Baking Cookies & Other Fun

Since we've brought home the new baby (nickname is still under consideration, so for now, its just new baby) I've been trying to make sure that Link isn't feeling neglected.  It hasn't been much of a problem since I've got the sleepiest baby ever, except that we haven't been outside to play since we've been home.  Also, Daddy got Link this awesome Legos Fire Truck set and it has completely consumed his attention for the past week.

I put a ton of Link's toys away because they weren't getting much use, and they just tended to get spread around for me to pick up.  He has so much fun taking these things apart and putting them together in different ways.

In other news, Link has grown and eaten the first tomato from his plant.  He was quite tickled by it as you can see.

This past weekend he helped his Grandma and Grandpa pick cucumbers and tomatoes in their garden.  So he knows to only get the red ones.  Though to Link, a little red is red enough :)

He loves tomatoes.  They are the one vegetable that I can always count on him eating a ton of.

We also baked cookies today.  Emphasis on baked, since we didn't really make them.  Baking them consisted of the following:  Getting the bag of pre-made (highly processed/preserved) little squares out of the fridge,

finding the cookie sheet under the oven

and putting it on the counter.

Then he climbed up on his stool and posed for me :)

After I cut the squares out, he placed them on the cookie sheet.

I only had to take raw cookie dough out of his mouth once.  Then he sat down while I put them in the oven.  (I taught him from the time he could walk to always sit down far away when I had the oven door open, now if I open it, he'll run to a spot and sit)

After putting the cookies in the oven, he washed his hands and ate half a cookie. I'm including pictures of him washing his hands because he's finally getting to where he can do this on his own and I'm a little tickled by it.

And since he was there and could reach it, he always like to take his temperature.

I should mention that Link does NOT always have access to the sink (I don't want to pay any more for water than I already do).  We move this stool around the house for him since it's too heavy for him to move.

I really wish I had one with sides and a back so I don't have to worry about him falling off backwards.  But, it works for now.  He has a smaller stool that he can carry around that is only about a foot high.  Maybe Grandpa can make him a new stool by the time he starts doing more cooking in the kitchen (hint, hint).

Turning 2 - Update

Of course things didn't go how I thought they would, but they've gone great.   To recap, Link has been:

1. Moving from mom and dad's bed to his toddler bed (and room)
2. Spending 5 weeks away from home
3. Giving up his cloth diapers for big boy undies
4. Welcoming a new baby home

I'll start with the last one, since that's where things got all mixed up.  We welcomed our new baby home 4 weeks early.  Link has taken to his baby brother quite well.  It probably helps that he is a very sleepy baby, and you can almost forget he's here.  So, Link has not had to deal with sharing Momma too much.  He likes to hug his little brother, and bring him things that he can identify as his brother's.  I think Link will be a fantastic big brother!

Since the baby came 4 weeks early, we didn't spend the full 5 weeks away from home.  Link did have to be away from his Momma for the first time ever.  The first day I didn't see him for a full 11 hours, and I realized it was the longest I'd ever been away from him.  It just got worse from there, and I didn't  see him for a full day at one point.  He handled it well though, and he loved spending time with his Grandma and Grandpa.  But, by the end of the 4th day, we could tell that he needed to get back home and back to his routine.  He wasn't quite his normal, well behaved self, but he was still very good considering.

Link checking out Momma at the hospital.

I had hoped to have a full four weeks to work with Link on his potty training.  I only had four days, then I was in the hospital.  His Grandma and Grandpa were willing to work with him, and they all did great.  Link already knew what he needed to do, it was just a matter of practicing.  Granted, we're at 2 weeks with no diapers, and he still runs around the house with just a shirt on.  But, he does good going out, and he doesn't have accidents when we're home as long as he doesn't have to worry about pulling underwear down.  We'll get to that soon.  He sleeps through naps and (as long as I get him up once in the night) he sleeps through the night, with no wet bed.

Don't know why, but he liked to sit on it backwards :)

Link is doing great in his toddler bed, but it is still in our room.  We didn't want to bring him home and immediately put him in his own room.  We felt like it was important to get things back to normal, or as close as possible, before making any big changes like this.  So, we'll see how that goes when it happens.