Tubby's Big Day

Tubby-Tubby is not listening to me. He continues to grow up and learn new things even though I am begging him to stay little. He refuses to sit still, opting instead for exploration missions, cruising around furniture, and monkey climbing practice. He insists on trying new foods (though he is only beginning to actually EAT more than a 1 inch diameter size), and no longer communicates by solely crying, but by asking for "mah", or shaking his head "no".

Today Thomas mastered his little climber. After figuring out how to climb a step on Saturday morning (as we were all trying desperately to leave the house on time), he has been working his new skill on the climber. After many attempts up and down, he finally made it up TWO steps! He then practiced that up and down (only falling down 2 or 3 times) several times. He mustered up some more courage, then WHEE!!! Down the slide he went! It is so funny to see, as he is just a little guy in the 25% for weight and height....just this little miniature human, doing big kid things. But he sure thinks he is big stuff these days!

Now that Brietta is almost two years old, she has begun to calm down somewhat. It has always been our goal to let her roam free in the house, but she is yet untrained in many ways. As a puppy, we had to forgo a puppy training class we were signed up for due to her temporary (like 5 weeks long) paralysis due to an immunization reaction. Hockey got in the way after that, and we just never seemed to find the time to sign her up again. When that time finally became available this spring, we learned that lessons were no longer being given in Waconia, and that the closest ones were 45 minutes away! A bit too far at this point!

This week, we are letting her out for short periods of time to get her use to the house and to being appropriate with us. Thomas just loved it....he followed her around everywhere she went, tried to give her toys, would pet her, and was simply excited to have her around. He has always spent so much time just looking at her from behind the gate in the kitchen, and poking his fingers through the holes, trying to reach her. He did really well with her, and did not seem scared....perhaps a bit bugged when she would sniff his face, but who wouldn't be? Contrary to Tubby's reaction, Laura cowered on the couch, screaming as if she were in a horror film. She just wouldn't let up. Thankfully our dog is so psychologically sane and calm....Laura would have given a lesser mutt quite a complex.

After the kids came home from school, I encouraged them all to play outside on this beautiful day. I put Tubby down in the front yard so that I could work on Melissa's bike. I took off her training wheels, and installed a new kickstand that was 3 inches too long on the small metal frame. Finding a hacksaw, I impressed myself by sawing straight through that piece of metal. Must have been all that stick handling yesterday! In the few minutes that had taken, Tubby had found the full sized hockey net outside, and had scooted all the way over to it, across the rough concrete. Talk about bad rug burn! But this kid will do anything for hockey! We should have expected this since he has basically grown up so far in ice arenas.

Melissa rode her bike around the cul de sac for the first time without training wheels. She has been working on this at school, and she has been excited to try it at home. She still can not stop, but she was balancing and riding quite well. It is an amazing sight to see....one I was not sure we would ever get to experience with her.

We were having so much fun outside, that I had to throw together a very quick dinner before leaving for back to back soccer games. The baby played in the water table on the deck, as I frantically made a simple meal. Throwing some chicken nuggets and a few pieces of corn on the cob into bowls, Melissa and Crispy ate their dinner in the truck with the neighbor girl as we drove out to St. Boni. Tubby was soaked from his water play, so I stripped him quickly, intending to dress him when we made it to the soccer fields. He fell asleep along the way, and I dared not awaken him, as he had skipped his afternoon nap, being too busy with his new found skills. Now I had a naked sleeping baby in the middle of a breezy field as the sun was setting. A few extra blankets covered him well, and the ensuing hypothermia kept him asleep therefor hiding this little neglectful parenting secret. He did not seem to suffer any long term issues, as he was able to show daddy his new tricks late tonight when daddy came home from golf. Number seven's gotta be tough!