cracker

I tought Tyler the sign for cracker. He picked it up in about one minute. It just gets easier and easier.

play asleep

You've seen where an owner can point to the ground and say "play dead," and the dog rolls over and looks lifeless. Neat trick. Well, in joking around with Tyler we found that we can point to the ground and say "go to sleep" and he jumps to the floor, closes his eyes and starts to make snoring noises. Then he peeks one eye open to see if you are finding it as hilarious as he is. It is too cute!

day-zee

Tyler added the zee sound to the end of Daisy's name and now likes to call to her. If he doesn't see her he'll look around and call out, "dayyy-zeee!" He's so gentle with her now and loves to give her pats on the back. Daisy even rolled over to let him rub her belly which is a bold new vote of trust on her part. She's finally decided this little guy isn't so bad after all.

airplane gazing

After dinner this evening we sat out on the deck and watched the planes passing overhead every so often. It was such a breezy and mild day. Such a nice break from the heat and humidity we've been baking in lately. Tyler really enjoyed bouncing along the patio furniture and pointing out the awesome planes. "I seeee it!"

choo choo

Tyler is working on learning the difference between a car and a train. He sees four wheels and thinks it should be a car. So we've been practicing the noises. He has had the zoom, zoom sound for cars and now he's added the chuga, chuga, choo, choo sound for a train.

kisses on lips

If you ask for a kiss Tyler usually just leans his head in to touch your head. Now he seems to have picked up the lip to lip action. Although we still need to work on his mouth being closed. Yuk!

mine

This is Tyler's newest word. "Mine!" Thankfully he says it softly and not with too much attitude YET!

please...raisins

Tyler has learned some new signs. Please is one. He still isn't sure why he needs to add this one since he's already got "more" down, but he'll happily add it to the mix if it gets him more food. Only trouble is that he resembles Seinfeld's Elaine Benes dancing sometimes. It's funny to watch.

Alex and I spent some time online looking up more signs since Tyler's only limitation seems to be our limited sign vocabulary. So I shared a new one (raisins) with Miss Deb this morning, one that I had not shown Tyler yet. Miss Deb and the other kids at daycare think it is so cool that Tyler can communicate with sign language. By the time he got home that evening he knew it.

I want...

Today after picking Tyler up from daycare I used the promise of chalk to lure him away from playing driver in the front seat of the car (this endeavor would be endless if left up to him). By the time we got to the house he seemed to forget about the promise and the devilish side of me did contemplate not reminding him since it was 90+ degrees outside. But I thought better of it and broke out the sidewalk chalk. I held open the bag and asked Tyler what color he wanted. He ran over saying, "I want blue!" We had a great time coloring the entire walkway. His slightly younger neighbor Madeline even came over to join in the fun.

Tyler picked a flower (really a weed) and gave it to me. I asked if he could pick one for Madeline and he eagerly did so. When he saw what a big deal we made about it, he promptly ran back over and over again to deliver more flowers to Maddie. He knows how to woo them already! :)

Later that evening he wanted to hug Daddy, who was cooking in the kitchen. He ran up with his arms extended and said, "I want Dah!" I'm enjoying the "I wants" while they are still so sweet.

boo car

Blue is still pronounced "boo," but it's his favorite color. Any and everything that is blue gets pointed out!

justin time

Tyler loves his cousin, Justin!!

please needs work

Tyler definitely knows how to ask for MORE! He is also big on his manners; he says "thank you" constantly. But now we're working on teaching him please. He's not quite sure how please and gimme are different. And when doing the sign it comes out looking more like a conga line dance move.

beach time

Deanna, my mom's cousin, and husband, Paul, drove from St. Louis to Maryland for a summer visit. We really enjoyed seeing them and Tyler found a captive audience in them as well. After a day of catching up and going to dinner we wound down at Round Bay Beach. We couldn't have asked for better company or a more beautiful summer evening.

new shoes

normal day

A normal day at the Campbell household: Tyler running, Tyler tossing toys, Tyler running, Tyler running and Tyler laughing! And somewhere in there he checks out what happens when he tosses the balls down the stairs.

dinosaur

Tyler has shown interest lately in dinosaurs. He has a book with some wonderful illustrations of them. And he also has some dinosaur pajamas that he points to and says "di!"

wiper

I'm not sure where he gets it, but Tyler likes to snuggle with a baby wipe. I have to limit him to one, otherwise he'd have dozens pulled out.

20 months

Our little boy is learning new things daily. He's a little sponge copying our words, noises and mannerisms. And he brings us such joy everyday!

boat world

My older brother, Brian, designed and built his own boat. We celebrated his accomplishment at the launch party for Problem Child 2. Highlights for Tyler: checking out Brian's new boat, running all over the marina, and pointing out nearly every boat with "Bow, Bow!"

fencing anyone?

Tyler was hanging out in the kitchen going through the cabinets as all inquisitive young kids do. He found this new toy and entertained himself by shrieking each time he put the "mask" to his face.