White Christmas

An opportunity for Daddy to help Dexter make his first snowman.

Chocolate Peep

What was I thinking? That a candy made of chocolate and green marshmallow wasn't going to be a total mess? Nope, I pretty much knew it would be but wanted to see Dexter enjoy a new tasty treat on Christmas morning. I wasn't disappointed (and neither was Dexy).

The Calm Before the Storm

After a few days of decorating the tree and wrapping presents, My Bologna enjoyed a few minutes of stillness before the excitement of Christmas morning.

Ready To Play in the Snow

The Nick Nolte Mug Shot

Dexter's gorgeous hair can get a bit crazy when he's just gotten up from nap and has rubbed candy cane in it.

All That Gorgeous (Clean) Hair!

The Patience of a Saint

I don't know what got into him, but while we were visiting with a friend who was up from Mississippi, Dexter decided to put his train conductor hat on My Bologna. Everyone except My Bologna was very amused. This post is for you, Jonathan!

Deck the Depot

Each year, our town has a "deck the depot" night (at the train depot, duh) around Christmastime. This year, our friends Julie and Matt joined us for what we thought would be a fun evening of seeing Santa, petting reindeer, carolers, and a nice dinner at "the" fancy(ish) restaurant in town. We bundled Dexter up in his buggy and walked the few blocks to the depot, expectations high. We never found Santa, we weren't allowed to touch the reindeer because they could get diseases from us(!), and we waited for more than an hour for an Italian pasta dinner before telling the waiter to wrap it to go. Dexter was great despite the long wait - 4 loaves of bread didn't hurt! Still, it was fun to see Julie and Matt and we enjoyed dinner and drinks when we got home.

Bring It On Home, My Bologna!

Bump in the Road

Not to worry - he's OK.

Picking Up the Tree

Dexter got a sweet ride on the way to pick up the Christmas tree this year. He loved it!

Making Friends

Ben and I took Dexter to a Christmas party last weekend where he immediately ran off with a few young ladies who hung out with him for a couple of hours while Mommy and Daddy chatted with grown ups. Dexter loved it. MacKenzie and Auggie loved shepherding Dexy around. He even met a boy named Spike.

Somersault Success

Pleased to Meet You, Hope You Guessed My Name

Dexy and I did a little Christmas shopping this morning and on the way to pick up some lunch from Culver's (pot roast, green beans, and mashed), "Sympathy for the Devil" came on the car radio. I cranked it and started singing the lyrics. After the background vocals kicked in, I heard, "woo, woo...woo, woo" in time with the back up singers coming from the back seat. I continued singing the lyrics (and the guitar solo) and Dexter sang the back up woo woos for the whole song! Happy birthday, Keith. You have another Stones fan.

Dexter's First Post

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Discipline

The two's have not been so terrible for us (yet) although Dexter has become increasingly strong willed and expressive when frustrated. We want to promote Dexter's exploratory spirit so there are few things that he is not allowed to do and, generally, he's very good at following directions when we tell him not to touch something or to be gentle because something is fragile. However, there are certain things that we believe Dexter should not be allowed to get away with such as throwing toys or being rough with My Bologna. When these things happen, and they occasionally do, we give Dexter a Supernanny-style "time out". The first time I tried this, I was so nervous that Dexter wouldn't stay in the chair - he was screaming and writhing as I said, "Dexter, Mommy put you here because you were pulling My Bologna's tail and that is not acceptable. You need to stay here until Mommy takes you off the chair." I had to fight every instinct to stay and keep talking, to keep my hands on him and make sure he stayed on the chair. Images of parents struggling for hours to do this technique with their out of control children on Supernanny ran through my head. But I walked away and engaged in cleaning up some toys in the living room. Dexter was still screaming and in a few seconds I noticed that he had slithered off the chair. I calmly put him back on the chair and told him that he needs to stay there until Mommy says he can come down. This time he stayed. He stopped crying. He watched me closely as I tried to look busy with something else. After a full minute (felt like an hour), I came back and told him that Mommy put him on the chair because he had pulled My Bologna's tail and that that wasn't OK. Then I gave him a hug, told him I love him, and let him down. He immediately got engaged in another activity and all was good. I was amazed that it worked! Ben and I have each successfully implemented this technique with excellent results - most of the time Dexter doesn't even try to get down. Sometimes the screaming continues. But Ben's and my responses are always the same. My hope is that we don't have to do it often but that by doing it consistently Dexter learns that he cannot get away with crossing the very few lines that we have put in place.

What Is He Doing?

Licking the air???

How Did That Happen?

Yesterday, Dexter apparently moved his rocking chair from his room into the hallway. When Daddy noticed, Dexy acted like he had nothing to do with it.

Tumbler

A few days ago, Dexter bent over and unexpectedly performed a perfect somersault. He and I both couldn't believe it! He has managed to do a couple more perfect ones since (and many imperfect ones). He's got a fabulous arabesque as well. Considering his natural balance and love of movement, I would sign him up for gymnastics but the class is currently held during his nap time. Maybe in the summer.

Alternating Feet

Ever since Dexter has started climbing up and down stairs, he's led with his right foot. I was concerned that his leg strength wouldn't develop evenly and asked the doctor about this at his 2 year appointment the other day. She said not to worry about it until he's 3. Yesterday, on his own, without any prodding from me, he walked up the back stairs to the house alternating his feet.

First Snow of the Season

And Dexter's first ever assist with the shoveling!

Driving on Daddy

Why walk all over Daddy when you can drive a combine instead?

He's Happy

Two-Year Molars

Appropriate for a boy who was born exactly on his due date, Dexter's first "two-year molar" broke through on his second birthday (the bottom right).

Four Oranges and a Poop in the Tub

So I was on the phone with my sister yesterday and we were talking about grown up things so she went into the basement leaving her daughters Riley (5) and Teagan (2) to play in the playroom together. About two minutes went by before I heard Riley's voice in the background saying, "Mommy, Teagan put four oranges and a poop in the tub." I said, "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" Katie and I burst into laughter. Too bad she couldn't find the camera but Katie did confirm that Teagan, indeed, did put four oranges and a poop in the tub!