Formula One

singing

For a while now Otto has really enjoyed it when you sing to him.  Now that he can talk to so well he does not hesitate to ask me to sing him any number of his favorite songs at any minute of the day.  Eric calls me his personal juke box.  It is fine with me, at this point in my pregnancy I would more than happily sing him a song (something I can do sitting down) as opposed to playing hide and seek or the "see-saw game".  Both of which I tell him to wait until daddy comes home to play. He has an interesting list of favorite songs, "I've been working on the railroad", "Go-Go-Go for G", "ABC's" and now "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".  Twinkle is new to the mix and to be honest I am not really sure where it started from.  Not that I don't like the song but I never really sing it to him.  I have a younger brother who learned to play the cello with the Suzuki method, anyone familiar with that will understand why I don't feel the need to get "Twinkle" stuck in my head anymore.  Not only does Otto request it often right now, he has also almost mastered singing the entire song himself.  There are a few words that he isn't sure of and just sort of glazes over, but really he has got the whole thing memorized.  He has also started spewing off large chunks of the alphabet as well.  He will out of nowhere say "H,I,J,K,L,M  PAUSE  W, X,Y,AND Z, PAUSE Next time you sing me..."  This all just seems rather advanced for a 21 month old little boy.  But really I have no idea.  

He also is recognizing melodies that he hears somewhat out of context.  Today we were watching Sesame Street and there was a really cute skit where there are paper birds dancing on what looks like both telephone wires and a music staff.  They bob along to the notes of the song.  The song was as I always think of it "Frara Jaca", when the skit was over Otto asked for "Runaway Song again".  It took me a minute to think of what he meant, but he is right, it is the same tune as "Where is thumkin..." in which run away is repeated many times.  Then tonight he got a huge kick out of me singing that song and doing the finger game.  I have never done that before for him.  They have sung it a few times on Sesame Street and his Wiggles album has that song, but until now he has never mentioned it once. When they say little kids minds are like sponges they are not kidding!

thanksgiving

So if carrying Otto for 9 months wasn't proof enough that he is my child, his love of apple pie seals the deal!

Somewhat patiently waiting for PaPop to play the railroad song

Running around like a train while we all sing for him

Ah, YES

For a while Otto was quite taken with the word "no", and who could blame him.  It often meant both "yes" and "no".  Just a little confusing for those of us not inside his head all the time.  Lately though he has really picked up "yes" and seems to be very good at using it appropriately.  The best part is the way he says it.  With such conviction and sheer joy.  You really can't help but laugh every time he says it. We have to catch it on video before the moment passes, because really it is just priceless.

Speaking of video, eric made a fantastic short of him over Thanksgiving.  Pa-pop (Ken) has made a new banjo just for playing Pete Seeger music for Otto, well that and he likes banjos and making them....  He can play many songs for Otto but all he wants to hear is the Railroad Song (I've been working on the railroad) over and over again.  On thanksgiving with the help of my Uncle Alan and Aunt Lee we all sang the song over and over again much to Otto's joy while he ran in circles saying "choo choo" being a train.  Eric caught us all in our glory and made a little video of it.  There is also some footage of my grandmother playing the railroad song on the piano and us singing while Otto dances which is pretty wonderful too.  

Some days I think he gets funnier all day long.  Yesterday when he woke up from his nap he was extolling the virtues of hot chocolate to me.  When I asked him if it was yummy he responded "oh yes, make Otto happy!".  The other morning he was telling eric about what must have been a dream since he was talking about his friend Isaac riding down the sidewalk on an elephant.  His mind is always going and more often than not he is telling you about it at the same time. 

I promise videos and more pictures soon, but for now an update will have to do.

what have we been doing

Things have been pretty snotty here in Dudeville.  He has not only cut two canine teeth, he also seems to have caught a cold at the same time.  Needless to say we had quite a few jammy days here this week.  As the week wore on his mood improved and we were able to do a bit more, including going out and playing in the first snow of the year.  

Otto has really been a fan of blocks for a long time.  Lately in the evenings he and Eric have been making giant towers and castles.  He builds most of them telling you the colors of the blocks as he goes along.  He is talking so much these days it is really amazing.  So much in fact two days this week he made himself hoarse talking all day with post nasal drip and a cough.  He sounded like he had been smoking a pack a day, it was quite funny.  

Here he is all bundled up in his hat, mittens and snow boots.  We were coming back from my doctor's apt. when he NEEDED to play outside.  This was his first real chance to run in the snow.  The snow kept him busy for a little....

... and then he declared in a loud voice, "LID OFF, DIG WITH BACKHOE IN SANDBOX!"  There was really no getting around the fact that playing in the half frozen sand was all he wanted to do.  Before Eric went in to get a hat and gloves (it was about 25 degrees out) he opened the sand box.  Otto climbed on in and starting digging away.  Happy as can be.  We had to pull him kicking and screaming out of there when he was clearly freezing and it was almost dinner time.  You think a wet toddler makes a mess when they come in from the snow, try one who has been playing in the sandbox!  Anyone who would want to volunteer to help us move the box and all the sand to an out of site location is more than welcome.  This is not a battle I want to fight all winter.

A new game that Otto and Eric like to play is "see-saw".  It is a great workout for Eric's legs.  Needless to say when Otto asks me to play this game I tell him to wait for Daddy to come home.  He'll play with him.

Eric has been working away on redoing one of the rooms downstairs and turning it into his office.  It is almost done and looks fantastic.  

Today he was fixing one of the chairs for the office and had quite the little helper.  Otto loves anything to do with hammers, screwdrivers etc...  So much in fact I am going to try to find him some kind of little kit construction set to add to his wishlist.

As promised

Alright, I not only managed to find the camera, but I also found the cable to upload pictures.  That was perhaps an even bigger feat as Otto thinks it makes a fantastic fueling rig for his cars and tends to carry it around with him.  Today was a rainy, yucky day here and we could not be bothered to get out of our jammies.  To make up for our supreme laziness we baked blueberry muffins (with frozen blueberries hand picked by our friends in Vermont!), as well as chocolate chip cookies.

I set Otto up with his own little cooking station where he was busy mixing and cooking as he liked to call it.  Mainly he just ate the rest of the blueberries that were not needed for the muffins.  Good to note, frozen blueberries do not make near the mess as fresh ones.

Here you can see his new cropped do.  I still can't believe that he let me cut his hair.  This from the child who over the summer when we cut his hair outside we literally have to warn the neighbors so they don't think something has gone terribly wrong from the sounds coming out of him!

Haircut

So I managed to give Otto his first haircut without having him have a complete meltdown.  He didn't shed a tear.  Thank mostly to the CARS movie and M&M's.  I'll take it though.  It looks quite cute and I would love to show you a picture but I put the camera in a really clever place where Otto wouldn't find it.  Turns out I can't find it either.  I promise to devote tomorrow morning to finding it and taking pictures.  

For now I am going to have a talk with Otto's little sibling on how my gall bladder is not a place for feet and trying to come out my navel is not really at great alternative.  Aaah, the last trimester (yes, I am there already in one week!!!) the joys.  Back to constant bathroom trips, your stomach is too big to make sitting up or rolling over in bed something that seems possible without a winch...  Good times.  Still, it is kind of fun.

uncle Ben and Shannon

This weekend we had a great surprise.  Uncle Ben and Shannon came to visit.  They actually met us at the cabin for a relaxing woodland retreat.  We had a great time, but mom foolishly forgot to bring the camera...  figures.  They did however stay for dinner at our house sunday evening and she was able to snag a few quick photos of us playing on the third floor.

 

random photo update

Here are a few great moments caught on film...

Snacking on the candy covered pretzel from the neighbors for Halloween.  This was the first time Otto ever said "yummy", figures.

He and his buddy taking a "nap" on the cushion on the floor, complete with snoring sounds.

Election day treat, sushi.  He ate an entire california roll.  

Wearing my rain boots.  They were a bit hard to walk in but that didn't stop him from trying!

Stacking

For a while now Otto has been quite good at stacking things.  The other day while visiting Rachel and Isaac he made himself welcome in their kitchen cabinets and made this tower.  I didn't notice what he was doing until he already had 5 cans stacked.  I was there only to make sure if it fell over it didn't land on his toes.  Quite impressive if you ask me.  At his age developmentally they are supposed to be able to stack four blocks, I'd say he has that skill down.

The Real Deal

So thanks to all who commented, I was able to convince Eric to wear his driver's suit to go out Trick-or-Treating.  It was a huge success.  He went down to the basement to get his suit on and when he came up Otto took one look at him and said with the most adorable tone of true love, "Race car driver".  If he wasn't the coolest thing in Otto's mind before, he for sure is now.

Otto was totally taken with the whole outfit.  He loved the helmet and wanted to wear it, even though it weighs about half as much as he does.  He also really liked the earplugs and wanted to wear them as well.

The suit is made for driving so Eric wore it while we drove to some friends houses a few blocks away.  We weren't sure how Otto was going to take the whole concept of trick-or-treating and people being dressed up so we thought the car would be good for a quick exit if necessary.  Turns out we could have walked there and back, Otto had a blast.  It did not take him long to say trick-or-treat on command if he thought they would give him candy.  He also really liked seeing all the other kids dressed up.

The two of them were quite the team.

Digging into the candy bowl at our neighbor's house.

Halloween

Coolest thing ever, one of my friends has an older brother who leant me this fantastic costume.  They now of my deep love for Lightning McQueen and had this from a previous Halloween.  Since they gave it to me I have worn it everyday.  Mom wasn't even sure if she was going to get me a costume this year, but now that I love wearing this, we may even go Trick-Or-Treating to some friends houses.  I have some race car checkered flag jammies that I might wear underneath for a real race car treat.

If you read this post before Halloween please make a comment that you think the creme de la creme would be if Dad wore his drivers suit when we went out trick-or-treating....  Wouldn't that be the coolest!

It is so good I don't take it off to read books with Dad.

Dear Otto

Dude, you are the coolest.  Everyday you amaze me with more words that you can say, but more than that, entire concepts you not only understand, but can express to me.  While all of your developmental milestones have been wonderful to experience, nothing compares to gaining the ability to communicate so quickly.  You still feel the need to scream at the top of your lungs, which thanks to you being my child is incredibly loud, a fair amount of the time but I am dealing with that by telling myself it is just a phase.  However if you wanted to grow out of that soon it would be a-okay with me.

Still with all of the momentous things that you have been doing lately, there is one I would like to mention.  I hope that by talking about this it won't end it, but it is too good not to share.  For whatever reason, and really anything is fine with me, you have decided to sleep in.  Since you were born you never really slept past 6:30 and there have been long stretches of time when you woke up before 5, God help us.  But all of the sudden we aren't hearing from you until almost 8!  I will admit to being certain you had stopped breathing and checking on you the first few times.  Really, what can you expect.  I would have thought that 7 was glorious and 7:30 far too decadent, but 8, it really is more than a girl could hope for.

Maybe this is you way of being nice to me and giving me a little break before you little sibling is born and my sleep is once again thrown totally out the window.  If it is, it is the best present you could ever give me and I promise to get you whatever hotwheels you want.

You have always seemed like a happy person but now that you are talking so much I really do think you are a jolly soul.  I hope we continue to have as much fun together as we are now.  

love,

mom

Conversation with Otto the other night

A few evenings ago after dinner I was hungry for a sweet snack.  I decided to have and orange which Otto of course wanted to eat as well.  I told him if he waited while I peeled it we could share it.  He responded "share the mommy", close enough I thought.  So while I was peeling the orange and trying to keep him from eating the peel, I thought it would be a good time to talk about the concept of sharing.  I said "do you know what sharing is?  It means you are going to have some of the orange and I am going to have some of the orange".  

Otto responded clear as day, "both of us".  I was floored!  He waited for me to divide the orange up into pieces he could munch on and sat next to me on the couch while we ate our treat.  I know he understands SO much and it far more aware than we are prepared for sometimes.  But understanding and using the concept of "both of us" on his own.  I think we are in for serious trouble with this kid.

He has also started counting.  He really likes the number 6 and 6 7 8 is his favorite string of numbers but he can go along quite well if you help him.  The concept of starting at one isn't high on his list but being as he is figuring this out all on his own I am blown away.  He also recognizes that numbers are different from letters.  He can't tell which is which although some times 7 and 4 are correctly ID'd but still!  Eric and I are thinking about learning a new language fast since we think he might learn to spell soon and that would be the end of it for us!

Cago

I am back from the windy city.  I have been expanding my vocabulary every 15 minutes but even I do not have words for how much fun I had.  Mom and Dad took almost 200 photos but I don't think we should bore you with all of them now.  I am going to pick out some highlights for you now.

This is the Children's Museum by Yia-Yia and Papou's house.  We went here a few times.  They have an amazing car ramp with build your own cars and tons of cool things to climb on and play in.

Part of being at your grandparents is you get a lot of cake.

A little light reading with dad about Porsches

We went to the Museum of Science and Industry which really should be called "the train museum".  I was sure to point out all the trains to every passerby in case they missed them.

I was allowed to climb all over this plane which was a nice change from being strapped into my seat!

One of the near by parks had an awesome water feature.  When you pushed buttons on the ground water came shooting up at different times and from different directions.  I started off dry...

and got wetter as time went by.

Pretty soon I needed a change of clothes and a chance to dry off in the sun.  This was also the moment of me discovering both the Id and the Super Ego.  I declared I wanted to sit on the bench "self", mommy had to get down.

Chicago has a wonderful botanical garden which also happens to have a fantastic model train exhibit.  This trip was defiantly themed by trains.  I had a wonderful afternoon watching all the trains and running from one to the next shouting "TRAINS".

They even had a Thomas train.

All of the scenery was famous places around the country.  Everything was made from all natural materials.  Here is the curvy street in San Fransisco.

We also had a great visit from uncle Matt for a weekend.  He came along to a farm where we enjoyed a beautiful fall day.

You have already seen pictures from my day at the aquarium, but what I forgot to mention was we took the Metra downtown that day.  I LOVED riding on the train, but you might have guessed that.

Too keep it interesting we also went to Brookfield Zoo.  I liked it a lot, but not so much for the animals.  They were cool, but the wide open spaces to run around and paths through the woods were what really made me happy.  They even had sticks to play with!

Sometime a long day calls for a nap on the way home.  The train is a good place for that.

Just in case you were worried that there wouldn't be enough cars for me to place with.... Uncle Matt's die-casts will never be the same.

Since one Children's Museum wasn't good enough, we also went to the one on Navy Pier.  This one had great tools to build with.

and cars to drive

No trip to Chicago would be complete without visiting my uncle Racer.  He has a way cool bongo drum he let me wail on.

Then I told him all about the trains you can hear outside his place and how the cars have to wait for the trains. -a concept I am very much interested in-

So there you have it, a recap in pictures of our trip.  There are a few more I think I might have to post later, but this gives you a good idea.