150% Boy

This was how one nursery worker described Paul. She nailed it.



Our offspring, Jelly Man.


Paul decided to take Puppy for a ride in his truck.


Puppy liked it.


Paul's shiner from the walker nursery. (He tripped and hit the carpet. He didn't actually get in a fight over a toy.)


Paul concentrating on his toast.

Paul's Eating Habits

I'm hoping to save the contents of this blog somehow and use it as a quasi-baby book (since I haven't really kept one.) I mean, a picture is worth a thousand words, right? So we've got the equivalent of several volumes of baby books in our computer. But anyway, I decided to post a copy of an e-mail I sent my friend Carolyn about Paul's current eating trends. This way I'll have it down the road when I compile this blog into a DVD or something.

Carolyn and I occasionally exchange baby stories and advice. This time she had written to ask how she can get her little one to eat food that doesn't come from the baby food aisle.

Insightful comments? Well, the short answer is "not really." I mean, I feel for you. But frankly, I'm kind of in the same situation. Paul has a DEFINITE preference for the ol' baby food aisle himself, but we keep trying. I'm stubborn enough to be like, "Hey, I paid $20 for this food chopper. You're going to eat stuff I chop in it." But, sometimes, there's just no convincing him of the economic advantages to his eating what we do in chopped-up version. That said, I do buy very little baby food, and Paul has a rather small repertoire, but I figure if he eats some kind of vegetable every day--even if it's corn, I'll be happy. Here's what Paul likes:
Corn (and therefore mixing corn with anything else I chop tends to make it go over better)
Canned peas (odd, I know)
Frozen (cooked) peas
Baked beans
Refried beans
He did okay with the greenbean/corn medley yesterday
PB&J cut into small pieces (random really)
Grits
Oatmeal

Stuff Paul LOVES:
Yogurt (the American Pediatric Association book said this was fine; pediatrician said no milk, but he's been fine with it)
Banana in any form (Sliced, mushed, broken into chunks, right out of the peel . . .)
Nilla Wafers
Ritz crackers (we've gotten low sodium so far)
Goldfish (he prefers the non-cheese variety)
Pretty much any mushed fruit
Umm, ice cream (ahee)
Cheerios
APPLESAUCE (We've had the last couple of temper tantrums as a result of coming to the last of the applesauce in the bowl. He'll scream and throw stuff and point at the jar and look all accusingly at me like, "Grinch. I know you can dish up some more of this stuff. Get with the program." Smart, maybe. Frightening display of depravity, yep.)

So, basically, I'm sure there's more stuff he'll eat, but that's what comes to mind. He does okay with baked potato, but he's not a huge fan. He will not eat ground beef no matter how ground up it is with veggies in the chopper. I can hide some chopped up chicken, but rice is a no-go. So, if he doesn't like something, spitting being uncouth or too much work or whatever, he'll simply reach his little hand in his mouth, remove whatever he doesn't want, and throw it on the floor. What do you do?

So, speaking of camp, we were at the WILDS as guests for a day of the GFA conference, and we all ate in the main dining hall. So we've got to drag a high chair over (you know how there's all that space), squeeze Paul in next to a veteran missionary, move everything on the table within an 18-inch radius of the high chair, and attempt to give him pieces of whatever we were served. I noticed a lot had been thrown on the floor. At one point during dinner, I heard the gentleman on the other side of Paul say, "Mommy will get you your own, I think." I looked over to see Paul with his hand ON the guy's dinner roll. Yeah. That was after he spilled someone else's drink at lunch.

Anyway, probably not helpful, but at least now we know it's a common problem. I used to scoff at "the books" that said, "Don't ever force Baby to eat something she doesn't want. He'll come around in time, and there's no use turning meal times into a war zone. It's stressful for Mommy and Baby." I would think, "Well, that's just because they don't believe in spanking." Now I'm like, "Jon, it's fine. All the books say that baby's are picky. He'll get over it. Let's not stress. We'll just not give him too much sugar, and he'll eat when he's hungry." I mean we do spank him for some stuff, but I mean, really. When you're kid's gagging at you, how do you pop him and say, "No, no. We don't gag on lasagna in this house, young man."?

Well. Hope things improve. I mean. They will. I've noticed that it's pretty gradual. One day I'm like, "Remember when he wouldn't . . ." and I can't remember when things turned around.

Fathers Day

I've put some Fathers Day thoughts on Jon's blog, Evangelio de Gracia.

The Real Question Is . . .

. . . Did he mean to say it? I acknowledge freely that that is precisely what he said. Too precisely, if you ask me. That seems to be the real downfall. But I'll keep my opinions to myself and let the audience decide. In another post, I'll show you the Fathers Day pancake that prompted my retrieving the camera in the first place, but all in all, this was probably the biggest fluke that has ever taken place where I'm concerned. Here's what had to happen: 1) He said it 2) He said it after I did 3) He said it while eating it 4) (and this is obviously the biggest "no way" involved) He said it while we were rolling the camera DURING breakfast ON a Sunday. Do we ever just go, "Hey let's get some footage of Paul stuffing his face just for fun. It's Sunday morning, and we all have to be walking out the door by 8:50. We've got time. Let's do it."? No. We don't. Until today, I would have said we never would. Hence. Biggest fluke of my lifetime.

And, dear readership, I realize that it's too perfect. I understand that we have nothing but our sterling reputation for utmost honesty in the past to offer as proof that what takes place on this video is an exact representation of what actually took place. We have neither the means nor the know-how to alter the contents of digital video. We're asking you to trust us. This is genuine.

Kindly do us the favor of submitting your input on the poll. And thank you. We knew we could count on you to take our word for it.

Giggle Box

This really needs no comment.

Would you be surprised if Mattel asks us for the audio on this to put in their next Push-My-Tummy-And-I Giggle doll?

Monkey Mess

No pictures for this one. Paul has taken a liking to the vent covers in our house. I at first thought it was cute, something for him to do, and so on. When Daddy found out that Paul had become adept at removing vent covers, he urged me to put a stop to it citing the possibility that Paul could drop something down one of them. Agreeing with his logic, I tried to be alert to Paul's propensity to imitate Grandpa Jeffcott's heating and air expertise and remind him of the "no-no-hood" of vent covers. Well, no one is perfect. I knew he was over there. I had told him no already and he had stopped messing with it. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him prying the vent cover in the study up off the floor with his little fingers. I resolved to issue another reminder as soon as I clicked a couple more buttons to complete my online purchase order, when it became obvious that I was too late. The cover itself had slipped down the dusty portal and knocked the duct off. So for the rest of the afternoon, the spiders in the crawl space enjoyed free climate control. Daddy came home that evening and crawled under the house with a roll of duct tape to fix the problem. We even let Paul stay up late thinking he would really get a kick out of talking to Daddy through a hole in the floor. Well. He actually freaked out. But, when you think about it, that would be pretty scary. However, in addition to the vent cover, we (Jon, that is) also discovered that Paul had managed to toss a CD and his Paci down the hole. I'm not sure if he was hoping his wish would come true or what.

Beginning Walker

Look what Paul can do!

Pool Party

The kiddie pool was, in Paul's opinion, the most fun thing on the entire planet. . . until he got sleepy. All that swimming will do that to you. There was some slight uneasiness as he adjusted to the freezing water, but he did remarkably better than Daddy. Other than that, it was a splashing good time.



"Why do we need sunscreen again?"


Indian Paul

Playing Outside

We'd like to start off with a special Thank You to Mrs. Schlichting for the content of these pictures. The haircut and toy are compliments of her. After the haircut, Paul had so much fun playing in the yard with Nathaniel and Julianna that Mrs. Schlichting insisted that we take home the truck for Paul to borrow.

Last night Paul was able to putter around the yard for about 4 minutes before we had to get in the car to go to visitation. That made getting in the car a devastating experience indeed. But, it turned out that the nursery has a similar toy (for girls, but we didn't tell Paul). My friend Ashlyn kept the nursery with Paul, Jakey (a 2-year-old), and her son J.J. Now, J.J. is right around Paul's age. So, back to the toy. Paul apparently found it and began pushing it around the nursery. Then, according to Ashlyn, J.J. wanted to get in on the action as well. So he sat on the toy, and Paul gave him a ride around the nursery. We all wish there were a video of that. But it's a cute story anyway.

Now for today. Paul donned what Aunt Laura would refer to as a "See Jack run." outfit (presumably because of the quasi-Opie Taylor / All-American-kid-you'd-find-in-stories look it conveys), and we headed out.


Quick Clippety stop on the way out


Pushing Truck


He was fascinated by the "flowers."


Assessing the damage after a crash


Getting stuck


Getting unstuck