Dad picked up Grafton at little early today from school so that they could meet Mo Willems at a book signing in South Hadley. Once there, we picked up his latest book, "Knuffle Bunny Free", which Mo signed for us. (He also told us to look for a cameo of the pigeon character from his earlier books, after we mentioned that we were big fans of the pigeon.) The protagonist, Trixie, loses something dear while taking a plane ride, which we recently did ourselves ("we" = "Dad"), leaving Grafton's "Blueberries for Sal" book on the plane ride down to NC. Grafton loves his new Knuffle Bunny Free book, which I think we read to him four times today already.
After the book signing, Dad and Grafton went for a walk in the MHC sports fields, watched the college teams practice their respective sports, and the proceeded to get drenched by a soaking rain, before heading back home.
While we're here, I'll mention that Grafton finally took a solid tumble down the staircase to the den. He slipped on his PJ's pant cuff, leaned forward, but with nothing to latch on to, slide down 3 stairs head first, hit his lip on the bottom step, and then completed the maneuver with a full somersault, landing in the den on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He cried, but was uninjured, and was back to playing within a couple of minutes.
With the help of a stool, we learned that Grafton really enjoys playing in the kitchen sink, catching the running water in his open bottles, and then pouring it out. Again and again and again. This is great, since we can now cook dinner in the kitchen with him nearby, in one place, and wholly entertained.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Leader of the Chorus
Today's "Toddler 3 Daily Communication Form" had this note written on it:
Grafton like watching the rain through the open windows today. He also had the whole class singing along with "Nana PopPop coming soon"!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Tower of Cars
As parents of a toddler, we were having our typical Saturday night fun by shopping for groceries at the local big box store. As were we finishing up, we strolled down the aisle of kids toys. We passed by a rocking horse, which Grafton refused to try out. We passed by baby toy after baby toy, none of which were of any interest to our son. But as we approached the end of the aisle, we entered the hallowed ground of miniature die-cast cars. Grafton immediately took possession of the Hot Wheels Dynamite Blaster Launcher (with 5 cars), held it up high and yelled "This One! This One! Buy It!" We laughed at his exuberance and ability to hone in on his favorite toys. While Grafton continued examining his new favorite toy, Daddy was checking out the other selections of die cast cars nearby. Grafton, seeing that Daddy was interested in a different box, came over to see if there was anything else that could possibly be better than the Dynamite Blast Launcher. And indeed there was! It was a tower of see-through plastic, which stood taller than our child, and packed with so many cars and vehicles that it would be years before he would have the number skills to count them all (there were at least a hundred cars in there). This was clearly a package worthy of a big box store, being of a scale that was at home alongside 8 gallon jars of mayonnaise and 20 lb boxes of over-sized muffins. After the few milliseconds it took for Grafton to recognize this treasure trove of vehicular joy, he lunged at the box, seized it with a strangling hug half way up its length, pulled it from the bottom shelf, and started jumping up and down with it, while he squealed in a voice that was too loud even in a big box store. It took a while for us to calm his excitement, but we were eventually able to extricate the item from his rigamortis-like grasp. With the simple phrase, "Let's keep looking," Grafton calmly decided to follow us down the next aisle, perhaps with the expectation that an even better selection of toys was possible. In fact there were larger truck toys on the next aisle, each of which Grafton reached for in turn. And with incredible restraint and understanding, he put each one back of the shelf when we explained that we were not going to purchase it, and that we should "keep looking." While that line seemed to do the trick of letting us move on, when the end of the aisle arrived and Dad repeated it one more time, Grafton happily turned the corner into the next aisle, and said "more trucks." And so Dad, knowing there would be no more toys to see, felt a sudden pang of guilt and remorse at the misdirection he used to get Grafton to move on. But not quite enough guilt to go back and buy any of the toys. Of course, Grafton's birthday is not far off, and perhaps there will be a way to make up for it.
Progress with Mazzy
Mom reported to Dad today that Grafton pet Mazzy for 10-15 seconds, before the cat took off for a safer spot under the bed. Either Mazzy is warming up to Grafton, or she's starting to become senile. I never expected she'd give in to a close encounter with our son.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Pumpkins and Mazes
Grafton went pumpkin picking today with his friends, Grahm and Ivorie. We'll let the pictures tell the story.
Oh yeah, last weekend we ventured into a corn maze, and there are some pictures of that as well. Grafton was out and about doing some other things as well that weekend (scroll right see the pictures).
Oh yeah, last weekend we ventured into a corn maze, and there are some pictures of that as well. Grafton was out and about doing some other things as well that weekend (scroll right see the pictures).
Morehead Moments
Two weeks ago, Grafton headed out of town for a trip down to Morehead City, NC to see his grandparents.
He really enjoyed flying on the airplanes. On the first flight (of 4) he was very focused during the takeoff, listening to Daddy explain how the plane was racing down the runway, lifting off, and then flying up into the air. Of course, we had some turbulence eventually, and Grafton smiled and said it was "bumpy" but "fun". He only threw one minor fit on the two flights down to NC, which was fortunate considering that he refused to nap. In the Baltimore airport, he had a great time riding up and down the escalators (in his Dad's arms) while waiting to board the plane. When we arrived at the car rental agency, he had a great time climbing around the car while Dad was trying to install his car seat. On the drive to the coast, he slept for three hours--nearly the whole way. He woke up refreshed and alert, and after a quick stop for a snack on the road, he was ready to play with his grandparents. He wasted no time having fun, and had his Grandpa pick him up and place him in the bed of the Dodge RAM 1500 pickup. He loved being up in that truck! Probably because one of his favorite Hot Wheels cars is...wait for it...a Dodge RAM 1500 pickup truck. (On the trip, Grafton also finally learned to use the term "pickup truck" properly, as he had always used "dump truck" to describe pickups.) In the truck bed, Grafton found a nickel and found this round, shiny metal disc rather intriguing. We explained to him that it was money and that he could use it to buy things, or sell things (such as pizza). Grafton accumulated many more coins over the course of the vacation, thanks to Grandpa's and Dad's generosity.
On the second day there, Mom and Dad headed over to Rose's (a local department store, of sorts) and bought a few toys for Grafton, which included his first Big Wheels (well, a no name brand version of this). After 30 minutes of assembly, the rig was ready for action. Despite buying the one with the adjustable seat position, Grafton's legs were not quite long enough to reach the pedals, but he had a great time pushing himself around, with his feet on the ground. It had a perfectly-sized slot in the "dashboard" for his Dodge RAM 1500 Hot Wheels car, and he refused to ride the Big Wheels unless the truck was safely stowed in its special spot. Grafton also enjoyed riding around the driveway on his fire truck, which he seemed to remember from the last time he visited Morehead. Grafton made many pizza deliveries using both his Big Wheels and fire engine, collecting many nickels in the process, and making change for his customers.
On the third day, we brought Grafton to the aquarium. He wasn't all that interested in the aquatic life, unfortunately, and preferred to simply run around, weaving in out and of people. But he did take a little time to check out the fish, and also seemed interested in the manta rays that were swirling around an open tank. But he seemed happier once we were back outside, and made friends with a turtle before heading back.
We also brought Grafton to the beach a couple of times, enjoying what must have seemed like a gigantic sandbox to him. While we didn't have him in a bathing suit, we did venture into the water, ankle deep. While he had some trepidation at first, he was soon enjoying splashing around in the small waves, as they rolled in, tickling his knees and soon his knees and waist.
As always, Grafton demanded to be read to throughout the trip, and he became very interested in the plot of "Jack and Rick", though Mom and Dad were somewhat less intrigued by the storyline after the tenth or so reading.
Similar to Mazzy, Seal was generally nowhere to be seen. But at one point Grafton went exploring and found the cat in Grandpa's office. He went over to make friends with her, but she hissed (and probably swatted) at him, and he came back crying. He later removed all of his toys from that room. The next day he refused to go into the room, clearly scared of what had happened the previous day.
Grafton also found Baba and Grandpa's bedroom. With Grandpa's help and permission, he went nuts jumping up and down on their bed (yes, this is what grandparent's beds are for!) Mom and Dad, hearing the ruckus, went to go check on him, and saw him bounding up and down and rolling around on the pillows. We warned Grandpa that Grafton, having just been at the beach, was full of sand! But Grandpa and Baba didn't mind, so we let him continue having his fun.
Thanks to the grandparent's help, Mom and Dad even got a few minutes alone to enjoy themselves on vacation, catching a dinner at Amos Mosquito's and a quick bike ride to see the setting sun.
He really enjoyed flying on the airplanes. On the first flight (of 4) he was very focused during the takeoff, listening to Daddy explain how the plane was racing down the runway, lifting off, and then flying up into the air. Of course, we had some turbulence eventually, and Grafton smiled and said it was "bumpy" but "fun". He only threw one minor fit on the two flights down to NC, which was fortunate considering that he refused to nap. In the Baltimore airport, he had a great time riding up and down the escalators (in his Dad's arms) while waiting to board the plane. When we arrived at the car rental agency, he had a great time climbing around the car while Dad was trying to install his car seat. On the drive to the coast, he slept for three hours--nearly the whole way. He woke up refreshed and alert, and after a quick stop for a snack on the road, he was ready to play with his grandparents. He wasted no time having fun, and had his Grandpa pick him up and place him in the bed of the Dodge RAM 1500 pickup. He loved being up in that truck! Probably because one of his favorite Hot Wheels cars is...wait for it...a Dodge RAM 1500 pickup truck. (On the trip, Grafton also finally learned to use the term "pickup truck" properly, as he had always used "dump truck" to describe pickups.) In the truck bed, Grafton found a nickel and found this round, shiny metal disc rather intriguing. We explained to him that it was money and that he could use it to buy things, or sell things (such as pizza). Grafton accumulated many more coins over the course of the vacation, thanks to Grandpa's and Dad's generosity.
On the second day there, Mom and Dad headed over to Rose's (a local department store, of sorts) and bought a few toys for Grafton, which included his first Big Wheels (well, a no name brand version of this). After 30 minutes of assembly, the rig was ready for action. Despite buying the one with the adjustable seat position, Grafton's legs were not quite long enough to reach the pedals, but he had a great time pushing himself around, with his feet on the ground. It had a perfectly-sized slot in the "dashboard" for his Dodge RAM 1500 Hot Wheels car, and he refused to ride the Big Wheels unless the truck was safely stowed in its special spot. Grafton also enjoyed riding around the driveway on his fire truck, which he seemed to remember from the last time he visited Morehead. Grafton made many pizza deliveries using both his Big Wheels and fire engine, collecting many nickels in the process, and making change for his customers.
On the third day, we brought Grafton to the aquarium. He wasn't all that interested in the aquatic life, unfortunately, and preferred to simply run around, weaving in out and of people. But he did take a little time to check out the fish, and also seemed interested in the manta rays that were swirling around an open tank. But he seemed happier once we were back outside, and made friends with a turtle before heading back.
We also brought Grafton to the beach a couple of times, enjoying what must have seemed like a gigantic sandbox to him. While we didn't have him in a bathing suit, we did venture into the water, ankle deep. While he had some trepidation at first, he was soon enjoying splashing around in the small waves, as they rolled in, tickling his knees and soon his knees and waist.
As always, Grafton demanded to be read to throughout the trip, and he became very interested in the plot of "Jack and Rick", though Mom and Dad were somewhat less intrigued by the storyline after the tenth or so reading.
Similar to Mazzy, Seal was generally nowhere to be seen. But at one point Grafton went exploring and found the cat in Grandpa's office. He went over to make friends with her, but she hissed (and probably swatted) at him, and he came back crying. He later removed all of his toys from that room. The next day he refused to go into the room, clearly scared of what had happened the previous day.
Grafton also found Baba and Grandpa's bedroom. With Grandpa's help and permission, he went nuts jumping up and down on their bed (yes, this is what grandparent's beds are for!) Mom and Dad, hearing the ruckus, went to go check on him, and saw him bounding up and down and rolling around on the pillows. We warned Grandpa that Grafton, having just been at the beach, was full of sand! But Grandpa and Baba didn't mind, so we let him continue having his fun.
Thanks to the grandparent's help, Mom and Dad even got a few minutes alone to enjoy themselves on vacation, catching a dinner at Amos Mosquito's and a quick bike ride to see the setting sun.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Counting Teens
When Dad got home, Mom told him how Grafton's counting skills are coming along, and that he's able to reliably count from one to ten. So Dad asked Grafton again, "Can you count to ten for me?" So Grafton started counting again, but this time went, "fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen." Dad was shocked, not realizing Grafton could count this high. Earlier in the day, he had counted from fourteen to twenty for Mom, so she was a little less surprised, but enjoyed his double-digit counting just the same.
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