Happy Birthday, John!
Unfortunately, the birthday boy was not in the mood to have pictures taken this morning.
Eye contact from all three = success!
Hey Sis, do we have to do this every month?!
This has been a big month for Johnny and he's learning something new everyday. We still call him Baby John, but that's quickly becoming inaccurate. He's scooting and crawling very quickly and everything in the house is on lock-down. Our latest worry is that John is getting a lot better at climbing things, but he still lacks the skill of a graceful dismount. He's good at pulling himself up to standing and he'll even take a few steps while holding onto something. He loves to climb all over Keillor.
The kid will still eat anything which makes it nice for Dad when deciding what to cook. However, we have noticed that John now surveys his plate at mealtime and definitely picks out his favorites first. He's been drinking out of regular cups at school for months now and we're trying to do that at home (instead of a bottle). A lot of liquid still goes down his shirt and bib, but he continues to get better. His favorite new food this past month has been some small bites of my post-swim class Frosty from Wendy's. The cold shocks him every time, but he keeps asking for more!
At this point, John is still great at sitting on laps. He calmly sat on Dad's lap at the Regis game last week, followed the action going up and down the court, and even clapped when everyone cheered. We saw the same sort of performance at the rodeo last weekend. Mom and Dad fully expect that to change as soon as he starts walking (or running!) on his own.
I've had a good month, as well. Swim lessons continue to be fun and we'll start another session of those in mid-February. I got to walk on a balance beam at physical therapy this past Monday and I enjoyed it so much that Dad whipped together a homemade version for the playroom downstairs. We also received a mini trampoline last week so I've been having some fun exercising.
I continue to amaze Mom and Dad with the knowledge I'm bringing home from school. Recently I've been enjoying the language cards at school which focus on letters, spelling and rhymes. My sense of humor took a large leap at the Buffs' game a couple weekends ago, as well:
Dad: "Tess, let's go to the bathroom during this timeout."
Tess: "I don't have to go."
Dad: "Come with me and try anyway."
[I sat on the toilet and didn't produce anything. As soon as we got back to our seats...]
Tess: "I have to poop."
[We walked back up the steps and to the toilet. Nothing except one toot.]
Tess: "False alarm!"
[Back down to our seats for a grand total of 30 seconds...]
Tess: "I have to poop again."
[Now Dad was getting frustrated! Back up the steps and to the toilet where I actually pooped (finally) and then back to our seats. After about one minute, I looked at Dad...]
Tess: "Dad, I have to poop again...[Dad sighed and shook his head]
Dad: "Really?"
Tess: "No! I'm just being silly!"
My monthly quiz (answered by Tess)-
Favorite color: Purple
Least favorite food: Blackberries
John's favorite word: Dada
Favorite friend at school: All of them
Favorite movie: Frozen
Favorite TV show: Dora
Favorite book: Dora (was reading it as Dad was asking the questions)
John's favorite book: Board books
Favorite thing to do in the snow: Run around
What would you rather do - ride a sheep or dunk your head in the pool? Ride a sheep.
Favorite place to go in the car: Stay at home
