Bubdate: Moi Peese

After a tough run of it lately--teething and an ear infection at the same time--the bub is finally back to his happy, energetic, smiling self. Here are some bubdates for those of you wondering what the bub is up to these days:

New words of note: The bub has been narrating his expulsions of late. A month or so ago, Grandma caught him peeing in the tub (a regular occurrence) and shouted, "Bub, you're peeing!" Something about the word "pee" seems to delight him, and he now regularly exclaims "pee" whenever he pees. He has also learned "poop." And though I can smell a bub poop from a room away, I appreciate that he now reports to me immediately after the deed is done. Currently I am trying to muster the energy to use these new vocabulary developments as building blocks for potty training. One challenge, however, is that he knows we will respond to "poop" and often proclaims "poop, poop" when he is supposed to be settling in for a nap or a night's sleep. Often I will give a sniff and say "no poop" and then he will just smile with a sort of, mind the pun, shit-eating grin.

Bub has also learned to say "more," which he pronounces "moi"--not in the French way but instead like "boy" with an "m" in front. It's pretty darn endearing, NTB. Plus, when "moi" is combined with a "peese," the bub gets almost anything he wants. He learned "peese" on our Thanksgiving car ride when I was doling out Nilla Wafers.

The bub can also say "show." I store his shows on top of the mantle, one of the few surfaces in our home that he has no strategy for reaching (yet). He stands before the fireplace and says, "Show. show." Depending on my mood, my level of tiredness, and his television time so far that day, I decide whether or not to grant a "show." Now, if he can figure out "Show peese," who knows . . .

New battle grounds: I've written about the battle of the chair before. In terms of the kitchen chairs, this battle has become a less and less frequent occurrence. One of his new favorite things to do is to use his puzzle stool or his book bin (emptied and flipped over, of course) to reach our combo DVD/VCR. I stand pretty firm when he starts messing with the DVD portion because he has already broken one DVD player (months and months ago before we got a taller entertainment console). However, the VCR does not work with our television so I am not too vigilant when I see him opening it up and inserting treasures. Some favorites include: the remote control for our ipod speaker dock thing, the plastic credit card that came with his toy cash register, my ipod (the dock is right next to the DVD/VCR), and his own boogers (he has lots of hiding places for those though, NTB). All of these items are easily removed, except maybe the boogers.

Just this evening, we had a fairly fierce battle over a chap stick. I made the mistake of impulsively reaching for a tube of chap stick when I grabbed the bub's diaper rash cream (stored on the other surface he can't yet reach). After some whining, I gave in and allowed the bub to apply some chap stick. He did so, and I tried to take it back. I've learned from experience that the longer he has a chap stick, the more likely he is to begin nibbling it. I took it away, and he cried and cried and cried, throwing himself on the floor. Then, he pulled himself together and started trying to drag one of our dining room chairs (heavy, Mission-style chairs that might hurt him if knocked over) to reach the shelf where I put the chap stick. I was afraid to introduce the battle of the chairs to a new room so I gave in and gave him the chap stick. Turns out, he was done applying it and just wanted to hold it. Fine. He held it and carried it upstairs at bedtime. I took it away, he cried, and then he recovered when I began reading How Does a Dinosaur Say Good Night.

New inappropriate habits: As alluded to above, the bub now picks his nose. He does so often, with relish, and with absolutely no sense of shame. Also as alluded to above, the bub says "poop" fairly frequently.

That's all I got.