Anthony is 21 months old! (yesterday)

Anthony had a busy couple of weeks leading up to the one-and-three-fourths mark.

Two weekends ago we traveled to St. Louis to see family, take in some ISU Redbird basketball and puke on Aunt Ellen's nice wood floor, not necessarily in that order.

It used to be when we visited Ellen and Justin, there was lots of talking and laughing, a little Trivial Pursuit (I think Ellen and I still hold a slight edge) and maybe a glass of wine here and there. Nowadays, it's more a matter of shouting over three little voices, a bit of Candyland and maybe a glass of wine here and there...assuming little fingers don't knock it over first.

Not that we'd have it any other way!

Of course, sometimes things get a little out of control, and this time around Anthony upped the ante on his usual contribution by strutting into the house, coyly refusing to eat any dinner and then promptly throwing up all over himself, the floor and one of cousin Bradley's toy cars.

Good times! Where's that glass of wine?

Fortunately, Anthony recovered enough to enjoy the visit - he also got to see Grandma Char and Grandpa Dave - and not be too much of a whiny pain-in-the-you-know what. Hopefully he didn't leave any stomach flu victims in his wake.

Notice how I didn't include any photos with the above info. You can thank me later. Instead, here are some pictures from Anthony's trip this weekend to the Miami Children's Museum. For some reason the lighting wasn't great for photos - odd in a place where just about every adult was toting a camera - but I did my best.

Anthony had a blast "fishing" for little magnetized plastic fish....

...although from the looks of how he's holding that fishing pole, Grandpa Harry might have to step in for an intervention!

He also got to navigate a cruise ship at the Carnival Cruise Line exhibit...

...check out some tunes in the music room - sorry Grandma Dianne, there was no Johnny Cash on the menu - he actually liked wearing the headphones...

...set up shop in the artist's studio, though I had the young artiste avoid the finger painting area for obvious reasons...

... try out careers like doctor, firefighter and police officer, you know, the only ones children's museums believe exist...

(When he tried these on I told him he's just like the pediatrician we see. He promptly put down the stethescope and prescribed me some albuterol and a nebulizer)

...and Follow the Yellow Brick Road in a cute Wizard of Oz exhibit.

It was a fun place, and I think Anthony got a kick out of it - usually I'm a firm believer that most public facilities in Miami suck, but this one was actually pretty nice, and there was plenty for guys Anthony's size to do. I'd like to take him back when he's a little older...and after Grandpa gently suggests that it might be a good idea to turn the fishing pole around.

Your Love is Like A Rollercoaster, Baby, Baby

As Anthony approaches his second birthday, we're moving into that tricky period where his language skills are taking off and he really, really thinks he's telling us stuff, but most of the time we can't understand a word he's saying.

Except car. We KNOW you see a car, OK Anthony? We get it.

Anyway, as someone who has lived the past almost decade talking and talking and talking but having the most important person in her life apparently not understand the language in which she is speaking (yes, Brandon and I celebrate our 10th anniversary this summer!) I understand the little fella's frustration.

However, it does make for a rollercoaster lifestyle, where sometimes Anthony is tons of fun and I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't have a toddler on hand, and sometimes (cough-this morning-cough) I almost get a speeding ticket heading to the daycare because the car isn't big enough to contain the combined noise of his whining, my shushing and the crappy morning radio show I turned up loud enough to drown it all out.

For example:

We took Anthony to Miami Metro Zoo yesterday, and you would've thought that petting zoo was a pit of angry vipers the way he protested the FUN opportunity to pet a goat and a pig (for the record, I don't really like touching stinky animals either, I just don't get it, but we weren't at the zoo for MY benefit, if you know what I mean.)

Look how desparately he's twisting his little body to get away in the third picture, poor kid, despite Brandon's valiant attempts to make it clear that it's FUN! to touch the goat. Which, of course, Anthony figured out once he actually let himself.

Notice how he's clutching his book the whole time. We drive 30 miles and shell out 30 bucks for the zoo and all the kid wants to do is read the book we gave him on the way there. Fine, have it your way:

But, like I said, difficult one moment, adorable the next. Once mom and dad managed a sleight-of-hand removal of the book and we moved on to some animals that were behind glass, Anthony was a little more comfortable checking things out, and I think even he would admit those meercats are kinda cool:

When the animals are behind a fence, it was even worth beckoning mom and dad to come take a second look:And inanimate animals? The best yet! Once again, I happen to agree with Anthony on this one (not YOU, Javier!), but still, 30 bucks to sit on a stone camel statue?

Rollercoaster Anthony (when he turns 3 do I get to buy a cheesy shirt that says I Survived Rollercoaster Anthony? Or at least one of those pictures where my eyes are closed and I'm screaming and clutching the handlebars for dear life?) continued outside the zoo, where one minute he's happy to oblige his mama some photos in a cute sweater...

... and then the next he's pitching a fit because he spotted his potty and wanted to get outof the bath and play with it before I was done with his nightly scrub-down and daycare de-lousing.

Set these pictures to a toddler's high-pitched screech of "potty, potty, potty" and you'll have some idea of the fun that was to be had. Seriously, would you LOOK at that face in the third picture...Hell hath no fury like a toddler scorned.

Don't worry, all's well that ends well.

And hey, if he likes the potty that much....well, here's hoping.

OK, maybe not. But at least we've got a foot in the door!

The "Keen" and I

Today my mom and dad, who spent the weekend with us, dropped Anthony off at daycare for me, and apparently he threw a FIT when they left. A screaming, crying, red-faced, clinging, please-Grandma-don't-leave-me FIT. Which is just a little hurtful, because when I drop him off, he immediately runs to his teacher so he can have his breakfast and start his day. I know I'm grumpy in the morning, but is it that much of a relief to get away from me?

Brandon, don't answer that.

Anyway, despite the little stinker's propensity for crushing my heart, he's been a ton of fun lately. The language development is a blast to watch - favorites are "Keen" for Lighting McQueen (of Cars fame), "Melmo" for Elmo, and "Boos Coos" for Blues Clues. I know what you must be thinking - "Wow! That is amazing! I'm so impressed! I mean, seriously, how DO they actually fit that much TV into one toddler's waking hours?" To which I can only respond, "Tivo."

Fortunately, despite his copious TV watching, Anthony has found time in recent weeks to visit with Grandma Dianne and Grandpa Harry, enjoy the nice Miami weather, get a cute new 'do and learn some words that didn't come from PBSKids or Nick Jr.

And I also took the bold step of buying a plastic potty (unfortunately, unlike litter boxes, there did not appear to be a self-cleaning model). Don't get me wrong, I don't have any illusions here (for the record, all six of my choices at Target bore pictures of little toddler girls happily approaching the potty, the message clearly being that if your child happens to be a boy, don't even bother, 'cause it ain't gonna happen until they're tall enough to just use the real toilet) but I also figured there's nothing wrong with letting Anthony see there is an alternative to Pampers.

So, we'll see how it goes - maybe we'll get lucky. Hey, I figure someday on a very special episode of Sesame Street Melmo will learn to go to the bathroom by himself, so I'll just wait for that to hit the Tivo and we should be all good.

Some pictures:

At the park...check out that cute new haircut:

Trying on Grandpa's hat:More fun at the park with Grandma:

Grandma and Grandpa took Anthony to the library:

And to pick strawberries:

Anthony is 20 months! (yesterday)

In honor of Anthony's "birthday" (but mostly because it's cute and I want to always remember how the little fella sounds when he says what was his first and remains his favorite word) I'm posting a video of my favorite 20-month-old:



That's from Anthony glancing at one of those free car sales flyers we grabbed to entertain him at breakfast yesterday. Imagine how he sounded later in the day when Brandon put on the Daytona 500 for a little while. Or how he'll sound in the days before his 16th birthday.

Anyway, listening to Anthony's car talk makes me laugh because he always says it with that Boston "pahk the cah in the Hah-vahd yahd" accent, like he's a member of the Kennedy family who just spotted his car after hours of searching (insert Chappaquiddick joke here). And every time, never fail, no matter how many hundreds of times he finds his Disney Cars books or we drive to school or I drag him through the supermarket parking lot, he always cries out, "Car!" with that same mix of amazement and incredulity and unbridled joy, and then keeps going until someone acknowledges the sheer awesomeness of it all by saying, "Yes, Anthony, that's a car." I wish I got that excited about anything.

We're back!

It's been a while!

First there was Christmas and then we lost our camera and then our computer crashed and then we got a new computer but we still didn't have a new camera and then we got a new camera but my computer at work crashed and because half the household contracted worms (I think) and I was running to doctor appointments every day I didn't have time to figure out how to upload photos from the new camera onto either of the new computers so because, for obvious reasons, I really shouldn't write stuff and expect anyone to want to read it without also including pictures of a really cute little boy, it has been a while since this blog has been updated.

But, since I'm equally incompetent about updating Anthony's baby book and my excuse is always that this blog will serve as his baby book (or at least allow me to fill in his baby book somewhat accurately should I ever become motivated) I figured I should keep things updated.

But, because we're leaving on a CRUISE in two days, I'll just get down to the important business -- Anthony is 19 months old, rendering him closer to 2 than 1; Grandma Char and Dave were here for a visit; Grandma Dianne and Grandpa Harry and Aunt Ellen and Uncle Justin are en route; and we're abandoning the little guy for five days -- and save the stories about worms and how we (by which I mean Brandon) lost our camera due to our (by which I mean Brandon's) aversion toward paying for parking.

So, without further ado, I'll shut up and let the pictures do the talking:

Anthony is a terror when Brandon and I go out to eat with him; he was an angel for Grandma and Grandpa:

He even politely wiped his own mouth after the meal, which he found hilarious and worthy of applause and maybe even a standing ovation:

This time, he wasn't the only one who got to wear a bib:

One of the cutest pictures ever, probably:

At the playground:

Let me at it!

So, that's some of what we've been up to.

Aunt Ellen and Uncle Justin and Grandma Dianne and Grandpa Harry arrive today. Tomorrow I (attempt to) run a half marathon. Monday, if I'm not still out there trying to find the finish line, Ellen, Justin, Brandon and I are hightailing it for the Bahamas while Anthony enjoys some quality time with his Grandma and Grandpa.

I'm sure there will be more stories to tell when we return, including one I like to call I Think My Baby Has Worms plus the tale of how it cost us roughly $1000 to park 5 miles away from the airport because Brandon didn't want to pay $12 a day to park at the airport.

Until then, Bon Voyage!

Christmas 2009

This Christmas we spent visiting family in Illinois - along with an unexpected mini-vacation in Atlanta. Or something like that. - and taught Anthony all the holiday ropes.
He got the hang of the gift opening thing...

...and then really got into it.

He liked the hat to wear outside to play in the snow...

...but wasn't so sure about the white stuff itself.

On the way home, he got a good look at Bloomington's own Adlai Stevenson...

...lent a hand with the bags...

...helped us ring in the New Year high above the ground, Airtran-style...

...and smiled with the warm Miami air hit his face once again.

Now, it's back to the park...

...and to getting caught up with old friends.

Happy New Year from all of us, and all the best in 2010!