Been meaning to post about this lately, but Dadcentric.com covered it pretty well.

I have a question. When men become fathers, do they undergo some hormonal change? Is there some change in their chemical makeup that causes them to go from guy's guy and man's man to something akin to sensitive ponytail guy?

The Crying Game

Quite frankly, yes (well at least the 1st part).

Coolest save the date card yet...




Sorry Meg.

Stop & Go

Harry seems to be picking up quite well on the red means stop, green means go concept (we work on it every morning on the way to daycare), however today was a very clear indicator that he still needs some convincing that turning on red is actually allowed.

No green daddy... Daddy No Green... NO GREEN DADDY... DADDY STOP NO GREEN!!!!

Kid's quite a learner...

I Am Superman

First, let me tell you my new favorite Harry word: Sushi. I still like how he says "Harrison McDermott" and "Mommy," but "Sushi" is right up there!

Also, I learned today that life has a certain symmetry to it, and this has nothing to do with folic acid.

Messy Again

Harry had just gotten to the point where he doesn't make a mess at dinner anymore. We don't even need a pack of wipes on the table. I don't even need to change his shirt after eating chocolate cake! But, alas, he has decided he wants to drink from lid-less cups. The requirements are:

1. water only
   
2. drink must be outside or in his highchair.

At least these messes help me clean the floor! And, truth be told, he does get most of it in his mouth.

Now, moving on, I am so psyched about destination weddings. Looks like next year we will have a wonderful week at the beach in Charleston, followed up with a week in Maui. Yaaaay!!!

In other save the date news: April 22, 2007 we will be having a tailgate party...in our backyard! I am so excited! I came up with the idea for Harry's birthday, since he loves cars, and we like to socialize at our own parties. I guarantee a good time, but I do not guarantee your chips will be in a bowl. This year's party theme will be "Go, Harry! #3!" There will be a banner. And most likely free T-shirts and souvenir cups for the first 200 guests. Coem ready to play touch football. Oh, and according to one David Lynch, Sunday is the forgotten party day.

As for the job...so far, so wonderful! I am still trying to get a grasp on the fact that it seems I will now be working 1 job instead of 2. And on top of it all it is in a field I love (neuroscience).

Yaaaay, everything!

Your toddler's development (29 to 30 months)
By the ParentCenter editorial staff

It has been a while since I have commented on any of these milestone pages from Baby Center, so here is an update on what Harry has been up to...

Milestones
By now your child should be able to put on an article of clothing and name about six body parts. She might also be able to balance on one foot for a couple of seconds or identify one color.
Harry can put his shirt on no problem. And he can get gloves on and get his feet through pants. He seems to have trouble pulling pants up, or may just not want to do it. I am not sure. He can name all of his body parts and has for some time, and this doesn't seem advanced to me. He also knows all of your basic colors (primaries plus pink, purple, black, white, etc. I doubt he knows chartreuse). He can also balance on one foot for a short time. I have noticed though that to go across monkey bars, he definitely needs a spotter. He either has not yet grasped the concept or is not at the right stage yet to release only one hand at a time!

Greater curiosity about others
At this age, she might be able to identify one friend by name. And as she grows more aware of what others are thinking and feeling, she'll become more interested in playing with other children.
One friend? Are you kidding me? Harry remembers Hannah and Ledi's dog, Thunder, by name after meeting him once. If you mention one family member, such as Dominic, he asks about his sister Belle, too. He recognizes people from baby pictures. He knows voices of friends on the phone and what Sesame Street characters are singing songs. Harry also loves to play with other kids. Once again, this does not seem all that advanced to me.

Encouraging creativity
Messiness is an integral part of children's artistic play, so don't worry about the disorder and clutter that seem to go hand in hand with her creative endeavors. When she's done with a project, you can teach her that cleaning up is part of the game. Even though her artwork might not look like anything but scribbles, admire and respect it and you'll give her the confidence to keep expressing herself.
Harry likes to visit his framed artwork in the bathroom. Even though the drawings are old, he recognizes them as his. He recognizes everything that he has drawn (I have papers everywhere). He also cleans up a lot of the time. He has had to do this in gym class for well over a year, as well as at school. You aren't supposed to start a new toy until you put the first one away. If you expect that things will get done, I think there is a greater likelihood that they will get done.


Talking to your toddler
You can help build your toddler's verbal skills by expanding on what she says. For instance, if she says "Car go," you might say "Yes, that red car is going down the street very quickly." Model the bigger vocabulary and more complicated sentence structure she'll grow into shortly.
Harry speaks in sentences now. He sings entire songs. He still uses "My" instead of "I" about half of the time, but I confess I think it is cute.
Twinkle, twinkle little star, how my wonder what you are...

Beyond Please and Thank You

I think the parents rolled their eyes in unison last week when we learned today would be Good Manners Day at The Little Gym. The 18-30 month olds are called Beasts for a reason! Other groups have names like Birdies, Good Friends, etc. but the 2 year olds are Beasts. Well, they must have all been planning to prove us wrong, because everyone in the class cooperated today- even Harrison!
Even though Harry knows his first and last name, he was quiet as a frowning mouse when asked what it was at the start of class, but he did do everything that was suggested after that...from putting bells away a second before it was asked, to group run and forward rolls and basket hangs and hoola hoops to actually sitting by himself in the circle and clapping along and singing with the group! It was amazing and well worth every penny we have spent on 3 semesters of classes!
Could be the balanced breakfast he started his day with: oatmeal, banana and OJ. Harry even had 3 granola bars after class...and drank water! The kid even crunched on some peppers at dinner (no TV if no dinner...and we are sticking to it!) and he has been putting his things away and taking care of Bailey when asked (for the promise of a $1 weekly allowance...he knows what money is now so we are going to humor ourselves and try to teach him its value).
Oh, and he asked twice today to use the potty! He has got to be up to something...

Now that Harry's letters have finally made it back on his wall (okay only took about a year), he not only knows that it spells H-A-R-R-I-S-O-N, he knows that's his name, and can add his own rendition of McDermott on the other end...

quite impressive if you ask me.

YEAH, I AGREE WITH THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT


NBC should not have chosen to air Veggie Tales.

The Best Revenge Is To Live Well

Due to a signed confidentiality agreement, I can not release specific details, but let's just say I received an interesting phone call yesterday. It was rather bittersweet. But it did prove the old saying is true: The Best Revenge Is To Live Well.

Who's your...Dad?

Doesn't quite have the same ring as Who's your daddy does it? Neither does a 2 year old running through the house saying Mom? Dad? Over the past couple of days, that is what Harry has taken to calling us. Mom and Dad. No more sweet sounds of Mommy! Daddy! Rest assured, we are protesting until he is at least 5.

I WENT THERE, MOMMY!!! :-)

Many people are surprised to learn that Harry has already been to Disney World---let alone that he has been there THREE times! People ask if he gets anything out of it. People ask why we didn't wait longer. People ask weren't you already there this year? Well, he has a blast. We went the first time because we needed a vacation and wanted to go to a place we could enjoy and not worry if Harry screamed. He had so much fun before he was a year old that we went back just after his 2nd birthday. He loved it all once again, and that was before he knew any of the characters. Now he watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, has Stitch sneakers and wears Buzz Lightyear Pull-Ups, so he knows who's who. I took him as a single parent this time, but it was still a blast, even though we missed Kevin. When we got back, Kevin commented that Harry sounded like a different kid. I think it is because Harry's new experiences broadened both his horizons and his vocabulary.
Harry and I left out of Philly so that we could travel with my family. There were 16 of us in total: 5 kids, 11 adults. Harry and I drove up to the airport Sheraton on Thursday. We chatted the whole way. When we got close, I told him to look for Island Avenue. He said okay and said there'd be frogs. Frogs? I asked. Coqui! was his response. Coqui Island! This guy misses nothing. Coqui is a frog from Dora the Explorer that lives on an Island.
We got to the hotel and had dinner with everyone before heading to the pool to jump in and flip into the water. First, I noticed a major mistake I had made. Snoedel was missing from our group! I ran back to the car and found him in the middle of the parking lot! Luckily, no one had run him over in the course of the hour he was out there! Whew!
So, we flew Southwest and got to Orlando at 9:30 AM. Went to our Disney resort. Waited for our bags. And waited. And waited. Harry wanted desperately to get in the pool...but only with me. Kayla wouldn't do. None of us had bathing suits, but we at least had a few swim diapers. I held Harry in by his arms and ended up soaked while wearing jeans. Yuck.
Dinner at Chef Mickey. Lots of characters that Harry was only comfortable saying good-bye to. He was very proud of that, however. After all, it was a big step. And he did come close to an actual interaction with Dale. He was happy to interact with humans, and was also proud of himself when he said hi. I said Hi, Mommy!
Next day Harry slept in after getting a cold. We missed breakfast with the princesses, but he was well enough to go to Animal Kingdom. He rode some dinosaurs, played with a water bottle fan, and enjoyed the safari.
Next day we did Magic Kingdom (I may have reversed this). Harry insisted we all ride the train first, and half of the group did. That half of us missed the Space Shuttle launch by about 3 minutes. The other half said it looked like a bullet shooting into the sky!
Harry rode the Indy cars and walked around. I found a cool play-doh like substance called Mars Mud. It's awesome and occupied him a lot.
Dinner at Ohanas at The Polynesian was, well, annoying. Harry cried the entire time. But, he did it while sitting on my lap with his head over my shoulder. I was able to finish my dinner a nd escort him out...at which point he perked up and actually went about singing for the rest of the evening (his repertoire includes Twinkle Twinkle, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Row Row Row Your Boat and ABCs)! Instead of strangling him, we hopped on a boat, went back to Magic Kingdom, rode the traina nd got some ice cream. Brown. It started raining, Harry didn't want to see the parade so we headed back to the shuttle buses (his absolute favorite part of the trip). We somehow managed to score 3 seats on the crowded bus. Adults tend to feel uncomfortable about having an open seat when others are standing, but Harry put his head on my lap, strectch out and fell asleep. Luckily people thought he was cute and I had no less than 5 offers to help me get my things off of the bus, which I accepted.
Didn't mean to spend the whole next day at MGM, but we did. Harry mostly walked around. He found a cool sorcerer's hat at the store beneath the big sorcerer's hat. He looked adorable. He went to the Stunt Show with everyone, but it was very loud and he held my hands over his ears for 3/4 of the show before I left. He liked it, but he doesn't like loud noise. The next day when we were watching the hotel channel, he was thrilled as could be to see the stunt show on TV and exclaim I went there, Mommy! I went there! He sounded like a little Will Ferrell, excited that he knew Santa.
That night we left early and played at the pool with the Decker kids and Toni & Dom, but not before my dad went on Tower of Terror. We convinced Harry to tell everyone PopPop screamed and cried. Of course, it wasn't a joke to Harry. Harry was worried that it made him (PopPop) feel bad and feel sick. He is a very considerate child...when he is not hitting me and screaming Get Me Out Of Here! from his stroller. The kid loves to walk and run. He will "Take a Break" and sit in the middle of the pavement every now and then, but mostly he walks the entire day. He loves it.
AFter a quick trip to Epcot where we watched O, Canada! and rode the Maelstrom, we headed back to the hotel, back to the airport, to BWI and home again. Harry had fun, we enjoyed the family time, and I realized I could take Harry to Dinsey pretty much by myself...even though the family support was invaluable...especially from Kayla and the little kids!

Signs on 95

Nothing like driving up and down I-95, DC to NJ, to really show me what time of year it is. Now that I don't have a school year to keep track of the seasons, it gets harder to make the distinctions. In fact, I almost went out of the house in white pants the other day! I was still on vacation...but Labor Day had passed. Horrors!!!
while in College, I often made that trek up 95, and I really got a glimpse of what was to come. Trees in Philly brown a little earlier, the air gets colder. I cringed when I noticed yesterday as I drove my dad home to Cherry Hill and returned to Alexandria with Bailey. The trees were browning!!! Misery is soon to follow. Bye Bye daylight. Hello 19 layers of clothing that I can't move in. Cold and dark suck.

Updates on Harry's 3rd trip to Disney later, once I recover from the exhaustion. He had a blast, as usual!

Practice Makes Perfect...as blogged on SeeMommyRun.com

It's interesting- the more you run, the better you become at it, as is the case with most things. But with Pilates, the more you do it, the harder it gets. Therin lies the paradox (has anyone read Prep? I've been looking for a reason to use that last line. Need to remove it from my head and pass it on to you).
I guess the thing is, when you do Pilates, you learn how to do it better, and you focus on different things. You learn new skills so that you advance. Hmmmm...
I've been telling Harry lately that the more he practices something, the better he will get. Usually he believes everything I say. If he doesn't, he matter-of-factly says "Mommy Do It." He doesn't get hung up on the fact that he can't, say, wipe his face with a napkin (even though he can). But, Harry does get excited when he perseveres and succeeds. "I did it!" he says with a sparkle in his eye.
I suppose, as with Pilates, life will get harder. I was thinking Pilates was the exception to the rule, but I suppose not. I just never thought about it.
While watching a Baby Einstein DVD a few years ago, I realized a Solar System is named such because the planets revolved around the sun. My brother-in-law, a science teacher, was appalled that I didn't already know this. Perhaps I did, but it doesn't come up in my day to day pharmaceutical research.
Another thing I learned today, while watching Franklin, is that sometimes people get mad at you, but that doesn't mean they like you any less. I'll ignore the fact that this may indeed change as we age. I will pretend that it is true: everything we need to know in life, we learned in kindergarten.

How Sweet He Is

Harry and I were talking on the way home from school. He asked if I went to the dentist for my braces (I had). He asked if I had Band-Aids (wax. I did). He asked if I felt better. How sweet and thoughtful is he? Great memory too! Of course, he has much more storage space available than the rest of us...

3 Words:

Thai Yoga Massage

Okay. So....yeah. Harry is going to Disney World for the 3rd time on Friday. Yeah. Disney. Again. I'm either the best mom on earth or a complete nut. DON'T answer that!