Charlotte and Levi's birthday party

Our friends' kids, Charlotte and Levi, born just a couple days apart, celebrated their 2nd birthdays today. Todd was one of the oldest kids there, but that didn't stop him from finding another kid close to his age and having a ton of fun with both big and little kids alike.

Here are shots (taken by Matt Coon, Charlotte's dad) of Todd playing in/around a clubhouse that the birthday kids' parents build out of several large cardboard boxes:

Here are Todd and a new friend using their fathers' phone to take pictures of each other while Mackenzie looks on:

And here's a nice closeup of Todd after finishing his scavenger hunt and getting his goodie bag:

Bedwetting Alarm

With Todd rapidly approaching his 8th birthday, I thought it was high time we started doing something to address the fact that he is still not dry at night. During his annual physical exam, his doctor mentioned that a lot of people have had success using sleep alarms-- they sound an alarm when the sensor detects moisture, thereby waking up the kid before he completely empties his bladder. The idea is that it trains his body to recognize when he has to go pee, and then wake up when he does.

So we got Todd an alarm and are trying it out today. We'll see how it goes!

Hide the stuffed animals!

Todd, as most little kids his age do, likes to play with stuffed animals. Especially as an only child, he considers them his friends, and likes to have at least one accompany him everywhere: in bed, at the dining table, in the car. Lately, he's been bringing one of his favorite stuffed animals into the coffee shop where he and Daddy enjoy a snack before his karate class on Tuesdays.

Today, Todd and Daddy were busy with their stuff-- eating, drinking, doing their work, when all of a sudden Daddy was surprised when Todd thrust his stuffed animal at him. He looked around, and noticed that one of Todd's karate classmates had walked in.

So while our little boy still loves his animals, he doesn't want his friends to know about it!