5/4: Using a dining room chair as a step stool, Abigail climbed into her highchair all by herself!

5/15: After I showed Walter that his new T-shirt had a pocket, he said “I can put credit cards in it!”

But the real reason for this post is to celebrate Walter’s 4th birthday!  He is an amazing, smart, sweet boy. He can be surprisingly kindhearted toward his little sister, but also loves Star Wars, Spiderman, and Transformers.  He has been asking a lot of good questions about God, and will probably turn out to be a deep thinker. He still loves to make music and lately has been singing selections from “The Music Machine.”  He is very proud to be a big 4-year-old and will happily tell you that his birthday is “May twuny-fird.” Happy Birthday, Walter! We love you!

Be sure to watch videos from his birthday celebrations on YouTube.

3/7: Walter informed me, “When I grow up, I’m not going to get married. I’m going to be a speed skater for ever!”

3/8: Abigail said “Yeah” for the first time.

3/22: Wearing his hooded towel, Walter said, “I am Darth Vader. Gentlemen, please give me your attention.”

3/22: At Abigail’s 18-month checkup she weighed in at 23 pounds and 32 inches tall.

3/23: Walter passed his Early Childhood Screening with flying colors, even the eye exam. Woohoo! They measured his height at 40 inches and weight at 34 lbs.
3/23: I told Abigail that Walter was playing downstairs, and she called to him: “A-ta!” She hasn’t really used his name before.

3/30: I sneezed and Abigail said something that sounded like “bless you!” The same thing happened to Keith later in the day.

3/30: To celebrate our first 70 degree day (or perhaps because he got into the Easter candy) Walter decided to run around in the back yard naked. We tried to explain why this was not a good idea, but we were laughing too hard. As soon as one of our neighbors approached, he made a dash for the house and announced he was getting dressed.

4/4: We had a very nice Easter. The first tulips of the season bloomed, and the weather was nice enough to walk to church.  Our next door neighbors joined us at the service. The kids got a kick out of having so much candy in one day! Each of the kids got to hunt for Easter eggs. It was so much fun watching them figure it out!  (The video we made of Walter is too long for You Tube. I will have to see if I can edit it down.) We had a big dinner with Grandpa Paxton and the neighbors. The weather was nice enough for Walter and his buddies to keep playing outside after dinner.

It has been a long, very snowy, very cold winter in Minnesota and we just couldn’t take it any more. We escaped to Cancun for a few days to catch some sun and enjoy the outdoors without hat and coat. The weather was great: sunny and 70’s every day. It was quite windy, but compared to the type of windchill we’re used to, it was fine.  Cancun is built on an interesting landmass - it’s a thin loop extending from the Yucatan peninsula into the Caribbean Sea. Our hotel was on the inner ring, or “lagoon” side. That was actually nice for the kids, since the water at our beach was very calm. We did spend one afternoon on the “ocean” side. Quite a breathtaking view, but the waves were too big for us to go in the water. We really enjoyed the legendary white coral sand of the beaches. It is so white that it doesn’t get hot, even in full sun. It always was comfortably cool on our toes. The kids got a kick out of the local wildlife including an iguana, starfish, and lots of birds trying to raid the restaurant patio. Luckily, we left town before the spring break kind of “wild life” arrived.
Walter proved surprisingly outgoing, trying to make friends around the pool and on the beach. He was eager to tell everyone that we were from Minnesota.  Abigail continued to pick up more words, including “no,” quickly followed by “no way,” a common expression of Walter’s! She seems quite pleased at the effect of those little words!

I have updated Walter’s Google map to include the latest stamp in his (very cute) passport. See the map here. We have posted lots and lots of photos on Flickr, and a video on YouTube for your vicarious enjoyment. Adios!

1/10: Walter got his first pair of hockey skates. We tried them out at the Commons Park rinks, but he needed to be held up too much to stay long.  We came home and he practiced walking around in the back yard, and pushing the little sleigh for support. He’s excited to keep practicing and wanted to go right back out after a “warm chocolate” break.

1/18: Abigail actually said “ba ba” as she was waving bye-bye!

1/19: Walter put up his hood and said, “Do I look like Only-One Kenobi?”

2/1: Somehow, Walter locked the bathroom door - from the outside. No one could get in! We tried every trick we could think of to get it open, but eventually Keith had to cut a hole in the door to get it open.  Oh well, we’ve been wanting to replace that door since we renovated the bathroom anyway…

2/2: Abigail said “ank ya” (thank you) after I gave her some toast.

2/4: I was singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” before Abigail’s nap as I always do. I paused after “…how I wonder what you are…” and she jumped in with “up aba ba” (up above the) almost in tune! I attempted to recreate this (with mixed success) in a video here.
2/15: I pointed out a picture of Piglet and when I mentioned the name Abigail immediately pointed to her toes, since we’ve been playing “this little piggie.”

2/18: After I finished her lullabye, Abigail put her finger to her lips and said “Shhh!”

Abigail is actually in the midst of her “verbal explosion” with new words almost every day. I can’t even keep track of them all, but it’s really fun!

You can always catch our latest videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/paxann

Updates for the last couple of months…
11/17: Abigail used a fork to stab and eat her food.

11/19: At preschool, Walter was asked what he is thankful for. His answer was “My sister.”

11/20: Mr. Guru was reading Walter the story of David and Goliath.  When they got to the part where David throws the stone at Goliath, Walter commented, “Too late for his hat!”

11/26: While playing outside, I said something to Abigail about her fingers getting cold, and immediately she looked at her fingers. Wondering if this was a fluke, I asked her “Where are your fingers?” and she held them out and looked at them, as if to make sure they hadn’t disappeared! I also asked her where her feet were and she looked at them as well!

12/1: We decorated the Christmas tree today. When I plugged in the brand new string of Christmas lights, Walter exclaimed “They’re wonderful!”  When we plugged in the angel for the top of the tree, Abigail immediately said “Hi!”  Walter had fun hanging up the ornaments and Abigail gravitated toward the strands of faux pearls.  She also kept stealing sips of my hot cranberry punch and saying “Mmmm!”

12/19: Walter has been enjoying singing Christmas carols, including “Police Mommy Dot” (Feliz Navidad) and “Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o’er the trains…” He really gets into the glooooooooooooorias, which, I’m told, I also did at that age.

12/20: When I gave her some food, Abigail made the sign for ‘thank you’ without any prompting!

12/24: We had a Christmas Eve blizzard, so we ended up walking to the Lutheran church on our block instead of trying to drive anywhere. Walter and Abigail rode in an old sled that their dad used to use.  It was fun to walk and ride to church through the fluffy, falling snow. After the services, I thanked Walter for being so well-behaved. He replied confidently, “I know what’s goin’ on.”

12/25: We had a very exciting Christmas, with all the grandparents on hand. Walter’s favorite gifts were a kid-friendly digital camera and some wooden “pirate guns.”  Walter declared the camera “super awesome” and has taken over 200 photos. Abigail’s favorites were a doll and doll stroller. A few days after Christmas, the kids had fun with Walter giving Abigail rides in the little stroller! It hasn’t broken yet…

Walter also had a couple of cute sayings last week.

Mr. Guru was home for about two weeks with the swine flu. One day he was in the dining room reading while Walter played in the living room. Then Walter strolled into the dining room…
Walter: Daddy, how old am I?

Mr. Guru: Walter, what are you doing with my iPhone????

The doctor’s office had called while Walter was playing a game on Daddy’s phone. When it rang, he just answered it and was having a nice conversation with the nurse! Of course, she wanted to know how old he was.
Then later that same day…
Keith: Walter, you are living in a monarchy.[our house]
Walter: I’m not a car key!

We got to celebrate her first birthday in a special way.  Both her great grandmothers have their birthdays within a week of hers, so we went to my hometown of Jackson, Michigan to see them!  My parents, my brother and his fiancee also came, so it was a regular family reunion!  It was really great to be able to celebrate with them all.

6/21 Walter, Keith and Grandpa Paxton went fishing on Lake Nokomis. Walter caught his first fish, a catfish.  6/29: After tasting my carbonated water: “It makes my cheeks funny!”   

7/11: I told Walter that the sun went down. Then he asked, “On the ground?”

7/16: I was putting Abigail to bed and Keith was on the phone. I heard Walter say “Daddy, I got the biggest strawberry!” several times. Keith kept responding with variations on “Ok, Walter.”  When I came out of Abigail’s room, I found a whole, brand new package of strawberries on the floor, with one bite taken out of each one!

7/31: Daddy: “Mommy is  a lady.” Walter: “No, she’s not, she’s a WOMAN!”

8/2: While getting ready for bed, Walter suddenly said, “Where is God?”  I stumbled around for an answer that would make sense. God is everywhere, God is in Heaven…finally I said he lives in Mommy’s heart, and Daddy’s heart too. “And my heart?” 
“He will come live in your heart if you ask him, ” I said.
“Jesus, can you come live in my heart?” Walter said with a smile.
“I think you should say please…” I said. (Am I a mother or what?)
“Please! Is he in my heart now?”
“Yes, he is.” As we continued to get ready for bed, Walter continued to interject with pride: “He’s in my heart!”  What more could a mother hope for?

5/30 first tooth poked through

Some time during the last week of May, she started “speaking” in distinct syllables – bababa and wawawa. Sometimes she even whispers, as if talking to herself. She also likes to give Eskimo kisses. She will lean in until your noses are touching. So sweet!

6/13 made the signs for eat and milk

6/16 (9 months): 17 lbs. Waves a lot, Loves to go to Daddy

6/21:  Driving home from Grandma & Grandpa’s house, Abigail was wailing, as it was past her bed time. She carried on until Walter sang “Old MacDonald” to her. She quieted down and listened, then fell asleep.

6/23: Abigail made the sign for “change,” and sure enough, she had a dirty diaper!

6/30: shakes her head for “no”

early July: takes longer and longer “walks” of several steps at a time

7/16 (10 months): Walking more all the time. Doesn’t want to be spoon-fed baby food. She may allow it as long as she has a spoon too. She’s getting good at sticking the spoon in the bowl and then bringing it to her mouth.  She will play peekaboo by pushing down the brim of my straw hat, then pulling it up.  She sometimes will sign for “change,” “milk,” and “all done.” Her teacher mentioned that she saw Abigail stand up on her own, bend down to pick up a toy, and stand back up again. She said that is a typical skill for a 14 month old!

7/25: She climbed up the bottom three basement steps before I noticed. She wasn’t quite sure where to go next!

8/8: She said “keys”

8/15: She climbed the entire flight of stairs at Grandma & Grandpa Paxton’s house.

8/17: Abigail’s first airplane ride: a family vacation in Chicago.

8/22: Abigail has been saying something that sounds like “hi”

Somewhere around this time, she realized it was fun to feed me if she had food while I was holding her.

9/6: While I’m demonstrating the “please” sign, she pats the same part of my chest in an attempt to make the sign. She goes nuts every time we pass the graham cracker cupboard, so I want her to at least learn “please.”

Can you believe it? Walter turned three on Saturday. We had a big party for him at our house. All four grandparents were there, as well as Aunt Sarah, the neighbor boys and Walter’s best friend from daycare, Evan. We had perfect weather and everyone seemed to have a good time. Walter got lots of great presents, but the Stomp Rocket got the most spectacular reception. This is an air-powered foam rocket that shoots up in the air when you stomp on the bellows. We had a few tense moments when rockets landed on the garage and in the neighbor’s tree, but they were all retrieved successfully. Walter demonstrated his love for big words by declaring “Super fantastic!”

Everyone seems to notice that Walter has quite an amazing vocabulary.  He’s very much into big words and complex sentences (for a three-year-old). While trying to unwrap a piece of cheese, he said, “This is confusing.” A few days ago I heard him say, “Grandma, look at this; it’s really funny!” Upon finding a lost toy, he remarked, “I can’t believe I found my shovel!”  He also likes to parrot our GPS systems – he has learned to say most of his home address from the one in Daddy’s car.

He also loves music. Many times after we leave him for his nap or bedtime, we hear him singing. One day, I found he had sqeezed his tambourine into the end of his wastebasket to make a drum!  He loves playing his harmonica and Daddy’s old keyboard. Often when we listen to music, he can name the instruments he hears including guitar, violin, trumpet and xylophone! Lately, he’s been saying “Let’s listen to some jazz!” which makes me very happy.