Catch-up #1: Q

Q is turning into such a little Boy. He's developed a LOVE for balls and cars (real and toy). The inside of the car is a virtual playground!I'm afraid to teach him how to honk the horn because I'm sure he'd do it ALLLL the time once I did. Better leave that off for a while.
He has learned "ba(ll)" for ball and says it ALL the time. He's recently started using the "more" sign and I'm so excited. He used the "eat" sign the other day. I was so proud of my little guy for communicating with me! "Up!" has taken on the meaning of any physical assistance he requires. We're working on that.


As you can see in this video from my phone, the most exciting toy at G&G Walker's is the pool table. He knows the rules: pool balls are for rolling, not throwing. If he breaches the rules he gets an "uh-oh" and removal from the table (this is usually not a happy thing in his mind). He's so dang smart. He actually got to the point the first weekend there that he'd stand and throw a ball to get off the table!

When he talks in babble he looks you in the eyes and waves his hands. It's unreal. I wish I could understand what he meant because it feels important! He can also say 'baby'.

We've been using the Love & Logic 'Uh-Oh' song for discipline and its working like a charm. We're so excited! We started with the pool table. One night we were at the counselor's and he was trying to get into her purse next to her. She knew about our methods so she says "Uh-oh" sweetly but firmly and looked him back in the eyes. He stood there looking at her for about 10 seconds then melted to the floor crying 'cause he wanted it so bad! SOOOO cool that it works. At this point, I think it's the only thing that would work because Ian's trained him that a loud, firm or angry voice is play. So, if you get mad at him he giggles and laughs (this can be rather frustrating, but it's good to make us use more effective discipline methods). The other night I saw him going for the recently uncovered, lighted plug for the pellet stove. I said his name firmly then uh-oh. It was so adorable I laughed! He stood there chirping and babbling like he could talk me into it!

A couple of weeks ago he was going around the house saying "atuu" a LOT. It took me a while to realize that he was saying "Aaachooo" for sneezing. When he was a little baby he would cry when Ian or I sneezed so I would always follow a sneeze with a silly faced "Achoo" and now he thinks it's pretty dang funny. We have Achoo-fests back and forth that get him belly laughing at the hilarity. And then of course I have to laugh too! He is SO dang FUN!

We went up to Mom and Dad Walker's for the weekend Ian was on his business trip. Nate & Katie's fam as well as the Nichols were there. He had a BLAST playing with all the other boys there. Although over stimulated, he was deliriously happy. On Saturday we went to a park and saw some animals. Q really liked the geese, chickens, rabbits, and goats...but the turkey's were the most friendly. 1st time he's ever seen them!He has to go outside every day, rain or shine. That little belly sticking out is so cute! This was an awesome bad hair afternoon. It's amazing what a little nap can do to your hair!
He continues to experiment with facial expressions. He makes faces all the time and he's recently started to give kisses...the decent kind without a slobbery open mouth.

What do you do with a toddler in the kitchen when you're trying to make dinner? Give him oven mitts!He's recently decided he likes watermelon. Can you tell where lots of it ended up?This was his first time on a tire swing at play group. He liked it. A LOT. He wouldn't even go near the regular swings. And it's always more fun with a friend, right? Have I mentioned that he likes to SPIN?
He's learned how to climb. So far he can climb onto a dining chair, into the car, onto the coffee table and just yesterday - the couch! Wow, never thought I'd see the day. This also means that he has entered the season of bumps and bruises. So far he's fallen off a dining chair, down some steps, tripped and hit his head on a rock, fell off the trampoline (bouncing off the porch on the way to the ground)...the list goes on. We're finding bruises and marks we did not see caused. Good thing he's made out of rubber for a few more years.He takes me walking on the forest trail without hesitation now. He traipses off halfway between walking and running - only putting up a hand to help get over big roots, etc. He absolutely loves one of the bridges along the way. It's either the noise his tromping makes or the water trickling underneath, or both. Razor has started accompanying us on these adventures, that's fun until he starts hollering when we're out of sight! Q gets a kick out of walking with a cat.