Bambino Ping Pong

Scene: This morning, the family is snuggling together in Mom and Dad's bed.

Ping Pong: A-Gaaaa!

Poki: A-Gaaaa!

Mom: Are you talking to Ping Pong?

Poki: Yep.

Dad: What is he saying?

Poki: I don't know. I think he's speaking Spanish.

Magical

Scene: Poki is being three-years-old in his bedroom this morning while Dad attempts to help him get dressed.

Dad holds up a shirt with a dump truck on it.

Dad: How about this shirt?

Poki: No, I don't want a shirt with any pictures on it.

Dad holds up a plain, button down shirt.

Dad: Okaaay...how about this one?

Poki: No, I don't like that one because it has buttons.

Dad holds up a traditional Ukrainian tunic Babushka brought back from the Ukraine.

Dad: How about this one?

Poki: No, that one is magical.

All Done!

Okay, you'll never believe what I'm doing. Mom doesn't even believe it. She thought this was a total coincidence until this morning when I closed my mouth tight and put my hands in the air to tell her I was "all done" with my breakfast. Mom has been signing with me for months, especially signing "more" and "all done" while feeding me solids, but she didn't expect me to start signing back so soon. She immediately ran to get the camera and this is what she caught on film:



Addendum: Aunt La La said she thought Mom was doing the sign while this video was being taken and maybe I was mimicking her. We should have mentioned that Mom was not signing while she was saying "all done"--she was just saying it. Cool, huh?

Småland

You might think it's strange that my mom felt compelled to document this milestone, and frankly, I agree. But she and Dad have been waiting until I could do this since I began making shopping difficult...which is like...since I was born.

See, there is a little place in Ikea where parents can leave their children while they shop. This glorious place is called "Småland." Children that are fully potty-trained and 37″-54″ tall are welcome to come into this exclusive club. (It's exclusive because parents and their younger siblings are not welcome). After signing a bunch of forms, then getting matching bracelets and hand stamps and one of those electronic pagers chain restaurants give you when waiting for a table (basically everything short of a retina scan and urine sample), parents can leave their little critters and shop in peace. Ahhh...peace. Now do you see why my parents have been waiting for me to reach this milestone?

So, last night, Mom and Dad (with Ping Pong happily bouncing around in the baby bjorn) left me to color, run around, and dive into a ball pit while they sat on every sofa in Ikea.

When I came into my folk's room this morning, the first thing I said was, "Good morning, Mommy. Can we go to Ikea this morning?" Then when Daddy was watching the news (ahem...Saved By the Bell) while we ate our cereal, I asked, "Daddy, when you're finished watching your show, can we find a show to watch about Ikea?" In fact, our excursion was such a success, Mom is thinking of taking me there once a week just for fun. She can leave me in Småland and go sit in the Ikea cafeteria with a cup of coffee, a book, and a sleeping Ping Pong. What? Does that sound bad?

Here are some pictures of this momentous occasion:

Tall/short enough? Check!



Bracelet? Check!



And he's off!



Straight for the ball pit! (Big surprise).



Thank you, Ikea. Not only do you offer inexpensive furnishings and delicious cinnamon rolls, you babysit too. God bless you.

How Babies Are Made

(According to Poki)

First, there are little seeds with faces that cry. You wash them with the shower and spray them into your belly button. You spray your belly with the shower every day. Then your belly grows bigger and bigger because the babies grow bigger and bigger inside your belly. Then they are born-ed in the hospital and I go every time they are born-ed and get new trucks every time.

Thank Heaven For Grannies

There has been a lapse in our posting this week because we had a visitor! Granny was here helping Mom take care of us while Dad was out of town. This picture was taken right before she left for the airport, which is probably why she looks to happy.

Thanks for everything, Granny! We love you!

ps
Can you guys believe how much Ping Pong and I look alike here?!

6 Month Check-Up

I had my 6 month check-up today, which went pretty well...except that I had to have shots and Dr.Blanton said Mom should start letting me "cry it out." Just when I thought I really liked that guy...

For those of you who don't already know, I'm not a great sleeper. In fact, it's my one flaw. On average, I wake 4 times an hour for the first two hours of the night, then I wake every 1-2 hours after that until about 7:00am. Pretty bad, huh? Some nights are better than others, but this is pretty much the norm. We really thought this was caused by my acid reflux, but Dr. Blanton says he doesn't think so. See, I spend alot of time lying down. Tummy time is my favorite time, in fact. It's when I am happiest. So, logically, that must mean I don't feel pain every time I lie down; therefore, it is not pain that wakes me up all night. He thinks I just miss my mom. Thanks, Dr B...now the jig is up.

Even though he doesn't think the reflux is waking me up all night, there is no question that I am still having issues with GERD, and issues that really should have started to improve by now. That's why Dr. B is referring me to a pediatric GI specialist. We'll keep you updated about that.

I know you're all dying to know, so here are my stats from today's visit:

Weight: 17 lbs 7 oz - 50th percentile
Height: 27 inches - 50th percentile
Head Circumference: 50th percentile
Cuteness: 99th percentile (off the charts)