Never Trust a 3 year old

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here you go...

Aaron was supposed to be playing a game on Disney.com while I changed Marcus' diaper... it's amazing how much damage can be done in 2 minutes or less.  I guess that self-inking return address stamp was just WAAAYYY too tempting...

The last photo is a shot of the counter and chair after I scrubbed with a bleach and water mixture then later some no-name kitchen cleanser.  Obviously it didn't work... it did fade it a little.  When I asked him why he did this, his response was "I lost the cap and had to dry it up."  (Did I mention it was self-inking?)  He stamped the counter, the floor, the cabinets, butcher block top, himself (obviously!) and my laptop. 
Brad came home with Mr.Clean Magic Erasers which were amazing!  It begs the question... what the heck is that stuff made of?  If bleach couldn't do it, I am worried!  The other conundrum is that the ink wiped off Aaron's cheeks, nose and chest very easily but would not come off his belly, arms, legs or feet.  I'm glad I've seen the horror videos on what the Magic Erasers do to skin or I probably would have been tempted to try... scary!

As you can see, Aaron is appropriately sorry.  :)  He's such a little actor.  I told him to look sad for the photo.  Nailed it!  His television and computer privileges were revoked for the day.  He took his punishment quite well and played quietly in his room with Marcus and even took a nap!  Go figure!

I submitted the first photo to shitmykidsruined.com... it was posted on their facebook page and has had 245 "likes"/comments.  :)  Too funny!

Marcus - 9 months

Nine months... nine months!  I cannot believe it has been nine months!  Well, it's actually 9 months and 3 weeks... we were a little late with our well visit.  We went last Monday.  Marcus is doing great... no surprise there!  He has hit all the major milestones for this age... crawling, babbling, stringing sounds together (baba, dada, mama etc), recognizing his own name, teething and stranger anxiety (just for a few minutes... then he's all yours!)  We discussed our concerns... Sunscreen - how much of the information on the internet should I believe?  Also about his new found distaste for pureed food (ugh - I did NOT see that coming and have an apocalypse-like quantity of meals and purees I've made over the past month or so)  A lot of our focus for this visit was on childproofing (done! mostly.) and how the second child differs from the first... often has delayed speech because big brother/sister does their talking for them, frequently crawls/cruises/walks sooner (oh great!) because they want to keep up with big bro/sis.  Dr. Amin asked some questions about how Aaron interacts with Marcus.  I think he was trying to get a gauge on whether he was experiencing any jealousy.  I'm really happy to say that the jealousy monster has not made an appearance.  (I was tempted to write "...yet" but to be honest, I don't think it'll be a problem)  Aaron is protective of Marcus in the most loving, sweet and sensitive way.  He frequently and unprovoked puts Marcus' needs before his own... for instance, making sure Marcus gets a nap at his usual time even if it means we have to come inside or rush home from tumbling class.  He is Marcus' biggest fan... encouraging him to walk, talk and crawl.  He tells him how proud he is of him all the time... we couldn't have asked for more!
Stats:
Ht: 29.7" (85%)
Wt: 21 pounds 15 oz (66%)
Head: 48.2 cm (98%)

Potty Talk by Guest Blogger, Daddy

So, we have been wanting to write a post about this for a while because it is such a funny part of our days with Aaron, but it is one of those things that we have decided to reserve for the family (until now).  Since this blog is a baby book, of sorts, we decided it was necessary to include - and use at all of the major life-events in Aaron's future. (Graduations, wedding, other events where it is appropriate to embarrass him with goofy childhood stories...)

I'll be making a guest appearance for this post because it is probably best coming from the Dad.  After all, its not ok to use potty talk in front of Mommy. Unlike Erica's posts this one doesn't come with a picture.  You'll understand why in a moment...  And just a friendly warning: this is a bit gross!

Aaron is just about the most "regular" person you will ever meet.  He is basically BeneFiber with legs.  Needless to say, we spend a LOT of time in the bathroom.   So much time, that Aaron has had ample time to create a new game.  He calls it the "What does this one look like" game.  Yes.  That's right.  Aaron likes to take a look at his poop and talk about what (or who) it looks like.  And he is a pro!  He is so good that he will say what the poop looks like within 3 seconds and it is amazing how it actually looks like what he says.  (Yes, we look, but you would too if your son pointed into the toilet and exclaimed, "Look!  It looks like Abraham Lincoln!)   Ok, maybe our 3-year-old isn't identifying Honest Abe in his BMs, but it is an uncanny ability.  For example, last week, Aaron pointed into the toilet and screamed downstairs, "Guys!  Come look!  I pooped the number 4!"   And sure enough, Aaron had pooped the number 4.  Another impressive one was the Winnie the Pooh poop.  (And no - I'm not going for the easy joke on that one...)  It was unbelievable.  It really looked like Pooh.  (Ok, I had to go for the easy joke.)

Again, I am posting this against my better judgment, as I am not a fan of potty talk and this isn't really one of those talents you want to openly brag about, but as a parent I guess we all end up applauding talent when we see it.  I think I will probably put a moratorium on updates for the "What does this one look like" game, but if we find Abe Lincoln or Mickey Mouse, I'll let you know.

Da Beach

We are back from our fabulous week at the beach... by "we" I mean Marcus, Aaron and Mommy.  Brad had to fly from NC to Tampa, FL for a business meeting.  He'll be back in Boston on Thursday.  The weather could not have been better and we had a great time although Aaron has a new fear of the ocean which was unfortunate.  He wanted to spend the majority of our time at the pool which was fine... there were enough hands on deck to allow Brad and I some actual beach time. 
We were in Surf City, NC at Adam's condo in the Surf Condominiums.  It was very nice... Ace and GG have done a lot of work on the place since they became "co-owners" of the condo (I put that in quotations because they don't actually *own* anything... Adam got taken in a poor real estate investment with a buddy who took out an interest-only mortgage on a MASSIVELY overpriced piece of property and then left town with no further contact.  Sweet!)  Dad has painted all the dark wood white which makes the place light, airy and very beach-y.  There are two bedrooms... the master (which is where we stayed) and a loft with two twin beds (Mom and Dad took this room because it is open to the living room and Ace likes to stay up late to watch TV and snore!).  There is also a bunk bed tucked under the stairs to the loft just off the kitchen... this is where Aaron and Alexzndra slept for the week. 
Ray and Linda drove over for the day on Sunday which was great!  The boys hadn't seen them since January.  We hung out on the beach then picked up some great shrimp from some local fishermen  and had a feast (although we later found out the shrimp that day came from Texas... oh well, they were delish!)
Here are some shots of our relaxing trip...

Dadadadadada

Dear Daddy,

Dadadadadadadadadadadadadadada Dadadadadadadadadada Dadadadadadadadadadadadada NnnnnGaaaa Dadada! 

Loosely translated: Sorry it took me so long to say "dada".  Mostly I was just messing with you.  I loved how you would get flustered after repeating "dada" over and over and all I would do is smirk at you and say "mama".  I'm over that now so here you go... Dadada!

Love you biggest,

Marcus

It has been a long time coming but let it be known that on Thursday, May 26, 2011 Marcus finally said "dada".  

In an earlier post I mentioned that he said both "mama" and "dada"... yeah, we're not sure if he actually did then went on strike or if we *think* he said it.  Either way he says it now... in fact, that's pretty much all he's said all morning.  

On the move

Marcus is mobile!!!  It's amazing how drastically our lives have changed in the last week.  Marcus hit a milestone explosion... On Monday, 5/16 Ace witnessed Marky take 3 crawling steps.  On Tuesday he was successfully and consistently getting into a sitting position from his back, belly and knees .  On Wednesday he was full on crawling... across the room!  On Thursday he was pulling up on furniture and cruising.  I cannot get over it.

 

   

Here are some still shots of our big boy...

With crawling comes bruises... just the first of many, I'm sure

Daddy and his mini-me

Oh yeah... and somewhere in the middle of this milestone explosion Marcus finally cut the two stubborn bottom teeth!  Needless to say, we are having some sleeping issues!!!  Yaaawwwnnnn!

Not the best quality photo but you can see his two toofies... they're so cute!

Lookin' like a bigga boy... :)

WVU Graduation weekend...Go Mountaineers!

Auntie Alexzndra is a college graduate!  Congratulations!!!  Marcus and Mommy flew to Pittsburgh with Ace and GG then drove to Morgantown, WV for Alexzndra's graduation from West Virginia University.  It was a VERY busy weekend and Marcus was a trooper.  Aaron stayed home with Daddy and had a boys weekend.  We missed them bunches!!!

Marcus did so great on his very first plane ride... he charmed all the passengers around us until take off.  Then he sucked down a bottle and fell fast asleep for the majority of the hour and a half flight to Pittsburgh. 

When we arrived in Morgantown we stopped for lunch at the Texas Roadhouse.  This was GGs pick because it was the first place they ate at in Morgantown 4 years ago when they dropped APL off her freshman year.  It seemed fitting that they end it there too.  

After lunch Ace gave me a tour around Morgantown.  He calls it the Fairhaven of WV... kind of dumpy and definitely student focused.  We went to Alexzndra's house to see about packing up her car... she hadn't started packing yet!  So we left her there to check in to the hotel.  APL met us there a little later to hang out...

Marcus was enamored with her... he showed off his pre-crawling skills and overall goofiness.  APL went back to her house to get ready for dinner and at 8pm we picked her up to go to the bar she worked at throughout college... the Vintage Room.  She and her roommates arranged an event for all the families in the private room downstairs.  It was very nice and the food was great.  It was really nice to meet her friends and their parents.  The girls all looked amazing... completely decked out!  I'm just sorry I didn't have my camera.  It was a very late night... we didn't get back to the hotel until after 1am.  Marcus did great... although I'm pretty sure I lost my place in the running for mother of the year!
Graduation was at 9:30 in the WVU Coliseum.  She is part of the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design (strange!).  The speaker was Dr. Franklin E. Boteler, Assistant Director of the Institute of Bioenergy, Climate and Environment with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  I hate to say it but it was THE WORST graduation speech I have ever heard!  He spoke about the mess that the world is in and how it is their responsibility to fix it.  He attempted to make it relevant to each of the sub-colleges within the Davis College... Forestry, Plant and Soil Science, Landscape Design, Interior Design, Nutrition, Fashion Design and Merchandising etc.  I think the worst was the part meant for the Nutrition majors.  He talked about how their generation is the first generation that will not outlive their parents due to obesity and how it was their responsibility to make sure that they were the last.   The overall tone of the speech was negative and there were no words of encouragement or inspiration.  It was soooo strange!  The best part about this commencement address was its brevity!  :)  I think it was only 15 minutes... thank God, I'm pretty sure we couldn't have taken much more! 
Here are some shots from the Coliseum, the princess graduating and photos around campus (with her boyfriend, Drew Dumont)...

 

We are really proud of you, Alexzndra!  Nice work!  

While Mommy and Marcus were away, Daddy and Aaron had fun eating junk food, playing mini golf, going for a run and even got to see a movie!  Here are some photos Brad sent so I didn't miss a beat...