Florida, one year later.

It seems almost impossible that almost exactly one year ago we were all in Panama City, visiting Stefanie, and Fred was just learning to scoot backwards and eating his first food.

Now he runs around, talking up a storm, and wrestling with her dogs. He had such a great time playing piano, kicking the ball with Stefanie’s husband Mike, and pulling the dog’s tail to “waterski” behind him.

First fireworks

Fred’s napping, and we’ve gotten our naps, so just maybe there’s a moment to catch everyone up on all the big changes in our guy.

Physically? He’s a powerhouse. He loves to run, and throw things – especially balls, and go down slides (as long as mom or dad holds his hands). He climbs up and down the steps all on his own. At the kiddie pool, Fred will run around and play with abandon. We go to the park just about every day, and if there’s a car toy, he’ll want to be in it the whole time. That kid loves his steering wheels.

Words? There are more and more every day. Our favorite one right now is squirrel, which really sounds more like “kwuhkwuhkwuh” really fast. If we show him pictures, he’ll point out Mama, Dada, and Ella, but if we point to him, he’ll always say, “bahhBEE!”.

As you can see in the pictures, he’s really getting hair in now, all but on the sides. Blond as blond can be, this one.

At the end of the month, it’s time for his 18 month check up, so we’ll post some new stats and an elephant picture then.

As for the fireworks last night? Let’s just say we’ll wait until he’s three and a half to take him again, we think.

Another quick set of photos

Our friend E came over to play this fine July 4th morning, just in time for the parade. Here are some pictures of the fun we all had, including the inaugural ride of Fred’s birthday wagon from Grandmom & Grandpop!

A Quick Photo Update

More coming soon, but here’s some photos to tide you over…

Two great tastes that go great together: Bacon in Pancakes

On Thursday, Jezebel.com picked up a story that Vintage Ads had posted.

I sent this over to the dear husband, who replied, “Sunday Morning. Our kitchen. This is happening. Be prepared.” Bacon embedded in pancakes? Our friends were inviting themselves over for brunch and hoping to taste the possible gustatory excess and certain taste bud happiness that would occur.

We went to our local supermarket, and first debated whether or not to get the maple smoked bacon, or just the straight up standard bacon.  In the end we decided that the standard Smithfield bacon would be a good starter, we wanted to be purists.

After the bacon cooked down, we put the bacon on a paper lined plate to drain a bit. We also wiped down the griddle, saving a bit of bacon grease to cook the pancakes.  For the pancakes, we used our favorite cookbook: America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.  Seriously, everything in this thing is amazing.

Once the bacon was dryish, we put it back on the griddle in preparation for the main event. Wrapping that deliciously crispy bacon in batter.  To be fair, our batter isn’t as fine as the Aunt Jemima, so it doesn’t drizzle as pretty, but it makes a tasty pancake, so don’t fret.

We could have flipped them a smidge earlier, but oh, they looked so good anyway.

Finally, time to plate the tasty breakfast.

Meanwhile, Fred wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  He was quite interested in the amazing smell coming from the kitchen.

What would he think of the flavor combination?

Oh yes, it’s definitely a hit.  Our man cleaned his plate, as did we.

And yes, we get the irony of the lite pancake syrup. Usually we use the high-test stuff, but this was the only Aunt Jemima we had in the house…

A good trip, but a sad reason

Last weekend, we lost Fred’s wonderful Great-Pop-Pop, aka Fred II. He was a wonderful man, and we’re lucky enough to have gotten to spend time with him. The pictures of the Four Freds will always be treasured memories. His best legacy is the family that he created with Great Grandmom, and we enjoyed all of their company this weekend. We took in their huge yard in Trenton and even went to Seaside Heights where everyone would share a summer bungalo – and yes, that was before it was made famous by MTV’s Jersey Shore. While we miss Pop-pop, we can’t help but think he made the sun shine a little brighter for all of us to spend time outside this week.

We’re gonna need to soundproof our basement

Cousin Zachary took Fred downstairs tonight to test out his drum kit. Such a little rock star…

As promised, 15 month pictures

15 Month Stats

Stats:
Height: 31.5 inches – 65th percentile
Weight: 22lbs 12oz – 25th percentile
Head Circumference: 18.75 inches – 45th percentile

Basically, our guy is a lean mean playing machine.  All the running around is keeping him still on the lean side, but right on target with where he’s been all along.

From What to Expect:

90% of toddlers can:

• Walk well.
• Bend over and pick up an object.
• Use at least one word. We’re more than good on all of the above, and then some.

75% of toddlers can:

• Use two words. Totally.
• Drink from a cup. He actually prefers it, but can also spill it everywhere, so we use a sippy unless it’s water.
• Scribble. He drew on his placemat with crayons in Florida, and has begun to draw on the chalkboard.
• Point to a desired object. Point. Run to. Pick up. Bring to me.

50% of toddlers can:

• Point to one body part when asked. He currently knows: Eyes, Ears, Head, Hair, Nose, Mouth, Teeth, Cheek, Tummy, Knees, Toes, Feet, and of course, Tushie.
• Use a spoon/fork, but not exclusively. He also prefers to use his spoon and fork, but often will shift to his hands for efficiency’s sake.
• Build a tower of 2 cubes. He’s up to 4 now.

25% of toddlers can:

• “Feed” a doll. He did it with Ollie the dog over the weekend, and has cradled a toy baby.  I’m counting this one.

Other notable achievements:

• New words since last month: “Pur” for Roper, car & truck sound much closer than they were, sock, tree, Ollie (Matt & Jill’s dog), and there are more but we can’t think of them off hand.
• He walks up and down steps without needing to crawl as long as he is holding on to something.
• Making food is fun, Grandma had him help to make his own eggs.
• Food likes: Fruit of all kinds, especially grapes, oranges, and sweet pineapple. He loves it all. Eggs & cheese are almost always huge hits.  He generally eats whatever we have, though of course he eats better for others than for us.  We’re totally okay with that, if he’s hungry, he’ll eat. He tends to graze more than eat big meals.
• Food dislikes: Any kind of hot spice.  Flavory things? That’s fine. But if there’s a hint of pepper or heat, he will cry like the dickens. Also still hates olives, and that suits me just fine.
• His receptive language (words he understands) is amazing. We can ask him to do so many things and he does it. He tends to quietly observe the world rather than chat everyone up, but he sure is soaking it all in.  If you ask him to look at a bird or go to his chair, he does exactly that.
• Outside is where he wants to be. Rainy days are no good, because this guy would spend the whole day at the park if he could.
• He’s fantastic at sharing. He loves to play with people and will give a person, child, or even dog a toy he has so that you’ll play with him. He got quite loud with confused laughter when Ollie didn’t want to fetch his stick.
• Dad says that “he has so much love to give” because he often will surprise hug other children and have no interest in letting go.
• When he trips or bumps into something, he may cry for a moment, but when that moment has passed, he’s right back to it.
• We call him our little scientist. He is very studious, wanting to see exactly how things work.
• Not sure if we’ve mentioned this, but there’s a great morning routine on weekdays. Dad will get up from the breakfast table, and grab his jacket to leave. When dad does this, Fred purses his lips to kiss daddy goodbye. It’s adorable.
• Speaking of the table, Fred rarely sits in his high chair these days. he far prefers sitting in a regular chair like mom & dad.
• When he hears music, not only will he clap and stomp his feet, but he’ll spin around.
• Climbing also has improved even more. He can get onto Roper’s scratching post all on his own.
• Skyping with Grandma & Grandpa is so much fun. He smiles when he sees them on the computer, and we try to do it a few times a week.
• He loves animals.  He chases the birds at the park and loves getting close (but not close enough to get licked) to dogs, he always runs towards them.  At the end of the day, though, it’s Roper that makes him smile the biggest.
• Clothes are funny. In the car he likes to take his shoes off. In the morning he brings me my shoes so we can go out. If it looks like we are getting ready to go out, he’ll run to the door first while squealing. I’ll then tell him to get his shoes so we can leave, and he’ll do just that. If I don’t put his pants on right away after a diaper change, he’ll want to rip his diaper right off. He also likes to just take his shirt off for sport.
• On the tooth front, he’s got 12 of them, 4 upper and 4 lower teeth in the front and 4 molars. He’s working on his 4 canine teeth, and as usual, is drooling like it’s his job. We’re hoping they come in the next month or two to give this guy a break!

Pictures to come after he wakes up from his nap and gets changed…

Back to the beach

A year ago, we got video of Fred shaking his baseball rattle for the very first time at our friends’ Bethany Beach house. Now he’s climbing up and down their steps, running around, and playing ball. It’s amazing to see how much he has grown in just a year. Tomorrow he goes for his 15 month well-child checkup, and we’ll get his full stats.