19 Months

I went on a kid-free trip last weekend with some friends. We rented a cabin on a lake in Hayward, Wisconsin. The weather was beautiful and we stayed in our pajamas drinking coffee until noon each morning. We also drank a lot of beer. We were in Wisconsin, after all. It was a wonderful and much needed break. Everything went really well here, too. Oh, except for this:

That's eight stitches. As Ben put it, he tried to "break the stair with his chin." Ben raced him to urgent care (with a crabby Clare in tow), only to arrive two minutes after they closed. He ended up in the Emergency Room at Children's in St. Paul. After taking care of a screaming Christopher and buying some french fries at McDonald's for a hungry Clare, he finally got the kids to bed at midnight. Christopher has had more scrapes, cuts, and bruises in his 19 months than Clare has had in her almost 4 years. He just plays rougher. He throws his little body around with abandon.

He is obsessed with cars. If we're in the front yard, he'll stop whatever he's doing to watch cars drive by. We were at the wolf exhibit at the Como Zoo a few weeks ago, which is situated near the parking lot, and Christopher was thrilled. He was completely uninterested in the wolves. There were SO MANY cars there. What more could a little boy want?

Christopher always wants to eats pickles. He keeps forgetting that he hates them. He does love coffee, however. Since I drink decaf, I let him indulge in a few sips.

Ben keeps threatening to cut his hair. It hasn't happened yet, but I think I am going to lose that battle soon. He will get pretty sweaty this summer, and his hair will be glued to his neck. It will be a sad day for me, though. I just love that hair.

He follows multi-step instructions, including throwing things in the garbage, something he just loves to do. He added the word "cookie" to his vocabulary today, and has started nodding his head "yes" when he wants to do something. Usually that is either eating or going outside, his two favorite activities. He is attached to his blanket. Luckily I have two that are basically the same.

He is a screen junkie. He knows how to operate the PBS Kids app on my phone. A few days ago he was reading the "Cat in the Hat" book. He kept trying to swipe it, while shouting, "Go! Go! Go!" (For those who don't know, the theme song to the "Cat in the Hat" cartoon features those words.)

Christopher is still my sweet boy, but he has attitude to spare. I was worried about leaving him last weekend, but he made it very easy. He was VERY happy to see me when I got back, though. I will never say no to one of his huge hugs.

As for Miss Clare,  I had to share this funny little gem from her. We were playing catch the other day, and she asked if I was ready for the ball. "Yes," I said. "Are you born to be ready?" She asked. Yes Clare, yes I am.

And now, a video of Clare and Christopher being silly gooses.

For awhile I thought this was going to have to lead off this post. He came around.

Hipster.

He is SO uncomfortable with Baba Ralph.

At the park.

Hard at work at Baba Steve's office.

Ready to walk to the Groveland Tap. Yes, Clare's baby is riding in her shirt.

Relaaaaaaaaaaaaaaax.