What do you do when you don't want to take a nap?

You jump out of your crib.   Not even kidding.  It started around 2:56AM.  Tad woke up for a bum change.  Fred gave him a bottle at 3:30AM.  Tad sleeps through the night, even when he's sick!  Not last night.... Fred & I took turns with him.  He wasn't upset, he was just in his crib jibbering.  Seriously, GO TO SLEEP!  I finally rocked him to sleep around 6AM.  I was NOT happy!   Being as stubborn as I am,  I decided that I wasn't going to let him sleep in.  I dragged my own butt out of bed and got him up for our usual routine.  He acted tired around lunch time, so I fed him and put him down for a nap.  He spent the next 1 1/2 hours practicing new noises.  He'd teach himself a sound then do it 10 times.  (Kind of funny, mostly annoying.)  Fred & I took turns laying him down again.  He never got grumpy, just hollering jibberish- and my 2 favorite words "Buh-dy" & "Daddy".
As we were reading our scriptures (conveniently we were studying how blessed Eve was to be part of The Fall so that she could have kids..... really?)  :} We hear this "THUD".  We went into his room and found him on the floor.  
He didn't cry for a minute, I'm guessing it knocked the wind out of him and scared him.  Fred rocked him for awhile and he calmed down pretty quick AND finally started to look like he'd fall asleep.  It was almost time for his afternoon bottle, so we gave him one and put him back down- this time he successfully went to sleep.  
So, how do you teach your 18 month old not to jump out of his crib?  It's not like you can show him "If you're going to climb out, do it safely, like this."  :}  I guess that means we're onto getting him a new "Big-boy" bed.  Maybe just a mattress so the fall is only 5 inches!
(Fred and I aren't jumpy parents, but I have to say, as I hear him jibbering in his room now that I put him to bed for the evening, I'm a little on edge.... waiting for another THUD.)

We have a puppy.

Not really- but I do have a new way to get rid of the veggies I don't want to eat!   The other night during dinner we were having some of the frozen veggie mix that has lima beans, corn, carrots, peas and green beans.  I like everything but the lima beans, so I gave one to Tad.  :}  Fred looked at me and said "He's not a puppy."  Tad ate it, loved it, and wanted more!  I smirked at Fred and gave Tad the rest of the lima beans from my plate. 
We've had more family time lately and have had a relaxing time. Fred played a board game with me (because we really did have THAT much free time).  To keep Tad from playing with our game I got him out Connect Four and he played for quite awhile.  Unfortunately, he's obsessed with putting things IN random places (lids in the cupboard under the sink, his toothbrush in his potty- it was empty, his car in his sock drawer, his treat cup in my dresser, etc.) 

 We went to the arcade for a little while and let Tad "play" skeeball and "drive" the car races. 

 

We bought Tad a little kids' digital camera - so he'll leave mine alone!  It was on clearance at Bed, Bath, & Beyond- they had a ton if anyone wants one for their kids.  Tad sees it first thing in the morning and has to play with it most of the morning.  He can turn it on, take pictures of his shirt and a few random pictures of the wall.  His favorite thing is to just look through the pictures.  I've taken pictures of random things in the house and of course we need to fill it with pictures of relatives.  Unfortunately, the delete button is easy to work.  It's nice because it turns itself off after a few seconds too.  And Yes, so far he's left my camera alone!  

Fred decided as part of our family time to make homemade ice cream!   I was surprised that Tad loved putting the cold ice cubes in the ball.   While Fred and I were rolling the ball back and forth, Tad wanted to play part of the time, and when it came to eating the ice cream.... he ate a few bites, then cried because it was too cold.  Whenever he eats ice cream he gets a pained look on his face, but after a few minutes he'll come back for more!

                                      

Eating on his own.... occasionally

Between Christmas and New Years Tad decided he finally wanted to work on feeding himself. He does pretty well, but his desire has faded. He is a really good eater -- I'm going to have a hard time being patient as he learns to feed himself because it's going to take 3x as long as if I just did it. On a happy note, he's doing a ton better with textures. Probably because he has a mouthful of teeth!

(His "cheese" face - looks more like squinting.)

He's starting to show more and more of his personality.

He also decided the first part of January that he needs to climb. On EVERYTHING! The laundry baskets were hours of entertainment climbing in and out. And lately it's been climbing in and out of dad's boots. :} Oh yeah, and moving his little table around the front room. He'll push it clear across the room then pick up the chairs and carry them to the table's new location to tuck them in.

Tad's new words are: Ta-da & Uh-oh. Example: I can tell what he's doing in the morning when he wakes up because you hear "Ta-da" (as one blanket is thrown out of the crib) followed by an "uh-oh" (when the other one is thrown out).

One day last week he threw his tie in his garbage can, when I took him in his room to get socks he said "look" and pointed to the garbage can. :} So helpful!

8 years and counting.

Fred & I actually met in July 2000 and dated until January 2003 - occassionally we still date. :)
In celebration of our 8 year anniversary, here are some pictures to see how we've changed (or stayed the same).
2001 - Mexico with Fred's family

2002 - College at USU

2003 - Married in the Jordan River Temple

2004 - Fred deployed to Afghanistan

2005 - Vacation in Europe (2 weeks during his deployment)

2006 - Hiking & Rafting in Moab

2007 - 2 family trips to DC

2008 - Snowshoeing in Bryce Canyon/ Vegas trip / Bahamas Cruise (aka - living it up before a baby comes)

2009 - Tad arrives

2010 - Fred graduates & family time

2011- ?

We are excited for our adventures this year. We're really hoping to move so Fred can continue schooling. Tad is able to climb on everything so I'm sure we'll have plenty of adventures in the home. I can't wait to see what picture will represent 2011 for us.

We spent a nice anniversary by dropping Tad at my parents' then having lunch in Park City. It was clearer there, but freezing! We did a little shopping, rented a movie to watch at home then took Tad to dinner with us. Nothing spectacular, just relaxing.