Dashiell's Second Year Video Montage, Finally!

Yes, Dash did turn 2 some time ago....July 1.

I finally was able to piece together a quick video from Dash's second year. Hopefully this will make up for the fact that I haven't posted anything in three months.

(WARNING: My video montage skillz are limited so the editing isn't great.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAKSF3-T0W0

A Perfect Combination....Sushi and Ice Cream

We made it out to dinner with Dash to a somewhat non kid friendly restaurant today, and it was actually quite relaxing! Our last dinner out was a bit exhausting. Of course today's experience could have gone horribly wrong, as he had been screaming off and on in the car earlier in the afternoon. (He wasn't screaming because he was upset. He just happened to realize he could control the volume of his voice at that moment.) But Dash sat in the high chair, talked at a normal voice level, had relatively good manners for a toddler (no nose picking or licking of plates occurred) and ate edamame, California roll, and lots of pickled ginger. He didn't seem to care for the texture of raw fish as he spit out the hamachi! We followed our sushi dinner with a walk down the street for some frozen yogurt. Dash doesn't eat sweets very often, but when he gets to have them, he chows down! He was supposed to be sharing with his dad, but I don't think Kevin had more than one spoon!

Corn on the Cob

First time eating it!

22 Months Old

Ears muffs (because of the noise of the coffee grinder)

Enjoying the sand at Alki

Mateo on a skateboard, and Dash

Dash loves picking any type of flower including dandelions!

At the gym after swimming....he loves to hide in the lockers!

Helping momma steam clean the rug...another favorite pasttime!

I can hardly believe that Dash will be turning 2 in less than 2 months! The time has just flown by. I do still occasionally miss the baby days, when Dash was little and cuddly. While toddlerhood is definitely more exhausting, it is so much more fun. Dash is obviously much more interactive and just picking up new things left and right. We have to be pretty careful with our little sponge. He wants to imitate everything we do and say. Over the weekend he started telling Roscoe to "Move it!", something he has heard me say a lot. Since Dash came along, the cats are just desperate for attention, and always at the most inopportune times, Roscoe especially. He can't wait until after Dash goes to sleep when we actually have a free hand and time. Anyway, Dash was crawling up the stool we have for him in the kitchen against the counter and Roscoe jumped up there to be with him to vie for my attention. So Dash decided to scold Roscoe. It was pretty funny as they were both crammed on the stool.

We haven't seen much of the "terrible two's" yet although I am sure they are around the corner. A friend informed me the other day that sometimes they come closer to age three. Dash is sometimes busy, ordering us to "Sit!". Occasionally, when Dash is tired, he will get upset when he doesn't get something, or we take something away from him. However, he is usually easily distracted if we replace the object we took, or introduce a new activity or something. He doesn't get too fixated on things, yet. Luckily we haven't gotten to the stage where he wants to do everything himself. Those days are not far off, I am sure! He definitely has his moments when he can be naughty but much of the time I have to try not to laugh when I am trying to talk to him about something he's done (like when he took his diaper off in the crib and was jumping around naked!). Dash also remains pretty cautious when trying new things. That's fine with me especially when it comes with things like skateboarding! (Not kidding...Dash's friend who is two months older can ride a scooter, one of those balance bikes, and he is attempting to ride a skateboard). He's a little slower with the development of his motor skills than some of his peers but that makes it a bit easier for us to keep up with him. He is trying to master going down the slide. For some reason he leans back most of the time and goes down on his back. It isn't a big deal except on the larger, bigger slides where you pick up speed. Then someone needs to be at the bottom to catch him. Otherwise, it isn't pretty!

At the Park

21 Months Old

Making a funny face!

Dash got some new rain boots. He loved wearing them around the house!

Dash with his new umbrella. His expression doesn't do this justice...he loves his umbrella and insisted on sleeping with it the first night.

Rain boots and umbrellas are essential items to have to survive the Seattle winter and spring too!

Dash and his friend Rishi at the Children's Museum. The loved playing on this little bus.

So I have again been terrible at maintaining the blog! The toddler stage is super busy. When I do finally sit down after work and Dash duty, I am too tired to upload photos. Lately I have even been slacking in the area of taking photos, although I am sure Dash won't complain down the road. I did put together a photo album of his first year; one whole one just for the first 12 months. I think Kevin was horrified when I said I would do one for each year of his life as he was picturing Dash having to cart around with 18+ photo albums when he is an adult. That may be a bit much so I will have to reconsider. Kevin has one photo album covering most of his childhood. Of course his mom did have five children. His album covers the highlights including the awkward teen years. I'm thankful that when we moved in together, he didn't come in with 18+ photo albums. Somehow that may have seemed a bit excessive and obsessive.

Anyway, here are a few photos of Dash from the last month or so.

What's That?

Trying on Auntie's scarf

Just woke up from a nap

His new favorite thing to do when out shopping...hiding in the racks.

Trying on his dad's head gear

He did this on his own

On the tractor at the zoo

First time on the carousel

Hanging out with Alex and Mateo

Okay, so here are some more recent photos of Dash, and a more serious (not exactly happy) photo of him sitting in his usual pose on the couch for his monthly photo. We tried to get one the other day and he insisted on putting the box on his head. He's got quite a sense of humor.

The title of this post refers to Dash's latest favorite phrase: "What's that?" or "What's this?" This really began a few days ago when he started pointing and asking me to name everything. And I mean everything. I think I am getting some practice for the inevitable questioning that will come in the future, when he asks "Why?" to everything.

20 Months Old

The Little Gym

Here's a quick post so that I have at least one for the month! Tomorrow Dash will be 20 months and then I will try to post some pics from his monthly photo shoot.

In the meantime, here are a few pics from our outing this morning to the Little Gym. This was Dash's first time to an organized gymnastics/exercise class. He was a bit timid when we arrived but soon went off to do his own thing (as most of the kids did....they are all around 2 give or take a few months) and wasn't necessarily following the lead of the instructor. Several of the kids congregated on the parallel bars...the popular station of the day. Dash did a few somersaults, a back handspring (modified of course!), and had a try on the uneven bars (he needed a little help to hold on to the bars with both hands). There was one boy who could hold himself on the uneven bars in the pike position with his feet on the bars. Something to aspire to I suppose. Fortunately Dash has a bit of a weight disadvantage....supporting 30 lbs on those bars is no easy feat. He needs a leaner figure to be a gymnast or I'll have to get him started on some weights!