Toddler Times

My vow to myself to update this blog more often apparently didn't work. So, here's a quick update and a bunch of pictures, with another vow to update more often in the future! Much easier and less overwhelming to do it more often. Not to mention, I won't forget half of what has been going on!

Words, Words, and More Words

Brady is an absolute chatterbox. Even though he is still only using single words (nouns), he jabbers constantly while playing and tries, sometimes unsuccessfully, to get Mommy to understand what he is saying. His favorites, of course, are all things transportation -- names and sounds. There is a play-by-play whenever we are in the car as he points and shouts car, choo-choo, truck, tractor, mo-mo (motorcycle), and bus, non-stop. For some reason, a cement mixer is ma-mo. I'm not even gonna consider why. His teachers at daycare think it is hysterical -- many cement trucks go by behind the playground -- since it sounds like "mama". And the kid can spot an airplane that is nothing more than a speck on the distant horizon that I have to squint to see. He used to call them choo-choos, but after my persistent prompting of "airplane", they are now known as "air-choos." Gotta get that on video.

Took this video almost two months ago. He is more articulate and even more enthusiastic now.



We've made great advances with "Mommy" although it took awhile, which I attribute to the fact that there is no one in the house calling me Mommy in front of him. I refer to myself as Mommy all of the time, but he still doesn't really get it. Since he has been home, I have guarded whatever drink I've had near me as he is reaching for it by saying, "No, that's Mommy's." Now, he points at every coffee cup, wine glass, or soda can and proudly yells "mommy!" So, next I tried pointing at myself (chest, cheeks, whatever) and saying "Mommy." Then he points at his chest, cheeks, whatever, and says "mommy." Poor confused kid. Just within the last couple of weeks, he has been playing a game where he points at something and I name it. So, we've been pointing at each other (and the cat or friends or pictures of people we know) and naming them. He now knows Mommy's name is Mommy. YAY!!! Still hasn't used it outside of the name game though. Baby steps.

Books, Books, and more Books

Brady LOVES books. I love that he loves books, but I'd also love it if I could go to the bathroom, just once, without the child trying to climb on my lap with a book in hand! His favorites are, naturally, anything about trains, trucks, tractors, airplanes, etc., however, he does have a few Elmo books, several Little People books, and a couple of animal books that he likes as well. If I pick up a book that he doesn't find interesting after looking at the cover or maybe by the first page, he'll grab it out of my hands, close it, say "night-night" to it, and fling it aside.

School Days

His Fall enrollment is complete and Brady is still lovin' daycare. I'm still reeling from having to re-enroll him, pay the enrollment fee, and filling out all 14-pages of the paperwork all over again for a child that has been attending the same daycare without interruption from the beginning! I just don't get it.

Emergency Room Visit #1

Why daycare has a huge sandbox where a gaggle of toddlers play and fling sand at each other is beyond me. I know the kids love it, but the teachers don't, and as a parent, I like it even less. I picked Brady up one afternoon from daycare while he was in the sandbox. He saw me, came running, but also started rubbing both eyes (something he was doing often), with sand-covered hands. About halfway home the screaming started. I tried to rinse his eyes out at home, but could tell that wasn't enough. I called my next door neighbor to drive us to urgent care (thank goodness she was home). The doctor at urgent care wouldn't even look at him and told me we should probably just go to the ER. Poor kid is screaming this entire time. Anyway, they confirmed he had minor abrasions on both eyes, then rinsed both eyes out using a nasal canula as a dripper and a liter of saline, then sent him home with antibiotic drops that I had to put in his eyes every four hours (when he was awake) for five days. That was fun. Fortunately, he was already scheduled two days later to see his ophthalmologist for a routine exam. She said his eyes looked fine and to stop the drops. Whew.

Since Brady loves his sunglasses and will wear them in the car and outside or just for fun, he now also wears them while on the playground at daycare. He has always been sensitive to having the sun in his eyes and rubbed them all the time. The sunglasses have really helped on both the sand and sun fronts. Given the extra brightness of the sun at this elevation (6,000 feet), this is actually a very good thing.

Cool kid pointing at the cars.

A Little OCD?

Brady certainly likes routine and especially having things in their place (except for his toys, of course, which can be all over the house). It is almost a little weird. If he sees my shoes in the hall, he takes them to the laundry room, he knows just which toy boxes certain toys go in (when asked to put them away), and when I move the trash can in my bathroom, he picks it up and puts it where it is supposed to be. He does this with everything! It is delightful in some ways, but should I be worried?!

The Work Front

Finally got the word about my job after our company was acquired last month: My job ends as of September 15th. They actually wiped out my entire department. Unfortunately, there isn't much out there in my field in this area right now. It's going to be very tight and I will need to find something fairly soon. I'm going to try to keep Brady in daycare part time for as long as I can for both of our sakes. I am actually looking forward to having some time off while the weather is still decent. I have several projects to complete yet: sanding and staining the deck, painting the front porch, etc.

Summer Activities

Cannot believe summer is over. It has been a strange one in Denver. Most afternoons have been cloudy and stormy, with several intense downpours and 3 tornado warnings. Only a few really hot days as well. Then we were in the direct path of the smoke from the LA wildfires and had several days of red-tinged air -- couldn't see the mountains for the thick haze and you could actually smell the smoke in the mornings. Very bizarre.

Brady found the nearly full box of swim diapers and put them to good use, since being in his little pool in the yard didn't happen very often.



We have had some fun outings, including a day at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, several single mom group get togethers, and a playdate with a pair of gorgeous Kaz girls. Coming up is Thomas the Tank Engine at the Colorado Railroad Museum and a weekend in Estes Park for the annual Fall Festival.

Checking out the wallaby at the zoo.

Gorgeous Kaz kids