Lawson's Language

Lawson's vocabulary is slowly growing. He has added a few new words worth noting...

"psss" - please... For quite some time now Lawson has been communicating with us by using his baby signs. Using the signs eliminated frustration on both ends with regard to determining what he was wanting/needing. We have been very pleased with how well he has used them and how helpful they have been. The sign for please is rubbing your chest in a circular motion. He uses it quite often when he wants something whether it be getting on the couch, more to eat, going outside, and the list goes on and on. Over the past week he is now signing please and making the noise, "psss". :) It is very cute and exciting. The whining of "m m m m" prior to the "psss" is not so exciting, but slowly he will learn other words.

"day-oh" - thank you... We have also worked to instill "thank you". For as long as I can remember, we have said "thank you" when we have given him something, in hopes that he would eventually say thank you when receiving something from someone else. It has worked! He now says "day-oh" when you give him something and it is with great "voice" as if he is sincerely saying "thank you!"

"BOAH!" - WOAH! We must say this often. I had noticed he was saying "boah", but honestly thought it was another translation of ball, "bah". However, on Saturday afternoon he was pulling my cookbooks off of the shelf one at a time and as they hit the floor he was saying, "BOAH!". He was saying this very loudly with excitement and I must say that it was funny and it stuck in my mind, but didn't think much of it until later that night. We were giving him a bath and we were knocking the ducks, turtles, and horses off the edge of the tub when I said "woah!" and he smiled and said, "BOAH!", and the rest is history. :) It is really cute when he says it as he draws the "long o" sound out as if it is going to echo... like we would make a "booooom" sound of something exploding. Anyway, it is cute and mainly because he uses it in perfect context.

And lastly...

"ouf, ouf" - What does a dog say? Last night we went outside and as soon as we stepped out, our neighbor's dog, Lexus, who by the way is a big beautiful black Great Dane, was barking. He immediately walked to the edge of the patio and began pointing and barking, "ouf, ouf". We were shocked! He gets so excited when he sees a dog and we knew he could identify a dog, but had no idea he could bark!!

So, we now know that Lawson knows that a cow says, "bbmmvvv" and a dog says, "ouf, ouf". And he knows that if he says "psss" and "day-oh" it will make Mama and Daddy real proud and they might say "BOAH!"

It is simply amazing to see him grow and develop and begin to transform into a little boy. He is imitating us more and more, esp at the table when using a napkin, which means it is time to watch what we do and what we say as there are little eyes and ears in the midst.

Although his "words" are simply sounds, they are his little language and we think it is the best language to be learning at this point in life!

The 89th Annual Vanderburgh County 4-H Fair

This year was Vanderburgh County's 89th Annual 4-H Fair!

Russ was a part of the 4-H livestock show and auction again this year through Cargill. They have the opportunity to give back to the agricultural community by sponsoring young 4-H-ers through a livestock auction. This is very enjoyable for him and his sales team.

On Saturday morning, we decided to take Lawson to see the animals and he thoroughly enjoyed himself... I am not sure whether the animals or the tractors were the most exciting for him!

The stroller didn't last very long...

For some reason, I really like this picture... I think it might be that my two favorite people are standing behind a good ole' Holstein cow like the ones that I grew up with.

Now to the tractors... he is such a natural.

People were getting a kick out of him waving as they walked by...

This is my favorite tractor picture...

I like this one, too. We have no clue what made him decide to reach down and attempt to pull on the lever/knob/gear/whatever it may have been, but it was really funny.

We left the fair discussing agriculture and the impact it has had on our lives, making us the people we are today. Living in a "city setting", it is so easy to forget the hard work and the "beauty" of agriculture. We are both very thankful for our agriculture backgrounds... We are hopeful that at some point in time our children will also have the opportunity to experience the rewards of agriculture in their lives.

How thankful we are for the farmers and ranchers that grow and produce our food.

May their harvests be plenty and full of blessings.

Back to school and a little bit more...

The school year is in full swing and much has happened in the last week...

Last Wednesday was the first day back to school. First days back to school always involve "butterflies"... this year was no exception. It was a beautiful morning and I was truly looking forward to returning to elementary school and it was a great day!

I have 22 third graders, 10 girls and 12 boys.

My new school, Delaware Elementary.

Ready for school...

A snapshot of a few of my students

And then the-first-day-of-school pick-up...

I arrived to get Lawson around 4:45 that afternoon, running later than normal due to it being the first day of school, and when I arrived he was sitting with Miss Shelby and as I walked towards him, I thought she was going to cry. She had the "incident" papers in hand and began to tell me that he had a little incident... she was sitting in the floor, holding him in her lap when she picked him up to sit him in the floor beside her. He didn't want to sit next to her, so he threw a fit, slung his little head and smacked the edge of the table... so sad. It looked bad to me and the more I looked at it, the harder it was not to cry. Miss Shelby was so upset and felt terrible and I told her that it was a wonder he hadn't had a little "incident" prior to now, given his fits... It busted the skin and she said that it bled for quite a while, but the "lady" there didn't seem to think it needed stitches and she was right. It scabbed over fine and changed many different colors before it completely healed. He didn't seem too bothered by it, but we gave him Tylenol the following day just for comfort.

Day of "incident"

Morning after...

That night...

2nd morning... looking pretty rough...

3rd day...

We realize this is only the beginning and that there are more than likely many more "incidents" to come, but we are glad his eye is better and we, including Lawson, just love Miss Shelby.

The newest trick...

He isn't ready to go in for dinner.

However, dinner was good...

Signing "All Done"

He loves to sit in the recliner... and he is trying to figure the "rocking" part out.

One of his new words is ball. We decided to get him a ball and he loves it! We aren't sure whether he is going to possess the athletic ability that is obviously absent in the make-up of his parents, but none-the-less, he is loving this 74-cent soccer ball from Target.

When he actually kicks the ball, a barrell of laughter flows from him... so cute!

More standing...

A fun bath! Lawson received these bathtub markers for his 1st birthday, however I had decided to put them away for a little while longer. We decided to pull them out last Saturday night... they are GREAT! He absolutely loved them!!! We wrote on the wall, we wrote on him, and he wrote on us! It was lots of fun and ended with tears as he didn't want to put them away!

The broom is just nasty... but he loves it! Yes, he just woke up and his diaper appears to be in need of a major change... but, he doesn't care as he is waiting for his milk.

When the toys seem to be boring and nothing else works, we pull out the cookware... it's always fun!

Although it isn't a "mud puddle", he loved it!

Where is Lawson?

Peek-a-boo!

More fun to come!

J-E-L-L-O

What a mess!

What an ORANGE mess!

What a jello-jiggler orange mess!

And oh, what FUN!!

The "world of food" is too yummy not to try new things here and there so last week, the new food was JELLO! I am bad about giving him something new, him not eating it, and then not giving it to him ever again. Well, Russ has convinced me to give him the "new" food every night for a week before deciding whether or not he likes it, so that is what we've done and I must admit that he was right... it worked! (This week is mandarin oranges and it is Thursday night and he still doesn't like them... oh, well)

So JELLO... what kid doesn't like jello??? The first night he would just touch it and every now and then, he would attempt to pick it up without success... it was pretty cute. The second night, he did pick it up, but wasn't able to put it in his mouth before it slipped right through his fingers and then the third night was the MESS!

I forgot to put some on his plate so I just went and got the cup out of the fridge and I took a bite before giving him a bite. Of course, he immediately wanted the cup and spoon, so I gave it to him...

He quickly became the orange-jello-jiggler-of-a-mess! And I must say that he loved every minute of it and in the end he ate and liked the jello! So, mission accomplished!

He fed himself, the floor, and me!

Good stuff!

Not long after making the mess, he began to drop pieces back into the cup.

I am hopeful that this is a sign of the good to come with regard to picking up after himself, however I am not holding my breath!

Take note of the orange jello on his nose and face.

And suddenly, he began to "drink" the jello!

Jello is fun and yummy, too!