Language explosion

Theo is at a stage of development where language acquisition is taking a central role. He is trying his hand at a new word just about every other day. Recent words include plane, chair, light and shirt. Of course, there is a strong will to express himself behind such quick learning, and that will continues to manifest in daily mini-tantrums. We can see that he gets really frustrated at not being able to express himself with words, and also trying to learn how to express his strong feelings appropriately. We're working hard at teaching him not to grab and hit. The other day Matt reported a three minute crying episode where he just repeated "that that that" over and over. But he is learning fast. Soon he'll be able to throw a fit and tell us exactly what it is he absolutely must have that we will not give him!

Father's Day Visit to Grandpa Steve's house

Happy Fathers Day!

Matt is such a good daddy. Happy Fathers Day to all you good daddies out there!

Budding architect?

Will you just look at the incredible tower of duplos my son has built all by himself?

A boy and his dog and their ball

New shoes

We got Theo new shoes over the weekend and he likes them quite a bit. This morning at 6:30 am, he wanted me to put his new shoes on him and proceeded to play ball for the next 20 minutes. Matt tells me he took them off today only to nap! This evening we played stand-up sit-down on the stairs and he hammed it up for me for the camera. I can hardly stand what a big boy he's become. He can even draw with crayons and get piggy back rides. We visited with friends Lori and Ryan over the weekend, who have a beautiful 10-week old son, Rayden. Lori crouched down to Theo as we were leaving and asked him if he wanted to say bye to Rayden. Theo said "bye bye" and gave Rayden a kiss on the head - his own idea. Such a sweet boy.

An emerging little person

Theo sings song, colors with crayons, and kisses boo-boos to make them better of his own accord. And I thought the basketball stuff was cool.

Duplo tower

Theo is suddenly so talented with his Duplos that he can build a tower of like, 7 blocks!

Basketball hoop!

I can't believe my boy is old enough to play basketball. Something about it just blows me away. Pop and Grandma Janet sent Theo an adjustable kids' basketball hoop. It arrived the day Grammy Betsy and Great Grandma Migs were visiting, and Grandpa Steve came over for dinner. The whole family enjoyed playing hoops with Theo, and he proved himself a natural.

Visit from Great Grandma Migs and Grammy Betsy

We were treated to a visit from Great Grandma Migs AND Grammy Betsy over Memorial Day weekend. Theo showed off how he sits at the table like a big boy in his new booster seat. He is very proud of himself, and it has even put a small dent in the amount of food-throwing going on. Theo had a great time playing wrestle on the couch with Grammy, pointing at Great Grandma Migs' turtles on her sweatshirt and practicing saying "Great Grandma"...we got "mmm" :)

Theo in the Garden

Backyard BBQ with friends

We went to Byron, Elke, Skyeler & Teagan's house for a BBQ yesterday. Theo enjoyed hanging out with his pals, the play equipment, and his first juice box. I was so proud when he managed to get his straw back in the box all by himself - such dexterity!

We all had fun and were so grateful for a rain-free day!

On a Wednesday

Just moments before there were mini-tantrums and squirmy refusals to put on socks. But then there were these moments and it all melts away. And he learned to give zerberts (aka raspberries) to my belly tonight! Awesome!

Fort!

What a better way to play on a rainy day in May? Build a living room fort! Hide under it! Walk through it! Crawl in it! Chase the cats into it! Take it down! Read a book next to it! What fun.

If I had a hammer

Theo takes after his mama. He's good with a hammer.

We have Lucy supervise for safety reasons, of course (see video).

A little before-bed release of energy

Before Theo goes to bed, he sometimes gets a little burst of energy. Here is an example involving some of his best moves. Behold.