James' new chair

 During James' nap on Sunday we decided to attempt the hickory bark seat on the chair Tim built while James and I were at my parent's house.  In the background you can see the video by the chair instructor on how to do it properly.

 First step done.

 Second step going well.

 It took us longer than expected and James woke up before we could finish.  As the hickory bark needs to remain damp and pliable James was plopped in front of a show while still in his sleepsack.  Of course he didn't mind at all getting to watch Curious George.

 The seat is done!

 And before Tim can even finish buffing the wax finish James is eager to climb up and try it out.

 The chair meets with approval.

 And it is the perfect height for him- his head rests perfectly on the back.

 The bottom has a pretty cool weave.

Which is preferable...?

If I cut grapes in quarters to prevent them from being a choking hazard for James he takes the small "moon" grapes (this is what I called them to make them appealing to James because he was starting to protest when I cut the grapes up- he wanted them whole and wasn't worried himself about choking)....and PUTS THEM UP HIS NOSE.
I hope this isn't a new trend.

 Just to counter the above description of a child making lower-order decisions, here is proof that he can also make great choices.  One of his favorite post dinner activities is to go into his room and start pulling books from the shelf- looking through them one by one.  Makes a huge mess for me to clean up but I am so thankful that he still loves his books.  He has started getting to take some to bed with him for naps and nighttime- and will ask during singing to be able to get in bed and read to himself and his puppy.

Imagination

 Normally the bites are even more...even.  On mornings when frozen mini waffles are on the menu (they are organic & whole grain so not as bad as it sounds) James will systematically take one small bite out of each circle.  Is this normal?  I don't know.  But I do know that he got it from me- as I am the one who sorts the skittles or M&Ms and eats them in such a way that they are evened out. 6 of each color, then 5 of each color, the 4 of each, etc.  Isn't is amazing what are kids inherit from us?

And then yesterday he deviated from his normal style and broke the waffle in half (so two pieces, each with two circles still attached to each other).  The he bit almost half of one circle off (imagine two circles connected- the left completely whole, the right with a crescent shaped gap on the right-hand side)- looked at the result and pronounced it a "fish!"
His imagination is really gearing up these days- he loves playing train with me- where we are train cars running around the lawn, house, etc (this is especially handy when he is wandering off down the road/sidewalk and I don't want to push him into a temper tantrum trying to get him back home.  I can just ask if he wants to be trains with me and he'll follow me anywhere).
He will also "swim" food into his mouth.  Yes, I'll admit we actually do the cheesy parenting where you distract your child with silly games to get them to eat one more bite of food that is actually nutritious.  James likes this so much that he'll do it for himself, taking a bite of food in his hand and swimming it around in the air before putting it in his mouth.

Video for More Please

No milk

 

Be patient with the video it is the last bit that is good.

When James first began really talking I was wondering when the constant "no, no, no!" would begin.  And for a while I thought that WAS happening as James would go around saying very cheerful "NOs".  It took me at least two weeks before I realized that is how he says milk.  I have no idea why his word is so far from the proper English pronunciation, but once I realized that he said both milk and no I began to hear slight nuances in the two.

Milk is pronounced like noe with a long "O" and the negative no is pronounced more like new or nue or noo.  

On our walk home from the park today I asked James if he'd want some milk when we got home and he said "NO!" (milk) and I told him "you know James, milk begins with an M, ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-milk!  Can you say it?"  And James replied "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-NO!"

In the video, which I could have edited to be shorter as it is the last little bit that I finally got him to say both, James proves just what a wonderful little boy he is as he is so unused to telling me no that I have a hard time getting him to say it.

First sentence!

James created his own sentence two days ago- with both words and signs simultaneously he said "More...One...Please" requesting another dark chocolate covered cranberry.

At the farm one day...

James loves the farm- and one small reason is that both the pantry and fridge when opened provide a seat of the perfect height.  So when either one is opened by an unsuspecting adult he will immediately scramble to wedge himself between the door and inside before it can be closed again...and then he takes up residence until bribed, cajoled, or physically lifted out.  He really just wants to be big and have a chair like everyone else.

Great news for James is that while he and I were visiting with grandparent's Tim was at a greenwood chairmaking class- and now will be making a mini version for a very thrilled James!

All the below pictures were taking on ONE day- one BUSY day.

The day started out (post pajamas, pre-day clothes) trying out the hammock just hung.

Then the idea of day-clothes wasn't so well received and sprinting away was the result.

The offer getting to try the bouncer in his room was enough to bribe into proper play clothes.

The bouncer basically takes up the entire room (at least the main part)- but it fits so come winter when we are at the farm and it is too cold to be outside for long it will be a perfect outlet for a toddler's boundless energy!

James' hair is getting a bit long...at least in the back.  I'm trying to decide how much of a mullet he can get before I'll really need to cut off those blond curly wisps.

James is learning to "play" to the camera.

Time to refuel with a morning snack of grapefruit.

Which as a 19-month old he wanted to do by himself, of course.

Half a grapefruit later, time to play again!

We really need a bigger sandbox longterm as this is a somewhat sad situation- only he fits in, not really his toys.

Even though the sandbox is small it is situated in the most beautiful setting.

"Swimming" in the sandbox.

Lounging in the sandbox.

Sharing the sandbox.

At Nana's we made cookie dough but didn't have time to actually cut them out and bake them.  So Grandma was able to do this with James in the afternoon after nap.  I came in from spreading mulch and James was excited to show me the frog cookie cutter (the cookie cutter used for tea sandwiches at his babyshower...which I STILL need to blog about).

Sharon had the brilliant idea of only rolling out a piece of dough big enough for a single cookie at a time.

Tasting the dough to make sure it is worthy of his efforts.

Helping spread the flour for the next rolling.

Finishing in Tim's hat- which promptly got put in the washer.

And ending the day with trains and daddy.,