tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16237519097718878842024-03-13T17:39:10.980-05:00Tales of the Back-Packchronicling the daily adventures of our little family...zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.comBlogger214125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-87704880386062037502015-03-16T12:39:00.002-05:002015-03-16T12:39:36.350-05:00mister music man miloMilo is <i>constantly</i> singing. I love that he has a song in his heart and a tune on his lips. Usually he's repeating something he's heard from a show or movie, but lately he's started creating his own music.<br />
<br />
Yesterday at lunch:<br />
<br />
<i>I like cheese, it is so nummy! It goes in my tummy, then it goes to my butt, and then I have to go potty, in the afternoon!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Today on the way to Ingrid's 2 month check-up, which included getting her vaccination shots:<br />
<br />
<i>You know, baby Ingrid, I really love you. But you are going to get shots today, and you're not going to like it.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
At Ingrid's appointment, I was surprised to learn that she's only 11 pounds 7 ounces. I thought for sure she weighed more than that. I was not at all surprised to find out that she's in the 98th percentile for height, at 24.25 inches. I should start calling her my little string bean.<br />
<br />
While we're on the subject of vegetables, Milo now enjoys eating salads with us. He hasn't tried dressings yet; I'm sure he'd love ranch, but we just haven't had it on hand. However, he'll gobble up the lettuce and then eat the veggies, boiled egg, cheese, or whatever else is on it, separately. In fact, we were eating salad yesterday when he came up with his cheese song. He must have felt inspired!zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-59755122699872262372015-03-09T16:16:00.003-05:002015-03-09T22:15:37.074-05:00It's been awhile, gotta keep up with the changesWelcome to our final new blog-site!<br />
<br />
And holy guacamole! Has it really been two years since my last post!? Time sure does fly...<br />
<br />
Well, in that time, I changed jobs, Ben's still in school, Milo's still growing and hilarious as ever, and we added another member to our family: Ingrid!<br />
<br />
She's only two months old, and she grunts like a LumberJack pooping in winter. (Make that LumberJane.) But she smiles like the springtime sun after a cold and gloomy winter. (We're all hopelessly in love with her.)<br />
<br />
So with the new addition, it seemed we should have a blog better suited to our entire family. No longer will my words revolve around the antics of one little boy. Now it's on everybody. One central hub for the BackPack.<br />
<br />
I'll try to keep this better updated.<br />
<br />
But for now I'm off - we're having a friend over for dinner! Butternut squash risotto, with gouda and walnuts. As Milo likes to say, "it's NUUUUUMY!"zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-3681728760332679532013-11-20T18:22:00.001-06:002013-11-20T18:22:20.965-06:00he's learning!milo's in that stage of constantly - CONSTANTLY - testing boundaries and trying out defiance, and whining when we tell him no (ok, maybe not 24/7, but sometimes it feels that way).<br />
<br />
tonight he's actually been pretty good. on the way home from daycare, he was humming something, and it sounded familiar, but i couldn't fully place it.<br />
<br />
i asked him what he was singing, and he started putting in jumbled lyrics: "...... what you waaaannnt"<br />
<br />
and i immediately recognized the Rolling Stones' little ditty that we sing to him all too often when he starts to get upset over not getting his way.<br />
<br />
so on the ride home we joyfully sang together "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need!" and then milo shouts the "yeah" part. and since that's the only part of the song i really know, we sang it again.<br />
<br />
i don't know which part made me happier, that he's learning the classics, or that the idea of we don't always get what we want, but we have what we need is getting ingrained into his adorable little head.<br />
<br />
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<br />zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-14996714703829293662013-11-13T19:37:00.000-06:002013-11-13T19:37:02.395-06:00the highlight of my week...milo was wanting to watch an episode of handy manny, so i made him ask nicely, and then turned the show on for him.<br />
<br />
he proceeded to snuggle up next to me on the couch, wiggle his little arm into mine, and very matter-of-factly said to me, "you're my best friend, mom!"<br />
<br />
the kid just made my week!zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-82497036768143095682013-10-29T18:44:00.002-05:002013-10-29T18:44:32.559-05:00wedding bells already???tonight as i was helping milo get his coat off, he started to throw a fit when i wanted to put his glove in his pocket, and he kept shouting, "my ring! my ring!"<br />
<br />
the zipper was stuck, so i asked him if he wanted help fixing his zipper and getting the ring out of his pocket. the crocodile tears ceased immediately, "yeah," he replied, cool as a cucumber.<br />
<br />
i get the zipper unstuck, and a bulky, grey, plastic "ring" that i'm quite certain was originally a 6-point wrench (had to google that one).<br />
<br />
i asked him if it was his ring, again, ever so coolly, "yeah."<br />
<br />
"are you going to give it to maggie?" (at daycare today, they informed me that he calls her "my maggie" as in, "where's my maggie?")<br />
<br />
"yeah."<br />
<br />
"you gonna ask her to be your wife?"<br />
<br />
"yeah."<br />
<br />
they grow up so fast.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
also, on the way home, milo was telling me about playing with maggie, and how she's with her mommy right now, and then he went straight for my heart and said, "everyone needs their mommy!"<br />
<br />
wise beyond his years.zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-35056143928004702412013-10-21T19:10:00.004-05:002013-10-21T19:12:24.253-05:00what a hootso milo's 3 now, and i'm ridiculously behind on keeping track of all his hysterical sayings and doings.<br />
<br />
let's see what i can remember:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>the words are just flying now - there are still some rather indiscernible syllables thrown in, especially when his "s" and "f" still sound like a "d", but the kid is talking a mile a minute, and we love it. especially at 2 in the morning, when he calls out, "mommmmmmm, i need my bay-ket!" (blanket), instead of simply screaming.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>the other day, we were driving to a garage sale, and ben accidentally went up on the curb. i responded a little dramatically, nothing new. later that day, milo and i were going to the store, and i accidentally pulled a curb check as i rounded a turn. as we came off the curb, milo let's out a very pleasant, "oopsies! you gotta be care-toh mom!" i couldn't help but laugh and agree with him.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>his friends at daycare will randomly give me reports on him: "milo had a really good day!" "milo ate all his corn and prunes!" "milo needs to bring his pajamas so he can come for a sleepover to my house, but only girls are allowed!"</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>i pointed out some deer in a field on the way home from daycare today, and milo shouted out "hi deer!"</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>one of the things we got for milo for his 3rd birthday was a helium-filled, yellow, smiley face balloon. (his favorite color is yellow, and he specifically asked for yellow balloons for his birthday. how could we say no?) i think it may be one of his favorite presents - he carries it everywhere throughout the house, will lay on it, and tries to bring it to bed with him, but we won't let him, 'cause of the string. so he insists on tying it up to the little chair at his desk.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>he calls pumpkins "puttin" and muffin is "mutton"- we made pumpkin muffins from a mix that he got from "gramma kacky"for his birthday, and at every meal we heard "i wanna puttin mutton!"</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>he can say his abc's and count to ten all on his own. that's entirely thanks to daycare.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>when he wants to do something that he can tell we might say no to (we're on our way someone, it's dinner time, etc.) he'll say, "i want to play cars/watch a show/go to park for a couple minute, mom."</li>
<li>the night my parents came into town for milo's birthday weekend, my mom had to run to the store for a few items. she came back with some chinese food for me, since everyone else had eaten at daycare/work/on the road, but i hadn't had a chance to eat yet. milo looked at me eating my dinner, then turned to my mom and said, "gake-oo dor getting my mom doood!" (thank you for getting my mom food.) it's amazing how considerate and thoughtful he is. i love it.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>the other night we were picking up ben from work, and he was running late, so we were waiting in the car. milo decided he was going to call out for him, "daaaaaad!" i responded that daddy was inside the building, and we were outside in the car, and that he couldn't hear us. milo decided to try harder by yelling louder, "DAAAAAAAD! CAN YOU HEAR ME DAAAAAAAAAD?"</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>we still sing him to sleep, and we tend to stick to the same playlist of songs. milo now knows them too: "you are my dun-doiiiiine" (sunshine), "may the Wowrd bet you and keeeeep you" (may the Lord bless you and keep you), "twinkle twinkle liddoh staaaahr" and "Jesus loves me" are the ones he'll sing along to. he'll also sing the little ditties he hears on "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" (a cartoon spin-off from Mister Roger's Neighborhood) - "you can take a turn, and then you get it back!"</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>he'll still let us cuddle him, and when we drop him off at daycare, he says "i give you biiiigggggg HUG!" and then proceeds to bear-squeeze my neck.</li>
</ul>
<div>
i think we hit the jackpot with this one.</div>
zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-45095292710685223102013-06-12T19:39:00.003-05:002013-06-12T19:39:38.768-05:00love lessons from our resident romeoanother maggie moment: they told me that maggie had been playing with a piece of paper, and when one of the workers went to throw it in the garbage, milo posted himself between the worker and the garbage, pointing his finger at the worker, he kept saying, "no, no, no!" until the worker returned the piece of paper to maggie.<br />
<br />
<br />
the other night, milo patted my head and said, "wow, mom, your hair pretty!" (although it sounded more like "wow mom, yoooh hayuh prih-eee!") to which i replied, "thank you!" and he immediately responded, "you're welcome!" ("yoooh weldun!")<br />
<br />
<br />
he knows how to woo the ladies!zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-57043068439981839782013-06-05T18:40:00.000-05:002013-06-05T18:40:29.347-05:00young love...there's this adorable little girl at milo's daycare. her name is maggie. she also has blonde hair and blue eyes. and she and milo are apparently gaga for each other...<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>they play together exclusively at free time</li>
<li>they sleep next to each other at nap time</li>
<li>they eat next to each other at meal time</li>
<li>milo will protect maggie if someone tries to take her toys</li>
<li>milo will also push the other kids out of the way (even if they're already sitting on a chair) just so he can stand or sit next to her</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
if you ask milo about her, he'll respond to you, "i like maaa-eeeee!"<br />
<br />
and it just melts my little heart that milo has found his very own love.zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-60587215894438469902013-05-23T19:34:00.001-05:002013-05-23T19:34:12.766-05:00moooo!two cow incidents came up recently.<br />
<br />
the first is this:<br />
<br />
the lady who lives above us sleeps above milo's room. and she snores <i>really</i> loudly. one night milo woke up, and was crying a little. ben went in to see what was wrong, and milo pointed to the ceiling and asked "mooo?"<br />
<br />
it was easier just to pretend that a cow lives upstairs who moos in the middle of the night. much less scary than the snorey lady.<br />
<br />
<br />
the second:<br />
<br />
milo and i were visiting my parents up in door county, WI. my mom and i were helping him settle down for bed. we'd already read stories and said prayers and sung lullabies. milo had a little toy cow that he wanted to sleep with, and he kept yelling out, "MOOOOO! MOOOOOOO! MOOOOOOOOOOOO!" and i told milo, "honey, the cow needs to be quiet, he needs to sleep, too."<br />
<br />
and milo quietly whispered, <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"moooooooooo, moooooooooo, moooooooooo."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span>zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-6412380005391197512013-02-12T22:56:00.001-06:002013-02-12T22:56:54.346-06:00daily affirmationswho needs a mirror when you have a two year old who's willing to on-demand repeat every.single.word. that you say?<br />
<br />
in an effort to help milo continue improving his communication skills we have been having him repeat things after us. when he points to the fridge and does his half-whine/half-grunt, we'll ask him "Milo, do you want some juice?" he'll nod and pitifully respond "uh-huh. djoo!"so we'll say "okay Milo, then you need to say" (and at this point, we pause so he can repeat each word individually) "mommy" "can" "you" "please" "get" "me" "some" "juice" ("mah-ee" "can" "ooh" "pee" "get" "me" "dum" "djoo!")<br />
<br />
lately i've been throwing in some "mommy" "you" "are" "so" "pretty" "can" "you" "please" "get" "me" "some" "juice" type affirmations... i like to mix it up with "you are the best ever" "you are so smart" etc. etc.<br />
<br />
it takes a little longer, but he's really been picking up a lot of new words this way. and i, for one, am feeling great!zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-13797888469460878872012-12-31T22:17:00.000-06:002012-12-31T22:43:15.360-06:00milo in 2012the kid grows by leaps and bounds...<br />
<br />
and it's no longer my day-job to document every waking moment of pure adorable.<br />
<br />
ok, so maybe that wasn't my previous day job, but sometimes it felt like it.<br />
<br />
anyhow, here are some of my favorites from the past 12 months that perhaps i forgot to document in the midst of all the changes that have taken place. in no particular order.<br />
<br />
if you have an "ow" milo will kiss it. one time, we were playing with his toy cars, and we knocked heads, <i>really</i> hard. i let out quite an exasperated "OW!" to which milo grabbed my head and pulled it to his face to kiss it better.<br />
<br />
milo also refers to snow on his shoes as "ow" - and basically anything that needs fixing seems to be referred to as an "ow".<br />
<br />
but he really is very affectionate. milo LOVES to give hugs and kisses. when he first started giving hugs, he would grunt. then, there was a short time when he would say "gweeeeee" (squeeze) because i think there was a day or too when i would nacho libre hug him and said "anaconda squeeze" when i wrapped my arms around him.<br />
<br />
sometimes milo comes in for what seems like a kiss to the cheek, and then he licks your face like a golden retriever that has been left alone all day being greeted by its master with rawhide and a bouncy ball. we had a cat and now a fish, so i truly have no clue where he picked up that one. and even though it's a lot slobbery and a little unsanitary, it still makes me laugh every time.<br />
<br />
milo knows whose shoes are whose. and he knows we all need our shoes on to go outside. and he LOVES to go outside (though not as much as he loves trains... i think.) he will often bring us our shoes. although sometimes he thinks it's funny to put on a pair of my flats, put my purse on his shoulder, walk to the door and wave as he yells "bye!" thankfully, more recently, he grabbed his elmo phone and his set of keys before trying to walk out on us.<br />
<br />
his vocabulary continues to grow, while his ability to articulate is sauntering, but still, he's moving forward and that's the important part. exhibit A: the other day ben brought milo with him to cabin coffee, which has a giant fake buffalo head above the kiddie section (<b>genius</b> by the way, wish every coffee house/cafe/keurig came with one). ben helped milo to say buffalo by breaking it down, and milo managed to repeat it, though it sounded more like "BUH-BUH-BO!" and he was SO proud.<br />
<br />
when milo feels really adamant about what he's saying, he nods his head when he says it. "hot! ow!" while pointing to the lamp that he previously burnt his finger on when i wasn't looking. (wait, what? that didn't happen. nooooooooo... i'm totally the perfect mother.)<br />
<br />
milo sometimes gets duck-lips, especially when he says, "no-no!"<br />
<br />
milo calls his mr. potato head "day-doh".<br />
<br />
he calls animals by their sounds, not their names. lions, tigers, bears, dinosaurs and other similar monsters are all "garrrr!"<br />
<br />
when i was little, my grandma aloise - the artist grandma - would often tell me the story about one of her students from when she taught art. he drew pictures with both hands, simultaneously. one of milo's christmas presents was a chalkboard/easel from my parents. he'll take a piece of chalk in each hand and scribble away till there's no chalkboard left, and it's comforting to see a spark of aloise living on.<br />
<br />
milo is OB - SESSED with trains. completely. he loves the choo choo set grandma laura got him for his birthday, and all the subsequent thomas companions he's received since. over thanksgiving we let milo experience the full greatness of trains. we took him for a ride on the metra, for which there is a station mere blocks from my parents' house. (you can hear the trains blow their whistle and chug along the tracks when you sit in their dining room. at one point after getting to ride on the train, my parents were sitting with milo at the table, and a train blew it's horn in the distance. milo looked up with a gasp and whispered, "choo choo!") we ended up riding the train to two stations past our original departure plans simply because that train moves too stinkin' fast. milo was filled with awe and terror, and with complete sincerity and reverence, i feel like a got a glimpse of what it means to fear God: to be so close to something so amazing, so cherished, and yet finally realizing just how big and loud and powerful that something is. that's what i saw on milo's face the day we took him for a train ride.<br />
<br />
(sorry to end on such a cheesy note, but that's all i got... HAPPY NEW YEAR!)<br />
<br />zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-19357627663586394502012-10-23T20:56:00.004-05:002012-10-23T20:56:38.486-05:00quite the lady's manben, milo and i headed up to rochester MN this past weekend for ben's cousin's wedding. the church is located in lake city MN, the reception at a golf course in frontenac MN, but scoping out the most wallet-friendly saturday night stay put us in rochester.<br />
<br />
the next morning, we decided to scope out a park near the shopping mall. it has an interactive school bus that milo simply couldn't get enough of...<br />
<br />
until a little girl, the same size as milo, and only half a year older, decked out in pink leggings, matching pink jacket, and coordinating pink knitted boots showed up. then it was run around in delight.<br />
<br />
(oh, and also the night before, when all the cousins graciously entertained him by running around the golf course like a heard of sheep, milo bringing up the rear and laughing ferociously.)<br />
<br />
they played on the bus together. they took turns on the slide. they gave each other playground pebbles. when it was time to go, we started prepping milo, "okay buddy, one more time down the slide, and then we have to say bye-bye." he was taking it pretty well, but when we told him to say bye to his new friend eva, he ran up to the playground equipment, scaled the toddler-sized ladder to reach the platform she was on, and they gave each other a hug.<br />
<br />
and then he kissed her on the cheek.<br />
<br />
poor girl didn't even see it coming. it was milo's first kiss. this little girl's first kiss too, probably. (she seemed to be flattered - but a kiss from milo, who wouldn't be?!) she was also with her daddy. and milo didn't even ask please, let alone her father's permission... hopefully he won't press charges ;P<br />
<br />
meanwhile, milo's vocabulary seems to be increasing by the fistfuls.<br />
<br />
he now says:<br />
<i>nuunuu</i> (noodles)<br />
<i>waaah, waaah?</i> (wash, as he puts his hands out and turns them back and forth; he loves to be clean.)<br />
<i>ahh ben</i> (all better)<br />
<br />
and i FINALLY heard <i>wuh-woo</i> (love you), that one came out on his second birthday<br />
<br />
<i>doo</i> (two - we'll ask him, "milo, how old are you?" "DOO! YAAAYYY!!!!" and he claps his hands. then we'll ask, "milo, are you five?" "noooooooo." "are you 13?" "nooooooooo." "are you 87?" "noooooooo." all with a sing-songy-playful tone and a big smile.)<br />
<br />
<i>boon</i> (spoon)<br />
<i>dgee! </i>(cheese, both for cottage and block cheese)<br />
<i>breh</i> (bread)<br />
<i>bob</i> (for Bob the Builder)<br />
<br />
the cutest of his newest words is "c'mon!" which comes out as a high pitched <i>"MONuh!"</i><br />
<br />
he'll also mimic-sing bob the builder's theme song. doesn't get the syllables right, but the number of syllables, the tune of each syllable, and often the starting sound for the first few syllables are all spot on. he's such a smarty pants.<br />
<br />
and most recently, milo repeated, "okay"... except it sounds like he's saying "<i>a gay! a gay!"</i>zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-1961297404194975442012-09-25T17:53:00.001-05:002012-09-25T17:53:42.271-05:00helping handswe encourage milo to help when we go do laundry... it often takes a little longer, but we want him to be involved in chores while it's still fun, so that later, when he's 16 and ornery, doing chores won't be a <i>new</i> thing to complain about, just something to complain about.<br />
<br />
anyhow, he loves putting the quarters into the machine. i let him sit on the dryer, and hand him the quarters one by one. he sort of wiggles with delight as he carefully places each quarter in a slot.<br />
<br />
if we put all the wet clothes into a basket - or hand him pieces one by one - he'll also help throw them into the dryer for us, as well as take them out once they're done. hopefully i'll look back on this memory with fondness when we do get to that stage of 16 and ornery, and i'll try not to be snarky as i remind him that he once loved helping us with laundry, and sweeping, and picking up his things.<br />
<br />
<br />
after we got back from laundry, and i sat down to type this post, milo was playing with the bananas, and i noticed he had peeled off all the stickers, placed one on himself, one on the highchair, and was putting one on me... make that two. stickers for everyone!<br />
<br />
thanks milo ;Pzoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-86476593149762311042012-09-24T20:57:00.001-05:002012-09-24T20:57:44.856-05:00daddy says...(aka <b>lessons from thomas the tank engine</b>)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
"got that milo? it's true in the real world, too. if i am the most really useful at work, i will be rewarded with more work, <i>special</i> work. but they will not pay me any more, because i am really useful."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
(being "the most really useful engine" is a big deal on thomas the tank engine.)zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-24140313179783178602012-09-21T18:40:00.002-05:002012-09-21T18:40:46.884-05:00you say tomato, i say thomas.actually, this isn't about that funny, little, blue train on tv.<br />
<br />
milo calls everything that goes on his head a hat.<br />
<br />
the baseball cap that just barely still fits him. <i>ben's</i> baseball cap that is adorably too big for him. yup, those are hats.<br />
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his sweatshirt hoodie that i pulled up this morning because it was drizzling, "hat?" ummm, i guess so... why not.<br />
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when we go for a bike ride, we always wear out helmets, even milo, even though he's strapped in, sitting in the covered trailer. "hat?" yeah, okay buddy, technically that's a hat, too.<br />
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he also received a plastic fireman's helmet at a church we visited when we were with my parents in door county. "haaaaat. haaaaaat. haaaaat!" sure, milo, hat.<br />
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<br />
<br />
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currently he's shoveling down fistfuls of mac n' cheese with broccoli and peas mixed in...<br />
<br />
i love what a healthy eater his is (most of the time).zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-21839521442953008662012-09-20T18:05:00.000-05:002012-09-20T18:05:15.597-05:00milo and the muppetsi'd like to preface this by saying we try to limit milo's screen time... movies are not a regular thing for him - just a few nightly episodes of thomas the tank engine, shaun the sheep, timmy time, or a partial sesame street before bed time...<br />
<br />
but this morning, milo had grabbed <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082474/" target="_blank">The Great Muppet Caper</a> </i>and was asking to watch that ("ba? ba?" - please please, instead of his usual "djoo djoo" - choo choo) upon getting up this morning.<br />
<br />
so i put it in, and he just sat in front of the screen, mesmerized by these new creatures singing and dancing and laughing.<br />
<br />
it's a little spark of joy for me, to see my kid enjoying the very same movie i grew up on, loving and laughing to... i look forward to continuing to share this with him as he gets older and can fully understand what's going on.zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-1908978725790207372012-09-17T19:12:00.000-05:002012-09-17T19:12:24.845-05:00precious momentsmilo can occasionally be caught singing, if you know what you're listening for... random syllables at various pitches. one time i was singing "old mcdonald's farm" to him, and after i sang the "ee-i-ee-i-oh" part, he sang back "i-yi-yi-yi!"<br />
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he was singing as we were on our way out from target today after running some quick errands. so i sang back to him "ee-i-ee-i-oh" and he sang back to me "i-yi-yi-yi."<br />
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also on the way out from target, i was holding him as i carried our grocery bag to the car, he put his arm around my neck and stated very matter-of-factly, "mine." made my heart melt... <b><i>way</i></b> cuter than when he holds out one of his toy cars to me and declares "MINE!" (i'm blaming daycare for his learning of this new possessive adjective.)<br />
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other communications he's made recently:<br />
<br />
milo was sitting on the couch playing with some of his cars, i was sitting on the floor in front of him and reading. certainly still giving him all my undivided attention and not going on to facebook... noooo, <i>never.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
anyhow, he dropped a car down the back of the couch (for anyone who hasn't seen our place, our couch separates our living room from the hallway, so it's not up against a wall along the back side).<br />
<br />
milo then leaned over my shoulder and as i looked at him, he let me know in a very adult sigh, "i get it."zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-10650668306559574522012-09-16T09:06:00.002-05:002012-09-16T09:06:51.050-05:00shoes?this morning milo picked a little grover that my mom has given to him on loan (grover is one of her favorites, too).<br />
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inspecting it, he pointed to grover's eyes and announced, "eye!"<br />
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"good job milo! those are grover's eyes."<br />
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then he starts asking, "dshoo?" (shoe?)<br />
<br />
"sorry milo, grover doesn't have any shoes."<br />
<br />
ben and milo decided to bring grover to me, "dshoo? dshoo?"<br />
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so i let my artsy fartsy self go into craft mode, and fashioned some shoes for grover.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyApxas7tJfwCyY8zWm3g2kN4fuOEo1qUVh0GueY0vXlhLwDccctvVcKYjCyVFcY-TFy3A9nLWH-D0M8PHQBRut9_2IKYcp7Pmk357I2S3lzwdsbvooBFxQb2hcaV0QViVLMnpta0svl4/s1600/grover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyApxas7tJfwCyY8zWm3g2kN4fuOEo1qUVh0GueY0vXlhLwDccctvVcKYjCyVFcY-TFy3A9nLWH-D0M8PHQBRut9_2IKYcp7Pmk357I2S3lzwdsbvooBFxQb2hcaV0QViVLMnpta0svl4/s320/grover.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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milo looked pretty pleased that grover now had shoes. then he pointed to grover's head and asked, "hat?"zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-16065637884423282282012-09-09T09:00:00.000-05:002012-09-09T09:00:35.712-05:00"can you hear me now?"milo is enamored with our cell phones. ben and i don't ever let him play with our phones, though sometimes he does manage to grab hold of one. usually he gives it back very dutifully.<br />
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but he'll also take just about anything that even remotely resembles a cell phone, hold it up to his ear and say, "he-wah?" (hello) - cars, sunglasses, shoes...<br />
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this morning it was a banana.<br />
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"he-wah?"zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-71254042117775696672012-09-02T14:01:00.001-05:002012-09-02T14:02:25.366-05:00another adventure at the pool...yesterday we took milo for another trip to the pool.<br />
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he loved it as always. i can't even count the number of times we had to climb the long flight of stairs so we could ride the big slide over and over (which i was perfectly happy with, as i really enjoy the slide, too).<br />
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after a little while, ben decided he was going to swim over in the big-people pool, without the squirting/floating/mini-slide/plaything occupied wading area for toddlers.<br />
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milo and i went for one more ride, and then he wanted to find dada.<br />
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so we get to the bigger pool, and i hand milo to ben, and we decide to try teaching him how to kick when he's on his belly. one of us would hold him up, superman style, and the other would move his legs in kicking motion, and we would tell him, "kick, kick, kick!"<br />
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he never did pick up on the kicking motion, but when we got him on his belly and asked him to kick, he would repeat back to us, "kick, kick, kick."<br />
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then we thought we'd try and teach him how to jump in - with us holding onto his hands, of course, so that he wouldn't go under. we would get him to the edge of the pool, and count, "wuuunnnnnn, tooooooooooh, THREE!" and he would step forward into the pool. eventually, milo picked up "one" and would say it with us when we started counting... uber cute!<br />
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<br />
that's it for our escapade at the pool, but milo has picked up a few other cute tricks:<br />
sometimes we'll let milo play with us on our bed, and he'll pat on the bed for us to lay down, and we'll all pretend to snore. then he'll go to leave, say "nite, nite!" and then put his finger to this lips and say, "shhhh!" as he closes the door.<br />
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he's also learned to fold his hands when we pray with him at night and mealtimes. i believe he learned both of these with grandma laura at her daycare, and i'm so glad he did. he seems that much more excited when i say, "ok milo, let's pray." and he gets this huge smile and folds his hands together, and waits patiently while i repeat the Lord's prayer - he can interact now, and i know that will just be a stepping stone towards deeper interaction as we continue to show and teach him about prayer.<br />
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<br />zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-56650808427916796622012-08-05T20:41:00.004-05:002012-08-05T20:54:34.304-05:00gotta teach 'em young...it's been absolutely gorgeous all day today - high seventies, no humidity, bright blue skies, and a little breeze. so after milo's nap, we decided to take him out to a park so he could run and play and explore and climb.<br />
<br />
but first we decided to stop for ice cream at a local coffee shop.<br />
<br />
now, in case you haven't seen ben in a while, he's been growing out his beard, since for the last 5 years he's had to keep any facial hair neat and trim (which usually meant a goatee). along with the grizzly man beard, he's got a full-fledged cookie duster. so as we were eating our ice cream, ben's mustache would catch some, and he wasn't getting it cleaned off fast enough for milo's liking.<br />
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milo was sitting on ben's lap, and i was giving him spoonfuls of ice some from the cone that ben and i were sharing. i also gave milo a napkin to wipe his hands and face, because he's become a bit of a neat-freak and doesn't like it when his hands get sticky or dirty.<br />
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so we're all eating ice cream and loving it, except for that aforementioned bit of ice cream that kept getting caught on ben's mustache. milo decided to take it upon himself to use the napkin i gave him to wipe ben's face clean. it was pretty great to watch him with furrowed brow cleaning up after his daddy. i did happen to catch video of it, but sadly i used my phone instead of my iPod, and i have yet to figure out how to get it transferred.<br />
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<br />
then when we got to the park, ben grabbed a frisbee from the trunk for him and i to toss while we followed milo around the playground.<br />
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milo decided he wanted to join in, so we would through the frisbee out, it would land on the ground, and milo, with great excitement, would shout "i get it!"as he ran after the frisbee, fetching it as buoyantly as any golden retriever, and then run it back to us. he would try and throw it, but at this point it's more of a flailing drop accompanied by a gleaming little boy proudly throwing his arms above his head.<br />
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(i got video of this, too, but again, on my phone.... which - without a data plan - seems to be the fort knox of my videos. i'll be carrying my iPod or the digital camera with us from here on out.)<br />
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at this rate, we're thinking he'll be a pro-frolfer by the time he's ten.zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-25925402667589186222012-08-04T15:32:00.002-05:002012-08-04T15:32:59.855-05:00thar she grows!milo's first two-year-molar has been sighted. it must have been coming through for the past week (of which milo spent at grandma's daycare again, since ben has been working for his dad, and of course, i'm still in the 9-5 grind... cue <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpKAA2VxWY8" target="_blank">dolly parton</a>), because now it's about halfway visible... it's the bottom left, and my guess is the bottom right isn't too far behind, but no matter how much i try to get him to roar like a lion so i can get a better look, i think he sees right through my games.zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-19764119016052657262012-07-25T22:16:00.001-05:002012-07-25T22:16:31.661-05:00book worm.milo's new thing when we're getting him ready for bed each night is that he doesn't want us to read the book, he just wants to hold it to his chest, arms wrapped around it like he's hugging a dear fuzzy friend, while we recite bedtime stories from memory, and pray, and sing lullabies.<br />
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his book of choice is always <a href="http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Grover's_New_Kitten" target="_blank">Grover's New Kitten</a>, which actually belonged to me from when i was a child, and i loved it.<br />
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when it comes time to lay him down, he doesn't cast the book aside or want to put it away or give it back to us. oh no sir. (or ma'am.) he continues to keep his arms loosely cradling its sturdy cover and board-book pages.<br />
<br />
we put him in his crib with a kiss and well-wishes for a good-night slept tight, and he rolls over on top of the book, content.<br />
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come morning, the book is usually in some opposite corner, but by evening, he needs it in his arms once again.zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-15976973144031299472012-07-24T19:29:00.000-05:002012-07-24T19:30:30.204-05:00such a goof...milo loves peas (most of the time). he'll shovel them in by the fistful. however, he doesn't like the skins. he's like a bird peeling off the skins on birdseed. he chews and chews and chews those peas, and when he thinks he's gotten it all, he pushes out the skins and puts them back on his tray (we've had to work on that with him... he used to just spit out the skins onto his lap).zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1623751909771887884.post-77976191132300091222012-06-25T18:53:00.003-05:002012-06-25T18:56:00.205-05:00say WHAAAAAAT?!recently milo's vocabulary has been exploding like a michael bay blockbuster. here's the most up-to-date list of words he's been saying - most of which around grandma B or grandma Z:<br />
<br />
buh (please)<br />
nooooo<br />
all done!<br />
all gone!<br />
go!<br />
dada/daddy<br />
momma<br />
more<br />
vroom (for a car)<br />
gaaaarrrrr! (to roar like a lion)<br />
scrunches his face and snorts (to "oink" like a pig)<br />
uh-oh<br />
ohhhhh<br />
gak gak! (very high pitched, to "quack quack" like a duck)<br />
ga-ma (grandma)<br />
choo choo (for the train)<br />
meuh (to moo like a cow)<br />
hiya! (hi)<br />
tay-ooo (thank you)<br />
i did it!<br />
<br />zoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08323326746797108829noreply@blogger.com0