When I grow up... AN ENGINEER

Detail: Was watching "TITANIC at 100: Mystery Solved" when Sydney announced: Someday, I'm gonna do that, too. I'm gonna be an engineer and go down in a boat with cameras and computers under the water to see fish. Then, I'm gonna eat those fish like those dinosaurs (pteranodons) on Dinosaur Train that catch and eat yummy fish. (PAUSE) But, I don't know what kind of engineer I'm gonna be. I'm gonna figure out why that big ship (Titanic) got wrecked and help put it back together like those engineers.

{LOFTY GOALS - spoken at 34 months} Special Thanks to PBS for: Sid the Science Kid's introduction to ENGINEERS, Dinosaur Train for knowledge of what dinosaurs eat and our Cat in the Hat Learning Library book about the S.S. Undersea Glubber for an understanding of those special vessels that go to the bottom of the sea to explore. I have an AWESOME KID!

• • • • •

I was REALLY IMPRESSED with the thought process of my toddler. I called Mike at work so that Mike could ask him "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Sydney went on and on about the show that we were watching. (I believe that Mike was equally as impressed with the collection of thoughts from Sydney's head.)

We also talked to Nana & Papa; they were impressed with his lofty goals to be an engineer as well and think that he would be GREAT at it someday!

By the time bedtime rolled around, I tried to capture a conversation on our computer, but he was getting tired and I was having to PRY it out of him (where earlier in the night, I was just interpreting for others to understand his chatter on the phone). He was also VERY DISTRACTED with the fact that he could SEE HIMSELF on my computer screen; last time I did it, I hid it behind a different window so he didn't know I was taping him talking. Still, kind of cute... especially the boys hugging and Silas waving BYE-BYE at the end. :)

Imagine the mess... feeding himself Blueberry yogurt

Just imagine the mess... 

of Sydney (a.k.a. MR. INDEPENDENT) 

feeding himself blueberry yogurt.

Now, thank me for taking pictures (and video). 

I had praised Sydney for being such a BIG BOY and doing it himself... 

"YAY, YOU DID IT! WHAT A BIG BOY!"

He was VERY PROUD of his accomplishments! 

Despite a much-needed wipe-down at the end, it was HILARIOUS to watch as the yogurt often took a dive off of his spoon that was kiddywampus inside his mouth. A few times, I attempted to intervene by trying to catch the yogurt back into the container. Regardless of my efforts, he was ONE BIG MESS! 

I tricked him into sitting still while I took pictures... smart Mommy just turned the video camera on so that he could watch himself; he thought that was pretty darned cool. And after Mommy had been such a cheerleader, telling him "YAY, YOU DID IT! WHAT A BIG BOY!" he was more than willing to demonstrate how BIG he actually is... SO BIG! (Gosh, I just love him SO, SO MUCH!)

06.13.10: Sydney watches video of himself eating blueberry yogurt.

06.13.10: Sydney demonstrates that he is "SO BIG!"

(I hope to add video to this post tomorrow.)

P.S. This morning, we discovered that Sydney does NOT like Scrambled Eggs; he spit them out instantly. (Very similar reaction to mashed potatoes.) Maybe another time...

Daddy says: 10-month olds shouldn't be able to do this

Daddy says that 10-month olds are not supposed to be walking. They aren't supposed to be standing up on a bed either.... or crawling backwards to the edge of the bed, grasping minimally at the covers and wiggling off the bed onto the floor (only sometimes sticking the landing).

It's pretty amazing!

(Video footage to be added to this post... possibly tomorrow.)

Walking at 8.5 months VIDEO CLIP

Here is the proof you need: 

SYDNEY IS WALKING AT 8.5 MONTHS!

Climbing up the side of the playpen (VIDEO)

What a little monkey! This afternoon, Mike was sitting in the recliner and I was walking towards the living room, to witness Sydney holding onto the edge of playpen and climbing the side with his feet. (All this was from the OUTSIDE of the playpen.)

We laughed and of course, grabbed the video camera. (However, in an attempt to NOT wake the baby with the creaky stairs, I will have to wait to attach video footage to this blog entry tomorrow.)

Obviously, Sydney wanted INSIDE the playpen to play with some different toys. So, following the filming, Mike put him inside to play.

At 8 months old, what a little monkey! Now, however, we are fearing that he will start to climb the babygate at the bottom of the stairs.... hmmm, need to come up with PLAN B.

NOTE: Blogger has been having problems with videos... check back later. Sometimes, it works; sometimes not.

Um, helping with the laundry? (VIDEO)

Mike wonders WHY it takes so long to fold and put away the laundry... so, I decided to grab my camera, flip it to video mode and capture it first-hand.

Sydney grabs the clothes (burp rags and socks are his favorites) and waves them in the air in a style much like a cowboy riding a bull. Then he tosses them over his shoulder, pivots and does it again. Sometimes, it is the same article over and over again, but with so much spinning, he doesn't seem to notice.

Sometimes, I can sneak them away and refold them while he is busy playing with one or two.

Thanks for helping mommy with laundry, Goofball.

Silly Boy is a window licker

After Grandpa Lowell taught Sydney how to lick condensation off of the outside of a water glass, it wasn't all that surprising when Sydney started licking the window pane of the front door this afternoon while Mike sat just outside (on the sunporch) with the puppy and laughed.

It started off innocently enough - where Sydney crawls over to the door, pulls himself to a stand and peers onto the sunporch at daddy. But soon, he is LICKING the window. From the outside looking in, it looked HILARIOUS! (Daddy videotaped it and sassily announced that our baby is a genius, but is the smartest baby that we have.)

Don't worry... since Daddy got it on video, we can someday threaten to show it to his girlfriend. (Perhaps tomorrow, if we are not too busy enjoying each others company and catching up on housework, I will try to upload the video to this blog posting, too.)

What a silly boy!

Video Clip: Sydney plays peekAboo/Crawls

Tonight, during our Christmas Eve candlelit dinner, Sydney grabbed his burp rag and started to play Peek-A-Boo all by himself so, we grabbed the camera.

Later, he decided to try crawling, but never gets the traction he needs off of the hardwood floors. Here is his tri-pod form... where he waves a leg in the air. GOOFBALL.

Sydney stands up

12.09.09 Standing Up

Last week, Sydney was sitting in the laundry basket and decided to stand up on his own. (Thankfully, I was right there since he is top-heavy and flipped forward.)

Last night, he pulled himself out of the inverted papasan stool.... with some encouragement from his daddy. 

"Come on, come on. Come on Syd, you can do it! You can do it!"

"Come on, come on. Come on Syd, you can do it! You can do it!"

(Sydney squeals in delight.)

"This is the last time, show everyone how you can stand up."

And when you did, Daddy proudly exclaimed "I knew you could do it!"

"I knew you could do it!"

Then, mommy predicted you would flip out, but Daddy insisted that you were "just fine." And then, you flipped right out!

Daddy caught you in the air and hugged you, announcing "That's what mommy didn't want you to do."

"That's what mommy didn't want you to do."

Daddy reminds mommy that "Boys get bumps. That's what we do!"

12.10.09 

Happy Birthday Grandma Olson

We also want to wish Grandma Olson a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We love you!

Baby Einstein (photos AND video)

We recently found that the Baby Einstein Discovery & Activity Center was on sale at Target so, we bought it for Sydney. It has activities all around and the seat pivots so that he can play with whichever he wants. Right now, with it set at the shortest setting, his toes barely touch, but it adjusts to three different heights so there is plenty of room to grow. He mostly looks at the selection of toys, keeping his hands tucked closely inward towards his body. When he reaches out, so far, he seems to like the slot-machine-type spinning wheels. (Otto likes it, too; he lays in the tray underneath it, thinking it makes him invisible.)

Sydney also seemed to like the interactive buttons. The COW button is closest to him so, when he presses it, it first MOO's. Then, a second time announces "COW". A third press announces it in Spanish and a fourth press plays a musical rendition of Old McDonald.

He also seems to be discovering that it is hard work to sit up. Better keep working on those core stomach and back muscles.... each day will get a little bit easier.