Missing Grandma and Gunker

I had to present at a conference in DC last weekend and since Ben had never been there and Grandma and Gunker had planned to come up and visit Dexter this fall, we timed it so that they looked after Dexter and My Bologna while we were away from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon. I was worried that Dexter would miss us but it turns out he never once asked for us or about us. On the other hand, when Ben and I got him out of bed yesterday morning, the first words out of his mouth were, "Where is Grandma and Gunker?" He was not happy to realize that Grandma and Gunker really were driving that big red truck back to Mississippi without him.

Fistful of Poop

At the grocery store today, we heard someone calling out Dexter's name as we perused the bakery section. Turns out it was one of Dexy's check-out lady friends who had been promoted to the bakery. She offered him a donut hole and began chatting with Ben and me about her kids. She mentioned that her 5 year old daughter was very amused by her 2 year old brother's recently-developed nose-picking habit. She commented that kids pick up all sorts of things from other kids at pre-school and joked that she doesn't think her daughter will be as amused when he starts reaching into his pants and pulling out his poop. Dexter stood there quietly eating his donut hole and, apparently, taking notes. After nap today, he proceeded to stick his hand down the back of his pants and pull out a fistful of poop. He was not happy about it and came running to me, "Mommy help clean it!"

Lucky Guess or Mathmatical Genius?

This morning as Dexter was helping clean up by putting his crayons back in their bucket, Dexter was picking up handfuls and insisting each handful was "three" crayons. I would correct him with the accurate number but he was having none of it. Eventually I tired of simply providing the correct quantity and began to get a little creative. When I responded to, "It's three, Mommy," with, "Well, that's three plus four," Dexter replied, "Equals seven." What?!

Robot Finale (Finally!)

Robot Dexter was a huge hit trick-or-treating in the neighborhood on Halloween! He had a blast checking out all the other trick-or-treaters and Halloween decorations. Before long, his bucket of candy was too heavy for him to carry.

Home-Grown Jack-O-Lantern

Dexter and Daddy carved a jack-o-lantern into the pumpkin Dexter grew in the garden this summer. Daddy executed Dexter's design of square eyes, triangle nose, and circle mouth. "It's sticky, Mommy."

Noises During Nap

Turns out the noises we heard during Dexter's nap on Sunday was Dexter pulling his alphabet train station from the floor into his crib. He dropped it the minute he saw us.