Spying on the Neighbors During Nap Time

This is what I saw when I checked on Dexter during nap time the other day. Such a nosy parker quietly spying on our neighbors!

The Boys and the Box

Even My Bologna, who was also initially very wary of the box, is getting in on the action.

A Better Babysitter Than TV

Ben and I had decided to get a leather chair for our third anniversary back in September (leather is the traditional third anniversary gift and we wanted to buy a piece of furniture that we could use now and keep forever). Although it hadn't been a priority in our lives, we did find a chair that we liked at Pier One. However, Pier One charges $100 for delivery and our car isn't large enough to hold the chair so we put off purchasing it. Last weekend, I decided that I didn't want us to not follow through on this gift to ourselves so we purchased the chair and rented a van to drive it home. We unpacked the chair during Dexter's nap and thought he would enjoy playing with the big box so Ben made it baby-safe (removing staples and taping up rough seams). After Dexter's nap, we tried to introduce him to the box but he was very wary of it. When I climbed in to show him it was OK, he immediately started crying. Same response when Daddy went in the box. We thought he just wasn't ready for it and, later that night, we discussed what we should do with the big box that was sitting in the middle of our living room. The next day, when I came home from work Dexter was napping and Ben said that Dexter had spent a half an hour going in and out of the box. I couldn't believe it but, sure enough, when he got up from his nap Dexter was all about the box. I was able to simply sit and watch for a half hour! That box is a better "babysitter" than TV!

Bread

Last week, I was reading Dexter one of his favorite bed-time picture books. This book has one picture per page and our routine is for Dexter to point to the picture and for me to say what it is. This time when Dexter got to the picture of a loaf of bread, he pointed and I didn't say anything. He looked up at me and pointed again. I said, "Yes, I see it but what it is? Can you tell Mama what it is?" Dexter pointed again, more forcefully. Again I said, "Yes, I see it. Can you tell Mama what it is?" Dexter pointed to the picture, looked up at me, and said (in a soft, low voice), "Bread." I was so proud!

Perched

A couple of nosy parkers caught neighbor-watching.