Happy Halloween!

Here is little man decked out as a pumpkin for Halloween. You might note a bit of glitter on his face, that's because he worked on craft projects using lots of glitter, at school that day.



Later that night, he had fun handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters, even though only 3 showed up. He sat on the couch, hands on his face, looking out the window and patiently waiting for people to show up so he could hand out candy.

Johnny's son, who turns 2 in January, showed up with his entourage of family members, dressed in an adorable devil's outfit-- he looked just like a mini Johnny! Hard to believe that I used to babysit his dad years ago!

Babies in tummies

While taking a shower, Todd examined his bellybutton and wanted to know what it was and where it came from. I explained to him how he grew inside Mommy's tummy and how a cord was attached to his belly so that when Mommy ate food, it would go through the cord and into baby Toddy, so he could grow. This sparked a discussion of where other members of the family came from: Mommy grew in Oma's tummy, Oma grew in Ama's tummy, and Daddy grew in Grandma's tummy.

Todd's next logical leap? Who grows in Toddy's tummy? I explained that babies don't grow in boys' tummies, only girls'.

But Todd begged to differ: "Boys grow in boys' tummies!"

Later on, while in SB, he asserted that while he was in Mommy's tummy, he had his stuffed turtle with him in there ;-)

Keen noses

Today Todd went with Mommy, Opa and Oma to visit Ama's grave and bring her some flowers. While in the car on one of California's busier freeways, Todd wrinkled his nose when he smelled car exhaust through the open windows.

"I think something smells bad!" he exclaimed. Then he sniffed some more to try to figure out what that smell was. His conclusion? "I think somebody is smoking!"

This, of course, made Mommy and Oma giggle, and Mommy said "He has a sharp nose!"

That, of course, triggered a chain reaction of Toddy questions: "How about Mommy?" yes, Mommy has a sharp nose. Opa? Yes. Oma? No, just a regular nose. Ama? Hmmm... that made Mommy pause and wonder.

While waiting, Todd supplied his own answer: "Ama has... an *old* nose!"

True enough! ;-)

(and for the record, Ama did have a very sharp nose)

Writing

Todd has slowly but surely begun to learn writing letters. He can already read the alphabet, both uppercase and lowercase, and now it's time to train his fingers to begin forming letters. The past several weeks have entailed such practice-- one letter at a time, mostly through homework from preschool.

And since Todd has learned a while ago how to spell his own name (he loves proclaiming "T-O-D-D!") he's been practicing writing those 4 letters, both upper and lowercase. Here's a recent sampling of his work, after much practice:

Runny noses

Todd was battling the flu last week, and this week it was Mommy's turn. So, I stayed in Santa Barbara. While talking to Todd on the phone yesterday, he piped up, while telling me that he was still sick: "My nose is runny!"

I replied: "Yeah, Mommy's nose is runny too"

Ever the helpful boy, Todd offered: "I can take your boogers out!"

I guess he was hoping to pay me back for all the times I patiently fished boogers out of his nose with tweezers and tissue, so he could breathe easily at night :-)

Clever Todd-isms

Getting Todd ready so we could head to Santa Barbara this morning: I had to wash his face so I dragged him into the bathroom, washcloth in hand. After I was done wiping his face, I searched in vain in the bathroom drawers for the lotion for his dry face. Todd tried to point out that there wasn't any there, but I persisted in looking. Finally I gave up and went to the kitchen, where I knew there was lotion for sure. Todd rubbed it in my face: "See? I told you it was in the kitchen!"

I tried to defend myself by telling him I needed to wash his face first. To which Todd patiently pointed out: "You can use the kitchen sink!!"

Later that night, when we were reading bedtime stories, Todd took it upon himself to read some of the Clifford (the big red dog) stories to Happy, Daddy's stuffed dog. When Daddy made Happy wave and say "Hi" to the dogs in the story, Todd replied: "They can't talk! That's just a picture!"

And at the end of the day? As he was getting ready to sleep? He denied Daddy's "old man"-ness, saying to me: "Daddy is young! YOU are old!" ... much to Daddy's great joy, of course ;-)

When kids wise up

Parents are known for going to any length necessary in order to get their stubborn kids to comply, even with everyday tasks. And when you have a kid like Todd, you have to get pretty creative.

One of my more trying endeavors is to get Todd's teeth brushed before bed. It's usually pretty hard to pry him away from Opa and drag him into the bathroom. Recently, I found I had some success by using Geronimo the stuffed turtle. Todd seemed much more willing to listen to Geronimo's command of "brush your teeth!" and even had fun pretending to brush the turtle's teeth before I brushed Todd's. All was well for the next few days.

Alas, like most tricks, Todd quickly got wise to this one, as evidenced last night. While I tried to cajole him, I made the turtle say: "Come on, you can brush my teeth!"

Todd's reply? "You do it by yourself! Mommy can teach you!"

Budding photographer

Daddy just recently got a new phone-- the Motorola RIZR, a gorgeous, slim slider phone with a 2MP camera. When Todd discovered the phone's camera capabilities, he had great fun taking pictures of various things and then looking at them onscreen. Here is a sampling of his work:

This is his chin and mouth, when he accidentally had the phone facing the wrong way.



A rather candid shot of Daddy caught in mid-sentence:



And Todd's favorite photographic subject, Geronimo the turtle! He had fun propping Geronimo up and making him pose for pictures.



This one cracks me up the most because Todd's finger got in the way, and the way the turtle is positioned, makes it look like Todd is pushing the poor creature over with this gigantic finger!



(note Todd's little sock-clad footsie in the corner :-D )

Spontaneous expressions of love

It's a very rare occasion that Todd initiates an "I love you" all on his own. Usually he responds "I love you, too!" when someone says it first-- and even then, only half the time.

Yesterday we were going through the list of immediate family members-- Mommy, Daddy, all his grandparents, etc... asking "Do you love so-and-so?" and getting "Yes!" in response each time.

By the time we finished the list, he then piped up, without any prompting whatsoever:

"And... I love Great-Uncle!"

Random photos from shopping

Mommy likes taking advantage of the fact that having a camera in her phone allows her to take photos wherever she is. And when shopping, there's no shortage of cute Toddy poses that can be assumed, like the one of him sitting in a little chair at Wal-Mart when we had a Mommy-son day Labor Day Weekend :-) Here are some more.

First up: Todd the CEO. This was taken at Office Depot's furniture section. Looks like Geronimo the turtle is serving as his faithful assistant :-D



Next: Todd at Food4Less. With Mommy's flannel shirt on, he looks like a little farmhand!



More hats: This was taken at K-Mart, where Mommy came across some cute hats while looking for purses. This hat in particular, and in this shot, makes Todd look like Grandpa!

Tuck-in Express

Yesterday afternoon, after getting home from shopping, poor Oma was so exhausted that upon coming in through the front door, she simply collapsed onto the sofa for a quick power nap.

Todd observed this, and rather than bug her like he normally would, he played quietly, somehow sensing that Oma really needed her rest. But the best was yet to come:

He noticed that she was still wearing her sandals and that one leg dangled off the sofa. So he carefully removed her sandals, and then picked up the errant leg and placed it comfortably on the sofa. But that's not all.

He scampered into the bedroom, and returned carrying a blanket, his security pillow, and a stuffed animal. He then proceeded to carefully cover Oma with the blanket, smoothing it out and making sure it was covering her and tucked in nicely. The pillow went to the side of her head, and the stuffed toy into her arms. Not just any stuffed animal, either-- but Todd's absolute favorite-- Geronimo the sea turtle! He then topped it all off with a kiss!!

Then Todd ran back into the bedroom, leaving Oma wondering what else he was up to. He returned with another blanket in tow. When she asked him what he was doing, he looked at her and sternly admonished something I'd chastised him about many times before (in an effort to get him to go to sleep): "Close your eyes!"

Afterward, he crawled into the other sofa, covered himself, and pretended to go to sleep-- without his pillow, and without his turtle!

What generosity :-)

Mass updates

FYI-- I've updated this blog with 8 (that's right-- eight!) new entries, not including this one. So be sure to scroll down, down, down and read all of them. Enjoy! :-)

Turtles wear clothes, too!

I couldn't help myself. While dressing Todd after his bath last night, he clamored to have his turtle wear pajamas, too. Since I'd just finished cleaning out storage boxes full of clothes, I immediately thought of the newborn onesies Todd used to wear-- we saved a few for posterity. Well, you can imagine what happened next, in my quest to keep the beloved turtle warm and Todd entertained:

Puzzle accomplishments

Ever since Opa bought him a 24-piece puzzle that results in a 9x12 inch picture, Todd has gotten addicted to putting puzzles together. So Opa got him a few more. Usually he does pretty well, with a bit of assistance and prompting from us. But today he actually managed to piece some of the puzzles together all by himself, without ANY help or evern supervision from the grownups! Here he is proudly showcasing his accomplishment:

Missing Ama

As you've seen from the video in an earlier blog entry, Todd is adept at creating silly faces and mimicking crying, sniffles and all! So it wasn't much of a surprise when he sauntered into the room today, face buried in his hands, pitiful fake sniffles to be heard.

When I asked him why he was "crying", however, I was surprised by his amazingly appropriate response:

"Because Ama-ama isn't here!"

Looks like little man is starting to miss her.

Ama's funeral

Today was Ama's funeral. Todd behaved quite nicely, despite getting a bit fidgety during the times when he was expected to sit still. He put a little heart-shaped pillow with the words "I Love You" embroidered onto it, into the casket before it was closed. And at the gravesite, he stood in rapt fascination as the bulldozers and backhoes went to work filling the plot.

Afterward, we gathered at Black Angus for an early dinner, and while there, Todd let loose some of his pent-up energy and kept the grownups entertained-- everything from bothering great-uncle incessantly, to playing with Grandma and Mr. Turtle, to admonishing Daddy loudly "don't say that!" when Daddy tried to keep him in line.

Here's a shot of Toddy hamming it up at the restaurant:



That evening, we returned to Opa and Oma's house, where Todd enjoyed himself by playing with Great-Uncle, who was quite good-natured about all the rambunctiousness.

A Todd nugget:
Since he's heavy for his age, Great-Uncle had a hard time lifting him, and so he tried to explain to Todd that he wasn't strong enough to carry him all the time.

Todd's solution (in Chinese, of course)? "You need to eat so you can get strong!"

By the time we were ready to return to SB, Todd had a fit, and refused to go along-- he was having so much fun with Great-Uncle that he didn't want to leave! Poor little man really enjoyed the undivided attention that Great-Uncle afforded him, and again, it was so refreshing to see Todd interacting to naturally with someone else, someone he doesn't normally see on a regular basis!

Todd in a suit!

ot Toddy a suit today for the funeral, and also got his hair cut. Here's our little man, looking quite dapper in his new clothes. He was very excited to get the suit and couldn't wait to try it on when we got home. I barely had time to set down my purse when we walked in through the front door, and he was already clamoring to put it on! Here he is, in stages:

Grass cutting, simplified

Todd loves mowing the lawn. He loves playing outdoors. So when he couldn't get the mower out of the shed because Opa was at work, he decided to cut the grass using an alternative method: scissors! Here he is, hard at work:

A new friend

A couple of my parents' friends who live nearby stopped by the house to offer their condolences on Ama's passing. While my dad was talking to his friend, Todd ventured a bit out of his shell and started playing with him. My dad promptly dubbed the friend "Opa An" (as An is part of his name). Todd started by simply nodding and pointing and basically interacting mutely with him, then gradually developed more confidence and started talking with him. When I whisked him away for a shower, he kept clamoring to go back into the living room to play with Opa An! And by evening's end, he was playing with Opa An just as rambunctiously as he was with Opa-- shrieks of laughter, tickling, teasing.

It was so refreshing to see Todd take to someone new so rapidly and so comfortably!

Creative thinking

One morning a couple weeks ago, Todd discovered bugs on the ceiling-- large dragonflies resting there. Since we maintained that the apex of the ceiling (at 14 feet) was too high to reach, Todd put his thinking cap on and then proceeded to find a broom and attempt to scrape them off. But the broom wouldn't reach! So he dragged a chair from the kitchen and climbed on it. Here are the fruits of his labor:



Todd also loves to express his creativity in other, more artsy ways. You know-- the usually crayon/marker/pen/pencil on paper endeavor. But sometimes it's not just limited to paper. Observe the hallowed walls of my parents' house. Not a single room has escaped Todd's touch, and these pics are but small examples of his, um, work. The clock on top, and socket outlet on the bottom, should give you some idea of just how widely these scribbles span (almost the entire wall!):



And this is a drawing of a person: note the large face, and arms and legs protruding out in the right places:

Funny Faces

Here's Todd making a variety of funny faces at Mommy's behest. At the end (cut off), he scrambles up and says "I want to see it!"

Labor Day weekend

Santa Barbara provided a nice respite from the record-breaking heatwave hitting LA, especially the Valley! While my parents roasted at 107 degrees, Todd and I enjoyed a breezy, sunny 78 degrees in SB. Saturday was chore and errand day-- shopping, washing Daddy's car, and cleaning out the back patio. In the middle of it, we bought lunch and delivered it to Daddy, who was studying on campus, because all the eateries there were closed due to the holiday weekend. We enjoyed a little picnic, explored the library a bit, and then finished our chores.

Next day, Mommy and Todd left after lunch (which we enjoyed on the clean back patio) so Daddy could have some quiet time to study for his upcoming interview. We stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home, and made a field day of it. After picking up the items Mommy was shopping for, we spent a long time sauntering through the toy aisle, looking at and playing with the numerous toys. Here's Todd sitting in a kiddie chair:



Afterward, we stopped by the McDonald's inside Wal-Mart and enjoyed an ice cream sundae snack together. Nothing's quite as fun as sitting across from my little man and watching him enjoy his cup of ice cream with a chocolate-smeared face and huge grin!

Next day was a lazy indoor day, staying in the air conditioned house, away from the oven outdoors. But that didn't stop Todd from helping Opa fix the front gate, and grabbing the lawnmower out of the shed and having a try at mowing the lawn all by himself! Here are the fruits of his labor:

Early morning

*yaawwnnn* Mommy was up way too early this morning!

I woke up a little before 7:00am, sleepily shuffled to the bathroom, and then back to the bedroom for another hour of sleep. I was jolted awake by the realization that Todd's crib was empty! In my sleepy haze, I wondered who had taken him out, and then realized that he'd awakened, rolled over, saw the empty bed, and got up and out of the crib by himself (as the gate was lowered and the crib butted up against the bed). I turned around and there was my brightly smiling little man running down the hallway, turtle and pillow in tow. Yeah... neither of us was gonna get more sleep after that. So we cuddled for a bit before heading to the kitchen for breakfast.

Reminds me of another cuddle episode earlier this week, during which I had to go to the bathroom, so I remarked: "Mommy has to go pee-pee. Do you have to go?"

His reply? "No.... Don't make pee-pee in your pajama pants!"

An admonishment which he's not only heard time and again from the grownups, but which he's started dishing out to us.... isn't that right, Daddy? :-D

Counting with Uncle Ron

I forgot to mention a cute episode between Todd and Uncle Ron during the BBQ on Aug 18.

Todd was eating a handful of Goldfish crackers, and Uncle Ron asked for some. The following ensued:

Uncle Ron: Can I have some?
Todd: (puts one in Uncle Ron's outstretched hand)
Uncle Ron: No, two!
Todd: (adds a second Goldfish)
Uncle Ron: No, three!
Todd: (adds a third Goldfish)
Uncle Ron: No, two!
Todd: (thinks a moment, and then takes a Goldfish out of Uncle Ron's hand)

Guess he foiled Uncle Ron's attempts to foil him ;-)

Boys will be boys!

Like all boys do, Todd was having a grand ol' time running around the house, swinging his noodle (the foam one for swimming) around and generally causing havoc. Oma warned him to stay out of the kitchen, as it was full of breakable things and other items that could hurt him! She then went into the sunroom to clean up a bit, and was startled by a terrific CRASH and the sight of Todd holding his chin and crying when she came running in. Broken shards lay scattered on the floor about him. Turns out he'd disobeyed Oma and poked his noodle at the kitchen lights, sending one of the panes crashing to the ground, and cutting him in the process-- he's now graced with a cut running from the bottom of his lower lip, diagonally across his chin. Typical boy!