Take 2

We ended up having a quiet birthday celebration this weekend with Dylan's Papa and Nana. Papa played "Happy Birthday To You" on the keyboard, and let's just say the first round didn't go so well. Here is Take 1 (you can tell even Dylan knows something is off) followed by a much more successful Take 2:

Golf Lessons

Here are the scenes from Marc trying to teach Dylan how to golf with his new clubs:

 

Marc - wondering where Dylan ran off to, in the middle of his golf lessons.

Dylan - thinking that the tee is no place for a golf ball. Under the couch is a much more interesting place.

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Flows"

Dylan calls flowers "flows" (with a short "o.") And apparently he is constantly thinking about them, because we hear "flow" all day long. He was in his glory when Marc brought me home flowers for Valentine's Day. :) And I was too.

Dylan is reading the Valentine's Day card he got from his Papa and Nana.

Hot Stuff

 

My mom got Dylan this striped one-piece outfit. I crack up when he's in it. It really shows off his bod - especially that svelt tummy.

Happy Birthday, Connor!

 

Dylan's buddy Connor celebrated his birthday last week too. He turned the big "1." Here he is with his dad Cortt and his mom, my good friend Jen, who finds it impossible to take a bad picture.

First Bike - Sort Of

 

We put together a birthday - er, Christmas (yes) - toy this week.

D still doesn't quite get the whole "pedal" thing yet, but he's getting close. It's his own personal stationery bike. Who says our condo doesn't have room for exercise equipment?

"I Have A Better Idea"

 

Do you remember Dylan's pink and purple stroller? I brought it out from "toy rotation" and put Brown Bear in it for a ride. Dylan took him out, then put him back like this. Poor Brown Bear went for quite the ride.

You'll Always Be My Baby

As we mark Dylan's 2nd birthday, my heart is filled with gratitude to God - for His protection over and sustaining of D's little life, and for the unspeakable joy and laughter he brings us daily, hourly.

For some reason, my heart just needed to express what it was experiencing as we headed into Dylan's birthday weekend. Here is a poem that I wrote:


My little boy turns two today
Time does pass quickly, as they say……

How keen the memories of those early month swaddles
The countless diaper changes, and the well-timed bottles

Soon the “firsts” began – we remember that first grin
And the first time he had solids – cereal covered his whole chin

First trips, first stroller rides, first time sitting up
First cold, first tooth, first haircut, and his first sippy cup

“Crawl? Nah – I’ll take a pass, scooting is more fun.
My style’s kind of special – seems to interest everyone.”

He scooted and he scooted, but when would those first steps come?
The doctor and the books said “walking just comes late for some.”

Finally, at 17 months, one step turned into two
His expression was so priceless, saying “look what I can do!”

From there he just took off; the park became his stomping grounds
I stood by as “D” tried everything – the most daring kid around!

We watched as his independent side began to grow and grow
His “fireball” personality began to really show

He’s now our little man – he expresses what he wants
He tests us and amuses us with his little stunts

Last month he started counting, knows his colors and his shapes
I’m proud, and at the very same time, my heart cries out, “No, wait!”

You’re supposed to be my “baby”, and now you’re turning two?!
I cannot seem to rewind time, oh what’s a mom to do?

Now my own mom’s words make much more sense, for she would often say:
“You’ll always be my baby.” And that’s helping me today.

Dylan, you may keep growing up & up, but my hope is that just maybe
You’ll somehow understand that you will always be my baby.

Birthday Blues

Somebody really could write a blues song about the tale I'm about to tell. The night before Dylan's birthday party, he came down sick with the flu. :( He/we were up all night, as the poor guy just couldn't keep anything down. We went through 5 wardrobe and bedding changes before his stomach settled down a bit. It broke our hearts to see how sick and weak he was on what was supposed to be "party day." Of course we had to cancel everything.

Here are shots from the exitement the night before, and the downhill spiral....

  

He was so excited to see his birthday balloons!

 

It was going to be a birthday/Super Bowl party.

 

"The Day After." We thought opening up a toy might encourage him.

He got his first set of golf clubs.

We ended up watching a bit of the game while folding all the laundry from the events of the last 24 hours. Not exactly what we had planned on, but that's parenthood. :) We are just thankful that he rebounded quickly and is back to his normal self. We were reminded not to take for granted his overall good health, and that we have much to praise God for.

Happy Birthday, Dylan!!!

Our sweet baby turned two today.

-February 6, 2008 - Dylan made his entrance into this world.
-We blinked, and he turned one.
-We blinked again, and now he's two.

"This"

Dylan says "this" when he sees an object he wants. When we were at Target today, he saw the big ball bin (do you remember those?! I used to LOVE getting a ball from there.) He wanted the purple ball specifically, and then walked and played with it for 20 minutes, so guess who is the proud owner of a $3 big plastic ball from Target now?

 

  

 

Things We Will Miss About the City

 

Going grocery shopping with a view like this.

Suburban Tour

We were on a tour of the suburbs last weekend, visiting friends....

At my college roomate Leah and Ross's place in Lake Forest, meeting their precious new baby Grant. 

 

At Kent & Tracey's in Lisle. Another couple there had a little one Dylan's age, and they had fun in the barcalounger. (I could have said "recliner" just then, but barcalounger is much more fun.)

Sleeping Pics

As always, Bean Bag Bear has been right by Dylan's side as he sleeps. (And yes, he seems to have a lot of "green" in his winter wardrobe.)

 

 

 

You can't see Bean Bag Bear in this picture, but I just thought it was cute how he sleeps with his butt in the air sometimes. What if we slept like that?

"Tall"

Yesterday, Dylan came running around the corner to get my attention. His hand was in the air, and he was repeating "dah," "dah," "dah." I didn't know what he was trying to communicate until we walked into the living room. He wanted to show me his "tall" tower that he'd built.

2:00 AM Chatter

It's been a long time since we've been awakened in the middle of the night by Dylan. But last night around 2 a.m., we awoke to him talking away in his crib. No crying, just chatter.....for an hour and a half. I have no idea what needed to be said at 2:00 in the morning, but apparently Dylan had some things to express. :)

New Sippy Cup

As many of you know, we've been transitioning Dylan to a new sippy cup, because he was biting through the lids of his old one, and milk was spilling everywhere. He has not "taken" to any of the new one's we've presented yet. Here are some reactions:

 

Wrestling Alligators Can Be Tiring

Raising Truly Great Kids Conference

Marc and I went to the most amazing parenting conference this weekend. Dr. Tim Kimmel taught about "grace-based" parenting, which refers to parenting kids the same way God fathers His children. The content was phenomenal, and unlike any other parenting "advice" we've read. We highly, highly recommend it to anyone who is a parent or plans to be! Keep your eye out for the "Raising Truly Great Kids" Conference coming to your area, or any of the Family Matters books/material that you come across. http://www.raisingtrulygreatkids.com/US/index.asp

Fall Photo Shoot

My friend Jen referred me to meetup.com, a fabulous site that allows groups of people with shared interests to schedule get-togethers. We belong to two "Meetup" Moms Groups, that have exposed me to so many things going on for kids in the city!


One of the best opportunities came in the fall, when a new photographer in town offered a free photo shoot along the lakefront, in an effort to get her name out there. Her name is Leah Salkhoff, and she does amazing work! I would highly recommend her. She's wonderful at capturing kids "on the go." Please keep her in mind if you live in the Chicago area: http://www.leahsalkoff.com/ 


At long last, I've had time to download the pics from the CD. Here are some of our favorites:

 

 

 

"D" Downtown

With my sore throat going on day 12, I scheduled a spontaneous doctor's visit Friday before the weekend came, and brought Dylan with me. The hospital is downtown, so D got to enjoy the sites.

Gymboree

We joined Gymboree for the month of January, and Dylan LOVES it. Here are some shots of him in action:

 

 

 

Doggies

Last week, we visited two homes with dogs in them. Dylan was one happy boy.

 

Checking out Kevin and Vanessa's dog Zoe.

Playing "chase."

Our neighbor Dan has two dogs, and Dylan gets so excited every time he sees them heading out for a walk. He associates Dan with his dogs, so every time we see Dan, even without the dogs, he says, "doggie." I asked Dan how he feels about being called a dog, and thankfully he loves kids/Dylan and understands. :)

Sit Back, Relax, and Enjoy The Show

Dylan was sick (again) last week, so he got to watch more videos than usual. One thing we DON'T need to teach him is how to get himself relaxed.

8, 9, 10

We learned yesterday that Dylan can count - sort of. We heard him saying, "8, 9, 10" and went into his room to see if we were hearing correctly. We were! We're not sure where he learned that, but he picked it up from somewhere! (Still working on 1, 2, 3.) :)

Navy Men

Both Marc and Dylan wore striped Old Navy sweaters to church today. Then, ironically, we ran an errand to Old Navy. :)

Ah-Choo!

When my mom was in town for Christmas, she and Dylan started a game of pretending to sneeze. Then one of the toys D got for Christmas would say "ah-choo!" so it's a consistent part of Dylan's "repertoire" now.

Care For A Drink?

Track Suit

This is Dylan's latest jogging outfit. :)

Snow Day

Chicago is getting lots of snow today, so Dylan woke up and said, "I have just the shirt for that!"