Every Day is Brand New

Life with a toddler is more fun than I ever imagined.  Everything is changing so rapidly that I can't keep up.  If I wait to pen the perfect post, I'm sure I will have forgotten at least a few of the most recent magical developments.  What follows is a laundry list of some of my favorite things:


Egg Breaking at the Neighborhood Market


This one took me by huge surprise.  A few times a week we pop into the little organic market in our neighborhood.  This is the place where we buy Yogi's milk and get the bulk of our produce.  We know most of the folks who work there (luckily!) and Yogi has a big crush on the twenty-something cashier.  I have always carried him through the store and tossed my purchases in a bag that I carry on the other shoulder.  It's the kind of place that is too small for grocery carts.  Recently Yogi has decided that he no longer likes to be carried, particularly when he is in a place that is filled with lots of stuff that he could touch were he not being carried. 

So.... last week we drop in for three things.  Pears, dried lentils and Yogi's milk.  There were no other shoppers in the store so when Yogi started wiggling I set him down and planned to keep a close eye on him.  We were good right up until the moment I started pouring the lentils into the bag.  Yogi toddled over to the dairy case (less than a foot from where I stood) where he could clearly see his milk.  As I scooped he was pointing and pointing and pointing and I was telling him that we would get the milk next when I was writing the code on the twist-tie and I heard the break. 

Yogi had moved his hand ever so slightly to the left and encountered a carton of happy chicken eggs.  Being Yogi, he wanted to get a good look at them and when he did the carton went crashing to the floor.  My boy was standing in the aisle with four broken eggs around his feet which of course he immediately had to reach down and touch.  Understandable, but yucky. 

Everyone was super sweet and they wouldn't even let me pay for the eggs.  The guy who cleaned up the mess told me that he was looking for a diversion anyway.  I love that place, although it looks like it's going to be harder to shop there.


Climbing the Stairs 

Yogi is now a climber of stairs.  It takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r. but he loves it.  Unless I am in a tremendous hurry I let him take the trip himself.  Oh, the big boy.

The "Hey, I Can Get Away From You!" face

I saw this face for the first time in the airport over Thanksgiving.  Not the best time for such a realization, but this is clearly when the thought occurred to him.  The most charming grin spread across his face, his eyes lit up and he toddled off in the opposite direction.

A double edged sword for sure.  I love his growing independence, but man does everything take longer. 

Car Seat Shoe Removal

Although we always hand him a little board book for car trips, he's decided that taking his shoes off is the first order of business.  Only when his shoes have been removed can he be bothered with a book.  Will socks be next?

Watering the Christmas Tree

After watching me water the Christmas tree ONCE Yogi now picks up the watering can each morning while I make his breakfast and proceeds to "water" the tree.  What this involves is banging the can against the lower branches and then setting the can on the floor and clapping for himself.  A job well done!


Sheep Laughter in Social Situations

This is my most favorite development.  I noticed it the first time at a playgroup.  The Moms were all talking about something along the lines of in-laws and holiday travel and suddenly everyone was laughing.  From across the room where he was playing with an excavator (yes, an excavator - not my house) he started fake laughing.  This fake laughing was accompanied by deliberate eye contact with the group.  He really looked like he was trying to communicate, "That's a good one!  I totally get it!  You guys are hilarious!".

Now whenever he hears a group of people laughing together he ALWAYS joins in.  Love it!

Posted in: Fifteen Months