This past Saturday was no exception; we decided Dana needed a break from studying for finals and Alex needed to get outside a bit and burn off some toddler calories. So we headed up to our favorite park in Loveland -- one of the few left in the world with a real merry-go-round.
They have two of these scoopers that Alex was intrigued by. He loves scoopers (backhoes, bulldozers, Bobcats, dump trucks, etc). He calls them "coopers!"
We bought a training potty for Alex a few months back, and he showed some interest, but it was poorly designed and he didn't fit on it very well. So a week ago Dana got him a Baby Bjorn training potty that fits MUCH better, although it does not have a seat cover. That's OK because his old seat does have a seat cover and it makes a nice step stool for washing hands or brushing teeth at the sink.
But alas, Alex is just not quite comfortable yet using the potty for its intended purpose. He is very happy to sit on it for several seconds at a time, even with his pants down. But then he stands up and wants to go do something else.
So we have all the equipment we need, including training pants. Now we need to convince Alex that if he uses the potty, he won't have to have his diaper changed any more (an activity he is not overly fond of).
Other words...
For the last week, Alex has said "tickle!" a lot. For a long time we thought he was just affirming the fact that he is ticklish. He is VERY ticklish. :-)
But then this past weekend, we realized that at least part of the time he is saying "Thank you". I noticed it after handing him a sippy cup of milk at his request. He said "Tickle" or actually more like "tee-koo". I thought about the context for a minute and realized it was thank you! I think Ryanne has been working really hard with him on manners, and it is really paying off. He still needs help with "please" (or, in Alex-speak, "peas"). We usually have to remind him to say please, by prompting him, "How do you ask for it?"
Last Thursday was my last full class at the Sherrif's Office Citizens' Academy. We spent class at the Detention Center - a nice name for the Jail. Generally the County jail is used to lock people up awaiting trial who can't post bail, and people who have been convicted to sentences of 2 years or less for any single crime. In some instances, however, courts choose to use the DC for more serious crimes because of the circumstances of a case or the convict. So the Larimer County DC has people who were just hauled in for the night on DUIs, all the way up to convicted 1st degree murderers. (They are not, however, housed in the same units). Suffice it to say, if I wasn't convinced before, I have no desire to go to jail. It amazes me how hard the deputies work to take such good care of these people we lock up for doing some remarkably bad things.
I continue my battle with the fall leaves around the hard. I've now blown and vacuumed them 3 times this fall. I think I'll have to do it one more time at least before I'm done. The cherry trees are the hold-outs every year, hanging on til the last. That, plus leaves that blow in from neighbors' yards, keeps me busy.
I'm also working on several small fix-up projects around the house. Since we installed baseboard electric heat in two bedrooms upstairs, I've decided I need to move the electrical outlets that are now above those baseboard heaters. This is actually required by code, and now I can see why. Cords that are plugged into the outlets above the units get VERY hot while the heat is on. This will eventually weaken the cord and could cause serious problems. So I'm adding new electrical boxes on either side of each of the two baseboard units, which means lots of crawling around in the attic, cutting old-work holes in the wall to accomodate the new boxes, and fishing romex through the walls. What fun.
On top of that I decided last week it was finally time to re-caulk the upstairs shower. It was a mess. Almost all of the effort was in removing the old caulking and grime. This took me about 3 hours of scraping, scrubbing, and swearing. But once it was clean, it only took a half hour or less of carefully applying the new caulk. Now it looks much better. The only remaining problem with the shower now is the cracking shower pan. After careful inspection it appears that somebody took a stock shower pan with a drain hole located 12" x 12" from one corner, cut a new drain hole to accomodate their wacky plumbing geometry under the floor, and then filled in the old drain hole with some epoxy. Gradually over the years the fill job has been deteriorating, and the new drain hole has compromised the strength of the remaining fiberglass surround so that it has sprung several hairline cracks around the edges.
So far nothing has leaked through the floor to the downstairs playroom. But I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I'll need to rip out the entire shower stall and replace it, thanks to some shortsighted construction work years ago. Unfortunately, this has become the legacy of our home: every project I undertake reveals some shoddy workmanship or half-assed construction from days gone by. Before I can address the symptoms, I have to address the root cause by undoing whatever nonsense was done before.
I recently got a new application for my iPhone that is supposed to allow me to post pictures and text directly from my phone to this blog. I have not had a chance yet to configure it and try it out, but I'll try to do so in the next week if I have time during the holidays. If it works, you can expect more, and more frequent, posts in the future.
Oh, I almost forgot two new words Alex knows: "Pumpkin Pie!" He likes pumpkin pie.
