Birthday Happy!

I can't believe my little baby boy is 2 today! We told Dylan "Happy Birthday" when he woke up this morning and he started looking for the candles (and the dump truck - we had a dump truck cake for him at his party on Saturday, see below). I think that's all he gets as far as what a birthday means right now. He got a singing card from my parents that has candles on it which reinforces that concept. We gave him some of his presents this morning from Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Mark. He got a Thomas sticker activity set that he loved and wouldn't let go of. We also told Dylan about the day he was born. Mommy notes that it was much lighter in the morning (I think we had already turned the clocks back at that point that year) and it was much warmer (it was 34 this morning when we left the house!). Tonight we are taking Dylan out to dinner at IHOP. That will be lots of fun. I won't be able to upload any pictures today but there are some good ones coming.

Since Dylan is learning a lot of words by repeating, I think he likes to repeat the last word we say a lot. So when we say Happy Birthday he says Birthday and then there's a pause and he says Happy too. Sometimes he puts it all together and says "Hap-pi-dy."

Dylan's party was awesome! We were going to have it outside but it rained so we had about 30 people in our little place but it was fine. It kept all the kids contained. We played a game where the kids put their hands in paper bags and had to guess what was in the bag just by feeling. All the kids wanted to peek but I think they had fun with it. We also had a dump truck filled with brownies as the cake. After singing, we dumped the brownies on a table cloth on the floor and let the kids go at the brownies. We had about twelve kids and their parents: Oliver, Richie, Jamie, Charlie, William, Anna, Ellie, Abigail, Aiden, Hamza, and Blawal. The balloons were also a big hit with the kids. The adults enjoyed the BBQ and hanging out with other parents.

Learning words

I know this is like the fifth post talking about experiencing Dylan's language learning but it's so fascinating to me. Recently, he's been trying to learn some new words but since they sound like other words he knows, he can't quite get them. For example, he knows aligator (although he says al-gee for aligator). Then, yesterday we were in an elevator and we were telling Dylan this is an elevator and he kept saying "al-gee." He was also getting two other similar words that he know mixed up - kitchen and chicken.

Dylan pretty much talks from the time he wakes up until he falls asleep. It's fun. It helps us to continually engage him and continually teach him new things. No full sentences yet but his vocab must be up in the 300s now.

Bike riding

At the beginning of the summer, I had grand plans for biking riding this summer (well, at least one trip on Fathers' Day). Then morning sickness hit. So, one of my goals for the fall was to do some bike riding. We had tried to install the bike seat that my sister got us two Christmases ago earlier but wasn't able to get it on right so we finally got around to taking it to the bike shop to get it on Martin's bike correctly. These pics are from Labor Day weekend. We did one ride near our house and then one trip to this trail near Annapolis. We've gone out one more time since then before it got to be too unfortable for me to bike ride. We didn't think Dylan would like the helmet very much. It took a little while but now since he knows wearing a helmit means going for a ride, he goes and gets his helmet and even tries to put it on himself.

Playdates

A couple months ago we were able to return one of the many babysitting favors that Richie's parents have given us. Patricia and Russ went out for Patricia's birthday and we got to play with Richie. Dylan really enjoyed the little playdate. (Actually they had two playdates, two days in a row because Patricia watched Dylan for a couple hours the day before they went out while we were at the ultrasound. Hence, the different clothes on Dylan.)





Not sure why I couldn't get this picture to post straight. Here's Dylan making sure Richie is safe by putting his helmet on him.

Uncle Justin's visit

My brother made his once every 3 year visit to DC in August (I shouldn't give him a hard time though - we've only been to his place once since he moved there in '06.) Justin liked getting Dylan to say dump (wait for it...) truck. Our trip to Silver Diner below was lots of fun too as you can tell by the expressions on Dylan's face. Recently, Dylan impressed Uncle Justin by being able to say "Happy Birthday" to him on the phone on his 28th birthday on 9/30.

Pictures from our trip to FL in July - Part 2

Dylan and me on the beach during the 20 minutes we were there in all of the 10 days we spent in FL. I often question why I have so many relatives in FL who do not enjoy the beach as much as I do.

Dylan and Grandpa at the aligator (algie - as Dylan calls them now) zoo.

Dylan with Grandma and Great-Grandma at the museum by the train.
Dylan and Daddy playing on the train.

Can You Peas Smile?

We still have a hard time getting Dylan to eat solid veggies but he seems to really like the pureed ones. I think peas are actually his favorite, or maybe he just likes saying "peas." (I guess you have to look kinda closely to see the peas on his face.)

Pictures from our trip to FL in July - Part 1

Yes, I know it's October and I'm just posting pics from July. I'll use the financial crisis as an excuse even though the fact that I'm behind on my picture posting is due not to work reasons but to personal reason- Martin's new job, Dylan's swimming lessons, the fact that Dylan won't let me use the computer while he's around because he wants to look at the Cars website....etc.

Here I am meeting my godson and nephew Zak for the first time. Zak is known as Baby Zak in both our household and my sister's household. Not to be confused with Baby Zack - a name my band director called Justin when Carrie and I were in high school. I was Zack and Carrie was little Zack.


This is Zak in his baptism outfit - also worn by Dylan and Uncle Justin. Two blond cousins! Stevo and Dylan fought over Steven's toys most of the time we were there but I don't think they held it against each other. They were just bonding.
Dylan checking out Baby Zak.
Dylan in a firetruck at a children's museum we went to with my sister and her kids. Erik, Steven, and Dylan in the firetruck.
Carrie and Steven, Martin and Dylan.
I didn't get very many pictures of Rachel except this one at the zoo. Rachel was a big help with the little ones - she was always pushing one of the strollers.
Betcha ya never saw a giraffe at a petting zoo before...and now you'll think twice before shaking hands with Martin.

Photo #2 and Clue #2

This photo was actually taken 2 weeks ago (23 weeks pregnant). I feel like I got a lot bigger in the last month. I gain 7 lbs. I'll take another picture soon.

Okay, so I know you're all waiting for clue #2, here it is: her name was NOT on the SSA's top 100 list for 2007. However, it is in the top 1000, unlike her middle name which has not made the top 1000 since the 1950s. (Note: you do not need to guess the middle name to win.)