Paul and Charis

Paul before we left






I made a pie. Isn't it pretty?

The Surprise

What I Found

Despite my pleadings to "Keep your socks on during this nap, okay? I don't want your feet to be cold." Paul consistently pulls the useful and (often) cute little socks off every single time. The fact that I just allowed that redundancy should drive home the point that this happens without fail. I would be taken aback to walk into his room after a nap and find him happily playing in the crib in sock-clad little feet. Seeing his darling little toes after (here's another one) each and every nap is a regular occurrence. This, however caught me completely off guard.




Poor kid. Imagine standing in your crib calling for assistance in getting out only to have the door flung open by your beloved mother who, upon laying eyes on you for the first time in 2 hours, bursts into uncontrollable peals of laughter. It's got to be traumatic.

Paul's Words

Well, I hear people say that they do this when their kid is learning to talk, so I'll try. But it's really hard because he'll probably pop out with a new one here this afternoon. His passive vocabulary is quite large, and his lingual capabilities are developing so rapidly, that I think that any compilation of active vocabulary words is incomplete at best.

Here's what we've got so far that he says on his own:
Bible
ball, ball, and more balls
bi-per (diaper)
uh-oh
na-nai (night-night)
bye-bye (occasionally, "Bye-bye, buhbuh" for "Bye-bye, bullies" in one of his books)
nanana (which is obviously "banana")
Puppy
Daddy
bath
bear
book

Here's what we've gotten him to say (I think):
Mm-mama (for those of you who haven't already heard, this is a very clear "Grandmama")
popcorn
cowboy
Laura (Sorry, Toots. I tried.)

I'll add more as I think of them.
(as of 10/24/08) Tooh (There. How's that?)

Paul also has taken up the kazoo. If I play "Zacheus," he starts clapping on the third note. Then he'll grab the instrument and really make a very fine pitch variation, in my opinion.

He loves his cowboy boots. A lot.
He knows where stuff is. If I say, "Let's play with your blocks," he finds them.
He enjoys having his teeth brushed.
He's getting some molars.
Corn is his favorite vegetable.
He still loves whipped cream.
And, this is bad, isn't it. He's a big fan of sweet tea. I don't give it to him much, though.

The Boots

When Jon was little, these were his boots.

Okay, so he didn't start at as happy as he could have been.

Pumpkin Day!

Outside

Paul's favorite place.







Was it too much to ask for ONE picture of the cute hood? I guess so.

M&M's

Asking for M&Ms is a whole body experience.

Finished Product

Here's how Paul's hair turned out after we used the big boy clippers. Isn't he precious?

I can't believe we pulled this off.

Paul was starting to look like an upside-down mop. Mrs. Schlichting's is out of the question for a week and a half at least, and I couldn't think of a polite response to the inevitable grocery store inquiry of "What's her name?" I had to resort to the cell phone to occupy his attention and his hands, but he was Super Kid, really. It was a long process--at least half an hour. What a trooper. Please see the poll. This was my first time.

Before. . .

Here's Paul helping me sweep.

After.

"Mommy, what are you doing?"


"Okay, I'll pose."


"Finally, my toys."

Let's look at that one more time.

Before. . .


After.

I think he's got the hang of it.

Ride 'em, Clippety.

The Big Game

The big volleyball game in which the aunts battled it out took place last Friday.

The gym scared Paul at first.


Here are the aunts glaring menacingly at each other.


Here's them putting on a good front for the camera.


Paul was still scared.


Laura's 23 Gray; Jamie's the only Blue in the shot.


Aunt Jamie subbing out


Jamie's 43; Laura's 23 (center front of her side)

See you at the championship!

Video Games and Trucks

21st-Century Boy.