Well, hello...

First of all...Happy Birthday to Memaw!!!

Just thought I'd include a couple of pictures while I talk about what Fender is doing these days. Eating well...no surprise there. But since I haven't posted a picture of him eating breakfast since his messy hand scooping days, here's a nice demonstration of how much he's learned. Note the focus on scraping the sides of the bowl with his spoon. Ha. And food pretty much goes from bowl to mouth now and not all over clothes, drink, table, chair, floor, hair, legs, and dog. Well, at least not all the time. ;)

 

And this past week we've been learning to swim with the Parent-Tot Red Cross class at the local pool. Only about an hour four days a week (M-R). So no class tonight, but we'll jump back in on Monday. He loves it, no surprise there either. The boy has some kind of kindred nature with his "agua." He's learned to move his arms and kick his legs. Doesn't care to float on his back at all yet. Fender is the youngest of the group by several months.

Having a light snack in the park before swimming.
 

He's a bit wild when it comes to water. Likes to go under all the time and tries to swim away on his own all the time. Doesn't seem to care that he can't breath under there. I guess he thinks he can hold his breath forever or might grow fish gills if he swims long enough. Not scared at all...so yeah, I'll be a mound of pulsating nerves anytime he's near water. Hopefully we can instill a sense of respect for how dangerous things can quickly get if he isn't careful. But he is a boy. So I can see all of that non-sense flying right over the top of his head as he leaps from the middle of the diving board at 5 years old certain he can clear the end and hit the water. As it is right now, when all the kids get to jump from the side of the pool to their parents, Fender smiles real big at me with my arms out ready for the incoming assault, then he takes off running at an angle hoping to avoid any safety at all and tries to jump so that just he and the water are all alone. It is pretty funny, but he can't actually jump yet, so he runs off the side toward the water and I have to catch him and pull him further out so he doesn't hit the inside ledge of the pool. A very awkward move for me and no doubt extremely unflattering. Wow. He loves water a lot!

And here's our boy and his "best friend" popping balloons (a.k.a. namos). Lighting isn't good at first, but it gets better by the end.


...and don't ask us why balloons are called namos. That's just what he has called them since he first learned to talk. And he has no intention of calling them anything else. Maybe it is French for balloon, but I know it isn't English or Spanish. And I think I've already mentioned that when I tried to shorten Sebastian's name to "Sabey" for Fender, it came out "Dobby." And that's how we've come to live with Harry Potter's "favorite" house elf. :)

Father's day...

Don't ask me how, but Daddy's can find time for everything when they want to. Somehow we had a day full of golf, baseball, and basketball (the things Daddy wanted to do)...yet still made time for the little one with a visit to Papa and Me maw's (not sure how to spell that yet) for playtime in the pool and his first Popsicle. Good times!

A note on Me maw (formerly "Grandma"): In an obvious attempt to vocalize a name for Grandma last week, Fender blurted out in no uncertain words..."Bye Bye, Me maw!" as she was walking out the door to take the trash out. It was too cool. She came right back in and wrapped her arms around Fender for a big hug and kiss in appreciation for her new name, concocted entirely on his own. I thought that was just too neat. None of us had said the name before and it came completely out of the blue.

 
 

A pretty funny video:

Just can't help it...

I know I will probably get flack for posting these two pictures, but I just can't stop myself. I don't ever take "potty" pictures. No desire to do so whatsoever. But the opportunity arose this morning where the camera was handy, Fender was happy and I could do so discreetly and capture, what I think, is a "classic" little boy photo.

And for any of you who may be mortified for Fender's future now that he's been caught naked on the potty. I can assure you he is rarely, if never naked. This was right after breakfast so the shirt was off and the rest obviously came off to go potty. Sometimes naked just happens. :) (I better add a disclaimer for Fender who may read this later on...Naked "just happens" when you are a kid...not when you are a teenager out with your girlfriend! Got it?)

 
 

Uncle Bobby tonight on ESPN2...

Just a quick reminder that Fender's Uncle Bobby now plays for, Back-to-Back MLS Champions, the Houston Dynamo (currently tied for first in their conference) and you can see them in action tonight against their "Back-to-Back" MLS Cup nemesis, the New England Revolution, who currently lead their conference and have the leagues best record. Yeah, did you get all of that...basically...going to be a touch match between rivals.

The game is on ESPN 2 at 8:00PM CST. To that end, here's a quick clip of Fender supporting his favorite Texas Defender. Note he's wearing his favorite shirt, which happens to be the same color for the Dynamos, has a soccer ball and says "Defender" no less. A coincidence!!??? "Let's go Dynamos!"


Video:


Oh and now is the time for MLS All-star voting. You can vote for Bobby Boswell by going to: http://houston.mlsnet.com/t200/ (looks like you have to cut and paste it into browser) and click on "Vote for your MLS All-Stars". You can vote up to 10 times a day until July something. Any email address will do and once you pick your player(s) it remembers your info and choices each time to make it easier for you. He's been in the All-Star game before, so let's help send him back.

Dedication to color coordination...

Is this OCD (obsessive compulsive) already? I'd have to guess it is unusual for a 20 month old to be so dedicated to putting things in their proper place just so they can bang them again with a hammer. I find it very amusing and keep watching to see if he ever slips up. Not yet, so far.

And one other note...from what I've read, I think we can say now with some certainty that he's a lefty. I didn't think you could tell this early, but apparently by 18 months you definitely know which hand a baby favors. (Learning to write in school isn't the determining factor because many lefty's learn to write with their right hands in school.) But the hand they use to throw a ball, hold utensils, and do most major work with is the hand they favor and while he still uses both hands for things, his strongest and most preferred hand is undoubtedly his left, which is the hand he uses to throw a ball, hold utensils, color and draw with. Drew and I are both right handed and so are all of our immediate family members, so if this revelation holds up, life just got a bit more interesting. I think it is pretty neat. :)

Video 1:


Video 2:

२० months old...and potty training

Alright, so our boy is 20 months old now. 33 inches tall and has hovered at the 29-30lb stage for a couple of months. He's doing great. Talking up a storm. If we say something, it is odd to hear him say it right back...for instance, I said "alrighty" the other day and he repeated it right back to me. And today I said, "O goodness" and yep, he said it right back. So amazing. He's also well on his potty-training way, having initiated efforts himself at 18 months and finally getting me on board. Poor boy, Momma was just not ready for this stage so early.

WARNING: The following is more info than you want to read on the subject of potty training, so I suggest you skip the rest of this post unless you find yourself directly involved with a potty-training toddler, in which case, feel free to let me know how your efforts are getting on. :)

Since we all tend to need to go right when we wake up in the morning, we can now manage a quick "meet and greet" then we're off to sit on the potty with some success! (That is, if I don't dawdle too long getting myself out of bed.) And I love a day when it doesn't start out with a poopy diaper. That, added to the occasional successful attempt during the day when he says "Momma, peepee" and points to his diaper, I find I am changing fewer and fewer smelly messes. Yea! Thanks, Fender!

More on our potty training effort - So at the moment, we have a potty seat where I have just begun having him sit anytime I go just to get him used to the frequency and having to stop what he may be doing to go sit on the potty when he needs to. We also have the mini toilet seat that sits on the real thing and the little kids flushable tissue wipes that he gets to open and pull out each time he goes potty, which he loves. He can say "pee pee, poo poo, and potty" but when he actually needs to go, it all comes out as pee pee. We are trying to get him to use the appropriate words as we don't always rush him to the toilet just for pee pee because he generally calls that only a few seconds before it happens and we'd need medals in hurdles and dashes to make some of those.

Okay. Enough on the "icky" stuff. I have a cute video or two I'd like to post if I get the time. (All videos are completely unrelated to potty training in any way. I promise.) And hopefully this will be about the last note on the topic, except to say I am amazed that he may be pretty well potty trained by 2 when I expected it to be more like 3! But we're not there yet, so let's wait and see.

Big family love and support...

Well, we've just returned from a fun-filled week in Florida and Fender was quite the little travel companion. Well-behaved on all the flights and the disrupted schedule and change of scenery didn't bother him in the least. In fact, he skipped naps on several days and wasn't even cranky about it. I was surprised he didn't pull out the "I'm shy and only want my mummy and daddy" card, which he has been known to do on occasion. I'm so thankful all the family got to see Fender in true form. Both paternal sides of the family were in town and he was quite happy to let Nana, Aunt Sara, Great Linda or whomever grab him up and whisk him off to play.

As a result, he didn't spend the week being held or only with parents, so when I took him to daycare today, he just said "Bye, Momma" with a wave and he was off to play... in a new room. Yep, he's moved up another level now and gets to play in a bigger room with more toys and make more friends. His previous teacher said she is really going to miss having someone to talk to in her class now.

Here's Daddy and Fender, with cousin Riley, Uncle Chuck and Grandmother at Gibson's HS graduation. Uncle Chuck (or Chad) and Aunt Sara have two kids (Gibson and Riley) and so far they are Fender's only first cousins.
 

First Cousins: The High School Graduate (Miss Gibson), Riley, and Fender
 

Fender with Great Grandmother Powell and Great Linda.
 

Fender with Nana and Pop.
 

A little batting and pitching practice...he's a lefty at everything so far, but Daddy helped him try with his right. Gotta keep the options open...can you say "switch hitter"?