One Last Month To Be A 1-Year-Old

Forgive the quality of the picture, but this is what happens when you point a camera into a dark room - in the vicinity of where you want a picture - and push the button with the flash and hope for the best. The photo is not of a corpse, but of Kole in the spot where he has put himself to sleep for the second time in a week. On the floor.

We still have the baby video monitor where we can see what's going on in the room. Of course, it's not a very wide angle and can't show too much, but we point it at his bed and at least know when he's not there. Normally, it means we need to turn the volume up and listen. He gets in his drawers and pulls his clothes out. That's his favorite thing to do. One of his previous favorites was climbing up his changing table. Yes - one minute he's rooting around the floor, then three minutes later you come in and he's on top of his changing table. So, now his changing table resides in the front hallway of our house, as does his sister's new dresser. A room is ready to become a nursery, and will soon, but until then the house is very much in a transition stage. Pardon the faux pas, "Better Homes & Gardens".

So in another month he'll be two. At the moment, his size is often mistaken as being that of a 3-year-old. He continues to be a very big boy, but healthy and strong. His vocabulary continues to expand, his knowledge keeps developing. He thumbs through his books now to find an apple he can point out and point and tell you what it is. It takes him maybe a full three seconds to get out both syllables of his version of the word: "aaaahhhh-poo".

His favorite word now, without a doubt, is "No". It was just a few weeks or days ago that all he knew how to do was vigorously shake his head back and forth. Now he punctuates the shake with a hearty "No!". And he'll say it to anything, even when he means yes.

Us: "Kole - do you want to wash your hands?"

Kole: "NO!" (then walks to the bathroom door)

Us: "Kole, do you want to play outside?"

Kole: "No! No! No!" (then sprints to the back door)

On the language front, it should also be noted that "Mama" is now a favorite word to. He hasn't said Maggie's name without prompting, but when he pets her we'll ask him if he loves his Maggie and he'll say "Ga-KEE!"

What's cool is when he forms the structure of a sentence. Last week before I left for out of town he had some crackers. He wanted more, and was in a routine of saying please. So, out of nowhere, he suddenly put everything together: "Moo (more) ... ca-cuh (cracker) ... PEESH!"

With a birthday approaching I'll just end by saying that he's growing out of his T2 clothes and is now T3. Toys? I don't know. It's hard to think about when we have a house full of crap - and much of it has to go; and when I say go, I mean there are heavy-duty items that need to be garage sale or tossed, as we clear out this office room and turn it into a nursery. I need to get a back yard storage shed up and going very soon. Anybody want an entire library of John Grisham or John Sandford novels? I'm not being facecious. You can have them, or I can take the trouble to run them up to half-price books for maybe $10 total. They're all hardback and in like-new condition.

New Playset

For some time now since the spring weather hit, Kathy has gone through a daily ritual of taking Kole outside - generally just to play with some of his inside toys and run around in the fresh air; taking him to a nearby park whenever possible so he can ramble around. He loves to climb, and his strength is becoming quickly obvious. Kathy went with another friend and her near-2-year-old to McDonalds, the kids played in the playground area, and where little Noah struggled to climb up certain obstacles, Kole scaled them with relative ease. He pulls himself up on the couch from the side - from the arm-rest side - all the time, working out like an Olympic gymnast. Especially when he throws his toys, a practice we're desperately trying to tame, it's obvious how strong he is at such a young age.

So, back to the backyard play equipment. We've been looking for several weeks - searching garage sales and CraigsList.com. A few days ago we looked at an outisde set that looked good enough - basic plastic crawling/climbing things with a slide, no big fancy wooden swing sets just yet. We finally saw a good set on CraigsList and the people selling it were nearby so we got it. We knew it was a good deal because the previous day a woman was selling about half as much stuff for $25 more. We jumped on the deal, brought it home, washed it down, and got it up as Kole was napping. He woke up and got in a little playtime just before it started sprinkling at dinner time. But, he took to it very well, so it looks like Kathy has some entertainment relief - especially as her pregnancy progresses and she easily gets winded after just a little activity, limited in her ability to bend over, etc. We could have put it on the 2nd birthday wish list, but we needed the relief immediately and it's already paying dividends.

Kole's Sister Is On The Way

Yes, it's the not-so-secret secret we've been hanging on to since about mid-January. Kathy took an over-the-counter pregnancy test that came back positive, then another. It was far from something we had carefully planned on a chalkboard. But, obviously God thought it was time for us to have another child. Today, in Kathy's 16th week, we had a sonogram where it was determined that it was a girl. Or, there's a 90-95% chance of it. A due date of September 29 has been thrown out by Kathy's doctor.

We waited till the first trimester was in the rearview mirror before we made a broad announcement of it. The odds of Down Syndrome or some other birth defect rise from about 0.5% to about 1%, but there is a great deal of money to be made in the medical field capitolizing off of fear and selling early indicators of birth defects. There is a lot of good that can come from early detection, but I've seen a side of the business I didn't care for, and it's obvious that there is a tremendous profit to be made from the fear of child-bearing women, and that fear is cleverly packaged and marketed. But, that's a different post for a different day.

There have been tense and stressful days, preparing for a baby when the prospect of Kathy actually returning to work was being discussed. There can be 1,000 elements dissected of what could have been if we had waited another few months, or another year. We are much wiser than we were two years ago about child rearing. Now we'll give it a shot with a maniacal 2-and-1/2 year old scatting around. There is much anxiety, but it will fall short of fear. 1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." So, maybe that's why God is bringing us another child right now, so we may be perfected in love.

Wow. Daddy's little girl.

From Crib to Bed

Landmark night last night, as we bought a toddler bed and it was Kole's first night to sleep in something other than his crib since he graduated from the bassinet. He's been a fairly good napper outside of his crib, so we figured it should go well. Especially after we brought it home and it was hard to get him away from his new bed. He was fascinated with it, and the ease of getting on and off. So, last night we made some quick rearrangements in the room, crossed our fingers, and we got some good results. But, we didn't quite properly Kole-proof the room, especially right next to the bed, and it didn't take us long to discover the error of our ways.

UPDATE: Now that we've been asked a couple of times - those are diapers. His little diaper bag hangs off of his changing table, and well within reach from his bed. Well, just for that first night it was.

Easter at Wah-Hoo

Easter Saturday was had at Grammy and Grandpa Gedy's Wah-Hoo Ranch, where there was a ton of open space to run and monkey around. Cousins Riley and Reagan were there, as well as Little Bruce, who is somewhere in the neighborhood of a step-cousin or somesuch. They didn't play too much together since Kole was so easily distracted by dogs, a swing, or a breeze in the air. The Easter egg hunt went much better than last year, when we had to plop him directly in front of an egg and keep him from spinning in another direction - almost having to place the egg right in his hand. Saturday the egg placement was generous and not too difficult, and just was Kole needed. We learned he is a good hunter, but not yet a good hunter-gatherer. The gathering part was most difficult. He would find an egg and immediately want to open it and inspect the goods. It was hard to get attention back on egg hunting, but eventually he did.
We had a great time, and even got so see my Uncle David and Aunt Elizabeth who made it down from Lake Texoma, who we haven't seen in more than a year because of a multitude of illness and weather issues around major holidays. Aunt Doris there as well, as well as Kole's aunts and uncles, Kelley and Kelly, Ben and Shanna.
Funny story on the way home. We had Kole in his jammies, figuring he'd fall asleep in the car and we could just put him in bed when we got home. We even reviewed the plan in the car once we got to Grand Prairie: I'll get him out of his seat; Kathy - you get his socks off and get his sleep-sack. We'll slide him into that, put him down, all done.
Problem: due to all the running and horsing around, Kole drank tons of water and it was determined when we got home that he needed a new diaper before bed. We laid down the sleep-sack on his changing table, so the diaper change could be quick, slide on the sack, and off to bed he'd go. But, when the wet diaper came off, and that cool breeze rolled across the nether regions, the pee fountain was turned on - straight into the air then down onto his PJ top and sleep-sack underneath.
So much for the chalkboard play precision. Now we had to change all of Kole's PJs, he started crying because he was so exhausted and was spending far more time in a room with lights on than he bargained for, but eventually mom and dad turned into the skid, self-corrected and got him to bed soon enough. He slept a solid 10 hours.

Cracker, Please!

The vocabulary is coming along, including his newest pleasant term, which his mother has been working on for quite some time - "please".

The Naked Jaybird Deuce

There are some elements of parenthood that just can't be over-analyzed. Despite what the doctors say, what the books and magazines advise, sometimes parents should be compelled to throw caution to the wind and let the kid do what he wants.
Within reason, of course. No sofa surfing. No playing in the fireplace, especially when it's lit. Hey, there are some standards in this house.
But, sometimes a kid has to do what a kid has to do, and every parent who once was a kid can't resist but to connect to it and just let it go.
Splash in the bath. Sing out loud in the grocery store. Laugh at the funny looking old man in the restaurant. Go for it while you're still cute and have a complete inability to hate or descriminate or be ashamed.
Kind of like running around bare-assed naked before bath time. In another year or two it will be bratty and frowned upon. At the ripe old age of 21 months, it is irresistably cute and innocent, just the way God made him.
And until today, his naked frolics have gone without incident.
Today was bath day, a ritual that takes place every other day, right after dinner. Some weeks he'll go two days without a bath just so we can time the bath out to Saturday night so he's clean for church the next day.
He definitely knows when he's naked - when parts that go mostly covered come out to breathe and be inspected and admired.
While Kathy cleaned up after making a killer pot roast in the slow cooker, I went on bath duty with the midget. I normally strip him down to a diaper, then as the bath water fills up, I throw the clothes in his hamper, grab his towel and wash cloth, etc. By the time I get him back herded to the bathroom the water is ready to go.
Today, for whatever reason, I took everything - diaper and all - while I did my regular pre-bath ritual. A little naked time for the boy. Go ahead - run like a madman and let it flop around in the breeze.
I could hear Kathy, still doing dishes but overlooking the living room, give him a courtesy giggle and make a comment about his butt cheeks.
When I rounded the corner to the bathroom, Kole was squatted down with a couple of toys. The house is full of hidden toy landmines. I don't keep a constant inventory of toys. In fact, we're in the process of rotating and recycling some toys - as he stops playing with some, then plays with others he hasn't seen in a while. Big and small - some are toys, and some are toy parts to bigger toys. When I rounded the corner, without stopping and closely inspecting what he was kneeling and admiring, I was convinced enough that it was a couple of toys.
So I put down the towel in the bathroom. Turn off the water. Double-check the temperature of the water - it was just right. Then I took a seat on the closed lid of the toilet, looking back out of the bathroom into the hallway. Kole was still squatted down, one of the toys was now in his hand, the other toy was still on the carpet and under very carefully scrutiny by him.
Then I took a closer look.
It was as much a toy as roadkill is potpourri. As much of a plaything as this post is a mystery novel.
Yes, the kid pooped in the floor!
I put him in the bath and began cleaning up after him. Luckily, it was a fairly firm mess, nothing real wet and sloppy, so cleanup wasn't as bad as it could have been. And, it was bathtime anyway.
Kathy asked if we should hold his nose in it and swat him with a rolled up newspaper. I told her it would be unfair, since we hadn't even begun to paper train him. And he could have been scratching at the bathroom door and I didn't hear it.
In hindsight, it was hard to predict an accident. He had already taken two poops earlier in the day - about average. It was a stretch to think there could be a third before 6:30.
But there was. Oh yes, there was. In the form of a firm, brown, steaming letter "c" on the carpet.
Did he just have his last naked streak through the house before bath time? I doubt it. But, until properly potty trained, the streaking will kept to a minimum.

RECORD SNOW DAY!

As this posts at Noon on February 11, 2010 - the snow has already climbed up to the 3-and-1/2 inch mark of a ruler I placed on our back patio table and continues to fall at a steady clip in fat, wet flakes. Shortly after breakfast, Kole got his first romp in the stuff. First reaction was to kneel down and grab big handfuls and stare at it. Then came high-step walking through it. He adapted very well and had a blast just walking and running through it. Spent a good 15-20 minutes out in it before we noticed his socks getting wet and took him in. Fun times!

UPDATE: For prosperity sake, our fun little snow day turned into the largest snow event in Dallas-Fort Worth recorded history, going back at least to the 1870s when records began being kept. Officially at DFW Airport the one-day snow total was 11.2 inches. That cut-off was obviously Thursday at midnight. The storm continued to drop snow in the wee hours of the night before moving on, and the official 24-hour snowfall of the storm system (from 4am Thursday till 4am Friday) is going down as 12.5 inches. However, here at the Fletcher homestead in Grand Prairie, we took a measly 9 inches. I took a photo this (Friday) morning at 7:30 when the temperature was 35 degrees, so it's possible we had a tad of melt on that - as it actually shows a tad under 9. I'm adding photos of the house - note that they are from Friday morning, Feb. 12.

The Nature of Curiosity

Recently the little man has become increasingly curious. Not just nosey - opening every drawer and cabinet in sight; but actually curious.

If he sees a shoe he'll try to step into it and walk in it. He now feeds himself well with a spoon or fork, but hasn't quite mastered the art of the stab or scoop. Still needs some work there. When we put a coat or jacket on him, he races to grab the two sides of the zipper so he can try to zip it up by himself before one of us takes over.

Just recently, he will occupy himself for a while at his booster chair where he eats. He's most curious with his little buckles that keep him firmly buckled in. Standing beside the chair, he'll try over and over again buckling the two sides together. Once he gets them all properly fastened, he doesn't quite get the fact that the job is done, nor does he know how to undo the buckles, so he throws a little min-tantrum in frustration. We have to go over and unfasten the buckle so he can start over again. Looking forward to seeing him explore and be creative with blocks, drawing and so forth in the coming weeks and months.

Photo: Learning the finer details of how one little clip snaps and buckles neatly into another one.

Something To Say

For some time now Kole has been able to identify things by word. If you say "where's your ball?" he'll go get a ball. Even if you ask for a hug or a kiss he will respond accordingly and affecitonately. But, he's been slow in getting the actual words out himself. As stated in previous posts around here, "Daddy" and "bye" have been the earliest first-words spoken, and been fairly exclusive ... until recently. In the last week we've noticed a couple of familiar words (or close affiliations) to certain objects. Most notable is "shoes" (or as he says with a heavy-tongued lisp: "Soos" almost "thooth"). He does this whenever you we put our shoes on, or when he sees his own shoes - which he instantly wants to put on. He probably spends a good hour or more a day attempting to put his shoes on, and will spend a good half-hour slogging around with a just his toes sticking inside a shoe.
The other word is "ball" ("Bah") which he now most frequently says when he has a balloon in his hands.
I know, I know, I know ... once he starts he'll never shut up again. But, for the time being we're anxious to see some verbal skills as some real cues to proper development and growth.

18-Month Dr. Visit

Kole had his 18-month doctor's visit today - he now is with Dr. Ann Nelson of Arlington, in the same office as his previous pediatrician, but we thought we needed a change for a handful of reasons.
Anyway, Kole weighed 27 pounds 4 ounces, which is just about in the 55 percentile for his age (50 would have been a dead-even bullseye average) so he's essentially average and right where he should be for his age. However, his length (they still measure him laying down, foot stretched out, head to heel - not standing up) was 35-and-1/2 inches. This puts him above the 97 percentile. On the chart it's obviously around the 98th percentile. Either way, it means that only 2-3% of 18-month-olds in the United States are taller than him. In the doctor's words, "he has the body of a 3-year-old", but with his weight on balance, he's extremely normal and very healthy - just tall for his age. We mentioned what a ravenous, two-fisted eater he is - especially compared to his little friends Noah, Sara and Meisha. The doctor's reaction was, "he obviously needs it". She complimented him over and over again on his temperament as she examined him. He was curious of everything, but agreeable to all her prodding with a stethoscope, tongue depressor and little lighted ear-magnifying scope-thing. Then came the shots. He had to get Hep-A, D-Tap, IPV and chicken pox. Two of them were combined somehow so there were three needles total. The nurse would grab a pinch of fat on one of this thighs, poke and depress. One after the other after the other. He gave one small groan after the second ... but amazingly, no tears, no screams, no fit whatsoever. After the doctor had done nothing but rave about how big and healthy, well-behaved and wonderfully curious and temperamented he was, we were sure he was going to douse all those compliments out with a big bucket of rage. All he did was suck it up and make his parents look good again. ATTA BOY!
We will watch the development of his speaking. Right now his discernible vocabulary consists of "daddy" (not Da Da - a distinctive hard-E on the end, "Da-dee"), and a couple of times in the past week he has said "Bye" while waving bye. Kathy had a play-date at the house yesterday with Kole's pals Noah and Sara (whose moms Kathy went through child birth classes with), and as one was leaving, grabbing her purse and heading for the door, Kole waved and said "Bye!". The word is the recent addition, as for several weeks he will wave goodbye to me when I leave for work and walk out the door. So, some things are coming along. The doctor was alarmed by nothing and complimentary of everything. She reconfirmed that Kathy is doing everything right and is a wonderful mother.
Unforeseen illnesses aside, his next scheduled doctor's check-up will be when he turns 2.
Attached is the pic of him in his little gown they had him put on. Hilarious.

Kicking Off 2010

2010 was welcomed with a happy house. Kathy and I were able to go out to dinner together while Kole played with his neighbor friend Meisha. We were home by 8:00, Kole in bed by 9:00, Kathy and I watched a movie (Paul Blart the Mall Cop - pretty funny) then were in bed by the time Dick Clark counted down the Eastern time zone to midnight.
Kole was fighting a bit of a cough as he went to bed, one that made us consider taking him to a doctor since he was going on 5 or 6 days with it, and it was a very wet and phlegmy cough, but he appears to be on the rebound and mend. Overall, 2009 had lots of answered prayers and Kole was a very healthy boy, as were Mom and Dad, for the most part. We braved the Swine Flu scare of the Fall, which may have been the toughest time of all in hindsight. Otherwise, Kole has been introduced to more bruises and scratches as his mobility and reach increase, as does his mischief. He bravely scales chairs and couches and it has become somewhat of a favorite hobby. Only twice to my memory has he miscalculated the stability of his seating and taken a tumble onto the floor. Those are tough lessons for him, and even tougher for the parents. He has an amazing tolerance for banging into walls and tumbling off of toys.
His vocabulary is extremely vast, the problem is that we don't quite know what words he's saying. But, he can carry on an entire conversation, or sing an entire Itsy Bitsy Spider tune mouthing words of some kind in rhythm. 60% of his time spent awake and not eating, he is in a song of some kind. It's a great way to snap out of a crappy day ourselves, just hearing his happy babble around the house.
He loves going outside, and when you appear with shoes he will gleefully hop up on the couch and put his dogs out ready to be suited up. When you put one sock on, he'll sometimes grab the other and attempt to put it on the other foot. When his own shoes aren't on, he loves finding our shoes and putting his feet in them and sliding around the house.
He has graduated past pushing doors shut, and can now grab a doorknob and pull it shut. When a telephone rings, he immediately goes on a hunt for a phone. He has a great understanding for what things will bring scorn from Mom and Dad, but won't quite avoid them - instead just approaches them with caution. Just a few moments ago he approached the Christmas tree again, stuck out his finger and slowly crept it towards a shiny ornament ... all the while with his head turned directly towards me, as if waiting for the bark of disapproval. Once I fire off a stern "NO NO!" he seemed satisfied and merrily went on his way. I believe all the baby books and common sense label this practice "Testing the Parent".
He eats 2 scrambled eggs eagerly with both hands churning like a machine every morning and also loves waffles with syrup, plus Chef Boyardee ravioli (at 17 months old he once finished off an ENTIRE CAN in one sitting!), grilled cheese, and also luckily likes mashed up peas and sweet potatoes. We're normally taking a chance with anything else - including chicken nuggets and hamburgers. He'll gladly gobble them up some time, others he donates them to Maggie. One way or another, he eats like a horse and is still way above average length/height for his age and all appears very normal.
Potty training is not far away, and we've taken some of the prescribed early steps - including putting his training potty out; using the words and associating them with the act of the result (as he's leaning over the coffee table red-faced and grunting "Are you going poopie?" changing the diaper "Pewwie!! Kole made poopie!!", etc.); then maybe most uncomfortably, we are allowing him into the bathroom with us to observe and learn and make the connection himself. Nothing more amusing than letting your kid watch you stand there and pee while he looks up and down, up and down, in studied amazement. All the while, I have to keep a hand free to keep him from playing in my stream. During this entire process is a running play-by-play to further associate the verbal cues. It's a very humbling rite fatherhood, bear to cub : "Daddy's going to tee-tee in the potty! Let's go potty. Okay ... Daddy's going tee-tee ... into the potty. Okay, all done going tee-tee! Yeah!" then I clap and congratulate myself on being a good boy, and for remaining sprinkle-free. I always wonder what precisely is going through his head after he sees what he just saw.
There are days when I come home from work and Kathy is working a glass of wine and has obviously shed a tear or two - while the boy maintains a sly grin of innocence. As is par for his age, he can be a handful. But, Kole is as healthy and happy as can be. He associates well with other kids his age, and after a 5-minute grace period of hesitant shyness he quickly acclimates to any crowd in any setting. He's a voracious eater, a sound sleeper, and engages in toddler horseplay with unabated tenacity. He laughs 100 times more than he cries. He's as healthy as a horse. Some of all that can be attributed to DNA and the blessings of God, but the influence of a wonderful, strong, effective mother cannot be denied. Kathy not only refuses to give herself credit, but just as worse she is in constant doubt of whether what she's doing is the right thing. In my book, and in Kole's I'm sure, she is the Mother of the Year for 2009.
Looking forward to all of what 2010 has in store for Kole, Kathy and myself.

Scenes from Christmas 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

A wonderful semi-white Christmas morning at the Fletcher house, full of all kinds of wonderful toys for Kole ... to play with, or play in.

Another Santa Visit

At least for the time being, Kole isn't affraid of Santa Claus. This photo went, for the most part, without incident. Kathy had it taken at The Parks Mall in Arlington, which is where he had last year's photo taken also. She said they have all sorts of little nick-knacks and do-dads for kids to poke and prod while standing in line - and Kole had a mini-meltdown being taken away from a little toy to go have the picture taken. But, the sight and presence of Santa himself didn't seem to bother him.

Early December update

I realize I've been sloppy about updating things here, so I'll try and catch up as best as possible.

Last week Kole actually had a quick doctor's visit to check on a rash, or hives that he had been developing on his back, chest, arms and legs. He did not itch them or seem bothered by them, but he had them nonetheless. We had not changed laundry detergents, nor could we think of anything that his skin had been in contact with that was out of the ordinary or something he hadn't been in contact before. We couldn't think of anything. Then Kathy read something online about strawberries and that struck a cord. Kole had recently been watched for a couple of ours by our neighbor Macko, who has a little 17-month-old girl Meisha, who is actually just one day apart from Kole (born the day before or after, I can't remember). Anyway, she gave him strawberries and said he loved them. We bought some - and indeed he did love them. He already has had strawberry yogurt and strawberry jam on toast. But, Kathy read where fresh strawberries (much like honey) come with a host of alergies to many children.

The doctor agreed that, yes, we should cut out the strawberries and see if things get better. They have so - disaster avoided and strawberries have been removed from the menu.

Kole still runs like a wild man around the house and does lots of babbling. He knows lots of words. He knows what a ball is, if you ask him if he wants to read a story he'll go find a book ... I could go on and on. He just doesn't say anything to identify anything, except for "Da Da" for his daddy.

He loves hearing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" song and has other favorite songs and tunes on TV - even commercials. He's very musically inclined and knows all of his toys that produce music and spends most of his day playing and dancing to them.

PHOTO: Kole with his little neighbor girlfriend, Meisha. Drinks on the house!

Time to Lay Down The Law

It's one of the saddest posts I've had to make so far. Perhaps the most vivid sign that our little baby is growing into a rambunctious little toddler is that now we are having to bring some discipline into the picture. I haven't yet introduced the horse whip, or the popular technique of starvation. We don't need camera crews on our doorstep just yet. So, we are sticking with the very early phases of Timeout.
It's hard to go full-force on discipline since his vocabulary is limited, as is what he understands. However, he knows the word "No" and what it means, and has for a couple of months now. Over the weekend, we put out his Play Yard near the front entry of the house, assigning that as his Timeout spot.
Monday, while I was at work, Kole fell into a familiar old trap. The kitchen trash can has multiple purposes. I think there's a post on this blog somewhere of him looking at his reflection in the stainless steel. He still does that, and it entertains the whole house when he notices himself. However, he is forbidden from opening the lid. All it leads to is him reaching in and pulling out garbage - so long ago we put an end to that and saved our harshest and hardiest "NO!!!" for when he did that. We have been diligent and consistent.
So, back on Monday, he got into the trash can and Kathy gave him - from a distance, wherever she was - a firm verbal "NO!", which he noticed, stopped, and the episode came to a halt. Maybe 10 seconds later, he was back at it, lifting the lid as he looked straight as his Mommy, as if saying "so ... I'll do this all day. I have time" Kathy had to respond with more "NO"s, then took him to his Timeout spot.
Kathy said it took about a 5-Mississippi count before he looked around and realized his toy-less surroundings, and immediatly burst out into a violent tearless cry. She waited only a minute or two, then got him out.
Lesson learned? Well, he doesn't exactly ignore the trash can, but he hasn't had to be put in Timeout since.

Getting Kole's Giggle Box

What can we say - he's a happy kid who likes to laugh.

Day at the G.P. Petting Zoo

The glass-half-full person says: Grand Prairie has been fairly smart about utilizing its Lynn Creek Park space by Joe Pool Lake - recently putting in a petting zoo for use during the Fall.

The glass-half-empty person says: Grand Prairie found another way to screw people at Lynn Creek Park - a petting zoo.

We'll stop short of endorsing the place, as $12/person was pretty steep for the overall experienc e- at least with an almost-16-month-old. Maybe a 5 year old would get more out of it. Actually we paid nothing for Kole since he was under 2, but Kathy and I were $24 together. He was actually pretty inquisitive and curious of most animals. His favorite was the cows and little calves. They were most docile and allowed him to pet them without much resistance. He still wants to pet the animals the way he pets Maggie, and that's a very rough pat. Yes he's a young toddler, but he basically takes whacks at the animals with his open hand. He liked petting the horse, a big Clydesdale, he chased some turkeys, fed some little lambs and goats and stood next to a big 300 lb. snorting pig. He had a great time running around and looking at everything. But, we were done after about an hour out there when we had seen and done everything, then he started getting hungry. A good experience for him. Mom and dad will wait till they discount their price or add a few more bells and whistles before we head back out.

Birthday Bashes with Grammy, Gram, Uncle Kelly

Kole got to spend some time with his Grammy and Grandpa Gedy on Grammy's birthday last week. We met at a mid-way point from the Wah-Hoo Ranch, at a restaurant in south Ft.Worth. Kole ate, easily, the most food in one sitting he ever has in his life - scarfing down a child's plate portion of broiled fish and mashed potatoes, plus nearly a whole biscuit. He stayed up about an hour past his normal bedtime, so it was a great Friday night out.

The weekend previous, we had a house full here for Gram and Uncle Kelly's birthdays.

PHOTO 1: Grammy, Kole and cousin Reagan out in Fort Worth for Grammy's birthday. PHOTO 2: (L to R) Kole, Gram, Reagan, Kelly, Riley blow out candles at the Fletcher Brat House for Gram & Kelly's birthdays.