensed Lego bag he received as a kid. It is a circle of denim that closes up into a bag with a drawstring. The bag holds as many Lego bricks as you can fit in there. Enough to keep Fuller happy for now. (Fuller doesn't realize we have many, many storage bins in the attic.)

I have already lost track of all the hours D and Fuller have spent building with the Lego bricks. They have built sheep, birds, cows, all kinds of vehicles, and of course towers and walls. As an added benefit, Fuller has made great progress in learning his colors.

It's fun to pass things down to your kids. And this is something I know Fuller will be passing down his kids.

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Fun morning

Fuller and I spent a few hours at the Creative Discovery Museum today.

We had an excellent time since it was not very crowded. Fuller is very familiar with the place, even though we haven't been there in months. We went to one part of the permanent exhibit and he noticed some missing things. I was surprised he noticed and commented on them. Guess it shows he is growing up.

Then again...

At least he is getting exposed to a variety of music

I like to have music playing during the day... anything from Feist to Jonathan Coulton. Fuller likes a lot of music but I have to wonder what kind of musical education he is getting when Andrea Bocelli is singing Con te partiro and Fuller perks up, runs to the computer and asks, "Elmo?"

I guess he is expecting Mr. Bocelli to be tucking Elmo in...

Sleeping patterns

We are dealing with a bit of an issue with Fuller and his bedtime routine. Recently he will go to bed, but be awake for about thirty minutes to an hour. Usually he talks or sings to himself and he is fine. But suddenly he has started crying and telling us he his scared... of the smoke detector.

Tonight he went down and was still crying an hour later. When I went in (Damon had checked on him twice) he was sobbing and choking so much I almost started crying. I held him, rocked him, sang and read to him. It took quite a while to get him to calm down.

The smoke detector doesn't have flashing lights, but we think it has gone off before (dirty oven) and he is worried it will go off again or something. It is a bit of a parenting dilemma, trying to give your child comfort and getting him or her to sleep for the night.

He is finally asleep, which means he is out for the night, but I really hope this passes quickly. When he doesn't sleep well, he gets cranky. (And so does his Momma!)

He's coming around

Our mailperson delivered a box of gifts today. They are actually for Fuller, books from my inlaws. I have to wrap them, so the box is still sealed on the front table.

Fuller is acutely aware that something is happening and whatever it is, has to do with presents, especially since there are several already wrapped and piled in our living room. He tried to get get into one of the wrapped one (which happened to be labeled "To: Alli") and he turned on the big alligator tears when I told him "No."

Then things got even worse when he was in my room and discovered something very neat and Fuller-ish on the floor of my bedroom. No, it wasn't wrapped, and yes it is for him... but he has to wait until Christmas to get it! And yes, I am aware my bedroom floor isn't a very good hiding place.

It is fun to see Fuller more aware what is coming up. He is begging to see "Ganpa Red" and is intently curious about the days of the week. With Christmas coming up, I think we will really see the magic through his eyes this year.

Which is why my prayer tonight is that we, Fuller's parents, will be vigilant in showing Fuller there is so much more to Christmas than wrapped gifts and inflatable snowglobes. I want us to continually remind him of the ultimate gift and the life we have now and ever after because of that gift. In the end it will not matter what toys or books he got for Christmas, it will be about the reason we celebrate Christmas. And now that Fuller is showing awareness, the desire I have seems to burn even brighter.

It's the reason for the season ya'll. Let's teach him that first. He can sneak peaks at his presents later.

Like I could forget

I'm still working on the new layout, but for now... I have to plow away with stories about my cute kid and family type stuff because this is a blog about our family, emphasis on the cute kid stories and a dusting about house remodeling and Damon's projects.

Anyway! One cute kid story coming up:

This morning Fuller and I were playing with his train set and somewhere in his mind "play" turned into "tell Mommy what to do and say it louder and louder until she does it." I finally said, "You are bossy!" To which Fuller replied, "No, I Foo-er."

It felt good to have a belly laugh before breakfast.

Missing his pack

Last Tuesday I packed up the car, buckled in the kid and dogs, and sat in the car waiting for Damon to get home from work.

While we were sitting in the car, Fuller started sneezing. And when he sneezes it is a snot explosion unlike anything I have ever seen. Each sneeze produces mucho mucus and when he sneezes several times in a row... yuck.

This continued until we got to the lake. And the next morning Fuller woke up coughing and congested. D and I had to head out to Wal-Mart, so we picked him up some Triaminic Thin Strips to help with his cold symptoms.

I guess it all helped, since he was running around with his cousins with all the gusto the youngest of the pack can bring (Olivia may be the youngest, but I don't think of her as part of the pack yet). And I think Fuller is missing the pack- he has been lolling around, not really active, coughing, sniffing, and just bleah.

I hope he kicks this soon... we have to do some fun stuff before we leave!

One against two becomes two plus one

Seeing Fuller interact with his cousins is always an interesting byproduct of our visits with Damon's side of the family.

Vivian and Nick are older (ages 6 and 4, respectively) and interact with each other every day. Watching them together I see they are comfortable wrestling, engage in old fashioned sibling rivalry, and of course know which buttons to push to get a reaction. They also have their moments of whispers and comfortable silence, just existing next to each other.

Add in another kid, younger and not as mentally adept to the unwritten rules of childhood, and mayhem can blossom faster than cooking scrambled eggs. The concept of sharing is repeated several times. Apologies and hugs are interspersed with laughter and delightful shrieking. Building block towers and playing chase punctuate the fall morning.

I giggled when Nick and Vivian tried to band together and push Fuller's buttons in ways that would normally get a rise from each other. Fuller just continues to play cars or blocks, not knowing someone is trying to push any buttons what so ever. Choruses of "na na na na boo boo" fall deaf on my son's ear.

They don't say it out loud, but their body language wonders, "How exactly do we interact with this redheaded cousin?" And Fuller just wanders up to them (Nick especially) and asks to play cars. If they don't want to, he just does his own thing.

We have been creating activities open to them all, structure among the mayhem, so they can have a chance to see the abilities of each other. "See how Vivian writes, Fuller?" "Well, Fuller can't do that yet, he is only three." As the minutes turn to hours and the hours into days, the interaction of the cousins will change. Fuller will realize his buttons are being pushed (and he might actually push back) and they can all find a balance where playing together doesn't have to be structured by the grown ups.

And that's a Thanksgiving byproduct I look forward to.

Celebration

Fuller was given his "prize" yesterday for his potty training efforts. We had originally said Fuller would get the train when he was dry for five days in a row. So far we have managed to be accident free two days in a row and then something happens.

We figure he has the concept down, even telling us when he has to go potty when we are out and about. And someone wanted to play with the train set as well, so we gave it to him early.

Damon made a big deal out of it, explaining that Fuller was doing so well with the potty, he got this fun train set.

And you should have seen Fuller's face. He was ecstatic. He always gravitates toward things that go and trains are high up on his list of favorites. (Trains are tied with cars, trucks, airplanes, and boats. In second place we have hovercrafts and wagons. Third place would be bicycles.)

Fuller played with his train set for hours yesterday and it was the first thing he asked for when he woke up.

I know there are still accidents in our future, and messes to clean up, but the amount of progress and fewer dollars we are spending on pull-ups is definitely cause for celebration.

Curious

Fuller's favorite sleep buddy and, until Super Why came on the scene, favorite cartoon character, Curious George, is being recalled. However, OUR particular Curious George character is NOT on this list.

Hug me, hungry... same thing

Fuller has been exploding with language lately, impressing us with his paragraphs of exposition and confusing me when he reverts to pointing and grunting. It certainly makes it easier to know what he wants, when he actually tells us. And I think he still needs a translator for some of his demands and questions (hence the diction lesson from yesterday). I usually figure it out, but still...

Yesterday Fuller came up to me and said "Hug me!" I exclaimed, "Sure! I will be happy to hug you!" And then as I pulled him into my lap, he squirmed to get down and said, "No Mommy! I hungry!"

Brought to you by the letter L

Fuller woke up gunky and coughing. He also woke up at 6 a.m. not understanding the nature of daylight savings time and the precious minutes his mommy lost by being up earlier than normal.

Since we were home, we have been playing with Fuller, keeping him happy and blowing his nose every 10 minutes. Somewhere along our play time, it turned into an elocution lesson. Damon was trying to get Fuller to pronounce the L sound with better diction. It turned into funny face making, getting Fuller to put his tongue up at the top of his mouth, behind his teeth.

Then of course Damon kept coming up with L words like Lively, ceiling light, lock, and Linda. Fuller tried to comply, but I just kept laughing (another L word!). It all reminded me of the song "La, La, La, La, Lemon." We own the Bare Naked Ladies version, from For the Kids. I think it is time to dig that CD out.

And jinxed myself I did

As I said in the previous entry, I would jinx myself to boast that Fuller had two accident free days in a row.

We have an Ikea train set ready to give Fuller when he has had five accident free days in a row. And today we have to reset the counter because we I had two big messes to clean up.

But even with the messes, I still have cause for excitement. He no longer insists on sitting on the potty chair in the living room, and is attempting to empty the potty chair on his own. Yesterday he even attempted wiping himself!

Again, I find myself stuck in the vortex of parenting dreams and wishes. I'm so excited my little boy is growing up. I just miss days of cuddling while I fed him his bottle and zipped him up in his footie pajamas.

W-H-Y spells Why

I'm probably jinxing it by even telling you this, but Fuller has had two accident free days in a row. He has been doing everything on the potty now, still in the potty chair, but not in his pants.

I am really excited about this development because it means my son won't be the first kid to go to college who isn't potty trained.

Fuller is really into the reward part of potty training. When we first started out, he never understood the candy for pee concept. But what did speak to him was getting to play on the computer. In Fuller's language he got to play Teletubbies, which was actually a shortcut to the PBS kids website. These days his go-to site is the one for Super Why. He loves to watch the clips from the show and sing along. The other day he was really belting out the Super Why song (W-H-Y spells why) and... well just check this out.

New foodie

Letting kids watch TV is one of those parenting hot topics I prefer not to get into. I will say we do let Fuller watch TV and until recently it was all PBS shows. Now that we have the expanded cable a few Nick Jr shows have snuck into the line up.

And while the evils of TV can be an interesting topic for some, I prefer to think of what good I can find in the magic box. Recently the TV has helped Fuller expand his nutritional horizons.

This could be a foreshadow of how easily our son will want to go with the crowd or bend to media persuasion of what this Christmas' hot toy is... but when Fuller sees characters eat specific food, suddenly Fuller is demanding the same. I have Calliou to thank for Fuller's appetite for spaghetti (for lunch and breakfast), Max and Ruby are responsible for Fuller's reawakening desire for eggs, and the Backyardigans for enjoying hot dogs- a food Fuller used to despise.

I enjoy taking lessons "taught" on TV and expanding them through the activities of the day. And if it means serving lunch based on what Dora kept Swiper from swiping, then I think I can try to be accommodating.

Bad mommy, good boy

Yesterday I did something stupid and irresponsible. I was also informed by someone I could have been arrested for it.

Usually I keep my keys in my pants pocket or on top of the car just so this doesn't happen. And I usually do not close the last car door until I have verified where the keys are. And yet yesterday I locked my keys, cell phone, and son inside our car. I'll spare you the play by play of how it happened, but I will tell you I have been beating myself up over it for the last twenty four hours.

Props to Fuller, who was able to unlock the car door, even though he was already buckled into his car seat. It took about five to ten minutes to convince him how to do it, but to a mother who is trying to keep her cool (and not just bust open the window with her fist) it seemed like an eternity.

I know he isn't scarred for life, but I am. Let's be more careful in the future, ok?

Potty power: folding underwear is fun

I did laundry yesterday and I have to admit I was a bit in shock and over the moon while folding the boy's clothes. I was folding size 4T underwear! Underwear he has worn and is wearing right now... because we are finally making strides in the potty training arena. We still have accidents and he is very uncomfortable on the big potty, but he is definitely getting better about telling us when he needs to go.

Today I was in the bathroom and he had to go. He had a partial accident on the floor but made it to the potty to finish- through his underwear. I still praised him because he made a great effort.

I am very happy to be washing and folding underwear and rarely buying pull ups any more. I know we still have a bumpy road ahead of us, but I am grinning from how we have finally made a break through.

And then he was three

Today is Fullers's THIRD birthday. Oh how happy we are to have such an amazing son.

If this were a flashback episode, highlights would include:
~ his starring role on Mission SEC
~his infatuation with George
~evenings by the fire pit
~his first stomach bug
~the Crumley House of Spew and Poo
~ Mommy staying home
~ Changing to a big boy bed
~being able to hold a conversation
~lots of trips to the CDM
~mastered the computer mouse
~ more travel than any other three year old I know

Fuller is such a good little boy. A little loud, but good. He has manners, is rather modest, and has started trying to be more helpful. I know our lives are better because of our son and we thank God for every day we get with him.

Apparently I should be embarassed

My mom visited this week, when she was on her way from Florida back to Ohio.

When she was here we took a trip to Sam's Club to pick up some pictures. After our field trip, Mom wanted to stop at Krystal to pick up a soda. She figured she should get Fuller something and we sat in the drive through discussing our options.

The cashier came on the loud speaker and I asked for a moment to figure out exactly what we were ordering. After it went quiet, Fuller piped up in the back, "Number 2!"

I guess he understands drive -thrus more than I thought.

And as my sister said, it really is more a testament to how well traveled my kid is, because we really only do drive-thrus when we are road tripping.

It comes after two

Fuller's third birthday is next Friday. We have been working with him to understand the answer to "How old are you?" will be changing.

Right now I ask him, "How old are you?" and he answers "Two!" Then I ask, "And how will you be on your birthday?" and he answers, "Three!"

These last few days of his twos have been very pleasant. The cooler weather helps because he can be outside a lot more and we have made it to the playground to burn off steam on several occasions. I took him shoe shopping (gasp!) and he behaved beautifully (a steady stream of crackers helped). And his diet seems to be branching out from PBJ and grilled cheese.

But my favorite development has been his willingness to adapt a certain phrase into his vocabulary. Instead of coming up to me and demanding more juice (often shoving his sippy cup in my face), Fuller has been taught to ask "May I (pause) Have More (pause) please?"

He doesn't always specify what he wants more of, and sometimes he uses the phrase even when he is asking for the first time, but it is so much nicer than him being demanding and pushy. The pauses come from how I made him repeat the phrase to me when I was teaching him how to ask politely. It is really a cute thing to behold.

And I look forward to his birthday next week. I think it is only going to get better.

Mulch mess

I took Fuller to the playground this evening. Our friends Esther, Luke, and Ben came over and Esther and I got to catch up while Luke and Fuller played together. They don't really play together as much as they play near each other, but I think that is on par with their ages. (Luke turns two on Tuesday!)

While we were there Fuller and Luke took to playing with the mulch like it was sand. For a little bit they were throwing it at each other. We got them to stop and then they just started piling it on things, and sifting it through their fingers. When we left Fuller said his hand hurt. It looked like he had an inch long splinter in the palm of his hand.

When we got home Damon helped with attempted removal by telling Fuller we were playing "operation." Fuller cried and hollered. We finally realized there was no splinter but he had cut his hand at some point and failed to be upset by the owie.

A Spider-Man band-aid helped him stop crying and I know now I need to be better about letting Fuller play with the mulch. It can be an owie in the making.

Flying

It is the conundrum of every parent- you desire for your little ones to remain little and cute. And yet you can't wait to see them grow because every day they change in some amazing way and you wonder what amazing thing will happen in the next minute. Earlier this week it was Fuller's swimming. Today it was his imagination.

This afternoon Fuller declared, "I flying!" and started zooming around the room with his arms stretched out. It was funny, but I decided it needed a little extra something.

When we went to Islands of Adventure, Damon took a cape and mask to wear when he had a photo opp with the super heroes on Marvel Super Hero Island. It was still on the dining room table, so I put the mask and cape on Fuller.

Do you think he had some fun?

It just tickles me to see Fuller grow in this way. He plays imaginatively often- having conversations for his cars or plastic people, building houses for the cars, and creating his little world for play. Seeing him expand that play to situations he can put himself into is exciting. He is growing in an amazing way. And I can't wait to see what he dreams up tomorrow.

Wimming and Growing before our eyes

When we went to Florida my parents nicely and wisely put us up in a hotel down the road from my sister's apartment. It was a Howard Johnson's and the best amenity it offered was the pool right outside the back door of our room.

The first night we were there, Fuller saw the pool and immediately wanted to go "wimming." It didn't matter to him that it was almost 9 p.m. I had previously been to the drug store where I picked up swim diapers and water wings so I said, sure. (My secret agenda was to tire him out so he would sleep a little longer in the morning. It didn't work.)

This is the point of vacation where I realize I left the bottom to my swimsuit at home in the laundry area. Oops. Thanks to my mom, I borrowed her suit and Fuller, Grandpa Fred, and I took to the water.

Fuller loves to be in the pool and with the water wings he really had a lot of confidence. He was no longer holding on to me for dear life and was happily floating along.

We tried to encourage him to kick, but his kicking style was that of someone on special teams for Auburn football. His only perspective of kicking was a football/ soccer kick- not a flutter kick. Once we realized this we tried to demonstrate kicking while floating on his tummy. He didn't get it that night, but by the next night he was propelling himself from Daddy, Grandpa Fred, Vieja, and me by kicking and kicking.

Fuller swam almost every day- the hotel, the apartment, and even Tia's inlaws house. There were pools everywhere!

His progress with kicking and enjoying the water grew every day as well and it was so exciting to watch. By our last day he was kicking so quickly he was able to keep up with Damon who was being "chased" by Fuller around Tia's apartment's pool.

I think swimming lessons will be happening sooner rather than later.

One trick pony

Fuller had a playdate this morning with a little boy who is about 8 months older than him. I wanted to arrange this kind of playdate because I thought Fuller would benefit from hanging around someone who is developmentally ahead of Fuller. This little boy is potty trained and much more verbal than Fuller. (I have to admit when I had this brain storm Fuller had less of the vocabulary than he has today. So that really isn't too much of a concern.)

They played really well together, starting off with the blocks because those wooden cubes are currently what Fuller dreams of and sleeps with. (Seriously! He takes four or five into bed with him when he naps.) However Fuller has a certain method to block playing and when playing together dissolved into Fuller being frustrated and the other boy not knowing what to do, I quickly suggested a change of venue.

And it was off to the kitchen to play with playdough!

The playdough I made a few weeks ago is still really fresh and fun to play with. And it is really all I have in my arsenal of unique activities to have Fuller do with other kids. When Luke came over last week, he and Fuller happily played with the dough for about 30 minutes. And today I got the same amount of time out of the dough with Fuller and his guest.

If we can make this kind of arranged friendship a weekly or bi-weekly thing, I think I will need to come up with other activities to keep them occupied and pleasant. But for now, if it ain't broke, I'm not going to fix it. They like rolling the dough, cutting shapes, and squishing it. And I get some time to do a few chores without a two year old hanging on my leg.

Morning routine

For posterity:
Our morning routine usually starts with Fuller knocking on his door to be let out for the day. (That sounds really bad, but the truth is he doesn't know how to open the door from his side.) I might sit with him for a few minutes in his room while we both get a bit more awake. Then Fuller will say, "Titchen, Mommy. Titchen!"

It isn't always the same what he wants first- juice (or milk) or breakfast. Lately he has been eating turkey bacon and toast. The thing about the turkey bacon is he can pull up one of the bar stools and press the microwave buttons himself. On mornings where I am more awake, we make waffles together. If he catches sight of the peanut butter jar he suddenly wants "Pbubber! Pbubber!"

I keep the tv on PBS in the morning because I can't seem to hold a conversation or move fast enough to keep Fuller happy. Arthur or Clifford keep him company for a while so I can get the morning going and drink at least one cup of coffee. When I scoop the coffee beans, Fuller likes to count.

It isn't always the same where he eats his breakfast. He likes to sit on the stool at the island or he likes to sit in the living room. Since our breakfasts aren't a family thing, I don't make him sit at the dining room table.

Right now our routine is pretty basic and we have it down. As he gets older, it might change, but I hope I can always remember how nice our mornings are now. Maybe we will have waffles in the morning.

kids do the dumbest things

There are days when I just giggle at Fuller and say, "Why did you just do that?" Then there are days when I scold Fuller and say, "Why did you just do that?" And some days I put Fuller in time out and say, "Why did you just do that?"

It is interesting the things Fuller does that just seem dumb... and get all kinds of reactions from me. Maybe he does them to get a reaction from me, maybe he does them because he genuinely doesn't know what he is doing. And then there are times where I know he knows what he is doing and yet he still does them.

The other day I was making him a grilled cheese sandwich and Fuller decided he would help. Unfortunately I had reached the point in the process where help from Fuller was not necessary and would be dangerous for him. I kept telling him "No." and asking him to remove his step stool from in front of the stove. I had turned off the burner by now, but things were still "Hot! Very hot!" I was still body blocking the stove to keep him away, but I turned to put the grilled cheese on his plate and cut it into fourths. And then Fuller reached up on his tippy toes and placed his finger in the middle of the "Hot! Very hot!" pan.

Of course tears and wailing commenced but I just couldn't fathom why he needed my sympathy. He got cold water and the toddler version of "I told you so." (It goes something like "No! Mommy said no!") And then he got a hug because I am still a nice Mommy, even if I just said "I told you so."

What dumb things have your kids done? Anything else I should watch out for?

Fickle friends

Tonight Fuller, Damon, and I entertained Luke and Ben while his mommy did some errands to get ready for their trip to Canada. When Esther left with the boys I was a bit worn out and glad that I didn't have three under three right now. The experience also let me know I can cross off in-home daycare as a home based business option for me. It was a bit exhausting, but fun.

Fuller and Luke are quite funny about their friendship. They are constantly asking for one another. Sometimes when the dogs start to bark and run outside, Fuller thinks those are the cues that Luke will be coming through the back gate. So Fuller runs to his room, stands on his bed to look out the window, and cries when Luke is not there.

This morning Fuller went to Luke's house while I did some errands. When I was getting ready Fuller was intently playing with his blocks (serious business around here). When I asked him if he wanted to go see Luke, the answer was a surprising, "No."

I think Fuller was too interested in his current activity to be bothered to find his shoes and leave the house. But of course once he got to Luke's house, he was happy to be there.

This evening the boys played blocks, argued about playing blocks, played playdough, had mac n cheese, and just hung out. I'm glad they are playmates, because then I get to hang out with my friend even more!

Back seat driver

Fuller's personality really has been blossoming lately. Things I want to remember:

He has been a copycat for a while now, but he recently took it a step further and actually remembers things he copied from a few days ago. For instance, a while back I was calling for Damon and Fuller repeated, "Dah-MON! Dah-MON!" and then we all giggled at the little boy calling his Daddy by his first name.

And then the other day when Damon wasn't replying to "Daddy!" Fuller switched tactics and started calling for "Dah-MON! Dah-MON!" We decided to ignore Fuller when he calls for Damon, responding only when Fuller says "Daddy." (We almost have "Yes, Sir," "No, Sir" down as well.) ("Yes, Ma'm" sounds like "Yes, Man.")

Yesterday I took him over to Luke's house to play. Fuller was strapped in his car seat, in the back. He suddenly started giving me directions, "That way, Mommy! That way!" "Faster! Quick, quick!" He said it with such urgency and an air of knowing exactly what he was doing. Except, I couldn't go faster since we were stopped (silly red lights keeping him from his friend).

We are still making our way through potty training... he gets it, yet he doesn't get it. And that might only make sense if you watch enough Sesame Street. I'm waiting for the day he gets it and does it. That will be glorious.

My monster

I gave myself the "awesome mom award" yesterday.

Since Sunday I have been itching to make playdough, since I saw it on this weeks edition of Kids Craft Weekly. Add to that a primal need to use my new kitchenaid mixer and I was off and running.

The playdough is this blah color because we didn't have any food coloring. I did add it to our pantry today, so this evening I made some light blue playdough.

Fuller loves playing with the dough. He squishes it, cuts it up with cookie cutters, and makes balls to stack and smash. Fuller played with it for about three hours yesterday and the first thing he did this morning was play with it some more. He even postponed breakfast for an hour to play with the dough.

I hope the enthusiasm sticks and he gets into playing with it while I make dinner in the evenings. And maybe we can get some ornaments out of it for Christmas gifts.

Animusic

Fuller's birthday is coming up. In fact, his birthday weekend is the same weekend that we will be traveling in October, again, back to Lake Martin!

We aren't big on putting together birthday parties that he won't really remember, but we are big on cake (or cupcakes) and spoiling him a little with a present or two.

Damon keeps bringing up something he thinks is the "perfect" gift for Fuller's birthday. No, not Powell furniture (that would be for my birthday, if I wasn't going to Vegas). Damon thinks Fuller would really get into having either one or both of the Animusic DVDs.

The PBS stations show clips of Animusic on Sunday mornings, and sometimes you can catch the entire DVD during fundraising time. When Fuller sees it, he loves watching and dancing to the music. I think some of the animation is a bit freaky, especially the pogo stick ones. But it is something Fuller would like. So you know, grandparents, aunties, take note.

Uncertainty

Fuller got sick again... he woke up around 8:30 this morning, which is odd. And when he finally came out of his room he was a tad warm. By 11 he had a temp of 100 and a disgusting runny nose.

Dr. Mom's diagnosis? Sick baby.

Fuller is a real travelpro... I can really tell you that Fuller travels well, does fine in the car, and isn't a bother to take on trips.

But when he gets sick... well, we just never know how he is going to be. Are his symptoms the only symptoms? Will he develop other problems? Am I giving him the right medicine for his symptoms?

Fortunately I dosed him with ibuprofen and he started to act better... and then he took a nap. When he woke up his temp was 101 and he was miserable. Again, he got some medicine and he started to act more like himself.

And now we wait for tomorrow... will he still be under the weather?

Strolling dilema

When I travel with Fuller, I like to have the stroller with me in case his little legs give out when we are running around where ever. We have two strollers now, the "lightweight" one we usually keep in the car and the jogging one I got from my friend, Esther.

I am sad to say that the lightweight one might be on its way out. We pushed Fuller around downtown Athens yesterday and today I took a walk with him in the stroller. And it wasn't that easy.

It is a gift from my mom, who bought it in a bundle of used European baby stuff from her German neighbor. It is the Chicco brand (circa early 80s), with really high handles, and folds really easily. The upholstery on the original was really faded and worn, so Damon replaced it with blue and orange fabric.

Maybe it is because I love our jogging stroller and the ease it cruises with its air filled tires. Maybe it is because Fuller is just so heavy now that when he sits in the stroller it kind of sags. The wheels are a bit more wobbly than they used to be.

I just don't know what we should do next. It seems to me that Fuller is still too young to be expected to walk every where. And yet, he is outgrowing the baby gear! Maybe he needs to stay my baby just a little longer.

Urticaria, redux

This morning Damon woke me up asking me to take Fuller's temperature because Fuller felt really warm. I stumbled into the bedroom and turned on the table lamp, put Fuller in my lap, and took his temp. It was 36.8 C. No cause for concern there, but suddenly my eyes focused and I noticed Fuller's face was a bit on the red and swollen side.

"Turn on the lights," I told Damon.

When the room was fully lit, I saw his face and arms were splotchy and red. We quickly took off the shirt he was wearing and saw most of his body was the same.

Long time readers of crumleydotorg will remember the urticaria break out of September 2005. It was a quickly passing rash, that looked a lot worse than it was.

And it looks like it wasn't just a one time thing.

The friend who watched Fuller last night let him play with the water hose (with our prior permission) but we didn't leave any clothes for Fuller to change into afterwards. So she put Fuller in one of her t-shirts. We took him home in it and then let him go to sleep in it.

We can only guess that he is allergic to the detergent or fabric softener that she uses. Since I have sensitive skin and only use the "free" kind of detergent and fabric softener, so Fuller hasn't really been exposed to anything stronger.

The thing is it just makes him look worse than he really is. Right now, he is happy as a lark, getting ready to travel to Georgia to visit Aunt Stina.

Parenting tip #2478

If you invite your toddler to help (pronounced "HAY-YELP") you wash the car, go ahead and turn off the car alarm. Because when the toddler decides the best mode of car washing is to repeatedly hit the car with a wet and soapy cloth, it will set off the alarm.

And if you decide to tell the toddler to stop hitting the car and wait for the alarm to stop, go inside and get the keys already, because it will happen again. And again. And again.

Everybody gump! gump!

My sister saw today's DFF and asked some good questions. Well, I just uploaded the rest of the pictures from that evening to Flickr and here for your viewing pleasure is the play by play of Fuller's "gump" off the diving board:

Plastic or Cardboard?

If you are not aware of Cool Mom Picks, then I am sorry I didn't mention them earlier.

If you have a stack of toys like my friend Heather, then you might be interested in the book Cool Mom Picks listed today.

The Cardboard Box Book: 25 Things to Make and Do with and Empty Box looks like
1. a lot of fun
2. something Damon would want for himself
3. a book to make me feel guilty for recycling all those Ikea boxes from the end of June.

I have to admit that I haven't gone through all of Fuller's toys to see what, if any, are listed in the recalls. At first glance, it seems that Fuller didn't have any. We don't have any Dora or Diego items, and very few Elmo or Sesame Street things. The toys that I pick up the most are his wooden blocks or match box cars. But still, something might lurk in the corners, so I think I have a project waiting for me during nap time.

P.S. Even the military has been compromised with the toy recalls. Poor little soldier bears.

Cute bullets

Some cute things about Fuller right now, in bullet form:

~Right now, Fuller's favorite toys are his colored blocks. They keep him occupied for hours. It has really helped when I have to get dinner done or just go to the bathroom.

~The other day Fuller found one of my headbands. He sat on the ground and put one end around his feet and then started a rowing motion. He counted "1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10!" What he was doing was imitating what he sees me doing when I use my exercise bands. And I laughed so hard.

~This morning I was making OJ from concentrate. As I filled the can with water and then poured it into the juice container, Fuller stood behind me, mimicking me. He even included "shhhhhhhhh" sound of the water going into the can.

~Fuller is still in love with planes. Today when I took my walk to Blockbuster, he saw one, insisting I stop and take a look. Maybe someday he would like one of those RC helicopters so he can be in control of something that is "fuwhying!"

Sunday nap

Sundays are tough on the little guy. Fuller went to bed as soon as we got home from church- no waiting for lunch. It is almost 5:30 and he is still napping! I wonder if we had just left church and driven somewhere, if he would have slept all the way. Not like we would get all the way to Branson (that's 10 hours away), but still, it might have been a peaceful car ride.

I got a lot done while he has been asleep, but I have to say, I have missed him. I might go poke him in the side until he wakes up giggling.

Hot play and mommy guilt

Yesterday the temp got close to or at 100 degrees. It was the hottest it has been in a hot, hot week.

Yesterday was the day that Fuller demanded to play outside.

He wanted to play in the water tub, which was fine, so I let him out and then closed the front door. I sat in the chair by the front window so I could watch him from the comfort of my air conditioning vent.

There are kids who thrive in being outside as much as possible. I have one of those kids. Which is great, but sad for me, a thirty year old woman who thrives on being comfortable. I think my thirty year old skin also melts at a faster rate than a two year olds'. I am sure there has been scientific research to that effect by some mom somewhere. Not that I am volunteering to be a test subject. (See above: I like to be comfortable.)

But I have to admit that our outside playtime has been limited because of what I want... I usually have house work to complete and I can't just let him out of the house and close the doors to keep cool. In the spring and fall I can open up the house and just let him run in and out as he pleases. But now I feel a bit guilty because I am keeping him indoors.

Today promises to be just as hot, so I am trying to be creative with what we can do inside that doesn't involve PBS Kids characters. And if my brain really did melt yesterday, then I guess we can just cool off in the kiddie pool. In the shade, of course.

Underwear, really a collectible?

This past weekend was a tax free holiday for both Tennessee and Georgia. I didn't have plans to do any shopping, since we didn't really need anything. But then Sunday evening I had the realization that I didn't have any coffee in the house.

Fuller and I went to Wal-Mart and I did my grocery shopping (not tax free) and I picked up some new shoes for Fuller (tax free). These are Spider-Man sneakers and they light up. They are his first pair of shoes that light up like this, so he was mesmerized.

When I put them on his feet yesterday, it took me about five minutes to get him to stand up. He just kept stomping his feet, watching the lights.

We also got Fuller some commercially licensed underwear- Spider-Man and Cars. Fuller likes wearing them, and I think it helps with potty training. When I was unwrapping the Cars underwear (it was in a plastic container, not just a plastic bag) I noticed that on the side it said, "In a collectible container!"

Oh, did you just roll your eyes? Because that is what I did too!

Who in the world will want to keep the container their kids' underwear came in? Why make some poor shmuck artist come up with art work so that it can make the container a "collectible?"

It makes me sad to think that someone might think they will get money one day because they still have the container from Cars underwear. Can you imagine what that conversation will look like on Antiques Roadshow?

Guy from Antiques Roadshow: What we have here is a perfectly preserved plastic container for underwear. Not just any underwear, but Cars underwear, the wildly popular 2006 animated movie from Disney Pixar.

Desperate Housewife who needs a vacation: Yes! I got this when I was potty training my son. When I saw the word "collectible" I knew that it would be too good to put on my son's hiney. I got him some plain white briefs instead. This has been sitting, untouched, on a special shelf in our living room.

GfAR: How long ago was that?

DHWNAV: Well, Johnny was potty trained when he was three... he is now a sophomore in college... I guess 16 years ago.

GfAR: Amazing... it looks to be in perfect shape. The rigid plastic hasn't malformed in anyway, but the plastic sleeve with the Cars artwork has faded a little bit. (alarmed) Has this been in the sun light?

DHWNAV: Well, I guess the sun does stream into the living room every afternoon... I never noticed.

GfAR: That does cause some concern. How much did you pay for this?

DHWNAV: $3.48 It was tax-free weekend in our state, so I got a lot of good deals that weekend.

GfAR: And it has never been opened... well, I think at auction this commercially licensed container could go for about $5. If the right collectors were in the room, maybe $7 to $10. It is underwear after all.

DHWNAV: Oh.

Tell me, really, did you save the container your kid's underwear came in?

Keeping cool

I just got back from walking to the Bi-Lo. I needed two things for dinner. And now that I am home, I just don't want to cook! It is so hot here that any time spent outside sucks all my energy from my body.

Fuller, being a little guy, seems to not mind. And he really doesn't mind since we set up a water tub for him to play in. My friend Esther has the same thing for Luke- a plastic storage tub full of water to splash in and push boats around. And then I saw the suggestion on Parent Hacks and figured we should go ahead and try it.

Filling up the baby pool wasn't an option until Damon cut the grass. So this fix is perfect for Fuller. He loves it and seems to keep cool. And it occupied him for over an hour this afternoon. Now, it is my turn to watch him so Damon can get cool again.

The things you do for love

On Tuesday I took Fuller to see another free movie at the mall. This one was Clifford's Really Big Movie.

I figured it would be a hit with Fuller because 1) it was animated, 2) it was Clifford who he knows well, and 3) he got to eat a lot of popcorn. I was right on all accounts. Fuller sat in his booster seat, enjoyed seeing "Ifford!" and asking "Where's ifford?" a lot. He didn't mind the little kid behind him kicking both our seats. And he ate most of the small bag of popcorn.

Me, however, wished that I was somewhere, anywhere else but that movie. It was awful. The animation was shoddy, the voices were off, and the story was silly. I kept checking the cell phone to see how much longer we had. I wasn't really sure of the length of the movie, but I knew that it couldn't be more than 90 minutes.

I was so happy to be wrong on that. It was only 75ish!

Honestly, I was so bored at the movie that I was wishing Fuller would act up so I could remove him and we could go home early. But no, he was good and I can only praise him for how awesome he is.

Next week: Happy Feet. And I know I like that movie. We saw it in the theater in January!

Fuller's first wedding

Here's an old joke that a Catholic Priest once told me: How do you make holy water? You boil the hell out of it.

Anyway. (You laughed right?)

The wedding was held at a Catholic Church in Cincinnati, where the bride went to church growing up. It was a beautiful ceremony and the first wedding that Fuller has ever attended.

We arrived at the church later than we wanted to and had to change into our church clothes because we had been doing some of the tourist thing at the Hall of Justice. Fuller fell asleep from the HOJ to the church, so Aunt Stina helped dress him in his kilt while D and I changed in the bathrooms.

I finished changing first and went to help with Fuller. He was awake and a bit cranky. When we walked into the church his attention was immediately grabbed by the fanciest holy water fount I have ever seen.

It was like a hot tub with a small waterfall. It looked cool and refreshing, and Fuller desperately wanted to touch it. Or maybe not so much as touch it as jump in and swim in it. We had just come from the Museum Center where there was a fun fountain we let him put his hands in. So why should this marble tub of water be any different?

Since I am a good mother I told him "No water" and walked him toward the church pews. And since he is a two year old he screamed into the acoustic chambers of the church allowing his displeasure to be heard in every decibel imaginable.

I yanked him out of there so fast, I may have blown out a few novena candles on the way out the door.

Fuller just wanted to play in the "warer" but there was no way I was going to let him do that. My mom came outside and tried to bargain with Fuller:
"If you leave the holy water alone, you can play in my sprinklers at home." He got a bit quieter, but seemed to shape up when Damon arrived and carried him into the church.

The music was done by the children's choir, and Fuller tried to join in, singing in his special Fuller-ease. He hugged his George and blanket (not just any kids bedding) and sat relatively still with Aunt Stina.

When we left the church, we went through the side door, where no holy water could be disturbed. And you know what? Fuller never got to play in the sprinklers at my mom's house. I guess all that playing with his aunts, uncle, and cousins was enough for him.

English or German

We made it to Ohio, or "High-O" as Fuller says.

This morning when we were getting ready to leave, Fuller kept saying, "high-o, high-o, high-o" over and over. Damon heard him and said, "Well, 'heil, Hitler' to you too!"

Apparently, to Damon, Fuller wasn't expressing joy over our upcoming trip, but paying tribute to one of the worst people in history.

I've been giggling over it all day. And Fuller is excited to be here in "High-O."

Cute kid bullets

Just some quick notes about my kid:

~Today when Fuller and I were out and about I stopped at McDonald's for an ice coffee (so very yummy!). Fuller was most disturbed when we left the parking lot and didn't get out of the car so he could go play. It made me giggle a little and feel a bit disturbed that my child already recognizes the McDonald's as a place to play.

~Fuller also recognizes the Disney logo, thanks to the Little Einstein's DVD we rented from Blockbuster. We were in K-Mart two weeks ago and he pointed to a sign hanging from the ceiling while shouting "Look! Is-NEE!" It was a Disney Princess sign, but he recognized the logo. Shocked me that he recognized it and could say it.

~Now that Fuller has started playing computer games (usually a prize for going potty) he hums the songs that go along with them. He likes Calliou and the game with the "choo-choo" where you transfer tank engines from the start of the track to the engine house, once you put all the track pieces in place. In Target today he started singing, "Ki-oo! Ki-oo!" over and over, like he was singing Calliou's theme song.

~In the mornings, when we go and wake Damon up, Fuller will climb into our bed. Then he will climb out, go to his room and get two or three stuffed animals and his blanket to bring back to our bed (Once he even brought his own pillow). Sometimes he climbs into our bed, kisses us, and then "sleeps" while "snoring" loudly.

Take five and call me in the morning

Last night Fuller was a bit "off" and complaining that "ear hurt." He has had a up and down fever since Sunday so we figured he had another ear infection.

We looked up the local urgent care and found out it wasn't 24 hours and planned on heading there first thing this morning. We got to Pri-Med before 7 and were the first patients to be seen. Everyone fell in love with Fuller and felt awful for him, but not too awful since they did their job and tested him for strep, a test I didn't think was necessary. Fuller has been eating, and drinking, so why would we think his throat was the problem?

The test revealed that Fuller does have strep and a quick look in his ear indicated an infection. We bummed around the local Wal-Mart until the CVS opened and we could get his five prescriptions filled. We use CVS in Chattanooga, and they had his info in their computer already.

Once we got back to the lake house, I made a chart to track all the meds. I don't have to worry about him developing a prescription drug addiction because he really resisted taking the medicines. We have a chewable, three liquids, and a dropper for his ear. The worst for Fuller was the chewable. I tried to smoosh it up for him, put it in OJ and get him to drink it, but that was met with tears too. (Aside: anyone remember that episode of The Cosby show when Rudy was ill and Cliff put the chewable in the OJ?)

We have lots of resting on the agenda, mainly for Fuller.

Here, but not well

After a long day, we are all settled at Lake Martin. Right now the rain is pounding on the metal roof and thunder punctuates the night while we try to get settled.

The drive down was nice, since I got to sleep a lot. The auto air conditioning kept us comfortable (except Damon turns it off when we are on an incline- it saves gas) and the DVD player kept Fuller entertained. Which was good because he really didn't feel too well.

When we arrived Fuller had a fever and had a general ick about him. We dosed him with motrin and let him stretch his legs for a little while, but he went down for a three hour nap within an hour after our arrival.

This evening at dinner he was still feeling ill, and put himself to bed for another nap. He got up around 9 and goofed off for a while, but I made him go back to bed about an hour ago.

I hope he does feel better tomorrow, because I would hate for him to miss out on the things we kept telling him about all week- boat rides, swimming, sliding, and ice cream. Being sick on vacation is no fun.

If he gets a stomach bug on vacation, it is his own fault

This morning was our fantabulous playdate with Fuller's BFF Luke (plus his mommy, my BFF Esther, and Ben who is attached to Esther most minutes of the day). Part one of our date was the Creative Discovery Museum. Fuller is becoming a pro at visiting and it was Luke's first time. This caused a problem when Fuller wanted to go to his favorite spots and the rest of us wanted to give Luke the grand tour.

Fuller ended up crying for 75% of the time we were there. It wasn't pretty.

But that isn't the worst that happened.

We were visiting the special exhibit, Alice in Wonderland, which is on the second floor. I was trying to steer Fuller and friends out to the rooftop fun factory, so that his crying would float off toward space, and not bounce around with the other noises of the crowds. As we neared the door, we passed one of the tables that helps teach kids about parabales using a mini-golf analogies. Kids put the golf ball down a chute and it goes toward a hole. Fuller loves to hog the balls.

And some poor child had thrown up on one of the tables. Her mom was cleaning up the mess with baby wipes and most folks were staying away to give them privacy. Except Fuller.

As we were passing, Fuller ran up to that exact table (there are three), picked up a golf ball, and put it in his mouth. I shouted at him to take it out of his mouth.

Fuller immediately took the ball out, made "yuck" noises and looked at me like, "What did I do?"

Now, it isn't like he is now missing a peptide or two, but he did put some other person's vomit into his own mouth. The mom gave me a wipe to get any "yuck" off Fuller, but there wasn't anything I could do really beyond getting him to drink water and run wild outside.

Thankfully, right now he is only dealing with a runny nose, which he has had for a few weeks now. But still, I'm keeping my eye on that one.

First bus ride

I have no idea what the quote is or who said it or maybe it doesn't even exist as a series of words, but there is a thought out there about seeing the world through the eyes of a child. I know there is. Something about how everything is new again, when seen through the eyes of a child.

If that isn't a quote by someone famous somewhere then I claim it:

"The world is new again when seen through the eyes of a child."

And today, I rode the bus for the very first time because Damon and I took Fuller on his first city bus ride.

I had a dentist appointment downtown early this morning. Fuller was going to spend the time at Damon's office. So, instead of Damon riding the bus to work and then Fuller and I following in the car about 30 minutes later, we all got on the bus together to take the ride downtown.

Fuller sat up very straight in his seat and stared wide-eyed through the gigantic windows to see the scenery fly by. He was amazed that he was riding the bus and kept saying, "bus? bus?" over and over. When we arrived downtown and got off, he said "Thank you!" to the driver and then gave a cheerful, "Bye!"

After my appointment was finally over and we had lunch, Fuller kept asking for the bus. He just got so much enjoyment out of being such a big boy taking public transportation. It was an obvious thrill and I was glad to take him home that way as well. He wasn't that thrilled to get off when we arrived at our stop, but since we were the only ones on the bus it wasn't too embarrassing.

I look forward to experiencing more of the world for the first time again, just because we have Fuller in our lives.

"My turn" is the new "mine"

Because Fuller's life has become more social, we have been trying to reinforce the social skill of sharing. A while back Damon was doing something with Fuller where they would take turns. As they went back and forth, Damon would say, "My turn. Fuller's turn. My turn. Fuller's turn."

After a bit Fuller seemed to understand and would say, "My turn. Daddy's turn. My turn." It was such a sweet moment to witness.

Well in the synapses of Fuller's toddler brain, he has morphed this lesson in sharing to a new way to announce something is his. Now, instead of saying "Mine!" he shouts "My turn!"

Social skills still need some work.

Our jobs as parents is now complete

The internet and the TV can take over from here.

Yes, that is Fuller working the mouse.

Exhausted and happy

Fuller and I had a playdate this morning and it thoroughly exhausted Fuller. He and Amelia played together, not always nicely, but well enough. We had a few "my turn" and "mine" issues, but suddenly it was all ok when we pulled out the finger paints and let them have at the mess.

It is fun to see Fuller play one on one with someone his age. (Actually Amelia is exactly his age, since they share a birthday.) The best part was at the beginning of their visit together. They wandered outside while I showed Amelia's mom around the house. When we went to check on them, Fuller was leading Amelia by the hand, around the perimeter of the yard, as if to show her what the best part of his day is- driving his cars along the ridge of the fence.

Fuller was so tired when his playmate left, as if sharing his quesadilla took all his effort (he did it without prompting). And now he is sleeping off the playdate, with visions of sharing (or yelling "Mine!") in his head.

It's a sweet thing to have a happy child.

Potty Power, day 2

Right now Damon is trying to remove the toonz part of the tinkle toonz potty chair. For some reason the Old McDonald tune keeps going and going even though the sensor is dry. And it can be quite deceiving when it starts and Fuller is sitting on the chair.

I like the theory about the tinkle toonz, but Fuller doesn't really see peeing on a sensor to get music as a reward. In fact, it kind of causes him to stop peeing once the tune starts. But it is funny when he starts singing, "pee... pee... pee!"

Our friends who we borrowed it from had removed the sensor because her son had sensory problems and couldn't handle the high pitch of the music. They really preferred this potty chair because it was a bigger bowl than others, and her son was older when they did his training. Fuller is a big kid, so I thought it would help him. He hates the original chair we bought him.

Fuller has had three pieces of candy today, but three accidents as well. We try to pump liquids in him, but when he is sitting on the chair he really slows down his drinking habit.

But somehow we survived day two.

Potty Power

Well, I have been hinting at it a bit this past few days but here it is: we are taking the potty plunge.

I have been hemming and hawing over the this milestone for a while. Is he ready? Isn't he ready? Do I read a book? Do I get him a Potty Elmo? Do I have the patience and stamina for this?

The truth is that I am ready for it. I am sick of the fighting when he needs a diaper change, I am sick of the diaper changes, and I am sick of buying diapers.

As time has dragged on, I always mention to Fuller the aspect of the potty when I change his diaper. I have him sit on the potty chair from time to time, and I did get him an Elmo potty book.

But something inside me clicked today and I said, this is it.

We ended up borrowing a new potty chair from a friend. I think the one we had was too small for my big boy. And when I put him on the big potty, with the seat cover or without, he freaked out big time.

The potty chair we borrowed is a Tinkle Toonze, and Fuller sat on it from 12:30 to 2:15. He watched TV, read, played with his cars, and watched a borrowed DVD called Potty Power. Fuller got into the songs and seemed really interested. I laughed most of the time.

When he finally did something there was much rejoicing in the land. He got a piece of candy, called Grandpa Fred, listened to the Over the Rhine song "Poopsmith," and promptly put down for his nap. This evening we did another go around, this time it took about an hour for something to happen. Again, we rejoiced and a piece of candy was the reward.

Tomorrow is another day, but I think now we are both ready. This is going to be an interesting time in our lives.

Another reason I should stop being chicken and just start his potty training already

Fuller is tall. That is just a fact. And now he is too tall for his changing table, so we just have him lay down on the floor for us to do his diaper changes.

I didn't realize how ingrained in his little brain this action was until last week when we were at the Creative Discovery Museum. He needed a diaper change. He was fussing at the prospect of leaving his activity (driving the little red car) and I said, "Fuller we have to change your diaper, then you can play more."

He immediately laid down on the floor, ready for the changing to commence.

This was in the lobby of the museum.

Then yesterday, when we were sitting in the front row of church, we realized that he needed a diaper change. We were putting it off because that would mean taking him downstairs where he would want to stay and play. But it was obvious that without that change he wasn't going to sit still. So Damon whispered, "Let's go change your diaper." And Fuller laid down on the floor, in front of the communion table.

Time to finish reading the potty training book.

Since my dad can't see Fuller...

But my dad can see Fuller!

Fuller's morning to do

Fuller wanted to share what we were going to do today. I didn't get to post it before we left, but here it is for you to giggle and coo over.

CDM fun

Last week we bit the bullet and bought a family plus one membership to the Creative Discovery Museum. I figured it would be a good place to take Fuller when the weather gets too hot for the playground, and a fun place to have play dates.

In fact, we were supposed to have a play date today, but my friend Heather got held up at the doctor's office. But even with out our friends Heather and Jonas, Fuller and I still went to "the museum."

I started calling it "the museum" and now Fuller says, "Us-ee-um?" I hope that doesn't mean that all museums have to be just like the Creative Discovery Museum!

We are going again tomorrow, to meet Heather and Jonas, but when I told Fuller we would go tomorrow, he was ready to get in the car and leave that moment. Nevermind that the museum was closed.

I think we are going to have a lot of fun there this summer.

Fuller's new bike

Our friends, Scott and Pam, recently taught their son how to ride a bike and one of the steps they took seemed like something we could do for Fuller.

"3. Removed the pedals and lowered seat so his feet could touch ground."

Fuller has long outgrown his coaster bike, but he loves ride on toys. The green tractor he inherited from a neighbor is too small as well. So I thought maybe we could find a small two wheeler and take off the pedals.

After the vet yesterday we took a trip to the thrift store to look at their bicycles. We were pleasantly surprised to find a 12 inch bike that Fuller was eager to sit on an try to pedal. We didn't really get the hang of the pedaling and he is still a bit small to sit on the seal and push with his feet. So, we created a "redneck" coaster bike that Fuller loves.

Damon took off the pedals, chain mechanism, and the seat. Then he covered the area where the seat would go with padding and duct tape. We put Fuller's new helmet on him (his head is too small for the old yellow one) and Fuller took off around the yard.

Fuller is still getting used to the handle bars that can twist all the way around. Some times he picks up the bike with the handles the wrong way and then he has problems balancing.

The point of making a pedal-less bike is to help Fuller with balance. Before Fuller got too tall, he was really coasting on his old bike, lifting his feet off the ground and moving around the yard. Now he has another bike and he is really excited to take a ride. Soon he will be riding circles around me. My little boy is growing up.

Wonders still don't cease

Fuller asked for and was given cheese and popcorn earlier. The thing that is amazing is that he actually ate some of the cheese and some of the popcorn. Both were declared "Good" complete with tummy rub.

The antibiotics seem to be helping and he hasn't had a fever since yesterday, so I am thrilled. His Grandpa Albert sent him two "Get well" videos that made Fuller grin from ear to ear. Now, if he will loose his boss attitude, then we will be stellar.

Glad to see my little boy running around the house again, it makes my heart warm.

It would have been easier if he had strep

We left the doctor's office with a diagnosis of "non-strep tonsilitis." They did the strep test, which came back negative. So they had to do a blood draw which drew a ton of tears and indicated his levels were elevated. His throat is swollen, totally a mess. If the strep test had been positive, he wouldn't have had to have the blood drawn, which would have been easier. I guess.

Every where we went people said, "Oh, I can tell he doesn't feel well." And I would give him an extra hug.

He is resting now, which is good, I want him to get all the rest he can.

1 pm

Around midnight last night, the dogs ran out of the house barking. I think they heard a leaf fall to the ground, so it required that the entire neighborhood be alerted to it.

I was sitting on the couch and I heard "May-ball! Ivy! Hush!"

Apparently the dogs woke up the boy and he wanted them to hush. I wanted them to hush too, but just because I couldn't hear Grey's Anatomy on my laptop.

Fuller started to cry so I went in there to give him some comfort. His temp was back up to 103 and he wanted juice. So I gave him some ibuprofen and juice. And decided that today would be the day we go to the doctor.

The nurse I spoke with on Tuesday said to go ahead and call if he still had the fever thing on Thursday. And at 8 this morning he had a 101 temp again. Of course the Tylenol has brought that down, but since he is still refusing to eat, we will be sitting in the sick area of the doctor's waiting room at 1 this afternoon.

It's why they pay them the big bucks

Fuller has been dealing with an up and down temperature since yesterday. It hit 103 yesterday and today, both after his nap. I called the doctor's office and after speaking with the nurse, I learned that apparently I have been doing two things wrong:

1. Underdosing. I could be giving him a teaspoon and half of the Tylenol, but I have only been giving him a teaspoon. Apparently Fuller entered a new weight range and I didn't know it!

2. Too much time between doses. If I were to do the Motrin/ Tylenol trade off, I should be doing it every three hours. I thought it was every six hours. Oops.

The good news is that one the Tylenol kicks in, he acts a bit like the normal boy that he is. And I love the fact that the nurse didn't say I had to bring him into the office. May he get well soon.

Cute kid alert

I have to admit that the last few days I have been in a funk, especially when it comes to the boy. Ask my sister. Every time she calls I threaten to give him away to the next person to walk by my house.

But, my funk is lifting and I am again seeing the cuteness in the kid more and more. Case in point, this story from Damon last night:

I was at a friend's house last night, so Damon got to put Fuller to bed. When Damon announced it was bed time, Fuller was playing with his cars on the chair in the living room. Fuller said, "Ok! Night cars!" and then gave them each a kiss.

A kid who is so loving to his toys, I think it means his heart is really big and open.

Another milestone

When we were in Ohio, my mom gave Fuller a very old cell phone to play with. He likes to "talk" on it in our car and usually he calls Austina or Daddy.

The other day we were driving somewhere and FUller kept repeating, "Beep, beep, beep." Then he started talking "Hi Nina!"

"Ok Nina!"

"gibbrly wah ju ju lee"

"Bye Nina!"

We decided that the "beep, beep, beep" was either Fuller dialing the phone or the phone ringing. It was Fuller's first complete phone call.

I can't find Fuller's mute button

I just realized that I apparently deleted an entire entry from yesterday. I didn't ever publish it, didn't save it in draft, but I know I wrote it.

It was all about Fuller and his lack of an indoor voice. He loves to hear himself talk, sing, yell, vocalize, and just make noise. Normally, it doesn't bother me. But I have had to start cracking down on this behavior because there are places it bothers me.

Church is the first place. We had a really bad time in church in Sunday because Fuller just would not be quiet. And then there is the car where I can be driving along and suddenly a very loud "Haaaaah!" will make me jump.

I repeated the phrase "indoor voice" a lot yesterday and so far I seem to be doing it even more today, which is not what I wanted to do. But I know that like other things, this will click and suddenly he will be able to control his volume.

Or else the next kid better come with a mute button.

Maybe I could escape to Vegas hotels to get some quiet. But then again, Vegas isn't very quiet either.

Winner!

Winner!
Originally uploaded by CrumleyFamily.

"I did it!"

This week Fuller has made progress in counting, recognizing numbers, and color matching. It is fun to watch his brain "click" and his face light up when he gets things right.

One of his new favorite phrases is "I did it!" or "You did it!" He will yell it and raise his arms over his head in a very cute victory stance. Earlier this week he was watching Clifford and the big red dog and friends won some competition and there was much cheering. Fuller yelled at me "Yeaaaaah! Tey did it!" I love how he acknowledges his achievements and those of others.

However, I don't see his life through rose colored glasses and I know that things are not always going to come so easy to him. And I know that there will be times when I will have to ask for help in his education. Which is why I am happy to review Score Education Centers.

Score learning is about hands on tutoring for children in Pre-K all the way through High School. They focus on math, writing, reading, and study skills. With summer right around the corner, they are getting ready to assist children with retaining or beefing up their skills through their summer programs. (You can save 10% on summer programs by enrolling now.)

I watched their "Score experience" video and the children's testimonies really spoke to me. They seemed confident and really enjoyed their educational experience. Seeing the kids recognize that they were being challenged and still learning at their own pace.

The Score experience includes working hand in hand with your child's school to keep the child's skills in line with what his or her school is expecting of him or her.

Score's website is well designed and easy to use. I love that they have recommended reading on the left sidebar, based on the skill level you are browsing in. Even though there are no Score centers in Chattanooga, it is still a valuable resource.

Fuller is learning a lot these days and maybe by the time we need more help, there will be a Score center in Chattanooga.

Sleeping arrangements

I didn't bother to beat Fuller out of bed this morning. I was too curious to see if he was still in his bed.

A long time ago I asked ya'll about bed rails, because we thought a toddler bed was coming. It was a German bed that my mom got from a neighbor in Germany. We actually ended up leaving it as a crib that Fuller could climb in and out of easily.

It isn't that Fuller wasn't ready for a toddler bed, it was that I wasn't ready. Fuller tends to stay put longer if he has "bars" surrounding him. But, he is big enough and old enough, so I decided it was time.

Yesterday I adjusted his bed from the "German crib" to a toddler bed. I just took one rail off the side and made it into a sort of day bed. Damon still needs to reinforce it a little bit, but it worked for Fuller's nap, so we proceeded with bed time.

Fuller went to bed with little protest, but I had to check on him around 9:30. I turn on the light outside his room, opened the door, and peeked. He was sleeping on his side, dangerously close to the edge. The light startled him and he fell off the bed right in front of me.

(The mattress is 16 inches off the floor. I measured just for you.)

I quickly put him back into bed and rushed out of the room. Damon stayed in there and put a comforter on the floor next to his bed.

Before I went to bed myself, I checked on him one more time. This time I was surprised to see that Fuller was sound asleep on the floor, cuddled up in the comforter. Again I put him back into bed, close to the wall.

So I was curious to see if Fuller stayed in bed the rest of the night. I had the baby monitor on, but didn't hear any crying all night. So when I woke up this morning to Fuller singing, I went in there to greet him.

Fuller was sitting up on the floor, wound up in the comforter. I can't tell for sure, but I think Fuller spent most of his night on the floor.

We will see how this milestone of growing up goes. At least he isn't trying to crawl into bed with us. The dogs might not like that.

The number of the day

Fuller is sitting and watching Mel-mo and repeating the numbers on the screen. It is pretty cool how he has been absorbing the information from Sesame Street recently. I take time to include him when I count often, which he usually does with glee. His favorite is counting the scoops of coffee beans in the morning.

I was looking at flash cards the other day and I couldn't find any that were just numbers. They have the alphabet, which we already have, but no plain numbers. There were plenty of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division cards, but no numbers.

He certainly has grasped the alphabet, which we still work on daily, and now his numbers are coming a long. It gives me so much joy to see him learning. I can't wait until he starts to read.

Bless you

I think Fuller is suffering from allergies or an ear infection. Or both. Who knows? I am not a doctor. But the Bradford Pear trees and honeysuckle are all starting to bloom and those tend to be a trigger for a lot of people around here.

Damon grew up without allergies and then suddenly, soon after we were married, he started having allergy symptoms soon after he mowed the grass. Our doctor said that this geographical area is very heavy with the pollen and the allergies. It is an allergist's dream to work here.

Fuller is very cute when you sneeze. He will bless you every time. He won't always say "excuse me" when he burps, but he will always "ess ew" when you sneeze.

When he sneezes, it is a bit different. Since he is only two he doesn't have a lot of self-maintenance techniques. He demands that his nose be wiped when it is runny and snotty. And heaven help you if there is any goo on his hand or sleeve or pant leg or anywhere that he can see... you must wipe it up immediately.

He is crying in his sleep again, I just hope he gets some decent rest tonight.

And I hope I figure out how to change the ear thermometer back to Fahrenheit, since somehow it got switched to Celsius.

Thrown off

I think a lot of parent bloggers out there have been thrown off by the whole daylight savings time change. And I have to say that I am one of them.

Fuller slept "late" again today- getting up at 8:45ish (I was up at 7:30). And now, he will not take an afternoon nap at all. He has been in there for two hours and I am about to let him out of his room, chalking up the time as "quiet time."

I bet we get an early bedtime out of this. Maybe it will all be sorted out by the end of the week.

More fun in toddler communication

Yesterday Fuller slept from 1ish to 4:15. That gave me lots of time to get some things (and blogging) done. Then, when he was up and playing he came to me and starting doing his charades/ toddler communication thing. He was pulling on his shirt and pointing to his belly. Then he would point in the direction of my bedroom, which happens to be where the bathroom is.

"Fuller, do you want to take a bath?"

"Ok, Mommy."

Never before have I been so excited to give FUller a bath. He just wanted to do it for recreation, to play with the bubble paints and his bath cars, but still he was asking to take a bath!

Today I am taking him to my friend Esther's house just so we can go hot tubbing. That is a play bath I can really get behind.

Stamp man

Everyone knows that Monday is Kindermusik day, right?

At the end of the class all the kids get stamps on their hands- both of them. When he gets the stamps he looks at them with such affection and wonderment. He has even been seen licking them.

Today we ran some errands after Kindermuisk and Fuller fell asleep. His face was pressed up against one hand and he transferred the stamp to his nose. You couldn't really see the pig... instead it looked like a big orange blob on the side of his nose.

I sometimes give Fuller a Spider-Man stamp on his hand once he has done something good. I hope it is always this easy to please him.

The good from illness

I am so happy that Fuller is better and that our family has been clicking along recently. But I have to share that there are two good things that came from Fuller's illness.

~He will now take a bath without screaming and trying to climb out of the tub. I guess that after having to take three or more baths a day for a week will break you of that fear of baths thing. Damon also got Fuller into "washing" himself so Fuller will scrub his belly and face when you tell him.

~Fuller loves to have his temperature taken with the ear thermometer. I think because it beeps, something Fuller enjoys, he is into it. He can even take his own temperature if I give him instructions while he holds it.

Other families in our church have been sick, but I think on the whole our church family is finally better as well. Our pastor and his wife got the bug, my friend BA and her family had a third round of it.

The funny thing about BA's family is that they were ill in January and BA had them on the BRAT diet to help keep their strength up. She would put peanut butter on the toast for a little extra protein.

Then there was the peanut butter recall and it turns out that the jars of peanut butter were some from the recall.

The same thing happened to Josiah as well- he was ill, making PBJ sandwiches, and it turns out he was making them with tainted PBJ.

And now, they recalled more than Peanut Butter. There are all kinds of ice cream toppings that were made with the tainted PB, so check that out and make sure you don't have that in your pantry.

Now there is a peanut butter recall lawsuit out there. The suit was filed on February 23rd, on behalf of a 12 year old boy who got ill from his Peter Pan Peanut Butter. And of course there are plenty of others who are looking into the possibility of joining the lawsuit. (In fact, if you think you might qualify you can call 1-800-LAW-INFO for a free evaluation. Or go to www.peanut-butter-recall.com to make your request.)

Like I said before, Fuller wasn't sick from salmonella, we eat JIF in our house. So I am pretty sure he just got the stomach bug that went around the church. And I am so glad that it is behind us and we can focus on more fun things- like going to the SEC tournament!

Now we are talking

Tonight, after dinner, Fuller went into the living room and pointed to the black box.

"Efree? Mommy? Efree?"

Me: "You want to watch TV?"

Fuller: "OOvee?"

Me: "You want to watch a movie?"

Fuller: "gmm brr mah Cars, Mommy?"

Me: "You want to watch Cars?"

Fuller then walked to the DVD shelf and pulled his beloved Cars from the shelf.

Thanks Tia & Tio! Fuller loves that movie. And I love that we are starting to really communicate.

Fuller is the Ultimate Sports Fan of the Day

Last week, I submitted a photo of myself as Auburn Elvis to Coke's (and Qdoba's) March Madness Ultimate Sport Fanatic Contest.

Well, This weekend, I also submitted a photo of Fuller. Well, today (and today only), Fuller was choosen as their photo of the day. I think that means he just won a $25 gift certificate to Qdoba.

War Eagle!

Oh, yeah, if you wanted, you could go into the "Go Head 2 Head" section and vote for our photos. It's semi-random which ones show up, so you might have to click a bunch to get to either of our photos.

Finger spell

In case you haven't noticed, recently we have had several pictures of Fuller doing something with his fingers. I'm not exactly sure what this is all about, but he is a tad obsessed with looking at his fingers, pointing, bending, and whatever else there is to do with them.

We have made progress on learning numbers. He can count to 10 (in a round about way), and he has started to use his fingers a little bit for that purpose, triumphantly showing me all ten of his fingers when he gets to ten.

I keep trying to show him the ASL alphabet, since he is doing really well with his letters, but he just keeps showing me his baby gang sign. It's not like I am trying to get him to spell Phentermine or something, I just want him to know that manipulating his fingers has the ability to be more.

Playdate at CDM

Fuller and I went on a playdate to the Creative Discovery Museum yesterday. We were invited by a mom at our church. Their family has a family plus one membership, so she shared with us!

The little girl, A, was born the same day as Fuller. We had a really fun time letting the kids play in the water and there was minimal bickering. Since A had been there several times, she knew what was up.

The museum was very crowded due to a few schools being there for field trips. One CDM employee suggested to us that we come in the afternoon, since they will be crowded like this almost everyday until fall. My friend replied that it wasn't that big a deal and that the afternoon would interfere with nap times.

I dressed Fuller in orange thinking it would be easy to spot him if he got a ways away from me, but I was wrong. I think one of the schools asked kids to all dress in orange so that they would be easy to keep together. Fortunately no one tried to keep Fuller in their group based on my choice of clothing for him.

The kids enjoyed the water, the little yellow house, and the music area. Then Fuller started to melt down, which meant it was time to leave. He didn't really think so, because he was ready to play in the water again, but I knew better.

I am thinking that for his third birthday we go ahead and get that membership. We had a lot of fun!

Dealing with addiction

You know how some people are addicted to diet pills or food or alcohol or shopping? Well, it seems that I might have a little food addict in my house.

Fuller loves goldfish crackers. He wanted them for breakfast the other day, he wants them after he finishes breakfast, he wants them when he wakes up from his nap, he wants them for dinner. He wants goldfish crackers all the time.

I had to hide the box from his sight, but he still seems to know they are there. They are high up on a shelf and he tried to climb the shelf to get at them. I offer him other options, but he is insistent on the goldfish. If I forget and leave them on the kitchen island, he is sure to help himself.

I've spent time this week dealing with tantrums because he has been denied the crackers. I think Fuller is trying to make up for not eating during his illness, but I don't think all those calories need to come from cheesey crackers shaped like aquatic life.

And I hope that one day is favorite food will be green peas, because a parent can dream.

My bad

Let's chalk this up to rookie mistake. After all, this is Fuller's first full blow stomach bug.

Fuller was acting like he felt better last night. Even though I kept offering him "light" food to eat, he was still asking to "eat, eat" over and over. I gave him a grilled cheese and he loved it. He ate quite a bit, but not all. And he quit asking to eat.

This morning, the second phrase out of his mouth (the first being, "Mommmy where are you?") was "Eat? Ooos?" So I gave him juice and then made him eggs.

Don't laugh.

He gobbled up the eggs, asking for more. And then he promptly threw them up.

Yeah, I should have given him toast, but really he seems over toast and rice. He won't touch applesauce, and we are out of bananas. Taking a chance, I thought he would benefit from the eggs. Protein, calories, etc.

But his stomach is still weak, so that was silly of me. He is still acting fine and asking to eat, so I gave him toast, which he is reluctantly nibbling on.

Live and learn, that is what kids are for.

Two examples

Fuller and Damon are really getting some miles out of the colored blocks. Damon is building stuff and Fuller is knocking it down.

There are things about Fuller recently that have amazed us and cracked us up. Here are two examples, in the order of amazing and then cracked us up.

~We have started saying the pledge of allegiance and praying every morning before Damon leaves for work. Today Fuller was sitting in Damon's lap and pointing at the flag, then folding his hands. So we stopped what we were doing and prayed as a family. And then Fuller was still insistent on the flag, so we said the pledge too.

~Earlier Damon and I were watching SNL (we tape it) and Fuller was doing his Fuller thing... playing with blocks, drinking juice, and doing the "cars go!" exercise. Suddenly Fuller started calling out from the kitchen, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" I went in there and he was sitting at the island, offering me the remote control to the kitchen TV. I guess he didn't like what we were watching in the living room.

PLease tell me this is a phase...

Fuller has discovered that paper turns into something chewy when he puts it in his mouth. I discovered a little mound of spitwads in the living room earlier, because he had chewed up the insert to the Cars DVD. I am really glad I didn't step on them in my bare feet. I probably would have freaked out.

Last evening he managed to put several wads of chewing paper into his nose. He sneezed it all out, just as I was going to get the tweezers. And yes, it was gross.

Today we were doing some finger painting and Fuller decided to lick the blank paper. Like it was a fancy treat or something. He even said, "Yum!" He doesn't say "yum" like that when I give him actual food. Not that he has been eating much of that actual food right now. Which is why I thought he was eating the paper. Maybe he is hungry. But not really, because he is just chewing the paper, not eating it.

Mystery surrounds this boy. I need to get Sherlock Holmes on the case.

Big B, little b

Fuller and I have been spending quality time in front of the computer recently. I found this site called Starfall.com and Fuller is mesmerized by the letters. He is really into the letter B.

"Where B Momma?"

"B? Where?"

"B? B? B? B?"

I like the site because Fuller is into it, but there are some portions I am not to keen on- like when there is a little game at the end of each letter module. Or when you have to make a word out of letters that you haven't gone over yet. I know that the point is the phonetics, but still I am just trying to get him to recognize and say the letters.

On another side of this quality time is Fuller's interest in the computer. We have been using my laptop and he understands that I am pressing something to make the screens change and I tried to hold his finger to press the button, which delighted him to no end. He tired to move his finger on the touch pad himself, but that didn't really work. I think I might find a corded mouse so that we can practice using that. Or worse, I might invest in some V-tech toys. (Or convince a grandparent that it would be the perfect gift.)

This teaching and learning stuff is kind of fun.

Cookie or letter? Welcome to Monday

Fuller is watching Sesame Street and the letter of the day is "t." He rushed to his magnetic letters and found the "t" so he could act out with Cookie Monster the angst of determining if the "T" is just a "t" or a cookie.

And when Cookie Monster gave into the lust of eating a letter, so did Fuller. Well, he didn't really eat it, but it was completely in his mouth.

Progress

Yesterday morning I was trying to finish cleaning the house and Fuller was carefully undoing everything that I did. I would put all his toys in their bins and bags, then leave the room to put something away in another room. When I would return to his room, the toys (especially the ones with multiple parts) would be out and scattered on the floor.

At least I think it was Fuller. Mr. Potato head could have jumped out of his bin on his own, but I don't really think so.

Fuller was very chatty while I tried to "clean." He would just talk to me in Fuller-eze and I would respond with something about whatever I was doing at the moment. Suddenly I realized that in one of his many sentences he was telling me about his "a car!"

Car. Fuller said "Car!"

This is progress from calling all vehicles "a go!"

Now, if only he could tell me when his diaper needs to be changed.

Oh wait! He did that too! It totally took me by surprise, but he did get up, go to his changing table, and try to open the drawer where the diapers are. When I put him on the changing table he totally did not object.

I think my little boy is growing up. Progress is being made.

I just realized

Sometimes I think I am a little slow, and today I think I made a realization that I think I should have made before today.

Fuller doesn't like to eat when there is company around or when he is visiting others.

The whole time my mom was here a lot of the conversation was revolving around how much Fuller did not eat. Sometimes he would sit at the table long after we were finished, nibbling here and there, but not really interested. If he could have skipped the whole food thing, he probably would have.

This happens when we travel as well. When we go to the lake or to Ohio and Fuller doesn't really eat well there either. Sure, he will eat sweets but I am not the type of mother to let her son exist on a diet of Oreos and ice cream. I could exist on that diet, but not my son!

We went out to dinner last night, over to Macaroni Grill. He ate a lot of bread and some bites of pizza, but the rest of his 10 inch pizza made it home in a cardboard box.

My mom left around 10 am and since then Fuller has had 6 chicken nuggets, 4 pieces of pizza, and lots of juice. I think he is making up for lost time.

The last class

Damon and Fuller's special father-son time is coming to a time where it will need to be redefined. Just because Damon isn't going to be home all day doesn't mean they can't have father-son time, it will just be different.

But yesterday was probably the last day that Damon will take Fuller to kindermusik. My mom, Damon, and Fuller went to the class and apparently Fuller was the best behaved that he has ever been. Fuller danced with Damon (and Isabel apparently), and sat nicely on my mom's lap. Damon told me last night that he was really glad that he got to see that and it was a good class to end on for him.

I'm looking forward to next Monday when I get to take Fuller and see what all the fuss is about. It will be fun to participate in this part of Fuller's musical enrichment, and then I can maybe learn another song that doesn't start, "Twinkle, twinkle."

A father-son moment

Last evening Damon defied science and built a fire in our very wet fire pit. I swear that guy can build a fire anywhere. Damon wanted marshmallows to roast, but we didn't have the big kind. We did have the miniature kind, a gift given to Fuller with his marshmallow gun.

The marshmallow gun was a gift from Damon's parents. It is made of PVC pipe and personalized with Fuller's name.* Fuller has it figured out that the mini marshmallows should go into one of the holes, but his lungs are no where strong enough to propel the marshmallow out of the gun. So Damon helped him out.

First, Damon decided that it would be fun to shoot at Mommy. Not that it hurt, and not that Damon actually hit me very many times, but still. Insert eye roll here.

And then Damon decided that since we were outside anyway, that the air compressor would be better for Fuller to use. Fuller knows how to press the nozzle on the air hose, so suddenly it really became an activity that Fuller could get into.

They had fun blowing marshmallows at Mommy, up in the air, and where ever Fuller decided to aim. I think we have a few marshmallows on the roof.

They finished and Fuller went to bed, but I think we need to get more mini-marshmallows so Fuller can have some more fun like that in the future.

* On Christmas morning I used the marshmallow gun and blew a marshmallow at Fuller. It hit him (not hard!) but he cried. I felt so badly after that.

If you want to make your own, I found this great instructable for you.

If only she would reciprocate his love

There are days when it just seems like everything is going really well and you have to find a way to capture it all- even a photograph doesn't really do the moments justice. Yesterday was one of those days.

It has been warm here and yesterday afternoon we had some good time outside. I threw the ball for Maple and Fuller tried to get into the fun but Maple treats Fuller like the little kid he is. She turns and just walks away with an air of "You are such a baby and not worth my time."

Little does she know that Fuller will gladly throw the ball for her for many. many minutes. Maple will get that extra bit of attention that she is craving if she would just open her heart to the little guy that bumped her down the totem pole of attention.

There was a moment when Fuller was running after Maple, holding the ball, and then it dawned on him that she wasn't going to reciprocate his love. So Fuller just sat down in the grass, kind of dejected, and pouted a little bit. He quickly got over it when I started chasing him around the yard, and all was well with his world again.

They say a boy and his dog are inseparable, but so far our dogs have not been that into Fuller. He really gets excited when they are chasing each other or are playing with the balls, but they just steer clear of him whenever he is around.

Of course, this does not apply whenever he has food in his hands, on his plate, or in his mouth. Right now Fuller is eating PBJ and Lively is inches from his feet, waiting. Fuller is notorious for leaving his snacks unattended and then crying loudly when one of the dogs eats his treats.

And on the other hand, the dogs should realize that most of the dog treats that they have been given recently have been from Fuller's hands. He figured out how to open the plastic dog treat bin and loves handing out many dog biscuits. But do the dogs understand that he is loving on them by giving them food?

No.

One day it will be different, but until then they just have to figure out an arrangement to exist in the same space. Or wait until Fuller offers them another dog biscuit.

The post brought to you by the letter U

Spending the last few days with Fuller all day has been so much fun.

This morning he was playing with his Leapfrog Fridge Phonics set and singing along with the songs. He got a bit confused with the letter N and the letter Z. To him the N is a Z on its side and he kept trying to turn the N to be a Z. He definitely recognizes the letter Z.

He also recognizes the letter U. He sings the song and then jumps up high and points to you when he says "U!" It is so dang cute.

Fuller tales

Tonight we ran some errands and ended up at the mall. When we were walking along Fuller was distracted by something brightly colored and started walking toward the Waldenbooks. We called out to him, but he kept walking and then "Bam!" he walked right into the window-wall of the bookstore. I laughed so hard... kids are a great source of entertainment. Provided you can keep them in your sights....

Another story... We were in a store and Fuller was a bit anxious. D and I were looking at something near the entrance and I had Fuller in my peripheral. I saw him walk out the front so I turned, followed him, and called out his name. As soon as I was out the door there was Fuller, "talking" to a police officer who was asking where his Mommy was. Talk about embarrassing.

Language Explosion

If you spent the last few weeks with Fuller then you know his favorite word is "No." A recent scene in the kitchen:

Me: "Fuller, do you want a cookie?"

Fuller: "No."

Fuller takes the cookie.

It is his answer to everything on most days. I know that all two year olds go through this phase and that there are parents out there rolling their eyes as they read this. But hey, he is my kid and he likes to say "No." My kid is like other kids, I just want to acknowledge that.

Fuller seems to be in the midst of a small language explosion. He has words for some things- monkey is "kiki" and car is "a go." Today he said "hot dog" and seems to be remembering his manners, including the occasional "excuse me" when he is about to run you over on his bike.

During the time we spent in Ohio he started to call Cool Aunt Stina "Nina" and would say "ia" for Tia, when prompted. His favorite name to say was "Esau" as he chased my parents' dog around their first floor.

On the car trip back to Chattanooga from Ohio Damon and I were trying to get Maple to sit down in the back seat. "Maple, have a seat" is the command for sit (we don't say sit, we say "have a seat) and we kept repeating it over and over. Suddenly Fuller chimed in with "Aple seat! Aple V seat!" It was so cute to see him put together two words that he knows (Maple and seat) and make a command out them.

He still whines, babbles, grunts, and cries for things he wants, but he is starting to use his words more every day. Communication is key, and Fuller is so very close to opening that door.

Gran's gift

Linda got this for her grandkids. She says when it arrived she played and played with it, which is probably why when you tickle Elmo's belly he doesn't really get as excited as he does when you tickle his foot and chin. Fuller like's to carry him around by Elmo's eyes. And it was very funny when Fuller decided to give Elmo a lobotomy.

Pew Training: Mild, obedient, good as He.

Our church has transitioned back to 1 service for the next month, since attendance will be down until the college students return.

We still bring Fuller to the first part of the service, but we still have a struggle with keeping him still and happy. We had a snack for him and something to play with, but ultimately he wanted to run around and get away from us. He wanted to go back to the nursery to play.

Today the songs we sang did keep his attention, since they were mostly upbeat Christmas carols. And today he did try to sing along, so that was nice.

One song struck both Damon and I as we were trying to handle our son and sing at the same time. It was Once In Royal David's City, a favorite of mine since it brings back fond memories of Christmas past. But unfortunately it did make us laugh out loud when we got to the end of the third verse:

Christian children all must be
Mild, obedient, good as He.

I know that Fuller is only two and that this period of wiggles during church will pass, but it our prayer that he be a Christian child- mild, obedient, and good.

The giving boy

Before the game there were Coca-Cola sponsored activities at the First Tennesse Pavillion. We took Fuller there to see the fun and I gave him my bus money to put in the bucket.

The other day I posted about virtual kettles for the Salvation Army and how I seem to never have spare change for giving to bucket charities. Well, yesterday I was going to ride the bus to the stop on Broad Street and then walk to the Pavillion and meet my family. Then I decided to take the free shuttle and walk from the Marriott. That meant I had extra change in my pockets and I gave it to Fuller to put in the bucket.

I know that there is lots of giving going on during Christmas time and I really hope that we are able to teach Fuller (and any other kids we have someday) that it is better to give than receive.

Your son

Last week Damon sent me an email at work. The email then went on to explain that my son had been caught plugging in the Christmas tree on his own. He really wanted to see the lights. (Damon remedied the situation by installing in a surge protector with many plug protectors.)

The subject line that Damon used was "Your son" and it made me giggle because lately Damon and I have been referring to Fuller as "Your son" in various contexts.

For instance, if Fuller has done something naughty I'll tell Damon "Your son has just ripped up his book." It is as if when we want to declare that Fuller's sinful nature comes from one specific parent, and not just both of us. (Well, his sinful nature is what all of us have, but you get my point, right?)

Recently I have tried to use "Your son" in the context of praising Fuller and seeing that the good that he is capable of also is a result of both his parents. "Damon, come see what your son did!" I said that this evening when Fuller was doing something that I thought was totally above average and amazing.

Recently Fuller, our son, has added some more cuteness to his repertoire:

~Fuller will sing "Twinkle, Twinkle" all on his own. It sounds like "Genkle, Genkle" but it is so cute. I can't get a video of it because he suddenly becomes self concious and stops singing and looking at the camera.
~He has started to say "Excuse me" after he burps. Then we praise him and he fake burps and then says "Excuse me" again.
~He likes to skate around on the bamboo floors in his socks. I watch him slide his feet and bend his knees, moving to his own glide.
~His favorite item to wear these days is a Santa hat... a sparkly Santa hat. He even wore it to church two weeks ago.
~On Saturday he climbed up a foot stool to reach my coffee grinder. He held the lid down, made a "Whhhhiirrrrr" sound, and then turned it upside down to bang the imaginary grounds into the lid. If I could get him to pour water I think I could get him to make my coffee on the weekends.
~Tonight Fuller started to sing along when we sing "Jingle Bells."
~Last week Fuller "helped" me make waffles. He "stirred" the mixture while I added the milk. His concept of stirring was to shake the spoon with the mixture on it.
~He fake sleeps. He will put his head down, close his eyes, and fake snore. I have no idea where he learned that.
~And finally, today he did something really amazing. Damon could tell Fuller was headed to his nap time. Damon told Fuller that it was nap time and suddenly Fuller got up and started riding his scooter around the house. Fuller rode it into his bedroom so Damon just let Fuller play in there, with the door closed. About 10 minutes later Damon realized it was kind of quiet in Fuller's room. Damon went in there and Fuller had 1) turned off his bedroom light, 2) got into his own bed, 3) fallen asleep for his afternoon nap. Please tell me that is amazing. I think it is amazing. I will be telling my co-workers tomorrow how amazing that is.

An Interactive Christmas

Tonight my friend Esther and her little boy, Luke, joined us for dinner and some hanging out time. While hanging out I decided to pull out some more of the tree decorations and actually decorate the tree.

We actually have a box labeled "unbreakable ornaments" and I put all those at the bottom of the tree while Luke and Fuller "helped." It was funny watching them admire the shininess of the star, the softness of the stocking hat ornament, and the fun of the wooden bell.

Most parents put the "kid safe" ornaments on the lower branches, which is what I did, but I also want Fuller to know that it is ok if he interacts with the ornaments. I don't know why, but I really think that having interactive Christmas items is important for teaching Fuller the fun and importance of this season.

After our first advent evening, we pulled out the nativity set I got for Fuller last Chirstmas. He immediately pointed out that Joseph, Mary, Jesus, and the three wise men all had hats. The Angel did not. He spent about half an hour putting the figures into a wagon and then taking them out and lining them up on the couch.

The Jesse tree has magnetic ornaments because Fuller likes magnets and I want him to interact with the objects that represent the events that lead to the birth of our Savior.

I don't know why this is important to me, I just want Fuller to experience Christmas and hopefully learn something. And someday he will really know the reason for the season.

My melting heart

Fuller was up at 5:45 this morning. He was crying rather loudly, but the whole being up early thing is unusual for him. I just rocked him for a bit and put him down and he has been quiet so far.

Yesterday Fuller reached a milestone in his development that made my heart melt and ooze with happiness. Well, first he did something really funny.

Fuller was eating Joe's Os. He was shoving them into his mouth a fistful at a time and going so fast that he actually bit his own finger, hard. He was crying big alligator tears and I was trying so hard not to laugh.

I bent down, hugged him and told him he did it to himself. Then I kissed his finger and said, "All better." Fuller's crying went to a whimper as I stood up.

Then he pointed at me, whimpering and holding his finger up some more. So I bent down and kissed it again and he smiled.

Later that evening I was trying to take some pictures of him in front of the Christmas tree. There are only lights up right now and light happens to be one of the words that he knows and comprehends very well. He was so excited when I turned on the tree that he grabbed one of the tiny light bulbs and said, "Liiiigh-Tah." Then he kept holding the bulb. It got a bit hot and he yelped. Then he came to me with his finger outstretched and I kissed it.

He smiled so big because Mommy's kiss fixed it for him. He then "touched" another light and brought me his finger for another kiss.

Fuller learned yesterday that Mommy (not Daddy!) can kiss away boo-boos. And that made my heart melt.

He has no idea

We let Fuller stay up late tonight for two reasons:

He had a late nap and got up after 6 pm.

A Charlie Brown Christmas was on.

Fuller was interested in Charlie Brown, but the commercials were a distraction The tractor beam of the TV let Fuller go and he and started to get into things. We offered him his first taste of egg nog, which he liked, but then got very sad when there was no more in the cup (there wasn't a lot in there to begin with).

Fuller has no idea that he was given a treat tonight. Staying up late, anything past 8 pm, is a treat in my mind. And the watching of TV, the eggnog... all treats.

But in return I got a kid who said, "Ni ni" when I told him it was time to go to bed. He giggled when I gave him his Pooh Bear and didn't whimper when the lights went out.

Now, if only he would give us a treat and sleep in next Saturday.

2 bad things

Fuller did two bad things today:

1.) He got into the stain that D was using to stain some wood. D wasn't able to accomplish what he wanted to because he then had to give Fuller a bath.

2.) He didn't take any naps or even attempt one.

I just had to document that.

Dr. Mom

I have exactly no years of medical training. The last time I took a science class I was in high school. And yet, on Friday I diagnosed Fuller with croup.

Yes, my love of all things Anne of Green Gables and knowing that a barking cough could equal croup were really what gave me the edge in that diagnosis.

Ok, that and another mom has two kids who actually went to the doctor and were officially diagnosed. She told me her kids' symptoms and since they matched Fuller's that is what I went with.

Instead of consulting Gray's Anatomy (the book, not the TV show), I went with WebMD (no copay) where I learned that there is nothing really you can do for croup but let it run its course. Friday and early Saturday he had a fever, but that is gone. Friday and yesterday he was kind of solemn, in that "I want to play but yet I just don't feel up to it" way. He sat on my lap for hours, which is not like him at all.

When Fuller goes to bed we do use the humidifier, and he does wake himself up coughing, but right now you would never know he had anything wrong. Then he goes to talk, laugh, or cry and he sounds hoarse and throaty.

The other mom said it takes about 10 days to run its course, so I think we have two down and 8 more to go.

Milestone 2,763

Around 7:45 this evening, my child threw up for the first time ever. And as a bonus, he threw up all over me.

We had such a nice day together. I stayed home so D could do floor work and I carted Fuller all over town so he didn't have to be cooped up in his room. He played at church with other kids, he played at the mall's play place, he had a nice long nap.

Poor kid, when it happened he cried so much, he had no idea what was going on.

Poor me, I froze and had no idea what direction to move. After he did it again, I moved to the bathroom, but still my head was swirling.

My son threw up.

I still am trying to wrap my head around this.

I wonder if there is a space in the baby book for this milestone.

Tis the TV

Fuller's bedtime is 8 pm. From what I understand, this is later than other kids his age, but he sleeps later than they do.

Because he goes to bed that late, last night he was allowed to watch "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas."

He was enthralled. He stood in the middle of the room, just watching, smiling and sometimes humming with the music.

Last month we let him watch the Charlie Brown specials and again, he was entranced with the big round headed kid and the quest to see the great pumpkin.

I think the time is here where we can get him to enjoy all the Christmas cartoons that we enjoyed when we were little. This is exciting to me because I can use him as an "excuse" for getting excited to see Rudolph and Frosty. Yeah, it is all for him. I really want Fuller to enjoy the animated specials... yeah, Fuller wants to watch them. (Insert winking smiley here.)

Tis the season and let the festivities begin!

Speed demon

Last night we were waiting for Payton Manning to be on TV. He was going to be playing in some football game or something on Sunday Night Football. Anyway, NASCAR was still going and Damon just left it on NBC while the laps dwindled down to a winner. The winner was the Home Depot car and we were excited because one of the kids at the Fall Costume Party was dressed as that driver.

Fuller just stood and stared at the TV while the cars raced around the track. It was almost as entranced as he gets when watching Curious George (the movie or the PBS show). We giggled as he stood there, half way between the couch and the TV, with his mouth hanging open.

In a few weeks, Speed TV will have their all day marathon of PINKS, a drag racing show where you lose your race, you lose the ride. The marathon will be November 23rd and then the premier of the show will follow.

Head on over to the site to see some Drag Racing Clips or just watch this one here:

This post sponosored by SpeedTV.com

Handling it all

Fuller has adjusted pretty well to the time change. He has been awake earlier than his 7:30 wake up call but we have found that if he is occupied in his bed then he is happy. So, we leave toys like a few cars or his Mr. Potato Head next on the changing table at night. When he wakes up he can reach over to the changing table and get the toys to play for a little while.

The funny thing is that when we go and get him he is usally clutching the toy. When we lift him out of the bed, he quickly grabs something else. Then we give him a sippy cup of milk and suddenly he is a bit overloaded with stuff. He tries to manage it all and if you offer to take something from him he gets a tad upset.

I think it is pretty funny when I watch him struggle to carry all he desires. Fortunately it isn't a lot and won't break. But it does make me think about his future and how it will be when he has the important stuff to handle. I'm about to be 30 and I really don't know how to do it. Yet here I am trying to show Fuller the ways of life.

The only way that this is possible is through the grace of God. I'm thrilled God has given me such a great kid and even though I am so messed up, God will protect and guide Fuller in the way that He has planned for Fuller.

George!

Our family is spending the evening at the offices of 3HD, using their expanded cable so we can catch the West Virginia versus Louisville game. Fuller's been having fun playing with his cars (more like crashing them) and watching a video.

3 guesses which one and the first two guesses don't count.

Fuller says, "George" and indicates what he wants when he says "George." The act of him saying something and it representing something he wants is a big step for him in the speech category of development. He will point to a picture of the monkey and say "George" over and over. Sometimes he will point to the TV and say "George!" The other day Damon was singing one of the songs from the Curious George soundtrack and Fuller started saying, "George! George! George!"

And because his "George!" is so cute we often indulge him in his want to see George. And when I say "often" I mean every time.

Someday this movie will get tiring to us all. But right now, to me, it represents a developmental step forward. Soon he will be speaking in paragraphs and I'll wonder where the time went.

The rest of the story of the rest of the story

Alternate title: This is the last entry where we talk about College Sports TV coming to interview Fuller. Until the video goes up on their site. We promise. Scouts honor.

UPDATE: It's up now! Go to www.missionsecfootball.com and click on the "featured video" link called "An Auburn Family". That's us.

For part 1, go here.

When Fuller woke up from his nap I was really worried. For the past few days Fuller has been in a horrible, no good, very bad mood when he gets up from his afternoon naps. Crying, throwing himself on the floor, standing around listlessly, and hitting something were all part of his after nap routine. While this might be good to work up a football player into some sort of mad frenzy which allows him use the bad mood to tackle his opponent into oblivion, in a two year old who is being interviewed for television, this isn't too cool.

However Fuller woke up and decided to be Shy Fuller. Shy Fuller is the two year old little boy who stands around with big eyes taking everything in, including his whole hand into his mouth. Shy Fuller will be quiet but will smile when something amuses him, like the pretty blonde lady who is saying "Waaaaaaaar Eagle! Hey!" Shy Fuller will dutifully give strangers five and then knock knuckles with them because his Mommy told him to.

After many high fives, knocked knuckles, and a sippy of milk, every one got into their cars and we headed to the post office. Apparently the road trippers had to mail something before 5 pm and we helped them out there.

Then we went to the pavilion. Shy Fuller was still standing around, but this was kind of to our advantage because he will work with you when he is in shy mode. Fuller dutifully tackled the dummy several times, much to the delight of the three strangers.

Glenn got some decent footage (I hope) of Fuller and the dummy and then we all started talking about various football-y things. At this point Fuller started running around, but he didn't quite work himself into the Fuller we all know and love.

Fuller posed for pictures, fell down a few times, and was darn cute. But here is what was missing: sound.

Fuller was quiet. It was like his words, humming, singing, babbling, and shouting were still back in our cozy Chattanooga home. I was telling a friend that without these things, the full Fuller experience just isn't there. I know the video of Fuller tacking the dummy is why they came to meet us, but I wish the road trippers could have seen the real Fuller, not Shy Fuller.

As soon as we all parted ways, and Fuller was buckled in his car seat, Fuller was Fuller once again. He sang and talked on the way home. He shouted and we even got him to say "War Eagle" a few times. Too bad he didn't do that for Emily or Adam.

I guess that's why they are professionals, they can work with what they got and still make it look really good. And we have a memory that will last a lifetime.

And now... for the rest of the story (part 1)

Well, I hope by now you have read the Mission:SEC blog, clog, and seen our video (they took video as well, it just isn't on their site... yet). And our flickr album.

You know how when Tiger Wood's makes the press junket after winning one of those tournaments, they usually show that footage of him golfing on the Johnny Carson show when Tiger was three? You don't? Well, go here to see a 36 second clip. Then come back. We will wait.

Ok, so they usually pull that footage out when Tiger makes the news, wins a tournament, changes his shirt, or plugs a new car. Well, all that from Tuesday? Same thing for Fuller.

If he goes on to enjoy Football as much as he does now, and if he shows enough talent to make it onto the All-American team, then I predict this footage will be pulled from the ancient Internet archives and shown on continuous loop until the next great All-American replaces him.

When I got home Tuesday, Fuller was napping, Maple was locked in the shed, and the three roadtrippers were sitting around my living room. The first thing I noticed was Damon had on the Auburn shirt I was going to change in to. Oops. (Orange shows off my hair so well.)

The second thing I noticed was how clean every surface in our dining room and living room was. No ottoman, no clutter, no LEGO bricks to step on.

I shook hands with everyone and then went to change my shirt. That's when I found the ottoman, clutter, and anything else that wasn't in the other room. It was all in plastic bins for temporary storage.

I know I didn't just reveal some deep dark secret to the internet, but I find it kind of refreshing to tell you that. We hid our messiness in plastic bins. Do you think Martha Stewart does the same thing?

There are three roadtrippers- Emily, Glenn, and Adam. Emily and Adma do the interviewing, Glenn handles the video. Emily also does the picture taking and she is the one who put together the comic blog. (Which I think turned out awesome.)

The interview was filmed in our living room and Damon was the main focus of that part. Fuller was still napping or else he might have chimed in with a few answers of his own. Damon did a great job in the interview- making Glenn have to stop filming a few times so he could laugh at Damon's responses. They did ask me a few questions but apparently I got nervous and my voice got really high. Oh well, I prefer to write out my answers.

(End of part one... part two coming later. I have to get ready for work!)

Business

Damon has some business away from the house today and Fuller wasn't invited. So he and I are hanging out till D gets back. When Damon left, Fuller was sitting on his potty and I was keeping watch waiting for the hint that Fuller was going to do his business. About 20 minutes later Fuller accomplished a small something and I praised him, got him dressed and we started playing.

Within 10 minutes I realized that the small something he accomplished wasn't anywhere near what he really needed to do. So, up on the changing table and a new diaper was put on his bottom.

Everyone says potty training boys is harder than potty training girls, which is why I think I am glad that Damon is the one really in charge of this endeavor. I plan on helping out, but since D is home most of the time this is really going to be his territory. Plus, Damon is a bit more patient than me. I would have given up after 10 minutes of Fuller constantly getting off the little potty.

All this to say, potty training has officially begun. Any hints, tips, or horror stories? Go ahead and share them here!

Two is the new one

Dear Fuller,

Today is your second birthday. I am so excited that we have made it to today because it means you have survived another year with us as your parents. Here is a little secret: sometimes we have no idea what we are doing.

In looking over your last year I keep thinking about Thanksgiving and the trip we took to Florida. You had just learned to walk and you wanted to explore everything. Being at the campground gave you ample opportunity to get filthy and begin a year of bumps and bruises.

Let's talk about those bumps and bruises. I knew that having a boy would bring scrapes, knots, bruises, and other stuff, but man I wasn't quite ready for you! From your first ER visit to just last week when your mouth was bleeding from falling on the see n say, I just never know when the next time I need an ice pack.

This evening I got one of those automatic emails that tells me what you are probably going through these days. Last month the email was titled, "Your Toddler This Month." Today that email was titled, "Your Preschooler This Month." When did you become a preschooler? It has upset me enough that I might unsubscribe from that email list. But as this day comes to a close, I know that you will keep getting older everyday.

I look forward to this next year and the other stuff you will learn this year. I know when you start talking to communicate it will unlock a whole other side of your personality that I am eager to learn about. As a bonus to hearing you say "I love you" you will start to inform us of your needs.

Instead of you crying when we offer you carrots, you can say, "No thank you, I don't like carrots. " Heck, I would even welcome a "Yuck" instead of the screaming.

You are a very good boy and I appreciate how flexible you are. You are stubborn, but you are learning to let go of things you can't change. You love planes and cars, Daddy and the dogs, cheese and juice. I'm sorry that we can't produce dinner out of thin air, but I think you are getting more understanding.

I love you very much and every day that I have to leave you my heart breaks a little more. Someday it will be you and me at home, but right now I know you like hanging with your dad.

I am taking tomorrow off of work to hang out with you, so sleep well and I will kiss you tomorrow morning.

Love,
Mommy

Happy Birthday Fuller!

My little boy is two today. If you ask him "How old is Fuller?" he says "Twooooooo!" and sometimes holds up one finger. This time two years ago I was still sitting in a hospital bed wondering when Fuller would be ready to come out. Of course at the time I didn't know if it was a Fuller or a Virginia working on making his/her entrance, but it was definitely an interesting 20 hour labor.

I have more thoughts to share, a kind of retro spect of the year, but someone has to go to work. Right now, let's all sing Fuller "Happy Birthday."

P.S. Today is the last day for the Daily Fuller Fix contest. Just in case you wanted to enter.

Bearing gifts they traveled so far...

Yesterday, Damon's parents visited for one reason and one reason only- Fuller. They brought him presents for his birthday from family in Montgomery. I won't go on about all the presents, but there are two that have to be mentioned.

The first one is this pouncing Tigger toy that bounces when you squeeze the tail. For three rounds the tigger gets faster and faster, playing music from somewhere within, and acting as happy as a plastic toy can. When the tigger pounce was demonstrated to Fuller, he just kind of sat there with this look of "What?" on his face. Then suddenly I turned Tigger toward the birthday boy and Fuller was full of fear. He did not like the Tigger and he did not like the pouncing action.

This morning I tried to demonstrate it again and he ran to the other side of the room. When I got home from work I brought Tigger out again and Fuller finally warmed up to the idea of the moving toy. He hesitantly will press the tip of the tail, hoping that the Tigger will play the music.

The second gift is also from Disney (these relatives took a trip there this summer) and it is a wand that has two globes on each end. Inside the globes are LEDs and when you press a button the LEDs spin around conducting a little light show for the smaller set. Fuller was immediately enthralled. It got even better when we took him into his bedroom, turned off the lights and pressed the button.

I still have no idea what we are getting him for his birthday but I think I'm glad the bouncing toy and something that lights up have already been taken care of.

Why we always have popsicles in the freezer

When I was little, we had a friend who stayed with her grandmother in the afternoons. This grandmother's house was at the other end of the alley and was a kind of a hang out for us all. This grandmother would usually have some sort of snacks for us and usually it was popsicles.

One of the funny stories about my sister, Austina, is the time she went up to this grandmother's house and asked, "Mrs. Edwards, do you have any popsicles?" Mrs. Edwards replied, "No sweetie, not today." And then Austina pushed past her saying, "I'll just go check" and went into the house to look in the freezer. I think Austina was four.

Well, that story isn't why we keep popsicles in the freezer, but it was something I wanted to share.

The reason why we keep popsicles in the freezer is because we have to have something to stop the swelling and bleeding in Fuller's mouth when he falls and hurts himself.

This evening he was playing nicely with his See 'n Say and he fell. The See 'n Say knocked him in the mouth. (I think it was out to get him from the beginning.)

There was blood and there were tears. I quickly checked his teeth- none were loose, none had moved, all were still in place- and went to the freezer for a popsicle.

The cold helped stop the bleeding and the swelling. The orange flavor stopped the tears.

When I dreamed about becoming a mom someday I knew there would be bumps and bruises, skinned knees and knot on the head. I just never realized there would be so much blood coming from his mouth.

Maybe I could use a popsicle myself.

Fuller's camera

Fuller is starting to take an interest in photography. Mainly, whenever we take out the camera, he rushes as us to check it out. He understands now that he should smile or give an evil glare when we take his picture, but he really wants to check out the camera.

A few days ago Damon cleaned out some boxes and found our old 35 mm point and shoot. Damon put batteries in it and let Fuller play around, pressing the button and setting off the flash.

The funniest moment last night was when we were getting Fuller ready for bed. He was sitting on the changing table and pressed the shutter button. The flash went off, right in Damon's eyes. Fuller had a look in his eyes and a determination in his face that said, "Ha! I meant to do that."

Maybe we should put some film in it and sign him up for JPG magazine.

When parenting practices collide: pew training continued

Last week we weaned Fuller from his pacifier. But that left us with the quandry of what to do at the times when we would give him the paci to quiet him down. We would use it in church, on trips to the store, and on car rides when Fuller could use a little plug or comfort.

We went to church on Sunday and decided to take the paci with us. We ended up using it since Fuller preferred making car sounds to sitting still. During the offering D and I discussed that we would quickly take the paci when I walked Fuller to the nursery and place it out of sight, in a pocket, so he wouldn't be able to find it later.

Except, Fuller did one of those things that surprised me and made me proud. When it was time to take Fuller to the nursery, he yanked the pacifier out of his mouth and handed it over. He knew that the paci time was over.

Sometimes kids surprise you, and I know this is just the beginning of the surprises.

No paci watch, night 4

Last night I didn't update re: the weaning of the pacifier. I didn't update because I didn't have the need to type so I could focus on something other than Fuller crying. Instead, I got to watch Grey's Anatomy and not feel my heart wrenching.

Last night, I took Fuller through his bedtime routine (teeth brushed, pjs, read story, bed) and when we got to the bed part, Fuller curled up with his Pooh Bear, his blankets, and started singing.

I said goodnight, left the room, and he kept singing. He sang for about half an hour and then I didn't hear from him again until 7 this morning, when he was singing again.

The funny thing is that last night I couldn't find the mouth gaurd* and he still went down with out a fight or tear.

Tonight, once again, he was put into bed and was perfectly fine.

This is definitely a milestone I'm glad to have behind me.

*Sabrina asked what the mouth gaurd is. It is the kind that football players use. We figure if he is going to have something in his mouth, then something that is shaped like his teeth is better. I don't think he is actually using it.

No paci watch, update

Fuller did not sleep through the night last night, but he did not get his pacifier back. We really did give him his mouth gaurd to use instead, but I suspect he doesn't quite get the same satisfaction from that as he does the paci.

I would hear him cry out several times last night, but it was never full on crying until about 11 pm. I went in there, gave him the mouth guard, and rocked him a bit. He settled down and talked to himself for a few minutes, but after I went to bed I woke up several times to him whining or crying out again. Not a full on cry, but sadness. seeping through the house.

I hope his restless sleep doesn't make him cranky kid today. I think that would be bad for D.

Night 2 of the no pacifier watch

Last night Fuller made it through without the pacifier. He cried for about half an hour, even though Damon went in there a couple of times, and then he was out until about 7 this morning.

He even made it through his nap without the pacifier.

Now we are on night two and after 20 minutes, he is quiet.

He started to cry when it was time to get ready for bed and I think it was because he knew he would be going to bed without the pacifier. I hugged him extra hard and told him I loved him, but somehow I think that all went over his head. He just wanted to know where his pacifier was.

I feel for the guy, but I know this is for his own good.

Liveblogging a Fuller Milestone

Tonight Fuller is going to sleep without his pacifier.

I'm not really liveblogging it, but I am blogging right now to drown out his cries and physically keep myself from going into his room and giving into his demands.

He still has his blanket and pooh bear to keep him company, so I hope he finds comfort in that soon.

Fuller got his first pacifier on his second night in the hospital. The nurse in the nursery gave it to him, not me. I never had a problem with it, but it was surprising that the hospital would give one to an infant who was breastfeeding.

When we were home I got very frustrated that Fuller seemed to be nursing non-stop. Once I figured out that he was just wanting to suck, not really to eat, I implemented a specific breastfeeding routine. It started out with feeding him until he lost interest in the eating part, and then popping in the paci to supplement the sucking instinct he wanted to fulfill.

I'm not sure exactly when this happened, but eventually Fuller just used the paci for napping and sleeping. He even willingly handed the pacifier over when he was ready to get out of the crib.

And now, we have decided that it is time and the pacifier must be phased out. (Maybe we will still use it for quiet in certain places.) Right now, Fuller is quiet, so maybe he fell asleep. I wonder if he will sleep through the night.

My baby is growing up. I hope he doesn't hate us in the morning.

And besides, we didn't leave him entirely without. We let him have the mouthgaurd, if he really needs something in his mouth.

Pew Training- Game Day

We went to church on Sunday armed with a bag full of crayons, a coloring book, and some books. It was the big day, it was Fuller's first Sunday sitting in corporate worship.

Overall, it went well. But, I did learn something important.

I learned that even though it is more convenient to enter the building through the back door, that back door goes right into the nursery. The nursery is a major distraction to the child who loves to play with toys.

We did get him out of the nursery, but he was very reluctant. And when we got to the pew, he did not want to take one more step. Instead he cried and flung himself to the floor.

Our bag of tricks distracted him long enough so that when church started, it was without Fuller's tears. He colored until the singing started.

We sang three hymns and Fuller really tried to join in on the first one. The other two were tolerable, but by that point Fuller wanted to explore a little more along the pew.

Fuller made it through until right after the offering, so I consider that a success.

My own worship experience was still a little distracted, especially since I kept looking down at Fuller to gage his observations and if he was interested in what was going on. But overall, I really enjoyed Fuller being with us.

This is the start of something good.

Kids clothes

We went to the jack and jill consignment sale this morning. This is an annual sale in Chattanooga and a few of our friends have found great stuff there- swings, strollers, and of course clothing.

We picked up a few things, but nothing truly stood out as "must have" items at "low, low" prices.

Besides the Auburn wear that Fuller has, his wardrobe is pretty generic. Khakis, polo shirts, diapers. If we need something to make him stand out, we tend to make it.

If you aren't able to make something yourself, you can always find cool baby clothes on the web. Tinyrocker.com definitely has items that would make your child stand out.

Personally I would never dress my child in a onesie that said "boob man" (even though it did make me laugh), but I think I could find room in his dresser for a splatter shirt.

Growing pains

We think Fuller weighs around 35 pounds and is 32 inches tall. He wears a 3T right now, but he seems to be getting taller every day and I wonder if he will need 4T before the beginning of the year.

As he grows, he gets into more things, including little accidents that cause him to look a bit like he's been in a school yard scuffle.

I give you the list of Fuller's latest "injuries:"

This morning he was running into the kitchen, not watching where he was going and smacked his right temple into the corner of the counter.

He scraped his knee when he tripped on the back sidewalk.

This weekend he got a bruise when he continually fell over the large thresholds in the historic home.

He scraped his toes when he was dragging his feet when he was riding a toy scooter at the lake. They would scab over and then he would scrape them again the next time he went for a ride.

He scratched his chin with his fingernail when his fingernails were a little too long.

Fuller fell (while seated on the floor) and smacked his cheek on the coffee table at Lake Martin.

A mysterious scrape appeared on his forehead that we have no idea where it came from.

I realize that bumps and brusies are all a part of growing up, but someday soon I hope Fuller learns to look where he is going and pick up his feet.

A parental tip

Fuller’s diaper bag is actually a see-through backpack that Damon found at a thrift store. It is the perfect size for Fuller and lets us clearly see what is and is not in it at any time.

Attached to the diaper bag is a luggage tag that had his picture on it. I think that when he goes to nursery that it would be easier for nursery workers to match a picture on a diaper bag with a kid.

I thought the luggage tag was a good idea, but it is kind of big and I think photo key rings would be a better solution. On one side would be Fuller’s cute face, on the other would be his name, rank, and serial number.

And since there are so many kids in our nursery with the name Fuller (ha!), there will be less confusion when it is time to collect our kid and his diaper bag.

This is one for the baby book...

September 2, 2006- the first day Fuller twists open an Oreo cookie and licks the middle. Cookie given by Albert (because Fuller was crying). Witnessed by Damon when they were sitting on the couch.

It was like he has been doing it all his life.

Next up, getting Daddy his cokes from the fridge.

Getting better

Fuller doesn't understand what it means to be sick. He's coughing, snotty, sneezing, but his disposition is that of a child who loves to play, sing, run, and throw the occasional tantrum.

I'm greatful that he isn't irritable and difficult to deal with, but I wonder if all the running and playing is actually good for him? Is he going to be able to get better if he doesn't know he needs to get better? He still naps the same and sleeps through the night, but the yuck still drags on.

I remember being sick when I was little and just hanging around on the couch or my bed. I also remember trying to set up my own playdates. I wanted to be a good planner, so I went and asked my mom when would be the next day that I was going to be sick?

Well, it appears my happy guy isn't too happy right now. Guess I need to go check that out. And then leave for work so Damon can deal. Bwah-Ha-ha!

Toys can be found in the strangest places

I went to the big thrift store a few days ago, looking for some sneakers for Fuller. I needed a size 7 and I came up with a few choices. We prefer velcro, so that narrowed it down. One of the pairs had a generic football player on the sides, which I thought was cute, so those shoes came home with me.

I discovered later that the shoes have those LEDs on the side so when the child wearing them stepped down, the sides lit up.

When we attempted to put them on Fuller's feet we found out something very disappointing. The shoes did not fit! They were too narrow.

It is still summery weather, so Fuller is primarily going barefoot or wearing his sandals. And since we haven't put the shoes away or in the goodwill box, Fuller has a new toy. He goes around the house slamming the shoes down so the lights on the shoe flash... and he is so happy!

For $1.79, that's a decent toy.

Warning: Showering your son with kisses can be hazardous to your health

Fuller still has his awful diaper rash, but he has moved on to add the following symptoms:
~ runny nose
~ coughing
~ sneezing
~ slight fever

I want to think he might be teething, since that is usually what those symptoms all equalled before, but he isn't drooling. Do two year molars come in without drooling? I tried to look in his mouth, but couldn't really decipher what I was looking at, other than teeth.

Well, regardless of the cause, he seems to have a cold. And last night, he and I cuddled and sang for a good thirty minutes. He would pause his singing to press his forehead to my mouth and in return I would give him a sweet kiss on the noggin.

This morning, I have a sore throat and stuffy nose. I wonder why?

Parenting can be hazardous to your health.

Pew Training- Rain Delay

Well, because Fuller still wasn’t doing well in the diaper department on Sunday morning we were unable to begin Pew Training yesterday. Instead we started our Sunday just like Saturday, giving Fuller a bath and washing his sheets. Poor kid.

We did get together a Sunday bag for Fuller. We have several board books (purchased at McKay’s), a mini-magnadoodle (purchased at the Thrift store), new washable crayons (Bi-Lo), and a coloring book (Dollar Tree). And if Fuller had gone to church, we would also have been armed with a pacifier, blanket, whale crackers, and a sippy cup.

Next Sunday we will be at Lake Martin. The Sunday after that we will be traveling back from Mississippi, so our next opportunity to start will be September 17th.

I do have some thoughts about our strategy. Today I went to church, without Fuller and Damon, and I observed the service a little more carefully.

We plan on keeping Fuller in the service with us until after the offering, when one of us will take him to the nursery for the rest of the service. Before that time we have lots of opportunities for participation, with singing and responsive readings. I don’t envision keeping my son sitting on the pew and using his Sunday bag during the singing, I want to engage him in what is going on during the service.

I guess what I am saying is maybe the Sunday bag isn’t really as necessary as I thought. If he was staying in the service during the sermon, then sure I can see the need to keep him busy. The purpose of pew training is to introduce him to corporate worship and maybe keeping him busy during the active part is contradicting that purpose.

Actually having Fuller in the service with us will really show us what it is like, so I think we will just have to stop over thinking this (we might psyche ourselves out) and do it.

So, Pew Training has been rescheduled to start on September 17th. I look forward to it.

I'd give someone $5 to change Fuller's next diaper

The poor boy has been having diaper problems since last night. His Friday ended with a bath to wash away hair bits from his recent haircut and his Saturday began with a bath to wash away the grossness of the exploding diaper.

This is where I interrupt the post to tell the blogosphere how awesome my husband is. First, he is the one who got up to see why Fuller was crying. I didn't even hear Fuller until Damon carried him into our bathroom.

Second, D gave Fuller a bath and washed all the grossness away. I helped by throwing away the diaper, but I didn't have to deal with it until it was safely in a plastic bag.

Third, Damon stripped the crib, washed the sheet, blanket, and stuffed animal, and then went and scrubbed the tub. (I was diapering the kid, while the kid was crying from diaper rash pain.)

Finally, even though it was much earlier than we get up on a Saturday, Damon didn't go back to bed. Instead of going back to bed, which he was totally entitled to, he got his day started.

Fuller seems ok, he is happy, playing, chasing the dogs, singing "Deep and Wide" over and over, and eating and drinking. It's just that he has some tummy trouble that has caused this diaper rash which is very painful. Just in case it is a yeast thing, we have started him eating yogurt again.

Having a happy child who shows signs of illness is rather baffling. He wants to play but I have to interrupt his playing to change his diaper often. I don't know what to do but let it all run its course. And such a disgusting course it is.

Seriously. 5 bucks if you come over here and change his diaper.

Pew Training- Strategy

I have a clear memory from my childhood of getting a very special book one Easter. It was a red binder decorated with flowers and inside were Arch books, crayons, and a coloring book. It was my Sunday Book, used for keeping me busy when I was in church.

I appreciate the comments from our Pew Training entry. Damon has been working on getting Fuller to sit still for half hour increments, and I plan on borrowing the Wiegers’ Parenting in the Pew to gain some insight into introducing worship to our son. And finally, I am going to make Fuller his own Sunday Bag, similar to my Sunday Book, so that we have plenty to keep him amused while he soaks in the concept of corporate worship.

Any other tips you have will be greatly appreciated.

Night, night

Fuller just woke up from his post-church nap. The Sunday schedule of playing, playing hard, and then playing wipes him out and since we got home earlier today, we didn’t make him wait until after lunch for his nap.

Soon after he was asleep I had to go into his room for something and I saw how he was sleeping: twisted around his large teddy bear, his blanket, and Spider-Man. It was so sweet and brought back memories of getting Fuller to take his naps in the early days.

It turned out Fuller’s sleeping position was what really gave him the ability to sleep well. Once we figured it out, our routine settled and life with Fuller became a bit more predictable.

I wish he had a sleep positioner like my friend had (she has since given it to us for the next one that we hope to have someday). Since we sucked at swaddling, I think the positioning would have helped Fuller feel more secure in the crib. And the nice thing about the infant bed would be the risk of head flattening would go down.

Well, we have the mattress, I guess now we just need the baby. Anyone got an extra one we could borrow?

Pew training- start stretching!

For a while now Damon and I have talked about when to introduce Fuller to the formal worship service. Our church encourages children to participate in worship, but they do have a nursery that is available for children under the age of three. Children ages three and four have the opportunity to go to Little Lambs, a children’s church type program that starts after the offering.

Fuller has been in the nursery during worship since he was about six weeks old. I know that some families have their kids in the pew from the first Sunday they went to church, but I found that really distracted me from worship.

And then as I started worshiping with the eyes, ears, and heart of a parent, I started to wonder about the content of the service and whether I thought some of the subject matter used as examples was appropriate for a child as young as three or four to hear about. A recent story from the pulpit, used to support a sermon point, involved the repeated rapes of a female missionary in Africa.

While the story was moving, helped the sermon, and was understood by me, I still paused. I wondered how I would handle the situation that if Fuller was older, say around 4, heard the story, and then later asked me what rape was.

Granted, he could have been 5 and asked the same question, but the point I’m trying to make is, I appreciate that my church provides some worship alternatives for the younger children.

I think that D and I have planted seeds of what worship is for Fuller. We pray, sing songs, and read him stories about Jesus, God, and the Bible. But the act of corporate worship, participating in a formal service, well, he only knows that he gets to play in a room with a bunch of other kids once a week.

We talked about it and would prefer to start Fuller in the pew during the first part of worship and then take him to the nursery when the kids for Little Lambs were excused. The plan has been to wait until our church goes back to two services (in the summer, there are fewer college students, so we consolidate into one service) so Fuller can experience worship with the smaller 8:30 crowd. We can ease him into it so that when he is three, the idea of being in the service part time won’t be such a shock.

Our church goes back to two services tomorrow, but we will wait until next week to start official pew training. I look forward to bringing Fuller upstairs with us, but have trepidations about what the experience will be like. But God knows my heart and desire that Fuller know God, so I have to trust that even if Fuller only lasts five minutes on the first day, those seeds are still germinating.

For the grandparents, mostly

October 5th is a big day in our family. It is the day that Fuller finally joined our family. We like to celebrate this day, usually with a song, some cake, and Fuller gets some gifts.

This year we won't be throwing a party to commemorate the day, but we have a feeling that certain people (grandparents, we are looking at you) will be wanting to give the boy something because he is so special, wonderful, and amazing.

Well, our request is that you check his wish list to see if there is something you might want to get for him from there. If that doesn't suit your fancy, then maybe you might find donation toward a family plus membership to the famous Tennessee Aquarium as something Fuller (and his family, plus one) would enjoy. And of course, there is always the college fund.

Fuller thanks you.

If he is... he is not...

We only recently started giving Fuller Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. I have never really been concerned about food allergies (except for when the carrots made his cheeks orange), but the main concern I have had with peanut butter is the choking hazard.

As a child I choked really badly on a piece of steak. It was something where the Heimlich had to be preformed on me by my dad (thanks, Dad!) and the experience left a terrible impression on me. The result is that choking is something that I am super sensitive to. In fact, I may have mentioned it here before.

Anyway, even though Fuller can’t really speak up for himself and doesn’t know the universal sign for choking, Damon has calmed my fears by giving me a few clues on the level of seriousness when Fuller gags on food:
1) if he is laughing he’s not choking
2) if he is coughing he is not choking
3) if he is spitting the food out he is not choking
4) if he is crying he is not choking

Now, all these reasons do not mean that he may not need grownup assistance, but I can collect myself and not wrap my arms around Fuller just yet. And it doesn’t mean I don’t watch Fuller while he eats either. In fact, next to a boy in overalls, I think a kid eating a PBJ sandwich is one of the cutest things ever, so of course I am going to watch him. (And they are so easy to make!)

Pushing the limits

Fuller cracks us up often, but lately he has been doing this thing that is starting to wear on my nerves.

Fuller loves to push objects that have wheels. His egg chair, his toy car, and most recently, a suitcase with wheels are all being moved around the house powered by Fuller.

While that is all fine and dandy, we have a great set up for lapping the dining room and living room, what is getting annoying is the amount of frustration that Fuller gets from pushing these objects around. When we gets to the edge of the area rug, the suitcase or chair will stop, requiring more effort to move it over the offending edge. Instead of that extra "oomph!" of pushing power, Fuller starts to whine, fuss, cry, and almost give up. Then suddenly he will push again, probably mad, and the wheeled item moves over the edge and all is well.

All is well until the next time the suitcase hits a chair that isn't pushed under the dining room table. Or it is turned in such a way that he hits a wall. He could turn the object or move the chair, but instead he whines, fusses, and cries at his frustration that his track is blocked (probably by a chair that he moved himself!).

I stopped trying to show him the ridiculousness of his actions and just shout out a half-hearted "You can do it" cheer when the fussing starts up. The suitcase gave him entertainment for 30 minutes last night. I guess it isn't so frustrating that he won't ditch the opportunity to push something. And when he does give up, he starts pushing something else.

Are you a fan?

We often think about giving gifts, or a small token of appreciation, to those people that have helped us out by watching Fuller while we escape to a movie theater for a few hours or hang out with other adults for an escape from normal.

Anyway, I thought that getting a Button Maker would be cool. We could put Fuller's picture on it and it would say, "I'm a Fuller Fan!"

Hey, buttons were cool in eighth grade. I think it could translate today. How else will you tell people your a Fuller Fan?

Of course, there are other buttons I would like to make. I need one to read, “I’m blogging this” and of course it would go with everything, from evening wear to casual Friday blue jeans. I have to warn people that whatever they say could be blogged against them. Of course I would also need a button that said, “If I’m at work, I’m not blogging.” Wouldn’t want to be dooced, you know.

Fuller needs button that reads “I can’t speak, but I can yell.” Or better yet a button that says, “Give me juice or get a tantrum.”

Buttons are fun, portable, and well, conversational. Maybe I just need one that says, “Hi!”

Just so I will remember

Fuller has been very affectionate lately. He blows kisses, hugs, cuddles, and just smiles with all around goodness that makes him so much fun to be around.

Tonight I came home from work at 7 pm. This is not normal for me at all. I really don't like it, but it happened. Yet, when I came home and I walked into the house and Fuller ran to me, yelling with happiness and immediately hugged my legs.

It made me feel loved, wanted, and appreciated. It's hard to leave him in the mornings, but it's moments like that that I can file in my memory as a good one.

Let's go to the Movies

Let’s go to the movies…

Well, we have another topic for the Fuller’s Firsts archives. On Tuesday, Damon took Fuller to his first movie theater experience.

Now, I would bug D to write his own entry about the outing, but ya’ll he is very busy. What with the attic project still underway and the various and sundry little things that make our house run- that is all darling D.

So, I offer you my version of the events. No, I wasn’t there, but I was there when I grilled Damon on how my little/ big boy did on this momentous occasion.

Fuller sat through the whole thing. Granted, it was a movie he has seen several times before, but that actually made me think he would get bored. But no, he sat on the edge of his seat, clutching his sippy cup and eating popcorn (another first!) to his little heart’s content.

While he did seem to enjoy the movie, the real reason he was sitting on the edge of his seat was because if he sat back any farther the seat would fold up on him. D did place Fuller’s backpack behind him to help out a little bit, but it wasn’t enough. D tried to use his leg to keep the seat down, but Fuller had to be pushed to the front of the seat so he could enjoy the movie.

I was worried that Fuller would think it was too loud, too dark, too crowded, or too much like having to sit still for an hour and a half. Apparently, none of these things bothered him. He did start to talk/ sing at the end of the movie, but a pacifier also serves as a great sound stopper for children.

We don’t plan on taking him to the movies on a regular basis, but since these are free movies, full of other children who may have to be taken out of the theater for screaming or being unruly, it was a great way to break him into a great American pastime- sitting on our behinds for several hours at a time.

Now, if only our pew training at church will go as well.

a moment to remember

Tonight at dinner Fuller was making these faces that just melt your heart and make you think, "Gosh he's such a cutie!"

He flutters his eyelashes and tweaks his lips upward to smile at you and you just sigh at how amazing he is.

At first I thought I was the only one stopped mid-chew to bask in his cuteness and then D spoke up and said, "He's too cute for his own good."

And it is all good.

Childish prayers

Fuller is delighting us everyday with his vocalization skills. I won't say that he is talking because it isn't the kind of talking that you and I would understand. His toddler yelps and noises are just his way of expressing himself.

However, even though I won't qualify him as a talker, I will declare that his vocabulary is growing. He says Maple, no, cheese, please (sometimes), thank you (dak oo), shoes, bye, and yeah. It is also worth noting that he has said at least twice or less the following: Esau, Linda, Albert, and Daddy.

Another word that he seems to love to utter is Mama. But it doesn't really mean that he wants or recognizes that Mama is me. One day we were all out somewhere and as Fuller fussed in Damon's arms he kept saying, "Mama mama mama ma ma mama ma..." I looked up and said "He doesn't really want me" which Damon acknowledged to be true.

Later, D was reflecting on Fuller's mama chants and remarked that Fuller was really praying to his god. When Fuller cries out or gets upset it is in his nature to call out to something, anything - which manifests itself as "Mama, mama!" When D said that, it made a lot of sense.

Our family believes in God. He is our creator, the one who has given us life and blessed us in so many ways. We have to thank Him for all that we have (even when we think we don't have much). God loves us as we are, from smelly, whiney toddlers to self-indulgent, depressed adults.

As Fuller grows we want him to grow to know, love, and respect God. Our prayer is that he will trust God with his life and accept the gift that God gave when Jesus died in our place. Someday "Mama mama mama" will become "Thank you God."

And as I write this I know that I too need to say, "Thank you God" for all that I have been given. Especially, thank you for Fuller. Cause he is so much fun.

Count von Count

Today's number of the day was one. It seemed like such a let down, but the Count didn't seem to mind.

Also on the Count front, I would like to thank The Count for teaching my son how to say "Un... TWO... free!" When you get him in the right mood, he'll say it and he is just SO CUTE!

La la la

And in the my baby is growing up so fast category: Damon and Fuller go to Kindermusik today! Zoo Train, here they come!

Problem Two

Sometimes we are a one step forward, a half a step back type family.

When we moved Fuller to the big boy bed we were so thrilled how easy it was. And then morning came.

Fuller’s bedroom door is a custom-made pocket door. Damon made it, we did not purchase it pre-hung to install. Because it is custom it lacks a few things that a door might have- an interior door handle, a lock, and a complete door jam..

In the mornings, when Fuller wakes up, he slides out of bed and maybe he plays with some toys. If a dog was accidentally closed up in his room for the night, he plays with Maple or Lively. And then, when he has been cooped up in his room for long enough he goes to the door and knocks.

Actually, it isn’t so much a knock as it is a bang. The missing interior door jam allows the door to swing a little bit, knocking on the exterior door jam. If he keeps knocking, it keeps swinging, alerting us to the fact that Fuller is up and ready to go.

Except, it is 6:45 in the morning.

In the days of the crib, Fuller would stay in his crib singing, talking, and banging the bars until we were ready to get him up, usually around 7:30- 8 am. Sometimes, on the weekends he was happy to stay in there until 8:30 or so.

But, once the big boy bed was introduced, he wasn’t always happy to hang out until we were ready to free him. I would be getting ready for work and hear a “knock, knock, knock” indicating that Fuller was trying to get our attention. I would tip toe around the house making my lunch, quickly checking email, and some how I know Fuller knew I was up and his “knock, knock, knock” got louder and louder. Often it was accompanied by some talking. And if I continued to ignore it, it became a cry.

Damon was still in bed during all of this, trying to sleep at least until 7:30, which was the original approved getting the day going time. It was the time that Fuller used wake up (actually he would often sleep in until 8). That is until we had the bright idea to move him to the big boy bed.

When Fuller started getting up earlier, I thought I would help out by going ahead and getting Fuller juiced, fed, changed, etc. And then when D got up he wouldn’t have to do as much because I would already have done it for him or at least gotten it started.

However, this actually backfired because what would happen is D would wake up and 5 seconds later I would be out the door and D wouldn’t have a grasp on what was going on because he just woke up and what did I just tell him about Fuller’s breakfast? He needed it? He hated it? What? Chicken butt?

So, we talked it out. D thought I was getting Fuller up to early (actually I think he meant I was letting Fuller out of his room too early. I had nothing to do with the fact that Fuller was actually awake.) I thought Fuller needed to be let out or the door was going to fall off the pocket door track.

And then my Dad came to visit. Since we have a lack of visitor sleeping spaces, Fuller got to go back to his crib and Daddy slept in the big boy bed. Fuller didn’t really care. And seeing that he didn’t care, we have since taken the half step back.

Fuller is back in his crib at night. During the day, when he takes his nap, he gets the big boy bed. And maybe this is the arrangement that will work until he is old enough to read a clock. Or maybe it is the arrangement that will work until there is a new occupant for the crib. Either way, problem two: the early awakening is solved.

Except, he still wakes up at 6:45. But the pocket door isn’t going to come off the track any time soon.

Maybe we were the ones who weren’t ready for the big boy bed.

Pros and Cons

When you ask a 20 month old to help you wash the car there are several things to consider... a list of pros and cons if you will:

Pro: Wash the car, wash the kid.
Con: Car soap is not the same as kid soap.

Pro: Kid loves to play in the water.
Con: Kid can't ring out rag, getting you covered with water.

Pro: You will have the cleanest license plate in the city.
Con: You might miss a few spots because you are trying to show the kid that there is more to the car than the license plate.

Pro: You will laugh and laugh when your kid discovers the delight of the hose.
Con: Your kid will run away the next time you turn on the hose.

Pro: Someone other than you can get the low spots.
Con: You will still have to wash the low spots.

Pro: Your kid will be amused by the stepstool.
Con: When you are standing on the stepstool to reach the top of the car, your kid will run away down the ally.

Pro: The gas cap door will amuse the kid while you clean the other side of the car.
Con: If you forget to unlock the car, the alarm will go off repeatedly when the kid closes the gas cap door.

Pro: You will have a clean car.
Con: The kid will cry when you are done.

Picture perfect

Earlier this week, Heather posted a video of Leta and mentioned that the way they got her to calm down during the filming was to turn the display so Leta could see herself. I wanted to get some shots of Fuller today and it struck me that my point and shoot camera would also let me do the same. Today's DFF gave me what I think is an exceptional picture. I got a few others as well.

Also, over at Picture This, Tracey has been encouraging moms to embrace the blur and asked for pictoral contributions for the theme "Movement." I sent in a picture and she posted it in the "It's all a blur" album. I like that she called it wonderful because it really is one of my favorites of Fuller.

Water works

Fuller has been lots of fun lately.

On Saturday we introduced him to the concept of playing in the sprinkler. It was hot and we were all too melted to pick up and go to one of the several places we have standing invitations to swim. And then I recalled a birthday present that my sister got when we lived in Virginia- the sprinkler.

I mentioned this to Damon and he immediately went into action. He pulled out the sprinkler, set it up, made sure it wasn't going to knock Fuller down with the force of the stream, and let Fuller explore.

First, the exploration began with a giggle. And then a few drops got Fuller and he laughed. He walked toward it, happy and wide-eyed. And then suddenly he just ran through it, shreiking with unabashed happiness.

We heard a lot of "Oh!" and "yeah!" and "HAHAHAHAHAH!" Fuller was cooled down, happy, and we just had to use a little water.

We repeated the activity on Sunday with the same results. He loves the surprise of "where is the water going to come from next?" and even if the water got him directly in the face, it only caused him pause, not a melt down. It was awesome.

Problem one

One week. Fuller has been sleeping in a big boy bed for one week. We put him down, give him his paci, his blanket, turn on the fan, close the door and depending on the sleep session (nap or night night) we don't hear from him until it is time to get up (2- 2 1/2 hours or 12 hours respectively).

A friend of mine asked why we were putting him in a bed so early and I had to respond that I honestly thought it would be harder. I thought it would be a transition period of a few weeks or even a few months. Eventually we hope someone new will be using the crib and even if I were pregnant now (I'm not) he would have nine months or so to get used to the idea of the bed.

However, this isn't all sunshine and roses. We have a few problems that have occurred because of this transition.

1. Increased use of the pacifier. Since Fuller was about 10 or 11 months old (maybe earlier) the pacifier was restricted to crib time only. And it got to the point that when Fuller woke up, he would stand in his crib and hold out the pacifier to you, indicating that he was done and ready to roll. We even got him to place it on his shelf next to the crib.

Now, when he gets up and we greet him at his door, he usually still has the pacifier in his mouth. If we ask for it, he usually gives it to us. Or we say, "Fuller, put away your paci" and he will stand on his bed to place the paci on his shelf, above his bed.

Notice I just said he will stand on his bed and place the paci on his shelf. Well, if he can stand on his bed to put it away I guess it goes to reason that he can stand on his bed to retrieve his paci. And he does.

If he is playing and making lots of noise and suddenly he is quiet, usually that means that he has his silicon plug in his mouth. And don't think that means he is ready for a nap. If you try to put him down too early that usually ends up with foot prints on the wall.

I suppose the easy solution is to put the pacifier on a higher shelf. But then that takes away the satisfaction we get from seeing him put it away when he is ready to go. And Damon has been trying to get Fuller to go get his pacifier for when he is ready to go to bed.

So, while we haven't really had a transition of trying to get Fuller to stay in his bed or not fall out of it, we have another transition to address- using the pacifier only for sleeping.

(And no, I am not ready to get rid of it all together, so solutions like that are not favored right now.)

4 things

Remember the 4 things meme that floated around the blogosphere awhile back? Well, I decided to do it again, only this time, it is for Fuller.

Four Jobs Fuller Has Had:
1. Sleeping well
2. Playing hard
3. Eating good
4. Feeding the dogs

Four Movies Fuller Watches Over and Over Again:
1. A Grand Day Out
2. The Wrong Trousers
3. Silly Song Countdown
4. A Close Shave

Four Books He Flips Through and Almost Lets Me Read to Him Over and Over:
1. Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
2. Are You My Mother?
3. Babies!
4. Nursery Rhymes

Four Places He Has Lived:
1. Parkridge East Hospital (3 days)
2. St. Elmo

Four TV Shows He Watches:
1. Sesame Street
2. Between the Lions
3. The Simpsons
4. Clifford

Four Places He Has Been On Vacation:
1. Lake Martin, AL
2. Dayton, OH
3. Stuart, Florida
4. Boston, MA

Four Favorite Foods:
1. Bananas
2. Bread
3. Cheese
4. Eggs

Four Places He'd Like To Be Now:
1. Out of his room
2. Outside
3. Aunt Esther's swimming pool
4. The play place

Four Songs He Likes to Sing:
1. Old McDonald
2. Twinkle, Twinkle
3. The Yodeling Veteranarian of the Alps
4. Ba Ba BA! MMMMMMmm by Fuller Crumley

Sleeping arrangements

Yesterday I made one comment, "Have you given any thought to transitioning Fuller to a toddler bed?" and before you could say "Cat's in the cradle" Damon was rearranging toys and furniture to set up the Ikea chair bed and have Fuller try taking his afternoon nap on the bed.

I was surprised that we never had to tell Fuller to get back in bed. In fact, once we left him on the bed and closed the pocket door, we never heard a peep until 2 hours later when Fuller was knocking on his pocket door to be let out (he can't open the door from his side).

I must confess that about 30 minutes into the nap we did slide the door open a crack to see what/ where he was. He was sleeping at the foot of the bed, draped over his pooh bear, cuddling his blanket tag.

Last night we decided to see if Fuller would repeat the performance and sleep all night in his big boy bed. 8 o'clock was his bed time and again, we heard no peep from him until 8:15 this morning.

This experience, even though it has only been one day, has really peaked my interested in the nature versus nurture debate. Well, my interested peaked when I thought "Is this nature or nuture?" and I didn't really get into specifics.

I just wonder, does Fuller know it is a bed to sleep in because he has seen Momma and Daddy sleeping there? Usually when we try getting him to nap in bed with us, he crawls around, checking out the window or punching me in the nose (really).

Where is his adventerous spirit? Doesn't my boy like to explore and wouldn't being in an easily exited bed push him to move around his room a bit more? Shouldn't this transition be harder?

While it isn't a difficult transition (so far) it does tug on my heart strings because it is further evidence that there is nothing we can do - nature or nurture- to stop the big thing in his life- growing up.

They walk alike, they talk alike, at times they even dress alike…

The first time I ever heard of Patty Duke Syndrome (PDS) I was reading the Nancy Kennedy book, Help! I’m Being Intimidated by the Proverbs 31 Woman! She was recounting her brief stint with the syndrome that she defines as the point in a woman’s life when she becomes “overwhelmed with the need to dress themselves and their female offspring in matching attire.”

I really don’t have any memories of PDS striking my family personally (oh wait…), even though I think I can recall seeing it hit other families at some time. Usually it strikes around a holiday (Easter or Christmas) when families are aglow with the spirit of the holiday and pretty clothing is a must for the family portrait that will be taken at some point during the merriment.

Nancy tells the story of her experience where she worked on her secret plan- taffeta dresses (complete with butt bows) for Mother’s Day. She and her daughters wore the dresses for about five minutes, exactly how long it took her to realize she caught the dreaded PDS and the cure was to tell her daughters to go pick out their own church outfits.

I laughed all through the chapter, thinking the idea of going overboard with the dressing a like was so silly and over the top that it would never hit me.

But never, in all my life, would I ever think that it would strike my husband.

Ever since Fuller was born and D started taking an interest in finding Fuller clothes in a cost range we were comfortable with, D added the nice little twist of trying to find our son clothing that matched what D currently had in his own wardrobe.

Damon has a red shirt, Fuller has a red shirt. Damon has blue shorts, Fuller has blue shorts. Fuller has a burnt orange polo shirt, Damon has a burnt orange polo shirt.

This past Election Day, Damon took Fuller to the polling place in our neighborhood. Josiah, the election officer for St. Elmo, took one look at the dynamic duo and said, “I wish you could tell if the Crumleys were Auburn fans." Damon has an Auburn shirt, Fuller has an Auburn shirt. Guess what they were wearing?

It really is sweet that D wants that kind of bond with our little boy. And since Fuller is a boy he won’t (hopefully) run into any over blown outfit concepts that require butt bows and taffeta. But then again… is it a good thing that Elvis didn’t have sons?

Dinner Theater

Turning our family life into blog fodder has been kind of difficult lately. Actually, I think we are kind of boring. Or there isn’t much we feel like sharing. We’re selfish that way.

So, in lieu of a cleverly written anecdote about life at Casa de Crumley, I give you a blow by blow of last night’s dinner.

The scene: Momma at the dining room table, Fuller seated to her left in his feeding chair.

Fuller is exploring the possibility of finishing his hamburger bun. The rest of the burger patty is strewn about his plate. A puddle of ketchup is at the top of the plate.

Fuller: (smiling) Gbbbrhem

Momma: Hey Fuller! You just gonna eat the bun? What about the burger? What about the ketchup?

Momma dips the bun in the ketchup for Fuller.

Momma: Kids love ketchup! Don’t you like ketchup? Your cousin Nick likes anything covered in ketchup. Don’t you want to be like your cousin Nick? He’s cool!

Fuller tentatively tastes the ketchup-covered bun, makes a grimace and then eats the bun.

Fuller: Mmmmm!

Momma: Yeah, ketchup!

Momma holds her hand out with all five fingers pointing up.

Momma: Five!

Fuller gives her a high five.

Momma gets the bright idea to count for Fuller.

Momma: One! (shows her thumb) Two! (shows her thumb and pointer finger) Three!

As if this was his cue, Fuller dumps his plate on the floor. Ketchup flies everywhere.

The end.

Special Treat

Fuller spent most of yesterday cooped up in his room watching DVDs while his Daddy and I spent a lot of time installing the new ceiling panels in the living room.

Any time we took a break we were in there playing with him, trying hard to make up for the fact that for those hours he wasn't able to move about the house as he pleased. He was fine in the company of Wallace & Grommit and Leap, Tad, & Lily but of course it didn't really make up for the fact that he couldn't reign supreme over the whole house.

So, as a treat for being a good boy, we took him to the Hamilton Place play area- a free, indoor play area for kids Fuller's age and size.

Fuller had a blast climbing through the tunnels, climbing the wrong side of the slide, and finally sliding down the slide all on his own. The two hours we spent there were punctuated by a few escape attempts as he ran out the exit and straight for the American Eagle store.

When we returned home Fuller was immediately ready for bed, where he slept fourteen hours.

When we see Fuller exploring a place like that, interacting with children his age and size, it makes me realize just how quickly he is growing and changing. He is tall for his age and very independent and in a few years he will probably be beating up some of those kids in the play area, but for now I relish the fact that when he climbs something and looks around for praise he spots me and smiles really big.