Up

Linus' first real verbal command is "up." For example, he accidentally knocked his cup off the table and he pointed to it on the floor and said, "Up." Hooray! He still points at things he wants and grunts or whines, which is effective, yet annoying, communication.

Linus said a great full sentence the other day. I handed him his toy cow and he said, "The cow says moo." I can't even begin to guess how many times I've said that sentence to him in his short life, so it wasn't all that surprising except that it was a full sentence.

I've been under the weather all week and the three of us are just getting by, which is why I haven't posted. But little Linus is doing great.

Social Graces

We are trying to raise Linus to be a courteous lad, among other traits like being open-minded and into social justice, environmentalism, the arts, etc. I've always been impressed with how polite my nephew Brandon has been from an early age. I have him in mind as I consistently tell Linus please and thank you so that he picks it up from the beginning. It has already started to pay off. The other day as I handed him blocks he said, "Kew," after each one. He was saying, "Thank you."

Linus loves to meet people. At the two birthday parties last Saturday he was quick to meet new kids. Here are pictures of him meeting girls. The one is of him going up to meet a girl at Bennett's party at the sand and water park in the Stapleton neighborhood. Bennett turned two. The other photo is of him playing with the bubble machine with a girl at Charlotte's first birthday party in the evening. (He has made so many new friends here in Denver! Two parties in one day! I've never been to two birthday parties in one day!) The other pictures are of Bennett exhibiting birthday joy to his mom Genna (she is in orange) and the picture of the birthday girl in the high chair is Charlotte. Her parents are shown singing to her. Bennett and Charlotte both live on our block.

Linus kissed his first baby! I was holding a six-month old from the neighborhood and I asked Linus if he could give her a kiss. He leaned right over and kissed the top of her head. Everyone responded positively, so he kept giving her kisses. I joked that if we had another baby, Linus would love it to death.

Park

The playground has reopened at the park near our house. It has been closed due to construction work the entire time we have lived here. Linus and I went and played there this morning. He liked watching some bigger kids play. Once they left, he went and climbed around the play structure. He is getting more confident walking across the bridge that dips down and sways a bit. He still holds onto my hand while he does it, though. When we go down the big curvy slide together he laughs.

I told Linus, "I love you," the other night and he repeated it back. Yesterday when we returned home from the museum I said, "Home again, home again; jiggedy jig," and he said, "Jiggedy jig." I love to hear him say things.

Either he is teething or coming down with something because he went down for a nap an hour and a half earlier than usual.

(The one picture is of Linus holding onto me at the park. I held the camera down by our hands and hoped for the best as I clicked it.)

Beep

Here is Linus eating his first corn on the cob at Martha's and Bill's. We had some at home on Monday night that was soooo incredibly sweet and fresh. It was Olathe, a variety grown in Olathe, Colorado. The newspaper proclaimed it the best sweet corn and they were right. We had the butter dish on the table and Linus wanted some. I cut off a small pat and put it on his plate, intending to instruct him in buttering his corn. I didn't move fast enough and he promptly ate the pat of butter. Matthew guessed that Linus thought it was cheese. He wanted more, but I didn't give him any more and told him he'd had enough fat.

One of the snacks at Bennett's birthday party were little boxes of raisins. Linus thought this was the coolest thing ever. It became a love-hate relationship when he brought a box of them home. They would get stuck in the box and he would lose his patience, fling the box around, and holler. In the process, raisins went flying. I finally threw the box away and only give him raisins in little bags or bowls.

Last night Linus said hi to a man when he was out for a walk with Matthew and he told me "night night" when I said it to him at bed time. The word he says most frequently is beep. Any time he hears the microwave, a car, or construction equipment backing up and there is beeping involved, he says beep and grins.

Sponge

Linus is going through another phase in which he is fascinated by everything and I can tell he is soaking up loads of information. Since he received the Market Day book from BryAnn last week, I picked up on his interest in books that have more complex pictures on each page instead of a picture of a single object. He studies each page in that book with so much focus. And by the way, his way of saying cockadoodledoo is "cockadoo." I wish you could hear him say it. Yesterday at the library I got him a book with Jack and Jill as the story line and pictures taken of little felt dolls acting it out. Linus is especially interested in the part about Jack breaking his crown. At that part Linus puts his hand to his head. When we went for our walk this morning, he wanted to bring it along. I wasn't too keen on his taking a library book outside, but he wouldn't let go of it. So off we went for our walk and about 2 houses up, he plopped down in the middle of the sidewalk and wanted me to read it to him. One of the neighbors was mowing his lawn and he laughed when he saw us.

Before Matthew left for work this morning I made a run to a community-wide yard sale at the nearby elementary school. I got some books and a toy shopping cart for Linus. He was so excited about the books. He pulled them from the cart and couldn't decide which to look at first. What a joyful moment that was for all of us. One of the books he'll have to grow into, but I had to get it. It was one I recognized from my childhood. It is called Be Nice to Spiders by Margaret Bloy Graham, copyright 1967. It is a Weekly Reader Book Club edition, from back when they sold hardcover books. It is a wonderful book to add to our collection.

Here is Linus playing in the play house I made for him out of a dishwasher box. We've been having so much fun with this thing. We play a variety of peekaboo games, including one involving his stuffed snowy owl. In one side of the box I cut a door and in each of the other sides I cut windows of different styles. I had a blast making this for Linus and look forward to one day helping Linus decorate a box playhouse with crayons or markers.

Helper

Linus is big into helping. He loves to help me with the laundry. If I'm sorting clothes, he puts dirty clothes into the dryer. When it is time to move the clothes from the washer into the dryer, I hand them to him and he shoves them in. When I fold clothes, he piles them up in the basket. Matthew and Linus put Linus' toys and books away in his room at the end of the day and Linus has come to like putting his books on his shelf. This morning, he pulled a bunch of books down and then sat there and put them back. What a fun game! When I pack his diaper bag to go somewhere, I usually hand him something to put in. Then he finds other things to put in there, like toys, books, or papers.

Here is Linus helping me make cucumber salad. He played with the peeler and helped peel the onion.

Joyful Gift Recipient

BryAnn sent Linus some belated birthday presents. The one that caused the biggest response was a wood mobile with a cat at the top and tropical fish dangling. He pulled it out of the box and proceeded to giggle with joy. It was cute to see him so excited.

We all went to the City Park Arts Festival this morning and one of the vendors gave Linus a pinwheel. He looked adorable waving it around while he rode on Matthew's shoulders and it was a beautiful sight to see him riding in the stroller with the pinwheel spinning in the breeze. What work of art did we purchase? A peach pie. We met the baker, the owner of a bakery in town that uses organic ingredients. She'd baked the pie this morning. Since I won't be turning on the oven until the daily temperature drops below 60, what a delight for us to have this pie. Plus, a lot of peaches are grown in Colorado, so we should enjoy the bounty.

Verbal Skills Explosion

In the last week, Linus has become very verbal. Every day he says something new. We've made the call, and his first word was baby. We were waiting for him to use a word more than once without us saying it first, and that is the word. His second word was tree. He pointed to one in a book and said tree. He said cat on Wednesday. Yesterday he said his first sentence, "Wuter doin?" for "What are they doing?" He excitedly pointed to a bulldozer working in the park as he asked it. I was blown away. Later in the day he attempted to say cockadoodleoo after I said it while reading a book to him. That was hilarious! He also said no for the first time this week. His one and only time saying it was in response to my asking if he wanted to ride Bennett's bike.

In other exciting news, Linus identified the following body parts by pointing to his body instead of mine: eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, hair, ears, and toes.

Here is Linus at the sand and water park in the Stapleton neighborhood. He'd just finished eating a plum and has a red, sticky face. The water aspect of the sand box wasn't working, but about 20 kids showed up and played. By 10 o'clock the sun was nearly literally cooking us and we fled for home.

16 Months Old

Today Linus is 16 months old. No matter how crazy life gets, or the fact that I lose track of what day of the week it is; I always remember the 3rd of each month. Here is what Linus is up to these days:
-He loves to play with the Mega Blocks Brandon passed down to him. He has just started building with them. He takes me by one finger and pulls me into his room to build with him.
-In the last week he has started saying things that approximate English. He repeats things we say. He has said hat, baby, beep beep, cat, yay. For cat today he said, "Ta," When I asked if he could say bird, he said, "Bee bee." Which is how he says baby. I pointed out a dump truck to him on our walk today and he said, "Duh tuh." He said, "Bee bee" on the phone to his uncle Peter the other night when we called him to talk about the new baby, Linus' brand new cousin, Lorraine (aka Lorrie).
-He blows zerberts on my legs and arms.
-He laughs really hard when we play chase and it is so much fun.
-He enjoys it when I do the finger play that goes like this: These are Linus' fingers. These are Linus' toes. This is Linus' belly button; round and round it goes.

Rice Krispy Treat

Here is Linus enjoying a rice krispy treat that he pilfered from a plate on the step while I hooked up the sprinkler. We had just returned from Bennett's house and Linus was wet, coated in sand from the sand box, and sticky from the orange juice popsicles. I thought I'd water the lawn and rinse Linus off before bringing him inside. His diaper is sagging because it is bloated from when Linus sat down in the wading pool.

My version of rice krispy treat for my kid? I use organic brown rice krispies, organic free trade chocolate chips, organic butter, and the regular old mysterious marshmallows. My mother always made rice krispy treats with chocolate in them and that is my favorite kind. We took them to Bennett's house for the party.

Tired kid update: He fell asleep in his high chair again while eating lunch. The thing is, he did it with pretty much no notice. He pointed to something on the counter, then put his head down and zonked right out. I guess I'll move lunch up a bit. We had a fun time at the zoo this morning, so I guess I wore him out.

The Week of the Popsicles

Linus had his first popsicle at the zoo with Sara and Billy. Then I got a popsicle mold that makes them in the shape of sailboats. I put blueberry yogurt in them and we enjoyed those popsicles together on a very hot day. Then Linus and Bennett each had three orange juice popsicles at a summer party at Bennett's house. If I'm going to have a popsicle, I choose a fudgesicle, but homemade ones are lots of fun to share with little Linus.

(Bennett turns two later this month. His favorite toy is his lawn mower and he also likes to push Linus in the stroller if we encounter him when we are out for a walk. He isn't very good at sharing yet, but his moms are working on that with him.)

Tired Out Little Kid

Linus fell asleep while eating his lunch one day last week. I had to take pictures because it was cracking me up how he was still sticking food into his mouth as his eyelids were drooping shut. He was so tired, he continued sleeping as I cleaned him up and then tucked him into bed for a much needed nap.

I just tucked him in for a nap after he fell asleep on me on the couch. We were playing a version of peekaboo and he fell and cut his cheek on the corner of a base board. I made him feel better with hugs and kisses and stories on the couch. Next thing I knew, he was fast asleep. There is nothing like having a sleeping baby in one's arms.

Wisconsin Visit

I can't believe we visited Wisconsin instead of living there! Here are a couple of pictures from just over a week ago when we were in Madison to see family and attend American Players Theatre. We had wonderful meals with everyone and Linus got to sleep in Brandon's room with him. Brandon also read to him. Linus spent Saturday with Sara and Billy. He got to sit in Billy's race car and had fun at the zoo. Next summer we'll get to spend more time in Wisconsin and see our Green Bay friends.

Guiness Book

Saturday night we took Linus to the Denver Art Museum for their free weekend of activities, including having the community stop by and paint on the gigantic paint-by-number picture. They were trying to break the Guiness Book of World Record's record for longest paint-by-number. All three of us painted on it. We also saw a fire dancer and checked out an exhibit that is finishing up at the museum. Linus was up past his bedtime by about an hour and boy was he irritable on Sunday. I guess we just tried to pack in too much in too short of a time.

There are so many fun free things to do in Denver. On Sunday I attended a free performance of Much Ado About Nothing performed by No Holds Bard and last night I went to see their performance of Hamlet while Matthew and Linus attended Mayor Hickenlooper's inaugural party at the Botanic Gardens.

Sprinkler Lesson

One warm evening last week, the three of us went for a walk and tried out an ice cream shop we hadn't been to before. Linus arrived back at home with chocolate ice cream dried up around his mouth. Matthew took Linus in the house while I turned on the sprinkler for the lawn. In Wisconsin I have never watered a lawn, but here we need to. Linus came back outside and walked to the sprinkler. He was shocked when it sprayed him in the face with water. I thought I would allay his distress by demonstrating how fun it is to run through the sprinkler. He still wasn't convinced, so I scooped him up and we ran through it together. He liked it better this way because I kept his face out of the water.

Four Firsts

Friday was a big day for Linus! "Why?" you ask. Here is why:
1. He crawled for the first time!!!! He crawled across his room in the morning and in the afternoon he crawled in the living room and Matthew witnessed it, too. We were both in shock.
2. He walked down steps by himself, using the handrail. I got a picture of it because I was taking pictures of him sitting on the steps in the back of our house and then he proceeded to walk down the stairs. This is the first time he did this by himself.
3. He was on television. We went to dinner at our Indian restaurant and a local news station was there filming a story about how the restaurant's business was effected by the closing of a nearby hospital. We were all on the news, but Matthew and I were excited for Linus to be on television. No one was as excited as his Aunt Stephanie, who LOVES television.
4. Linus brushed his teeth for the first time. Now that he has teeth, the doctor said it was time to start teaching him to brush his teeth. Matthew and I demonstrated for him. I got him a cute little tooth brush with Sesame Street characters on it. (They didn't have any without licensed characters.)

Latest Interests

As I mentioned before, Linus has become very interested in sitting in chairs. He also sits on the vacuum cleaner, my head if I'm lying on the floor, and the step stool. Over the weekend he figured out how to climb up onto the dining room chairs, but he dances around up there instead of sitting down. Yesterday the chair flipped over backwards and he hit his head. So far today he hasn't climbed the chairs.

He is also interested in eating out of little containers. I put his fruit or crackers in little bowls for him and he gets a kick out of it. He also enjoys pulling crackers out of ziplock bags.

Our realtor gave Linus a soccer ball and showed him how to kick it. He wouldn't kick it with her, but when we took it out to our back yard he kicked it around with me.

Linus is able to point to my eyes, nose, mouth, and sometimes ears, but he won't point to anything of his except for his nose. One day he'll suddenly be able to do it, as that is his way.

Cowboy

Before leaving Wisconsin, I procured a second hand rocking cow for Linus. He likes riding it, as well as sitting on it and looking at books now and then. The other night after his bath he ran over and got on for a ride. We were cracking up!

15 Months

Linus turned 15 months old on Tuesday and the very next day decided to try eating yogurt with a spoon, with some coaching from Matthew. He mostly sees the spoon as a plaything, but he's on the right track.

We went to the Botanic Gardens this morning and saw a duck with five ducklings. They were adorable. I was gushing over them and Linus acted as though we saw baby ducks every day. He was more interested in the kids that gathered around. (Linus' rash has healed so it was okay to be in public.)

Flirtation

Last week it was dastardly hot and so I set up a little baby pool in the back yard for Linus. At first he sat down next to it and played in the water with a boat. I told him a few times that he could get in and then he stepped in and played while standing. He eventually sat down to play and splash. It was fun to hang out with him back there in the shade. And I was very happy to capture his coy look. This is the look he gives to the neighborhood women when they call out to him from their porches. He also gives it to our realtor now and then. He had never given it to me before and I happened to be snapping a picture just then.

Linus has been sick since Saturday evening. He suffered from a fever of 101 and he didn't sleep well. He also cried a lot. His fever went away and it was followed by a rash. I took him into the doctor on Tuesday and he was diagnosed with head, foot, and mouth disease. He also had the beginning of his very first ear infection. So he is on an antibiotic for the ear infection and he can't be around other kids until his rash heals. That is when he'll no longer be contagious. It isn't very fun being stuck in the house. The temperature cooled down some and it would have been a good day to go to the zoo. We'll play in the back yard when he gets up from his nap and go for a walk this evening. We'll just keep him away from kids. He started feeling better yesterday. Thank heavens. It is nice to have my happy baby back.