Not so good

I don't like my new room at daycare. All I've done for the past three days is cry and try to get back to my old room, with the teachers I've had for over a year and all my baby friends. Here are the problems:

1. Although I like one of my new teachers, I'm not overly fond of the other one.
2. Despite the doctor on Monday telling Mommy and Daddy that trying to make me walk would most likely lead to me not walk, my new teachers are making me walk all the time. I'm doing it (Friday I didn't crawl at all!), but it's only to walk from one door to the other to try to find a way back to my old room.
3. My best friend Tyler, who moved to the toddler room several weeks ago, has been out sick all week. So I'm in a room with kids I hardly know, and I'm really shy when I don't know anyone. Plus I'm the youngest in the room. All the other kids are bigger and able to walk and talk.
4. I'm sick, again, with a nasty cold.
5. I don't get my pacifier anymore except for naps and bedtime.
6. I can still hear, and sometimes see, my old teachers. Knowing that they're there is making it harder to transition.

Hopefully next week will be better!

Chili

Mommy and I love to cook and bake. Sometimes, though, it's hard to replicate the recipes because, as Mommy says, cooking is an art, not a science, so we don't really measure anything too accurately; we just kinda throw stuff in. Last weekend we made some really yummy chili. It was so good that we made some again last night for Daddy's friends. It's so good that we're going to post the recipe here so we remember how to make it next time.

Mommy's Yummy Chili
1 lb hamburger
1 lb spicy sausage (we used venison sausage made by one of Mommy's coworkers)
1 onion, chopped
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 small can tomato paste
1 can tomato soup
1 can ro*tel (any variety)
1 can diced tomatoes
2-3 bay leaves
chili powder
basil
fresh ground black pepper

In a large, heavy bottomed pan, brown the meat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Pour in all the cans. Add the bay leaves and 10-15 shakes of the spices. Simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Makes 8 filling servings.

Officially big

Yesterday I had my fifteen month checkup. I'm 32 inches tall (75th percentile) and 22 lbs 6 oz (20th percentile). The doctor said I'm doing great! And that I'm just stubborn and could start walking and talking anytime I want.

Right now, this is what I can do:

• Unplug things and plug them back in. This includes the laptop, power cords, and the beaters for the mixer.
• Say a few words: "op" (pacifier), "mama," "dada," and sometimes, if I'm in the right mood, "cat" or "grandpa." Mommy thinks I said "breakfast" once, but that may just be wishful thinking.
• Feed myself. Usually I use my hand, but sometimes I use a spoon too. I also sit in a booster seat more often than a highchair. I have to have my own plate, and I have to do it all myself. We're also working on drinking from a cup.
• Follow simple commands. If you ask me for something, chances are I'll pick it up and give it to you, if I feel like it.
• Take a couple steps by myself, although I don't like to. I prefer to hold onto things when I walk around. In just the past few days I've decided I prefer walking to crawling or being carried.
• Play with levers and switches, including light switches and bathroom faucets.
• Take things out and put them back in. I do this to cabinets in my little kitchen and the big kitchen, as well as boxes.
• Know exactly what I want and make my desires known by pointing and grunting. And if that doesn't work, it's time for a tantrum.
• Know exactly when the nebulizer is done. I recognize the change in sounds it makes and take it off as soon as I can.

All these things show that I'm now a little boy, not a baby, but the biggest thing is - I'm now in the toddler room at daycare! They moved me over this afternoon for a trial run. I was soooooooo happy to be back with my best friend Tyler (we really missed each other these past couple weeks). Ms. Nancy, my new teacher, made me walk some. I was really angry, but I did it! I took about 4 steps before stopping, more than I've ever done. She thinks I'll be walking in no time, especially because I have to impress all the big kids in my new room! They were happy to have me there and welcomed me by sharing their toys. This room is for the 18 month olds through three year olds, so I'll be in here for awhile. Ms. Teresa, the assistant director, told Mommy that I'd develop in leaps and bounds just by being around older kids. Mommy just shook her head and said, "That's what I'm afraid of."

Mmmm, ketchup

I eat like a big boy now. I don't use the tray for my high chair (mostly because I would kick the bottom of it whenever Mommy or Daddy tried to put it on my chair and they got sick of that); instead, I sit right at the table with my own plate of food. Sometimes I even use a fork or spoon.
Here I am at dinner the other night, having one of my favorite meals - fruit (cantaloupe and blackberries, which I ate first) and chicken nuggets, dipped in ketchup. I'm really good at dipping the pieces into the ketchup. And if there's any left after all the chicken's gone, I'll eat that too, by the spoon- or forkful, or, if I'm in a hurry, by the handful. Mmmm, ketchup.

Crazy weather

This week's weather has been all over the place! On Valentine's Day, we woke up to a treat - snow!Mommy's gnome, who guards her daffodils and tulips (both of which are already coming up), was covered in snow.

We played in it before going to daycare and work.The snow didn't seem to bother the daffodils at daycare. They're blooming all over Durham right now.

BUT THEN - yesterday it was in the 60s, so we went for a walk at Duke Gardens.Lots of other people seemed to have the same idea.Daddy and I braved a perilous stone bridge.We stopped for a snack of yummy butterscotch bread. I like to lick my fingers to make sure I've gotten all the crumbs.I walked a good part of the way, holding on to Mommy's or Daddy's hands. In fact, I've probably done more walking like this this weekend than I have crawling or being carried. Maybe I will start walking after all!

Tats

Now that I'm a little boy and not a baby anymore, I decided that I needed to undergo one of the rights of passage that shows you're growing up: tattoos. Fortunately, my teachers at daycare understood my needs and helped me out.

I couldn't decide what to get, or where, so I went all out.

Right hand: purple I'm not sure what

Left wrist: green dinosaur

Right shin: purple snail

Left shin: green spider

Mommy and Daddy were a bit surprised during bathtime.

Reciprocal bathing

Mommy is always going on about reciprocity. "I don't pull your hair, so don't pull mine." "The cats don't hit you, so don't hit them" (although they do bite me sometimes). Daddy extended it to the bath. He dumps water on my head, so it's only fair that I get to do the same for him!

He washes my hair a couple times a week, and he always gets wet. Mommy just stands back and laughs while he tries to convince her that she should wash my hair.Hey, no pictures! I'm naked here!

Messes

Since I'm a toddler now and not a baby, I like to make toddler-size messes. Here are two I did today.

I had a really hard time finding just the right book to read.I emptied one whole cupboard of saucepans, and partially empied three drawers of utensils while helping Mommy make chili. It was fun.

Duke Park

Our kitchen sink was leaking and made a big mess in the cabinets underneath, so while Daddy was ripping them out today, Mommy and I went to Duke Park to play. That place is awesome!

When we first got there and I saw the gigantic playground equipment, my eyes got really big and I couldn't stop grinning. First I played on the little kids' section. I climbed up the stairs, walked around the table in the little area at the top (holding onto it, of course), and then went down the slide several times, with Mommy holding onto me. Next I moved over to the huge big kids' equipment. I crawled up inside it, then went down the slide all by myself - head first! I certainly wasn't expecting that! Then I crawled over to the swings, mainly because I wanted to play with another little girl's push-behind ride-on car. I swung for a bit, and then when the car moved, I wanted down and chased after it.

We moved to the little section below the hill, where I climbed some more with some really cute girls who were totally flirting with me. I went down the slide here headfirst too!

At this point I was getting pretty hungry from all that playing, so we paused for a snack. Mommy made the mistake of bringing 4 pieces of the yummy Amish friendship bread Jaekob's mommy gave us, because I'll eat all of it if given the chance! In fact, I pulled the bowl out of the diaper bag and handed it to Mommy several times.

Next we went back up the hill, where I saw a realy friendly doggy. We did some more people watching. A little girl came over to me and kept hugging me, at which point Mommy decided it was time to go home.

Mommy forgot to bring the camera, so as soon as she has a chance she's going to go back to the park and take some pictures of it, so everyone can see how awesome it is!

Of all the things to pick up...

There are three other little boys at daycare who are the same age as me, give or take a month. All have been walking for awhile now. Mommy and Daddy keep hoping I'll imitate them.

Well, yesterday I did. Kind of. I picked up a new word: grandpa!

Miss Maria: Jax says grandpa!
Mommy: No, he doesn't.
Miss Maria: Yes, he says it.
Mommy (still not getting it): No, he doesn't.
Miss Maria: Yes, he said it four or five times today.
Mommy: He said grandpa?
Me: Grandpa!

Tyler's grandpa picks him up a lot, and whenever Tyler sees him, he says "Grandpa!" So I started saying it too. I won't learn from him how to walk; I'll learn from him how to talk. It'll be helpful when I see Grandpa again, probably not till May!